SUPBuddies — Find your paddle crew

Why SUPBuddies exists

Paddling is better shared. It's also safer — if it's planned properly.

Meet paddlers like you

Find people nearby who paddle at a similar level to you — whether you're just getting steady on the board or comfortable in wind and swell.

Company makes it better

Paddling with others isn't just more fun — it's safer. More eyes on the water, more hands if something goes wrong, more reasons to actually get out there.

Duty of care is real — and manageable

If you invite people onto the water, you carry a responsibility for that. You can't remove that risk, but a systematic, recorded approach to planning goes a long way toward managing it properly.

What you get

Everything a paddling trip needs, in one place.

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All your paddle contacts, one place

No more scattered group chats and half-remembered numbers. Your whole paddling circle, organised and easy to reach.

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Invite favourites, manage changes

Pull together a trip with your regular crew in a couple of taps. Weather turns? Postpone with one action and everyone's notified.

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Simple safety checklists

Quick prompts for the things worth checking before you launch — wind, current, hazards, exit points — so nothing gets missed in the rush to get on the water.

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A record, not just a memory

Every trip's plan is saved — what was checked, who was going, what the conditions were expected to be. Good practice, documented automatically.

Why this matters

Two tragedies. Two clear lessons.

In recent years, UK and European courts have examined paddleboarding and mountaineering fatalities where planning fell short — where a group set out without a proper assessment of conditions against the ability of those taking part, and without anyone stopping to ask whether the plan still matched what the day actually looked like. In both cases, the outcome was loss of life, and criminal conviction for those leading the trip.

None of this is about frightening people off the water. It's the opposite: the lesson from both cases is the same — a clear, honest, recorded assessment of who's going, what conditions are forecast, and a 'thought through' look at the risks, is what turns "we'll probably be fine" into an activity you can stand behind afterwards.

SUPBuddies builds that assessment into how a trip gets planned — not as paperwork, but as a few honest questions, answered before anyone gets on the water.

How it works

Four steps. No jargon, no lectures.

Set up your profile

Confirm the safety basics (you're 18+, can self-rescue, can swim 50m), then tell us your rough experience level and where you like to paddle.

Find your people

Browse paddlers nearby, filtered by ability and preferred water — sea, lake, river, canal, estuary. Connect, and build your circle.

Plan a paddle

Pick a spot, set a date, invite your circle. A short, honest checklist walks you through conditions and hazards before you publish.

Paddle, then reflect

After the trip, a quick thumbs up for good buddies, and a chance to update the venue notes to keep them current.

What SUPBuddies asks of you — and what you get back

✓ A few honest answers about your ability and the day's conditions

✓ In return: buddies who actually match how you paddle

✓ A few minutes checking hazards before you launch

✓ In return: a safer paddle, backed up by a record of proper planning, every time

Paddle Participation & Mutual Responsibility AgreementRead the agreement that applies when you accept a place on a Trip.

Read the agreement ↗

Paddle with people who get it — and get you home safe.