Paddleboard workshops on St Martin’s with world champion paddleboarder Marie Buchanan

We’re absolutely delighted to have world champion paddleboarder Marie Buchanan running paddleboard workshops on St Martin’s as part of the Ocean Scilly Festival.   We’ve admired Marie for a long time.

In this blog we catch up with Marie to find out what led her into paddleboarding, what the paddleboarding workshops will entail, and why she’s so excited to be running the workshops on St Martin’s.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and how you got into paddleboarding?

I was born and raised in South Devon, always close to the sea, which has provided amazing opportunities to enjoy the southwest's wonderful coastline in various sports. In my younger years, primarily windsurfing, then adding a little surfing and more recently a lot of stand-up paddleboarding and wingfoiling.

I was fortunate to be living close to a distributor of watersports equipment, Tushingham. They were quick to identify the potential of stand-up paddle boarding and brought some of the first SUPs into the UK in 2007.

The early paddle boards were all composite (not inflatable) and basically large surf shapes around 12ft long, which were incredibly versatile, allowing me to not only explore my local coastline and estuaries but also catch waves in our local surf spots.

Paddleboarding brought new ways of enjoying the ocean, an environment I already loved. SUP racing and surf competitions started being run, which I dived into headfirst, fuelling my natural competitive instincts. Racing became more technical and serious over the next few years. This took me all over the world, representing GB, where I secured multiple top 10 finishes at the ISA Worlds and three world titles in my age group category at the ICF World Championships in 2022 and ’23.

What do you love most about paddleboarding that you think most people don’t realise until they try it? 

The perception of the sport is often of it being an easy and gentle recreation. Of course, it can be, with big stable boards and calm conditions, but there's a far more exciting, physical and challenging side that has certainly kept me engaged for years. I love the versatility of the sport and how absorbing it is paddling on the ocean, feeling every ripple, harnessing the energy of the swell to glide faster than pure paddle power alone.

Before trying SUP, many won’t know how improving technique, fitness, and confidence on the board will unlock the more exciting areas of SUP, where it can be considered a sport rather than just a beach toy. With areas such as racing, surfing, downwind, whitewater and adventure paddling, there’s a different discipline of SUP for every day of the week!

You're running your paddleboard workshops on St Martin's, Isles of Scilly — do you have a personal connection to the island?

St Martin’s was a family favourite holiday destination! We visited on numerous occasions during my childhood, sailing across from Falmouth. We stayed on St Martin’s, which we used as a base from which to explore the islands’ many stunning beaches. Spending time fishing, shrimping, rock-pooling and countless other outdoor activities.

Who are the workshops aimed at, and what specific skills or areas will you focus on?

The main aim is improving paddling technique to bring greater efficiency, coping with chop, windier conditions and ocean paddling. Basic SUP skills, with the ability to stand up and recover onto the board, are prerequisites to join the workshops. We will focus on building confidence to move around on the board, which is the foundation of surfing, downwinding and turning, with step-back turns that are both fun to try and useful for anyone looking at getting around a race course more efficiently. 

I’ll offer a brief overview of the various disciplines of paddleboarding, and how skills learnt in the workshop are relevant to these different areas.

What is it about St Martin's specifically that makes it such a special place to be on the water?

In recent years I've returned with my paddleboard and camped on the island, bringing back fond childhood memories. The crystal-clear water and white sand give the feeling of a  tropical paradise which is just perfect to explore by paddleboard. Paddling amongst an abundance of marine-life provides a truly magical experience.

Where can people find out more and book a spot on one of your paddleboard workshops?

We will be running three workshops on 23^rd, 24^th and 25^th August. The workshops start on St Martin’s at 11.00 and will last for three hours. If you’re not staying on St Martin’s, you can easily come over on a tripper boat to take part. The cost of the workshop is £50 per person.

Paddleboards and safety equipment provided. Wetsuits are not included, please bring your own if you want to wear one. Expect to get wet!  You can book your place via the Visit Scilly website

Finally, what's your advice for someone who's been thinking about trying paddleboarding but keeps putting it off?

Until you’ve tried, you won’t know what a great feeling SUP can offer! Unlike other paddle sports, the energy from paddling is transferred through the feet into the board, so with good technique the whole body is being used.

While almost anyone can stand up and paddle relatively easily, spending some time focusing on technique enables SUP to be used for fitness and exercise, working many different muscles. It also helps with being able to paddle narrower and more exciting boards that are more efficient at covering distance and exploring, opening up a world of adventure.

There’s so much SUP offers that anyone who loves the water is missing out if they don’t own a paddleboard! It complements other water sports like surfing and wind sports and brings fun and excitement at many different levels. Offering mellow, gentle cruising that is very accessible, all the way through to extreme challenges like long-distance adventuring, racing and surfing large waves. That first lesson on a SUP could be the start of a truly life-changing experience, bringing you close to nature, boosting fitness and offering a vast array of challenges to suit even the most hardcore adrenaline junkie!

St Martin’s Watersports hire paddleboards from Par Beach on St Martin’s, Isles of Scilly. If Marie’s passion for paddleboarding has inspired you to have a go, then you too can have your own paddleboard experience.

If you can already paddleboard and you’re looking to expand your skills, then sign up for the paddleboard workshops. These unforgettable workshops are going to be fun, educational, and inspiring!