This paddleboarding family will inspire you to explore Chatham County’s lakes and rivers by boat, board and kayak
By Anna-Rhesa Versola | Photography by John Michael Simpson
Heather Cassese, a Pittsboro chiropractor and yoga instructor, is an avid paddleboarder and enjoys being on the water with her two kids, Elizabella Cassese, 10, and Joden Cassese, 8.
Heather explores the Jordan Lake reservoir and its 180 miles of shoreline every Monday on her day off. “I make some time to go out to the lake by myself for a couple [of] hours and do some yoga on my boards and stuff,” she says. “Then on the weekends, I’ll take the kids out just for something fun to do and get on the water.”
Heather and her kids bring their own boards, but here are three places that rent paddleboards near the lake:
- Crosswinds Boating Center at 565 Farrington Rd. in Apex has boards and life jackets for rent and accepts prepayment with reservations only. The rates are $20 for 1 hour, $40 for 2 hours and $50 for 3 hours.
- Lett’s Go Watersports offers inflatable stand-up paddleboards plus “supyaks,” which are paddleboard/ kayak hybrids. Rental time is 90 minutes. Renters must be 18 years or older, and kids must be at least 5 years old to ride along. Cost of renting a paddleboard Monday to Thursday is $40 and Friday to Sunday is $50. There is an additional fee of $15 per kid, ages 5 to 10. Smaller paddleboards are available for kids who weigh less than 100 pounds and want their own board. Equipment will be brought to 605 Farrington Point Rd.
- Wakerack has an online reservation system that makes renting equipment easy and contactless. The minimum rental time is three hours. An hour before your reserved time, an access code will be emailed so you can retrieve what you need from an assigned locker located outside the Valero gas station at 5871 Highway 64.
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