Author Topic: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?  (Read 9654 times)

JeffG

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Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« on: May 26, 2016, 08:49:34 PM »
I would love to experience a downwinder like Maliko someday.  Problem is I only have local reservoirs and lakes to paddle in.  Would it be possible for someone like myself to go to Maui someday and do Maliko?  There are guides like Jeremy Riggs that take people out but I'm sure a lot of those people already have experience paddling in the ocean.  How can someone like myself prepare for Maliko?

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2016, 12:58:52 AM »
 One form of prep you can do is to watch the several excellent instructional videos on the topic produced by Rob Stehlik and located on the Blue Planet Surf YouTube channel.  That will give you familiarity. Then just go and do it (with a coach). There are better locales than Maliko for your first time.
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Area 10

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2016, 01:58:11 AM »
Start small. It takes a long time to get good - or even safe - in heavy seas. Find somewhere near you that is very windy, and go there. Learn to SUP surf. Build up the basic awareness and skills you need for downwinding in the sea before you launch yourself out there. You need to be comfortable in hell choppy conditions, in wind, and in surf. Then you can start building DW-specific skills on top of those. It's a lot harder than it looks.

Off-Shore

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2016, 02:33:53 AM »
YES YOU CAN

+1 on the Robert Stehlik videos. He has one specific for downwind drills and I can tell you I do something similar every time I go out when it is flat. As someone who went to Maui and paddled with Jeremy Riggs 3 + years ago when I had never been on a board longer than 14' and had never done a downwinder, I was given very similar exercises to do by JR and these were invaluable in ensuring I was in shape when I got there. As it turned out, there as no wind and so we took the ULs into the surf, instead.. sad but true..

So the exercises JR gave me were as follows:-

"For pre-arrival training I recommend short sprints and walking the board. Take 5 -10 strokes and after your last stroke as you are lifting your blade out of the water, shuffle back to the tail so you are standing over the fin. As soon as the board stalls then move back to center. It helps if you plant your blade and take a stroke as you are moving back to center. If the water is warm enough, I recommend jumping off the board and remounting it 10 - 20 times per session. You can also practice paddling your board in a surf stance."

I did this for 2 weeks before arriving + a 5km run and 2 sets of burpees (one before the run and one after) and was in awesome shape when I arrived.

To keep in shape now for downwinding when it is flat I also like to mix it up and do the following drill

Legs in parallel stance, paddle 10 short hard strokes on RIGHT (as hard as you can), then get into surf stance (right leg back), and then cross step (left leg behind right, and then right leg behind left so you have done 3 steps in total to the tail and your right foot is on the tail), then before it stalls, get back up to surf stance (2 steps forwards), paddle 3 strokes, then back to parallel stance. Then repeat on the OPPOSITE side. ie Paddle 10 hard short strokes on LEFT, then get into surf stance (LEFT leg back - Goofy), and then cross step to the tail and back to surf stance etc. If you can't switch sides (regular to goofy), just concentrate on your stronger side. You can also do the same drill by starting to paddle on LEFT and then step back on right.

Do this 5 times and you will get an idea of how intensive downwinding can be. Paddling at a constant rate on flat water is not good training for downwinding..

If you are on a lake that has speedboats or boat wakes, then spend as much time as you can trying to catch the wakes.

I also like paddling really close to the shore with lots of obstacles. I've been paddling one piece of coast for 4 years now so I know where it gets too shallow, but the concentration required to keep a good speed and not get tipped off because of grounding the fin is a similar level to downwinding..

As one of my experienced Kauai downwind buddies says about downwinding.. "it's all downhill"... much easier (although way more intensive) than paddling the flat... so go for it
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Off-Shore

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2016, 04:13:35 AM »
Here is the vid from Robert

https://youtu.be/WRFEBmoVI2A
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Glowmaster

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #5 on: May 27, 2016, 04:34:21 AM »
I did part of the Maliko from Paia (Baldwin Park) to Kanaha with a great guide, Bart deZwart.

I did not have the required skills but made it even though my knees shook the whole time.

Speaking of knees, when it gets overwhelming, go to your knees!
 
I finally felt a glide near the end into Kanaha

Scariest thing I have done but when I finished it felt awesome!

I fell twice.


PonoBill

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #6 on: May 27, 2016, 06:16:37 AM »
Of course you can, everyone started from the same place--having never done one. Headmount on this forum (Bill Boyum), Jeremy Riggs, and apparently Bart deZwart all do guided trips. Cheap insurance and three guys with ridiculous levels of expertise. Like having Tiger Woods give you your first golf lesson.

If you're somewhere on the west coast you might start with a few Viento runs in Hood River. Big Winds gives guided tours and runs a shuttle. The conditions are different, but the basics are the same.

If you have a choice on timing, do Maliko in the summer. It's just as fantastic, but it's a lot less crossed up and you don't have the added adrenaline issue of big groundswells out of the north and big waves breaking on reefs that mean you can only safely go in a few places.

Other than that, go for it. Understand that for perhaps 60-70 percent of the people who try it, it's a lifetime addiction.
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JeffG

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #7 on: May 27, 2016, 09:02:38 AM »
Thanks so much everyone, great info!  I have a pretty good fitness level, do lots of trail running and pilates besides flat water paddling.  Just lacking the downwind/ocean skills.  I will definitely start doing some of the drills mentioned.   I'm going to try to take a downwind clinic this summer from Big Winds in the Gorge.  It's an 11 hour drive to get there but that is the closes downwinding spot to where I live (Utah).  Doing Maliko is a year or two out so I have some time to prepare.  I'm hoping we will be in Maui again next summer. Thanks again, glad I asked this question!   

Bulky

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #8 on: May 27, 2016, 10:18:00 AM »
Don't really have much to add other than to agree that DW is a very unique experience.  Best thing you can do in your locale is to find the crappiest conditions you can and go on out and paddle in them.  I paddle in a relatively tame part of the ocean almost daily and only rarely do conditions stop me--if it's churned up, I see navigating that and staying upright as that day's workout instead of trying to crank out distance.

That said, I've gotten to the point where I rarely fall into the ocean here in SB--no matter how choppy, windy or rainy it is.  Last summer I had the chance to go to Maui and hooked up with Headmount for a run.  Had to cancel Maliko at the last minute as the winds died but ended up doing a relatively tame south-sider into Kihei.  Even what I felt in moderate conditions confirmed my notion that I didn't want my first run to be anywhere near epic conditions.  As it was, plenty of energy and so much to get used to.  Fell multiple times (but hey, Bill took a few spills himself).  Being accustomed to turbulent waters certainly helped but it also required a very different set of skills (and getting used to a different board).  Thought with that much wind at my back that I'd set a new speed record, but I didn't.  Even though it was nowhere near the longest of paddles I've done, I was really gassed at the end of it.  That had less to do with physical conditioning that acquiring the unique set of skills for the activity.  Made me wish I could have stayed longer and done a few more runs to develop more.
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Southbay

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #9 on: May 27, 2016, 06:44:15 PM »
If you're on Maui next summer, and you don't think you are ready, you should have someone take you on a 2man canoe. Easier balancing, no need to steer, and all the fun. Bill should be an expert by then, or you can even have multiple time OC-1 World Champion Kai Bartlett take you for a couple hundred bucks. Definitely worthy the money. 

As far as your question, yes, but surfing experience (sup surfing) is even more important than rough water. Definitely head to the gorge. I surfed my entire life, and SUP surfed for 4 years before I did my first downwind run in 2012, which was a Maliko run. BTW, I did 2 Maliko runs, then I did Maui to Molokai 3 days later on a 14' Starboard. Not smart, insane actually looking back on it, but I was in my 20's and I actually did ok. I  DO NOT recommend anyone being that inexperienced, but I have a ton of time on the water in other ocean sports. Go for the 2-man can't go wrong.

surfcowboy

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #10 on: May 27, 2016, 06:56:06 PM »
This is all good advice.

It was mentioned a bit but it's good to note, the mental game is a big part of this. Even a heavy wind is intimidating on a board, consider that, the swell and then the element of big, wild, deep water and the critters that live there and you can imagine why the knees knock.

A great guide is the way and as was said, if you question it an OC-2 will blow your mind too. Good luck and know that it will be the experience of a lifetime.

PonoBill

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #11 on: May 27, 2016, 08:28:14 PM »
Yeah, it's always that. Every time. Worse than crack. Or perhaps I should say worse than cocaine since i have ample experience with that. Still hooked on DW, gave up the stimulants.
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headmount

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #12 on: May 28, 2016, 01:25:02 AM »
I think if you can realize that moment when your board releases and have SUS experience where you know how to step back, then you're probably almost ready.  Almost because none of us were ready our first time.  I had done years of downwinding on prone paddleboards so the run was familiar yet I still fell a bunch.  You just have to wrap your head around falling and not getting flustered. 

One particularly wild day I was bent down low and caught a glimpse of my legs just above my ankle bone to the calf and realized how much this area has developed over 12 years of doing this.  This is where the balance is, right above the ankles. 

The OC-2 is something Covesurfer and I have been doing recently.  It's fun and the gliding is spectacular.  It could be a great learning tool for eyeballing glides but the canoe releases different than a planning hull.  And the stability isn't a given.  Falls in the canoe are more traumatic.  And crawling up onto a higher volume OC-2 makes me breathe whereas my stand up board is quick and easy after a fall.

Finally...  going up to Hood River Oregon might be a great start.  It's on the mainland and there are a bunch of guys there that are DW addicts.  Rivers are in some ways are trickier than the ocean but the glides are usually going all in the same direction.  PM when you come


Southbay

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #13 on: May 28, 2016, 04:00:20 AM »
Climbing into the OC2 can be challenging...good point Bill. It's definitely way different, especially when you're more advanced, but I think to a newbie it may help understand when to paddle, etc.


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juandoe

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Re: Can a land locked flat water paddler do Maliko?
« Reply #14 on: May 28, 2016, 06:18:16 AM »
I posed nearly the same question last summer re Maui to Molokai.  Ended up not doing it but did get to do the Maliko run with Jeremy Riggs.  Immense help in getting over the learning curve.  The timing is not obvious (at least to me) and comes much easier with him yelling at you when to dig in.  I asked him if I could've made it and he said I would have.  Ironically, that  was the no wind flat Molokai to Oahu and I am pretty sure I would've finished that one as it was like a lake out there. 

I would plan on getting some instruction with one of the guys out there and it will pay huge dividends. 

Here was the response when I posed it:
http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,27281.msg283976.html#msg283976

 


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