A SEA of Santas took to stand paddle boards on Saturday, December 3, for a festive event along the river. 

The Real Dorset SUP Community took to the water for their third annual Dorset SUP Christmas Santa Charity Paddle. 

Paddlers were invited to join in Christmas fancy dress on their SUP, kayak or canoe.

The group met at Tuckton Tea Rooms for breakfast at 10am and launched at 11am for a one hour social paddle on the River Stour.

Afterwards they went for ‘Apres SUP Christmas Drinks’ at The Riverside Inn in Tuckton.

The group invited people to donate a few pounds to their chosen charity RNLI Mudeford. 

Organiser Matthew Sephton said: “It went really well. When I set up the community group the Real Dorset SUP Community, in the first year we had maybe 15 people paddling and last year it was 30 and this year it had doubled, we had 60 or 70 people I think.

“We paddle every Sunday morning as a community group and then Friday evenings in the summer.

“Last night we had our Christmas party and that was the same, we had about 70 people come to the Brewhouse and Kitchen, last year we had about 35, so the paddling group is growing every year.

Bournemouth Echo:

“If you join the the Real Dorset SUP Community on Facebook, every Sunday morning at 8.45am we meet at Tuckton Tea Rooms.

“My main job is in the London Fire Brigade but I set up a small company called Dorset SUP, which is where I do my paddle board lessons from.

“Once I taught people to paddle we set up the Sunday paddle for people to come and practice so it's an all ability group, mainly novices but now we've been doing it for two years there's experienced paddlers there and that's why over two years it's grown.

“On a Sunday morning you get about 20 or 30 in the summer up to 60 people and we always go from the same place so if people would like to come and practice, they can come along to Tuckton Tea rooms on Sunday morning at 8.45am.

“If you look at the events in our Facebook group, Christmas Day is Sunday this year, so we’re probably going to do a paddle on Sunday for the people who are at a bit of a loose end and then we’ll go for a Christmas drink in the pub next door.

“Somebody will do that on New Year's Day as well, I think there's a New Year's Day paddle, it's a community thing we do for free and people just turn up if they've got a paddle board.”