What is A Beginners Guide To Super SUP

Super stand up paddle boarding is one of the newest and fastest growing water sports in the UK, and we’ve broadened our roster of exhilarating activities at the Newquay Activity Centre to include our very own SUP adventures!

We’ve built on the success of winning gold in the Cornwall Tourism Awards 2017 + 2016 and launched a super sized inflatable paddleboard for groups of up to 8, to explore Newquay’s historical coastline. From the Gazzle on Fistral Headland you’ll launch the craft and paddle your way into smugglers caves, through natural rapids and around whirlpools whilst learning to balance and navigate the craft.

It’s a perfect activity for all ages and levels of fitness, and also acts as a fantastic diving board and viewing platform from which to spy on the wildlife below the water’s surface.

From our activity centre Located just 500metres from the UK’s most famous surfing destination, Fistral Beach, we run an extensive selection of Super SUP activities in some of the UK’s best quality ocean swells, and along a sheltered coastline called the Gazzle.

How to get up

Start on your knees, keep a low centre of gravity and when you’re ready as a group, hop up onto your feet! Keep both knees bent and use your calf and thigh muscles to rectify any wobbles.

How to hold your paddle

Place one hand on the top of the paddle and hold midway up the shaft with the other. With your elbows bent at 90 degrees, this stance will give you more leverage and room to paddle comfortably.

Basic strokes

The forward stroke is a staple and carried out by extending the paddle out in front, keeping the paddle angled downwards towards the water and then pulling it back along the length of the board. To stay in a straight line, work as a team to paddle equally on either side of the board.

Common mistakes not to make:

• Don’t hold the paddle like a broomstick with both hands on the shaft!
• Don’t stand like a surfer- Keep both feet facing forward, in line with each other and shoulder width apart.
• Let your large back muscles do the work- you don’t have to let your arm muscles do everything.

• Stand up paddleboard
• Paddle
• Wetsuit – You’ll be given a full body neoprene suit designed to prevent chill whilst submerged in water.
• Buoyancy aid
• Helmet
• Wetsuit boots or lace up trainers

We will provide you with all required equipment (but do bring along some trainers you wouldn’t mind getting wet if you have them) along with heated changing rooms, a warm shower and safe storage for your belongings and valuables. The only things you should bring are:

• Swimming costume / trunks to wear underneath your wetsuit
• A towel

Newquay Activity Centre SUP Instructor, Amy Kendall tells us why she’s so stoked: 

“Super stand up paddle boarding is unlike anything we’ve done before at Newquay Activity Centre. The craft can fit up to 8 people on and we work as a team to paddle it into some of the most exciting areas of Newquay’s coastlines. The Gazzle is our main playground, boasting a rich history of tea plundering pirates and a huge array of wildlife to see. You’ll probably see a few friendly seals whilst we’re out on the paddleboard! It’s a must-do activity if you’re visiting Newquay or the surrounding areas.”

As Trip Advisor’s Number One provider of outdoor adventure activities in Newquay, our team of professional instructors have over 21 years experience of showing people the best adventures to be found along our special stretch of coastline. We’re one of the only schools to offer Super SUP activities in Cornwall and will lead you through the basics of SUP techniques, providing extensive instruction from the land to the water.

Newquay Activity Centre has also been recognised as a top centre for cultural activities and awarded Centre of Excellence status for surfing by the ISA, we’re located just 500m from the Sunday Times’ No.1 beach for activities, Fistral Beach and the smugglers caves of the Gazzle.

Check out our SUP lesson taster lesson.

After getting kitted up at our centre, you and your group will launch the craft from the safety of towan Beach and navigate it along our craggy coastline, into deep smugglers caves and through the natural whirlpools. The area is steeped in history and heritage that you’ll explore in depth during our Heritage Super SUP activities!

Having learnt core paddle strokes and skills, you’ll moor up for a variety of hilarious games including SUMO SUP, King of the SUP or Mega SUP races, before navigating ocean swells.

The Gazzle’s caves and craggy coastline are home to an abundance of wildlife, from our native seals that call the coves home to jellyfish under the water’s surface. During your SUP experience, you’ll learn how to identify the flora and fauna of Newquay’s coastal ecosystems and witness them up close from the SUP itself. For an even more environmentally focussed activity, check out our Eco SUP adventures!

If you would like to get even more hands-on with the coastline, why not combine a Super SUP session with one of our award winning, adrenaline packed Coasteers and experience the Gazzle’s nooks and crannies up close! During our new SUP Coasteers you’ll negotiate your way along the cliffs through means of low level traverses, climbing, swimming and jumping with jumps into deep-water plunge pools interspersing the route!

Your Super SUP lesson will be two hours long. The two hours will begin when you’ve finished changing and are ready to hit the water!

If you’re taking part in one of our Super SUP Coasteers, the combined activity will be just under three hours long.

All our Instructors are fully qualified Beach and Surf Safety Lifeguards, ISA awarded surf instructors and experienced coasteer leaders. They’ve undertaken extensive First Aid training and we endeavour as an Activity Centre to regularly in-house train our staff so they have experience in all weather and water conditions. Every instructor must have years of personal experience in the water and we also work in close partnership with the RNLI to ensure your safety in and out of the water.

From changing room to water’s edge is an 8-minute walk! We also provide heated changing rooms and safe storage for your belongings and valuables.

Yes! During the winter you’ll be provided with some extra kit to help keep you warm on colder days!

• A wetsuit hood
• Neoprene gloves
• Neoprene boots

Our Mega SUP adventure is a year round activity.

All our coasteering instructors wear exactly the same equipment as you, but carry some extra gear to ensure your safety.

1. First Aid Kit – Instructors will carry a first aid kit in case of minor injuries along the coasteer route.

2. Peterson tubes – Each instructor will carry a large yellow float, useful as a jump guide for leaps into the water and easily adaptable into a life float for rest and recovery.
3. Throw lines – Your coasteer instructors carry a 15metre, super flexible floating rope that can be tossed out into the water at a moments notice. It’s an essential part of coasteering safety kit and strong enough to pull the weight of multiple people.
4. Towlines – Another piece of useful safety kit is a towline, easily attached if a customer requires towing from the water to the shore during larger swells.
5. Torches – You’ll be exploring rocky nooks and old smugglers caves during our coasteers, so a torch is a useful guide whilst in darker corners.
6. Mobile phone – One instructor carries a mobile phone during the coasteer, protected by waterproof casing and fully charged in case of emergency.
7. Goggles – Goggles are an optional extra if you’d like to peak under the water’s surface on a clear and sunny day! The water is very clear in the Gazzle.
8. Diving knife – Useful for cutting old fishing lines

If you have your own suit please bring it along but wait until you’ve spoken with our instructors before putting it on. Some wetsuits will be too thin for certain weather and water conditions.

Please arrive at the centre at the start time of your session. This can be found on your booking confirmation email. There is no parking immediately outside the centre so please allow plenty of time to park and walk down to the centre at Towan Beach. Once there your instructor will welcome you.

If you have any medical needs, injuries or special requirements, just give us a ring and we can talk through how best we can cater for your needs during your Super SUP experience!

Our Super SUP activities are also suitably adaptable to cater for the needs of those with disabilities.

SUP paddling requires a basic level of fitness and it certainly gets the heart pumping, but you don’t have to be an athlete! The beauty is that you can rest if you need a break.

We ask that everybody who takes part in our SUP experiences can swim a minimum of 50 metres. However, you’ll be provided with a buoyancy aid at the start of your session, meaning you always have a floatation aid throughout your SUP experience.

Lockers are available at the centre free of charge to ensure any valuables are safely stowed away whilst you’re down in the water. There are also storage compartments available for the rest of your gear including clothes and shoes. Please note that any items are left at the guest’s own risk.

The minimum age limit for our group activities is 8 years old. However, we offer private sessions in which younger children can take part so no one has to miss out on Super SUP activities in Newquay, Cornwall! All our instructors have years of experience working with children of all ages. We also offer family packages for every activity and tailor each session to you and your child’s requirements. Check out the options here.

Yes. The instructor can explain where the session will be taking place and suggest areas where you may be able to safely observe.  Whilst most sessions can be observed and photos taken, we strongly advise that you do not put yourself at any unnecessary risk. Super SUPing along the coastline will normally take place relatively close to cliff face and you will not always be able to observe the group.

Our cancellation policy is outlined in our terms and conditions.  If cancellation occurs 4 weeks or more from the activity’s start date then a full refund will be issued.  If the session is cancelled 2-3 weeks before start date then a 50% refund will be given.  Unfortunately if the cancellation occurs less than 2 weeks to activity’s start date then no refund can be issued. If the booking is changed more than 21 days prior to the Experience we will make every effort to change the requested booking. Less than 21 days prior to the start, no changes can be made.

We’re not afraid of some wind and rain, but Mother Nature occasionally intervenes and makes it impossible to run a safe session.  In the unlikely event that this should happen, we would endeavour to change the date of your session or offer an alternative activity.  If this were still impossible then a voucher would be issued for the value of the activity.

All our sessions are fully insured up to £10million and are covered in the price of the activity.

We strongly advise against wearing glasses in the water in case they fall off! However, if you are unable to see without them, we suggest you tie them securely onto your buoyancy aid or use disposable contact lenses

Yes! We ALWAYS advise that you slap on good slather of factor 30-50 water-resistant sun cream before taking part in one of our activities. You can also use a bit of zinc for extra protection.

Yes! Check out our prices page for more information. We also do discounts for military groups, schools and families.

Yes, you can book directly via our website or you can give us a ring and we can take payment directly over the phone, or email us and we can call you back.

Call our bookings team on 01637 877722. Our lines are open from 8:00am until 10:00pm.