A New Sport

There is something very different about the sport of standup paddle boarding. As compared to canoeing or kayaking where you are sitting down,  the fact you are standing up seems to give you more of an overview of things. It requires much more concentration, balance and motion, unlike a kayak or canoe, where you can just drift away and enjoy the scenery, then resume paddling at
your leisure. Not so with the paddle board. If you are not paddling or not paying attention, you can quickly find yourself at the bottom of the lake.
This has happened to me once, when riding my sisters very expensive board. I did not have on an optional  ankle thingy that attaches your board to your body so it can't get away on you. I did, of course have on a PFD which saved me from drowning. I don't know what's worse, the shock of the water or the shock of actually falling off. Suddenly, you are swimming for your life trying to catch a) the paddle and b) the paddle board, and trying to figure out how the heck are you going to get back on it. Once I caught up with my board, I slithered back on it, like a penguin or a seal on an iceberg, got to a kneeling position, then back up to a standing position. I was very grateful.
Another weird occurance is that unlike a boat, when you come back to shore you do not gently glide up on the beach, no, you come to a dead stop and if you are not expecting this (as I was not), you go flying off the front and send your boat backward back to sea where you must chase after it yet again.
All these events, I am sure, will correct themselves with practice, but in the meantime, I have still not decided if this is the sport for me. Not sure if my 58 year old, top heavy body lends itself kindly to this sport. Jury is still out on this one.