Preferably, you wear a wetsuit while SUPing because it protects you better against the cold and allows you to stay in and on the water much longer, especially at sea where the chance of falling off your SUP is greater. On flat water, the danger often lies in falling off your SUP and then having to continue paddling to your final destination. If it's not very warm and there's a fair bit of wind, it can get quite chilly on the SUP in a wet suit. Moreover, a wetsuit dries much faster than normal wet clothes and keeps you warm much longer.
We always ask our participants to bring and wear their own surf or water shoes for safety and because of any sharp objects that might be on the bottom of the canals, such as old bicycles, etc. At sea, wearing shoes is not mandatory, but a stray mussel or shell, for example, can also cause a nasty cut on your foot. If you don't have surf shoes, you could also wear sneakers with thin, flexible rubber soles (e.g., AllStars) or possibly slippers so that you still keep the feel of the board. As long as they are allowed to get wet, of course!
For SUPing, as a beginner or if you go on the water alone, it is sometimes better to wear a life jacket for safety, especially if you doubt whether your swimming skills are good enough for the environment in which you are going to SUP. Suppose you fall off your board awkwardly or your board or paddle hits you on the head or body, then you will at least stay afloat. But keep in mind that wearing a life jacket or buoyancy aid at sea can be dangerous if, for example, you are washed over by a wave or have to dive for your board; on flat water, a life jacket could hinder you in quickly climbing back onto your board if you have fallen into the water. Just in case, we always have a number of life jackets available in different sizes for those participants who do not feel entirely comfortable on the water or doubt their swimming skills. In those cases, wearing a life jacket is highly recommended for safety. In any case, we naturally expect our participants to be able to swim!
The safest thing is to always SUP with a leash attached to your board, both on flat water and at sea, so that your board can never drift far away from you if you fall. At sea, your board could be taken by the waves and pose a danger to other people and surfers in the water. Furthermore, at sea, you prefer to keep your board close to you because of the currents! For safety, you should never leave your board, but due to currents, wind, or waves, your board can drift away faster than you think, and a leash is a simple and effective way to prevent this.
On flat water, it is important to keep your board close to you because of other water users such as boats or other SUPers: imagine you fall into the water and your board shoots off hard in the other direction against an approaching boat or the quay... There are special options regarding leashes for at sea or on flat water. On flat water, it is best to use a “coiled leash” because you will come into contact with weed and water plants more often here and you don't want your leash trailing behind your board in the water or getting tangled in a bicycle, shopping cart, branches, or other sharp objects that can lie on the bottom and in the water or drift around.
We have carefully chosen a number of specific SUP and wetsuit brands for use during our events so that our participants are always assured of a great SUP experience using beautiful new high-quality materials, which we fully support 100%! Most of our SUPs are inflatables (iSUPs), because this is naturally the most practical and safe on the canals of Leiden, but we also have a number of hard boards available in our range. You can, of course, also test and compare the different brands and types of SUPs and paddles with us. In addition, we always sell our second-hand SUPs at the end of the season to make room for new equipment, so keep a close eye on our Facebook page and the SUP Shop on this website for end-of-season offers! If you are looking for your own new SUP, you can also come to us, of course!
If you have your own SUP, you can of course just join us during the Friday or Wednesday Night SUPs! The more people paddling, the merrier! However, we do ask for a contribution of 10 Euros per person for your first time or if you absolutely want to follow the instruction. If you join more often with your own gear, then you SUP along for free! Please let us know in advance that you are coming via our special Facebook events or via email so that we always know approximately how many people we can count on! Keep in mind that beginners also participate in these organized SUP evenings and that the pace is relaxed for everyone! To keep it fun for everyone, these events are mainly about the sociability and exercising together... and not about speed!
We start our SUP tours from the outdoor area at our office at Amphoraweg 10 in Leiden. This location is ideal because we are right on the water here, there is plenty of space for the instruction, and we can use the toilet and other facilities in the building. You can also safely leave valuables here. Unfortunately, there is no warm shower, but there is a possibility to rinse off outside if necessary. Near the Amphoraweg is wide, calm water, where we can easily practice with the group before we SUP into the busy city! Parking is possible along the Amphoraweg or in the neighborhood behind it (Diamantplein) and is paid (first 2 hours 20 cents along the Amphoraweg).
Regarding safety on the water, we ask all our participants to bring their own water shoes and wear them at all times while SUPing through the canals due to invisible sharp objects underwater such as shopping carts, bicycles, etc. that cannot always be seen well from above. By water shoes, we mean surf shoes, water shoes with a thin sole, or thin sneakers like AllStars that are allowed to get wet. We naturally assume that no one will fall into the water, especially not after our SUP instruction beforehand, but accidents can always happen...
We also advise you to wear a wetsuit in most cases while SUPing on the canals. Even if the outside temperature is pleasant, the water can still feel cold if you fall off your SUP, and especially when you have climbed back onto your board, you will be very happy with your warm wetsuit! And if it's colder outside, you'll understand that due to cold shock and hypothermia danger, we will certainly not go on the water without wetsuits.
Furthermore, we assume that all participants have at least 1 or more swimming diplomas or a comparable swimming level. If we have doubts about your swimming capabilities, we will ask you to wear a life jacket. We provide life jackets free of charge to our participants if necessary or desired... so if you have doubts yourself or for any other reason do not feel entirely comfortable or safe on the water, please let us know before the tour. We use standard life jackets from the O’Neill brand and have plenty available in various sizes.
In case of thunderstorms or extreme weather conditions, we do NOT go on the water. The organization determines well in advance of the SUP event whether it can take place and keeps in touch with the participants if the weather forecasts are such that there could be thunderstorms or very bad weather. From our own experience, we know that, especially for beginners, it is no fun to SUP in strong winds or heavy rain, so under those circumstances, we will cancel the event or, in consultation, try to move it to another date or time.
A good liability insurance (WA) is an absolute requirement for participating in the Friday Night SUP Leiden and all our other SUP events! We ask all our participants to indicate prior to the tour whether they possess swimming diplomas, insurance, and to report any other important details regarding health, limitations, etc., that could influence the SUP adventure. We expect all our participants to be able to swim anyway. Without swimming diplomas (read: not being able to swim), participation is not possible, not even with a life jacket. This verbal liability declaration by the participants is important for both our safety and that of all participants and necessary in the event of damage to our equipment or accidents on the water. Participation in the events is always at your own risk, and misuse of our equipment resulting in breakage, loss, or damage is for the participant's own account. These conditions and liability statements can also be found on our website.
In connection with the tightened GDPR (AVG) rules, it is also important to indicate whether you want to be photographed or filmed during the events or not. We use the photos taken only for our Social Media channels for promotion and not in any other way. We also take into account the most recent hygiene and Corona restrictions and rules.
Especially for all beginners who would like to give it a try to learn how to SUP well or are looking for a new sporty challenge, we offer a basic SUP course. In a 1.5-hour first lesson, we teach you the absolute basics of SUPing. Ideal if you would like to join the Wednesday or Friday Night SUP tours sometime, but first want to practice quietly in a smaller group or alone, or want to see if SUPing is something for you as a new hobby or sport. In any follow-up lessons, we will then delve deeper into the techniques. We do not have fixed lesson times, so you can always decide for yourself when you want to schedule a lesson with us. Call or email us for more information or a reservation! More information can be found in the menu under SUP LESSONS.
During a Wednesday Night SUP, a Friday Night SUP, or a City SUP tour, you will be busy for about 2.5 hours in total, of which 1.5 hours are actually on the water; with the Nature SUP tours, you are definitely on the water for 2 - 2.5 hours after a short SUP instruction on land.
Reservations for a SUP event can be made with us via Email, WhatsApp, or by phone. We regularly publish the dates of the events on our Social Media, so check Facebook and Instagram for the latest schedule updates! The dates for the Wednesday and Friday Night SUP tours can be found here on the website under the heading 'reserveren' (reservations) in the main menu. The cost for participation is 25 Euros per person. Payments can be made in cash or via Tikkie before or after the event!