CAN WE REOPEN WILD SUP TOURS AFTER THE LOCKDOWN?

We have been chomping at the bit to get back out into the water paddleboarding. We were so looking forward to another season of Wild Sup Tours. We finally felt that all our hard work was starting to pay off and this season was going to get Wild Sup Tours to another level. Then someone decided to eat dodgy bat soup and the rest is history.

When the current situation started to really escalate, I was working in London and Oona was visiting her family State side. I finished up my jobs and booked a flight at short notice. The ticket was about 10 times the price I payed going over but I felt that the longer I delayed coming back, the harder it would be to get home. Oona was thinking about riding this out with her family but she decided coming back to Ireland was the best move ultimately. In hind site, she was absolutely right.

So here we are, well into May, with our days filled with skateboarding, walking country roads, baking and endless Netflix. It’s all good really, in truth we are enjoying it, but it’s not what we are meant to be doing. Usually, at this time of year, we are crazy busy with the start of our season.

Oona was greatly looking forward to continuing her journey paddling up the west coast. We had our brand new night paddling tours set up and we had some bookings for our camping trips in Kenmare. Things had been shaping up to be an exciting season.

However, change is constant. We must remain flexible and humans are nothing if not adaptable. So adapting we are.

Into our email inbox came a few emails from the Irish Surfing Association, our governing body, and those, in conjunction with the reopening road map, paddling is now potentially back on the menu. It’s going to look a lot different. Our biggest clients came from over seas and in one fell swoop that market is all but gone. Now is a time to think local, to act local and to support our local communities.

The question running through our minds is, how can we better serve our local community?

The current ideas are bigger, better, bolder kids camps. The kids have been at home for months now so something to get them outside, active, and learning may be just the thing. With my ecology background and Oona’s crafty past, there are some fabulous potential education based activities.

But what about the adults? We are also thinking about starting a paddle club, getting people out into the water on a regular basis.

Our regular tours will be up and running but with social distancing highlighted. Luckily, social distancing is a big part of the nature of the sport.  Sterilizing our wetsuits and equipment after each use will be mandatory. Though, all of those chemicals are quite hard on the materials. However, the safety of our customers and ourselves has always been paramount to each and every tour we run, so it’s a sacrifice we are happy to make.

With the news that we got this morning, and a dash of optimism, I can honestly say…

I’m really looking forward to seeing you guys out in the water with us this summer!

But like I said, this is a time to serve you all, so….

What would you like?! What would you find beneficial in these challenging times?

Let us know, we’ll see what we can do!