Chris Dowling of One Love Beach at one of the shop’s paddle board meet-ups. (Credit: Krysten Massa)
A popular Greenport surf shop is opening a second location right on the water.
A haven for outdoor enthusiasts, One Love Beach is eyeing a Memorial Day weekend launch at Port of Egypt Marine in Southold. (more…)
Paddle boarding instructor Evelyn O’Doherty gives the group some pointers during the Tuesday night community meet-up. (Credit: Krysten Massa)
If the North Fork stand-up paddle boarding community could be considered a tribe, then Chris Dowling is its chief.
Dowling, who along with his wife, Blake, owns One Love Beach surf shop on Main Street in Greenport, started a weekly community meet-up in 2013 for enthusiasts and as a way to introduce beginners to the sport.
If you’re not familiar with this water sport, stand-up paddle boarding, or SUP, is a sort cross between surfing and kayaking. Participants stand on a sturdy board and use a long oar to steer through the water.
So while the waves off the South Shore might beckon surfers to the beaches of Montauk, the mirror-like flat water of Peconic Bay on a calm day is better suited for paddlers (the same can be said for Long Island Sound in favorable conditions.) (more…)