One Paddle, Two Feet

STAND-UP BOARDS IDEAL FOR CRUISING, FISHING

Debbi Neece enjoys a warm afternoon on June 7 at Beaver Lake on her stand-up paddle board. Paddle boards can be equipped with all kinds of accessories, such as the lightweight carrier on Neese's board. Paddle boards for fishing can be outfitted with rod holders and a rack that holds lures and tackle.
Debbi Neece enjoys a warm afternoon on June 7 at Beaver Lake on her stand-up paddle board. Paddle boards can be equipped with all kinds of accessories, such as the lightweight carrier on Neese's board. Paddle boards for fishing can be outfitted with rod holders and a rack that holds lures and tackle.

ROCKY BRANCH - The stand-up paddle boards that Debbi Neece uses to glide across the water can be outfitted with everything from running lights to a table that holds fish bait.

Seats are available, but Neece says the whole idea of the surfboard look-alikes is to stand on your own two feet and paddle.

Like canoes or kayaks, stand-up paddle boards are another option for those who enjoy human-powered boats. They look like surfboards, but they’re stable and easy to stand on. Stand-up paddle boards move through the water with quiet grace, as Neece, of Lowell, demonstrated during a warm afternoon on Friday at Beaver Lake.

Neece brought a trailer-load of the boards to the Van Winkle Hollow arm of the lake. Like other types of sporting gear, there are entry-level paddle boards for beginners and higher-end boards that are more responsive and require advanced skill. There are inflatable boards that can easily be transported on an airplane or in a pack. One of Neece’s dream trips is to fly to the ocean and catch a tarpon from a paddle board.

The learning curve is quick for most newbie paddle boarders. It takes about 10 minutes for most people to feel comfortable on a stand-up paddle board that is suitable for beginners. With a little experience most anyone could paddle one in their Sunday best.

After awhile you’d have to try to fall off .

Neece is an independent type and likes the fact that paddleboards are light enough for one person to handle.

“It’s nice that you don’t have to depend on anyone else. You can just get to the water and go,” Neece said. When she’s not on the water, Neece is a nurse at Northwest Medical Center in Bentonville.

A cruise on a paddle board can be laid back and relaxing. It can be a fitness workout. Put the hammer down and feel those muscles burn. Or, put the paddle down, pop a top and enjoy the view.

That’s another thing Neece likes about paddle boards. Standing up, you’re higher than if seated in a kayak or canoe. The view is better, she said.

“They’re so quiet. I’ve had fish swim right up to me, turtles come right up to me.”

A stand-up paddler can wear shoes or sandals. Neece likes to paddle barefooted.

Dealing with headwinds and rough water are elements anyone in a human-powered boat faces, stand-up paddle board people included. In really rough water, kneeling on the paddle board adds stability. Headwinds are a bigger foe, she said.

Neece got bit by the paddle-board bug when she was living in Miami and having a day at the beach. Some people she met rented a stand-up paddle board for the day, but only used it about 40 minutes. They let Neece have it the rest of the day and return it. That was all it took.

After moving to Arkansas, Neece took a trip to the Virgin Islands and rented a paddle board there.

“During that trip I thought, ‘I could be doing this at Beaver Lake. Why am I not?’”

Neece did her initial shopping locally, but couldn’t find a paddle shop that sold stand-up paddle boards. She ordered one and had it shipped here. She carried it around proudly in the back of her Jeep.

Her love for the stand-up watercraft grew enough that she considered becoming a paddle board dealer, especially when she couldn’t fi nd a paddlecraft store here that sold them.

In December 2011, she started Paddle FINatics, her paddle board business. The fin part of the name comes from the fin on the bottom stern of a paddle board.

Nowadays, Neece sells her own line of Paddle FINatics boards plus some other brands. She’s not ready to quit her nursing career oropen a big-box paddle-board store, but she has moved some product.

Her first-ever sale was to Erica Schmitz of Bentonville.

“It’s a nice way to get out on the water,” Schmitz said Wednesday. “The kids can sit on it while I paddle. It’s a great family activity. It’s easy to learn.”

One of her later customers purchased a stand-up paddle board designed for racing. She bought it strictly for a challenging and unique workout.

Interested? Plan on spending around $780 for an entry-level board, more for a higher-end board.

Neece takes demo boards to paddling events around the region for people to try for free. She plans to be at the Mike Herbert kayak seminar on June 22 at Prairie Creek with some demo boards. The seminar is at 10 a.m. (See related story on 8A).

Until she takes that tarpon trip, Neece will settle for tangling with Beaver Lake’s bass and crappie, maybe a big old striper someday.

Mostly though, Neece enjoys simply being at the lake on her own two feet and paddling.

Outdoor, Pages 6 on 06/13/2013

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