What'SUP?

In the late spring and summer, Oahu's North Shore is transformed from a big-wave mecca into a lake-like snorkeler's paradise. The offshore wind was adding a little chop when Scott and I made our first attempt at stand-up paddleboarding. We rented SUPs from Surf-n-Sea in Haleiwa and set out into Waialua Bay. I was a bit unsteady at first and after a while had to consciously release the death grip my toes had on the board, but didn't take long to get the general hang of it.

After an unintended detour through the boat harbor, past a large, decimated floating fish head (I was hoping whatever killed it was long, long gone - and then I really didn't want to fall), we made our way up the Anahulu River. We paddled past riverside shacks than reminded me of a Louisiana bayou. There were many fish and turtles in the shallow and murky green water, and I nearly fell when a large turtle surfaced suddenly within a foot of my board. Thankfully I quieted the board's rocking and made it out of the river and back to the beach without falling once. Yes!

On our way to have lunch with our feet in the sand at Ola in Turtle Bay, we stopped at Shark's Cove, one of the best snorkeling spots on Oahu, and I got up close with a sea turtle.