On August 2nd, 2012 there was a full moon paddle boarding opportunity presented to me by a good friend. So I told her that Jarrod and I would be joining them. Although a little apprehensive at first, Jarrod was excited to be going on this adventure with me. Little did I know that his friends he studied with before we headed out that night gave him a hard time and spooked him with talk of sharks. LOL!
We met everyone in the parking area across from Shiggity Shack and drove in one car out to White House Bay where we would start our excursion. Driving out on the peninsula at night is quite an interesting drive with all the potholes/craters that you have to dodge (during the daylight this drive is not much better unfortunately...ha!). When we arrived, the boards were already there and within a couple minutes of our arrival, our instructor and the owner of Honu & Pelikana: Standup Paddle Board Rentals & Tours (their facebook group where you can see more pictures and paddle boarding events), Dr. Nicholas Spaccarelli (also one of the outstanding clinicians/professors at RUSVM), arrived.
He surveyed the group to get a feel for the level of experience each individual possessed. Then he got out some really fun glow sticks for us to use as necklaces and help him keep an eye on all of us while we were out on the water. After we all had our fun pretending to rave with our glow sticks, Dr. Spaccarelli did a nice introduction to paddle boarding, the proper spot to stand on the board, proper way to hold the paddle, most efficient way to get the most out of each stroke, and other bits of helpful information. Then what really made everyone in the group even more comfortable about this new adventure is that he had actually already been out in the water and traveled the route he was taking us on. He talked to us about what to expect from the wind (was blowing a little that evening), the water, and other helpful tips for the trip.
So one by one we climbed onto our boards that he placed into the water for us. Once we were all in the water, off we went!
The boards that Honu & Pelikana company uses were absolutely comfortable for the entire duration of the trip. The scenery was exhilarating! The night sky was lit up by our friend, the full moon. The rolling hills and mountains stood solidly alongside our group. Every sound and smell aroused my senses and made me feel entirely at peace. The island air was cool and definitely felt good towards the end of the trip when I really started feeling the work I had done to get to our final destination. The water ran its own course underneath my board...sometimes pushing me along and sometimes pushing a little against the board so you had to put more power behind each stroke. The most mesmerizing characteristic about the water was how absolutely clear it was...distracting at times and making it hard to keep my balance! I kept looking down and around to see sea turtles or any other creatures that would be out and about. Can't say I really saw anything, but we did have a few fish that seemed to be attracted to the glow sticks (or any light for that matter) and would jump up out of the water (at times landing on the boards of those in my group!).
I hate to admit it, but I think I was one of the slower ones in my paddle boarding group. I was just distracted and trying to soak up every bit of the experience. But no worries, Dr. Spaccarelli hung out at the back of the group and coasted along with me. So nice to not feel like I was being left behind or anything like that.
At one point during our journey all the way to Timothy Beach, we came across the "St. Kitts lazy river". It was a man made segregated portion of the ocean against the shore that had its own current that pushed you along to the point that you barely needed to paddle. Definitely one of my favorite points of the experience.
The originally apprehensive Jarrod was paddling right along the entire way...had never been on a paddle board and was looking like a pro! I could tell he was having a blast which made me ecstatic.
Before I knew it, we were paddling towards the shore in front of Shiggity Shack where there was music, a huge bonfire, and lots of people (probably visitors to the island) with cameras and taking pictures of us like we were celebrities! LOL!
As we pulled our boards to shore, there were some familiar faces (professors and fellow students) enjoying the night. So we hung out for a little bit, danced it up on the dance floor and had a couple beers before calling it a night.
I highly recommend this experience if you ever find yourself in St. Kitts. Not necessarily a full moon paddle boarding experience, but definitely a paddle boarding tour of the island. And I will most definitely be using Dr. Spaccarelli's company again for my other paddle boarding adventures during the rest of my stay on St. Kitts. I felt so comfortable with the entire experience and like he was invested in each and every single one of his paddle boarders and making sure that we were all having a great time out on the water.
I was so happy to have shared this experience with Jarrod...and am definitely looking forward to the other adventures we will get to experience together.
In the words of a good friend of mine...ROLO=Rossies Only Live Once ;)
