Nicole Sanchez, Maui photographer extraordinaire, e-mailed me some shots from my day of stand-up paddling with the Fabulous Maui Surfer Girls. She’s clearly a fantastic lenswoman, because she made me look like a pro …

First, I had the honor of taking a lesson from Maria Souza, who runs her own paddle surfing school in Maui and is one of the badass chicks surfing Jaws I mentioned in my last post. (And who considers a 40-mile paddle “fun.”) We start by warming up our shoulders (and our balance!) on the beach …

Then she talks me through the correct paddling motion and body position …

After about 15 minutes of instruction, we head to the water, to practice our (well, my) paddling skills …

And then, we grab our boards and away we go. I can’t think of a more perfect way to spend an afternoon. Thanks, girls!