Southport to Formby point the iSUP way

October 22, 2012

Around 6 months ago on the 22nd of October I went on my first standup paddle boarding adventure from Southport up the coast to Formby. The total paddle distance was around 13km but that was only half my trip, I also had to walk, get a train and get a taxi!

I had scoped out the paddle route and figured I could deflate the board once I arrived at Formby and finish off the journey by train and a modest walk. I made plans to meet with some other paddlers out on the sea that day as the tide was in (it doesn’t happen often at Southport) but I took a £20 in my phone case just incase. Wasn’t set on doing this trip just thought I’d decide out on the water.

Once on the water only Andrew Smith turned up. We paddled around under the pier and had a chat but the urge for adventure was just too much. I told Andrew about my plans, excused my self and off I went!

I didn’t really expect to see any wildlife but it wasn’t long before I saw a seal! A lone inquisitive seal popped up in the distance then randomly popped up in varying positions before accidentally surfacing around 3ft from my board. He was as surprised as me because he quickly did a double take and dashed off back under cover. Check out The Video on Youtube

This was in between Ainsdale and Birkdale which was also where Lucy said she’d seen a seal some weeks before (I didn’t believe her). I then leisurely paddled, some standing, some kneeling to have a rest, with the sea getting calmer and calmer with each kilometre. By the time I was around 3km away from Formby the sun was thinking about falling out of the sky and the sea was like a millpond, maybe even stiller than I’d ever seen the lake.

In between Formby and Formby point in approximately 1km squared area I then saw not one but three seals and then further in the distance a porpoise or dolphin. One of those seals kept following behind the SUP (but only when it was moving). So I desperately tried to get more photos or videos for proof when I got home. It was extremely hard to paddle and take photos with an iPhone over my shoulder but I got a few OK ones in the end.

By the time I was on the dry land of Formby point the sun had just set. I’d never been to Formby beach before, I’d planned the route to the station using Google maps so had an idea of the general direction but it was a good job there was plenty of people around to get directions because once the sun goes down unfamiliar dunes aren’t the easiest places to navigate. Once well into the dunes I deflated my stand up paddle board, rolled it up and carried it the rest of the one mile walk to the train station.

I got some strange looks at the train station and some even stranger looks on the train. I suppose it’s not every day that someone gets on the train with a paddle and rolled up SUP. The plan was to walk the one mile from Southport station to my house but in the end I took the more sensible option and finished off my adventure by taxi.