Different strokes for different folks
By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY SEBRING -- The day dawns with a crisp blue sky and gentle breeze.It's the perfect kind of day to be outdoors and doing something.
The question is -- doing what?
Ever heard of paddleboards?
They are the newest evolution of surfboards -- only they are designed to be propelled by paddles, not waves. One stands on the board and uses a long-handled paddle.
With only short fins and no keel, paddleboards can maneuver in very shallow water, allowing an individual to explore shorelines or reach areas a boat simply can't.
Being quiet, the paddleboard is ideal for exploring. A person can float up to easily spooked birds or fish on a paddle board and get close enough to see a heron's feather patterns or the elongated snout of a gar fish without scaring either off.
Coming in a range of sizes, one can even fish on the larger ones.
Joshua and Sandy Sizemore were taking time off in Sarasota when they saw paddleboards for the first time. Being for rent, the Sizemores experimented and were hooked from the beginning -- an hour stretching into an afternoon.
Watching the boards being used in the Gulf of Mexico, Joshua Sizemore immediately thought of the lakes in Highlands County. He went to the Sebring City Council and negotiated an agreement to rent paddleboards on Lake Jackson.
"We have the weather and the water," he said, standing ankle deep at Veterans Beach, right where he will be set up for business on the shoreline to the right of the boat ramp.
Memorial Day marks the opening of Big Board, Sizemore's paddle board rental company... Read the full story @newssun.com
