Dave Cornthwaite

The Lakeshore River Rover. A world record-breaking touring Stand Up Paddleboard. My home for 82 days on the Mississippi River last year, a 2404 mile journey that found its way into that lovely book made by Mr Guinness. The River Rover is the most stable, gear-carryingly brilliant paddleboard ever designed (in my opinion) and frankly, it was the only choice once I decided a team would be paddling alongside my wet little self this Summer.

Four River Rovers, side by side for 1000 miles, now that was a vision that came true. My team had paddleboarded only twice before we embarked on this journey and they made it all the way down in style. The River Rover is more than just a SUP board, it’s a palace with a paddle.

Although we had a 16” Mad River canoe to carry the bulk of our gear the front and back of each River Rover was loaded, either with Palm or Aquapac drybags. Here’s our Annie strapping up the rear. In many ways, a loaded paddleboard actually makes the board more stable, and just one board is easily capable of holding enough gear for one person’s multi-month trip. Capacity 275lbs including paddler.

While I wouldn’t say there was yoga going on during the expedition, the River Rovers certainly provided a stable platform for the team to display some circus antics.

A paddleboard is the perfect support vessel for a swimmer. The paddler isn’t limited to standing and can sit, kneel or even lie down. It’s becoming common recreational knowledge that SUP is one of the best forms of exercise we can get and as an all-round versatile option for a weekend paddle or a long-distance journey I’m yet to find a better option.

Towards the end of the journey certain members of the team had to leave the expedition so we tied two of the River Rovers together and pulled them behind the canoe. They remained essential for gear carrying, and we also had the majority of the expedition water supply on board, too.

At one point, when Em was feeling mighty sleepy and Ness was under the weather with food poisoning, the only fully functioning member of the team was Stiffy, who took matters into his own hands and fashioned the most wonderful aquatic train you’ve ever seen.

So there we have it. In 1001 miles not one of our Lakeshore paddleboards tipped over. all in all these River Rover boards have travelled over 8000 miles on my expeditions and I still can’t think of anything I’d change about them. If you’re thinking about getting a Stand Up Paddleboard then look no further. We’re even selling ours now the journey is over!

Links
> Visit the Lakeshore website
> Find out more about the River Rover
> See the highlights video from SUP Mississippi Expedition2011
> Send us a message if you’re interested in buying one of our boards

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