By Carl Lobue

A New Perspective

The way we move through our environment influences what we notice about it.  When we drive we see features that whiz by.  But on neighborhood side-streets or in parks, a bike ride provides a more personal perspective.  It’s quiet enough to hear birds and frogs, slow enough to appreciate our neighbors’ flowers, and yet fast enough to cover some ground.

About twenty years ago my wife and I purchased our first kayaks.  They are easily car-top transported and launched without need for a boat-ramp.  They provide a much different perspective than a powerboat.  Like an aquatic bike ride, from a canoe or kayak it is possible to approach fish and wildlife and access creeks that are way too shallow for motor or sail powered vessels.

I particularly enjoy paddling in the quiet salt marshes.  But I must admit, once summer comes around and the marsh grass grows tall, sitting so low to the waterline does not provide a great vantage point.

This is where standup paddleboards (SUP) really do provide a new perspective.  It is a perspective that is helping to connect Long Island’s growing cadre of standup paddlers with the environment around them.  While I could try to describe the experience from atop a stand-up paddleboard, Evelyn does a much better job in this short film that was shot on one of the most spectacular weather days of our entire Long Island water series.

Photos all courtesy of Red Vault Productions