New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Are you a water sports type of person? Love the smell of the salty, ocean air? Prefer splashing about or swimming in fresh water? Like to be on a boat, canoe or kayak? Heck, are you someone that just likes to have plain, old-fashioned fun?
Summer means water based recreational activities. Americans will begin to flock to the waterways – beaches, ponds, lake and rivers – for fun, exercise and spending time with friends and family.
Two of the activities that are becoming increasingly more popular across the South Coast are kayaking and stand up paddleboarding or SUP. One of the only reasons kayaking in particular hasn’t grown faster is because of the expense of just starting out in an activity you aren’t 100% sure you’ll make into a habit or even enjoy. No one wants to spend hundreds of dollars on something they aren’t sure about!
With this in mind, rental businesses have popped up. These places allow those who are unsure about the activity itself to give it a whirl. Perhaps you are one of those who does like kayaking, but simply can’t afford it. I’ve done this very thing and absolutely loved it – it was a nice change to the trails I hike and I got to see a different set of flora and fauna.
Now, here’s the rub: you have to go to these rental places and either kayak or paddleboard right there on the spot, or bring a vehicle that you can strap the kayaks and boards onto. This comes with its own limitations and headaches. Are there enough boards and kayaks available? Are these tours led by experts and restricted to a schedule?
This is where Westport residents, Jenn and Bruce Mello got a light-bulb moment: “What if we bring the equipment to people? They won’t have to spend hundreds of dollars, strap everything to their car, or drive to one of only a few spots to rent the kayaks.” Jenn and Bruce are both outdoor folks who are always adventuring on land and sea – whether hiking trails or hitting the ocean or beach. They have a particular love for boating, kayaking, and paddleboarding.
Since both have extensive business and customer service backgrounds, they felt this was the perfect way to put that experience towards a passion while fulfilling a need of the community. They successfully turned that very love for kayaking, exercise and fun into a business called “ON BOARD Mobile Paddle Sports” in 2016 and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
Stand Up Paddleboarding is all the rage these days, in fact “According to the Outdoor Foundation’s 2013 Outdoor Participation Report, stand up paddleboarding was listed as the most popular outdoor activity among first-time participants.” 
How it works is simple: they deliver and pick up the equipment to the location of your choice. No need to go to one of a small handful of rental spots. No need to break out the ropes and bungees and muckle the kayaks or boards onto the roof of your car or truck bed. All that hassle disappears in a flash. You simply grab a few items and head to your favorite waterway and “ON BOARD Mobile Paddle Sports” will meet you at the chosen time – they bring the accessories and kayaks or paddleboards.
It gets even better: this is a FREE service within 20 miles of Westport. After that, it’s a low fee of $5 per 10 miles.
Now the thrill of exploration, the exercise, the fresh air, and the plain old fashioned fun have just been placed in your hands in a hassle-free way. You can call or even head to their website to set up the day and time. You can browse through the equipment make a reservation or see the rates. In addition, if you think you would like to try out kayaking or stand up paddleboarding but don’t know where the good spots to go are, “On Board Mobile Paddle Sports” has you covered: you can check out the page dedicated to recommended trips.
Whether you want to take up kayaking or stand up paddleboarding as a hobby, try it out to see if you’d like it, just want a form of exercise, be outdoors or want an excuse to get together to have fun with friends, family or even solo, you’ll find that Bruce and Jenn are more than happy to help make that happen for you.
Now there’s nothing stopping you, your friends, or family from reaping and enjoying all the benefits of kayaking and paddleboarding. Water under you, sun over you, good people around you.
418 Pine Hill Rd,
Westport, Massachusetts 02790
Phone: (508) 965-1527
EMail: onboardpaddlesports@gmail.com
Mon: 7:00 am-7:00 pm
Fri-Sun: 7:00 am-7:00 pm
1st delivery time 7:00am last pick up at 7:00pm
Facebook: facebook.com/onboardpaddlesports
Website: onboardmps.com/
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