I had wanted to do this trip for a while now – so one hot summer morning we packed up the car early and drove to Carats cafe near the power station on Shoreham harbour. After a sweaty 15 minutes of paddleboard inflation we were ready to go (by the way – we deliver boards pre-inflated to save you time).
We had arranged to meet a couple of friends, one of whom bought along his daughter. She sat on the front of the board, occasionally disembarking to explore the various shorelines en-route. The sea was completely calm, and amazingly clear. I could see the fish swimming on the sea floor 2-3 metres below me.
We rounded the harbour wall and headed up the river. We passed Southwick lighthouse and the RNLI station to our right, then a less scenic scrap metal yard. The paddling was easy; we’d deliberately left when the tide was slack and low.
After a gentle 20-30 minutes of paddling we got to Shoreham. By now the water was shallow – some sections could be walked. You get a different perspective from the river, and I never tire of looking at the peculiar houseboats lining the river bank in Shoreham.
We turned around and headed back down the river. On the paddle back every stroke seemed to excite fish, which we saw darting in and out of the river mud. We passed a few early morning anglers off the eastern harbour wall, dodged a fishing boat heading out and slowly made our way back to the beach.
After a quick dip to cool off and a coffee from Carats cafe, the boards were deflated and thrown into the boot, before we headed off to our respective home offices for the day.
All in all, a great way to start the working day!