THE Observer has teamed up with professional windsurfer and personal trainer, Keith Atkinson, to offer readers an insight into Paddleboarding.

Observer reporter Ben Cowling travelled to Bray Lake, Maidenhead to try out the latest watersports craze with coaching and advice from Atkinson.

“PADDLEBOARDING is one of the more relaxing watersports, but also one that requires precision with your movements which, unfortunately, I somewhat lack.

At Bray Lake Watersports, who have been providing lessons and equipment since 1979, I got to witness, take in and interrupt the peacefulness of the lake.

For this first session, I was being mentored by Keith, a windsurfer who decided to branch out into the more relaxing sport.

First of all, Keith gave me a brief introduction to the types of paddleboards that are available: flat water, all around and surfing. Of course, being a beginner, I was set off on the easiest paddleboard there was for flat water.

When I took to the water, I was told to swim to a calmer part of the lake in a surfer-like position before attempting to stand up, which involved moving to a kneeling stance.

The process was slow, and the board was shaking, but I managed to balance myself perfectly whilst the board was at a standstill.

The next thing to learn was how to move forward. This required the paddle to be as close to the board and at as little of an angle as possible, so making sure my paddle and board did not collide was key.

This was followed by turning, which I struggled with a little bit. When turning, you need to put the paddle on the left side with a grip that is particularly awkward at times.

The key thing was to push the water and lift the paddle over the nose of the board as it was turning. Admittedly, it took a couple of tries, and I span around plenty of times, but in the end I finally managed to do a couple of controlled turns and get the hang of it.

Next up was reversing. It is supposed to be a simple, easy movement where you push the water forward on the right hand side and reverse.

In my case however, I must have been holding the paddle at an angle because my first attempt threw me into the cold (but admittedly refreshing) lake.

I was determined to not fall again, but unfortunately, Keith did want me to as he threw me off balance and landed me back in the drink.

As I got back up, I was told we were just going to have a paddle to get me used to movement. In the end, this turned out for the best as I got more used to it. Before long I was swiftly surfing along Bray Lake.

Personally, I would highly recommend paddleboarding. As you do not have to focus much on balance it becomes quite a relaxing experience. Even if sport is not your thing, I would happily recommend it because it is different and relaxing.” **IF YOU are interested in taking up paddleboarding, please visit www.braylake.com or e-mail keithatkinson56@me.com** **FOLLOW the Observer on Twitter at @Observer_sports**