Watersport ambition to boost Torbay's prosperity

The SUPHub community is making strides in transforming Torbay into the UK's finest stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) destination.

We spoke with Lyn Spindley, the Director of Torbay Hospitality CIC, to learn the details of this ambitious vision and its potential impact on the Bay's economy and tourism.

Lyn explained that Torbay is already home to two cultural paddleboarding icons: leisure paddleboarder Sean White and competitive world record breaker Brendon Prince.

“We have two sides of the same coin with these thought leaders,” says Lyn.

“We have the right people at the top, and we also have the English Riviera global geopark. The beaches, coves, sea grass, seals, and dolphins make Torbay an incredible space and a real playground for paddleboarding.”

She added: "We looked out over Beacon Quay and thought, 'How can we pull all of these opportunities and assets together?'”

Lyn has already spearheaded a community hackathon at the Hampton by Hilton Hotel in Torquay, drawing in hospitality businesses from across the region to tackle this question collaboratively.

She said: “The subject line was, ‘How can we make Torbay the paddleboarding capital of the United Kingdom?’ Everybody came up with the same types of solutions—we need to have maps, digital tool kits, and bring together certain sectors of Torbay businesses. Everyone had a vision for what it could be, and everyone believed in it.”

Since then, the SUPHub community has met every three weeks and established five key pillars needed to build Torbay's SUP culture: accommodation; food and drink; accessibility; sustainability; and safety and governance.

“Each area is equally essential,” Lyn explained, “and no one group holds more power than another.”

Lyn highlighted the economic benefits this SUP culture could bring to Torbay’s hospitality industry.

“It will help all of us. That second round of oysters, that extra meal out, that room upgrade, will just help everyone take one giant step up. These changes could raise prices and margins across the board. If you run a little BnB and want to make it SUP friendly, all you might need to do is renovate your little shed out the back to store paddle boards, and there you are.”

Torbay’s tourism economy has apparently struggled against last-minute booking cancellations due to adverse weather.

Lyn reckons the influx of SUP-focused visitors could bring more stability and predictability for local businesses has already identified 27 accommodations as SUP-friendly and has a beach cafe at Anstey’s Cove equipped with an inflation station.

It hopes to bring its vision into sharper focus over the next year.

“We want to have a whole network of inflation stations and transport links across the bay. Imagine hopping on a bus with your board at Maidencombe to join a paddleboarding party at Fishcombe," says Lyn.