A few years ago, after taking a single lesson on a beautiful holiday weekend, I was inspired to take up paddleboarding, convinced it would be a great way to enjoy the ocean and work my core. It was only after I’d invested in a brand-new board and a secondhand wetsuit vest that I learned the waters from southern Santa Barbara County down to Baja are considered a great white shark nursery. I started seeing drone footage showing sharks swimming mere feet away from paddleboarders. Although I saw no reports of any juvenile sharks attacking people, I quickly lost my enthusiasm for paddleboarding. My board sat unused in the side yard until my dog, then still in her chewy puppy phase, destroyed it.
So, I was delighted when I got an invitation from Anderson Aquatics to try their new SUP (stand-up paddleboarding) fitness and yoga classes. When I’d first checked out Anderson’s pool-based fitness offerings , shortly after they opened in the old Diver’s Den location in the Funk Zone, these classes weren’t yet on the schedule. With summer upon us, it was the perfect time to head back to the 92-degree pool.
After I had admired the glow-up the facility had gotten since my last visit — fresh paint, a remodeled bathroom with curb-less shower, and new signage — the first order of business was getting onto a board. There were three of them anchored in the center of the deep end, attached at their front and back edges with clips to two ropes strung the length of the pool. From the pool deck, instructor Breanna Anderson, who owns Anderson Aquatics with her husband Travis, coached me and my classmates Sophia and Dora to approach the board from one of the long sides, then hoist ourselves onto it. It’s not an elegant process.