If you have an aversion to sails, you can still get yourself wet at the windsurfing club by paddling a stand-up paddle board (SUP). To promote the sport, the club held a relay race yesterday and the only way I could avoid being one of the competitors was to offer to take some photos.
There were boards on the beach….
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…and twelve potential paddlers expressing various levels of reluctance. Once everyone was together, Craig started to explain the rules which were clearly being made up as he went along.
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With twelve people, Craig announced that there would be four teams of three, then promptly arranged people into three teams of four. Someone suggested there should be six teams of two; which would gave been interesting because there were only five boards. After much mucking about, four teams were formed, just in time for them to see the buoy which was to be paddled around, breaking adrift and heading of towards Pattaya.
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Finally, the buoy was retrieved and the first riders from each team were ready:
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Each rider then paddled round the buoy and back before handing off to the next member of the team, and then they repeated the sequence. Some of them looked mildly exhausted by the end. I was glad of my camera.
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I was able to reinforce my camera excuse with the presence of Calvin, a young man who has expressed an interest in learning how to use a camera and came along to have a go with my GF1. We sat down before the event and I asked him about his current knowledge. Did he have a basic understanding of aperture, shutter speed and ISO? No, he didn’t. With stern instructions to go home and read The Pattaya Days Starter Guide to Photography, I gave him a quick overview and then set him loose with a long lens.
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Apart from a period where he shot at F22 and a shutter speed of around 1/10th of second, with predictably blurry results, he caught some good shots.
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Comments 🔗
2011-07-25| Craig saysWe are training on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 5.00pm - beginners welcome to join - everything supplied. 300THB or 2,200 for 10 sessions. - amwthailand@gmail.com to book
Great shots - thanks again Pattaya Days! (and Calvin)
2011-08-03| Craig saysNext Fun SUP Race - 13th August - registration at 4.30pm - no more practice we are serious now, was that 5 teams of 3….
2011-08-06| wayne manuel sayshow about signing me up for the race and i hope to be there on aug 10th …thanks