Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Downwind and Racing => Topic started by: Off-Shore on January 08, 2017, 03:18:20 PM
-
One of the great joys of the Zone is meeting other Zoners or friends of Zoners and paddling with them on my overseas trips. In 2016 I managed to downwind or downbreeze in New York, Sydney and here on Loch Lomond, Scotland. I have friends who head to golf clubs around the world when they travel to pick up a game, but for me there is nothing better than heading to a lake, river or ocean with some like-minded and friendly locals who know the water and conditions.
It was a shame that wind did not kick in as we expected, but it was a great wee downbreeze journey all the same and I even got to paddle the Naish Glide GTW 14 x 30" midway
https://youtu.be/Nx2P2_7xFyU
GoPro Hero 5 Black - headmounted
-
Very nice view into another part of the world. Thanks!
-
We are waiting for Peter to give us the call for Loch Lomond on a really windy day.....but he has spent a lot of his time over with us guys in the east surfing :D
-
Nice video and map!
It looked like fun.
Always great to see a beautiful location like that!
-
I enjoyed that video, and especially the soundtrack. thanks.
ed
-
Very nice video. It was good to see all the other paddlers with their makes and models of sups. Nice of one gentleman to let you paddle his sup for awhile too.
Thanks for sharing the video.
-
The Naish seemed to go well. It looked very stable and showed the advantage of a stable board in downbreezing conditions - it's easy to keep the board on an even keel so as to make the most of any available glide. This can compensate sometimes for the increased difficulty in getting the wider board onto the bump in the first place, so average speeds aren't that different. But it is difficult to tell from a short video clip: what was your impression of it?
-
The chap who has the Glide finds it hard to get on bumps in those conditions....he says it needs more wind. Might be that Offshore has better technique to get it going and is lighter. Ironically this board wasn't his first choice...he was after the 29 wide Glide but ended up with this one.....he is not sure if he wants to keep it last we spoke.
-
^ Did he prefer the Allstar?
Conditions like that are actually very good practice. Timing, paddling, even stepping back. Get it right and you can scoot on every little bump. Yes, moving on your board makes a huge difference in tiny conditions like that. Did you notice offshores “whoop” when he did and how he accelerated?
1. First thing your friend needs to do is completely change his stroke. Completely. Get some good instruction who can work regularly with him and start all over.
2. Then practice those light downbreezers and learn to be mobile on the board. Move his feet on every bump. Yes, all the time. One can practice it on ripples or even flat. Drills. Get comfortable, instinctive.
3. Whenever possible, of course, get out in big downwinds that’d really rock his boat.
For pt’s 2 & 3 he’ll do well to keep his 30” glide until he's got it down, especially the light mobile feet. Much more pleasurable to learn on an stable platform. Once he’s kicking ass on his Glide he can buy your M14 when you get your Rail.
-
^ Re: my “get good instruction” advice:
I am just stunned by the number of self proclaimed experts, and certified instructors, who haven’t the foggiest idea of how to paddle efficiently. Yeah, OK, it’s all good but find out how to really paddle better and you’ll take a quantum leap is both speed and grin factor. Probably less chance of injury too.
If there aren’t any locally I think Larry Cain has started an online coaching service where he even does video feedback. I think it’s a great idea.
Offshore, you’ve met Tuan, haven’t you? The year before he moved to Hong Kong he got some coaching from a good racer. Tuan’s a smart guy and applied himself so he picked it up quick. It’s really amazing how some good instruction can change a paddler.
The earlier the better.
-
Yep the guy on the Naish is throwing up buckets of water behind him which means that he needs to sink his blade properly at the catch, and get his blade out earlier. Getting onto bumps when downwinding in particular benefits from using a mostly a shorter, higher cadence, more forward stroke than you'd use in pure flat water. The guy is digging his board into the water and making life very hard for himself and wasting a lot of energy. A friend of mine does this sometimes and ends up completely knackered after an hour or so of DWing. It's very tough on your back in particular.
However, few of us are perfect - and I'm always horrified when I see video of myself paddling... so "let he who is without (paddling) sin cast the first stone".
That 14x30 Glide is an enormous board. It looks smaller in the video than it actually is. I'm sure the 14x29 would have been better for downbreezing for most people. But for some reason it seems to have been almost impossible to buy one of the lighter construction 14x29 Glides in Europe pretty much ever since it came out. The GS construction ones were crazy heavy. It's such a shame - in the GX 14x29 I think Naish had a winner of broad appeal and that would have brought a lot of people into the Naish fold. But instead Naish decided to concentrate on more specialised, fragile and expensive experimental designs. I think that was a mistake, and would have loved to have bought a 14x26 or 27" wide GX version of the 14x29 design (and tried and failed for 2 years to buy a 14x29) whereas I was not impressed at all by the 14x28 Javelin that Naish wanted people like me to buy instead.
It is one of the examples of brands going backwards with their designs IMO. I would also point to Fanatic in this regard.
-
Thanks for all the comments. I am a little wary of giving paddling instruction when a guest, and like Area, I am also a little perturbed when I see videos of myself at how bad my technique is.. so.. unless they are a complete beginner, I tend to wait for the right moment before giving advice..
The 14 x 30 GTW actually felt a lot more responsive and narrower than I expected, and it has this wonderful "GGGGGLIDE" feel when it gets on a runner that almost takes you by surprise and puts you on your heels... but heavier and less responsive than the SB 14 x 27 All Star which is really a lovely responsive board that you feel you could almost tap dance on, it's so stable
I'm with you Yugi about these being perfect conditions for practice and moving around the board. In these conditions I force myself to swap the front and back feet positions when paddling on left and right (so paddle on right when regular footed and left when goofy footed, and then switch to the opposite to this). This type of drill really helps when conditions get bigger and gets you accustomed to the feel of the board and being in the wrong stance at the wrong time (which happens when in cross chop / back wash etc type conditions).
But more than anything else, it's the journey with good people from point A to B by board and B to A by car that is the fun part.
And Coldsup, you are more than welcome to borrow the SB 14 x 27 All Star if you are ever over Loch Lomond way and the wind is blowing...
-
The Allstar would be a fab board for Loch Lomond on a medium day.....it catches glides nicely. But I want to get my M14 on it next time the wind is really blowing.
I passed on the comments to the paddler on email...knowing him he will be glad of the feedback. Seeing yourself on vid is really useful ....just seen myself surfing. I thought I was doing okay but hell.....more watertime needed!
-
Sure, the wish to learn has to come from the rider. My comment was more about spending money on learning before switching boards, because he’d actually benefit from that board to progress on.
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ― Mahatma Gandhi . Is how I roll.
Hey, Offshore, interesting mitts. Are they open inside like windsurfing mitts? What are they? Do they work well?
-
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ― Mahatma Gandhi . Is how I roll.
Hey, Offshore, interesting mitts. Are they open inside like windsurfing mitts? What are they? Do they work well?
Love that quote Yugi. Very very good!
These are actually paddling mitts that I got in a kayaking shop in Scotland and I really like them. What is good is you can feel the paddle properly, and if you get hot you can stick your hands through the palm holes and effectively not wear the mitts and they stay on your wrists. They are from CSR. www.csr-sport.co.uk and are open at the palm. Good for me down to 2-3 deg C (35-38 deg F)
-
Hi, thanks for all the comments, happy to take constructive points on my paddling or lack of technique, or if your a close pal just say it as it is ;D Its not fun seeing myself on video so there is my motivation for this year, along with loosing a few stone and hopefully I will post a better video later , Technique wise, in the year or Off-Shore will ;). Flat water or light breeze paddling is my weakness, I enjoy a good 40-50mph downwind but primarily stick to sup surfing. Loch Lomond produces two foot waves and glides in excess of 25m on a good day, I have a five mile route which picks up the most swell and is safe too. I am lucky enough to have friends with a wake board boat and we have been having fun days on the sups behind that on flat days on the Loch . Well this is my first post on this forum and I am sure it wont be the last.
-
Cockle Let Rip (CLR) - Welcome to the Zone! There is plenty of information here and those willing to assist in probably every endeavor you may possibly encounter in life as I have found out. From improving paddle technique to what type of computer to upgrade to, from who does the best cover songs to how to deal with difficult people (in the line up or otherwise). Really you can change your homepage from Google to the Zone and you will be better served and more knowledgeable ;).
Seriously though, I'm looking forward to my next visit to Loch Lomond, or the Forth, or it seems now, the Sound of Iona not once, but several times in 2017, and since we have the great Robert Stehlik coming to Hong Kong for a short while next weekend, I'm going to brush up on my paddle and downwind technique with him so I can pass his Yoda-like wisdom onto you when we next paddle together. ;D
-
welcome to the zone, ripper