Need advice on coming out of a wave

[adidasonmyfeat]

so.....I am finally catching waves and riding them and havin alot of fun but when I get to the end of the ride or the wave begins to break I want to do that thing where you turn the board up and over and head away from the beach.  Cant seem to make the board turn without falling off or I just bail.

[AJR]

First off I am not an expert by any means on this; I still struggle with this myself.  What I'm seeing (when I pull it off) is that when I step back on the tail as far as I can to engage the fins and look where I want to go it seems to work pretty well...  It's also much easier when I'm surfing front side (to the right since I'm regular foot) but the same concept applies when I surf backside...

[Kendog]

This move is called a "kick-out" or "kicking out". AJR is correct about being back on the tail, it really helps. You will want to be using you paddle not only to pivot the board but stay balanced after the momentum change on this one. Once you slow down the board becomes less stable so you will want to bend your knees to lower your center of gravity. Also dip the blade of the paddle in to the water, the resistance will often times allow you to recover as you glide out the back of the wave.    

[adidasonmyfeat]

Thanks, I'm going to start practicing.

[PonoBill]

Lots of ways to bail out of  wave. If its small and mushy then kicking out works fine. Step back a little further with your back leg (making sure to keep it on the opposite side of the board from your front leg--sometimes there's a tendency to shift it to the same side as you stretch back). Then bend both knees and shift your weight to the back foot. The board should stall and the wave will pass under you. It will be a bit turbulent on the other side, so shift your weight back to centered and brace with the paddle.

You can also turn out. Usually this works best when you have good speed. Do a top turn, drop the nose down, gain speed and carve a hard bottom turn and just stay in it as the board comes around. You pop right over the back.

If the wave closes out and the foam catches you, you can do a kind of wimpy kick out by putting your paddle back in the foam for stability, then put your weight on your back foot. The combination of paddle drag and nose lift will drop you out of the wave.

And then there's the old standby of longboarders--kick turn and drop. Step back hard to the back and spin the board as it pops out of the wave, grab the nose with your hands as it pops up and drop down onto the board. You don't finish standing, but at least you're pointed the right way and you don't fall into the water. If you're kind of stuck in the foam ball this is a pretty good exit.

[XLR8]

Good advice so far and accurate in my experience too.  I would add - maybe obviously - to be sure to keep your paddle working in the water.  I paddle hard on the outside of my turn, initially, then switch to straighten the board out and maintain my straight line power.  I'm a great lakes surfer so I usually have another wave or five breaking over me by now.  Continuing to paddle is critical.

[Kendog]

Ponobill wrote all of the stuff I didn't have the patience to type out. All of the information is helpful and correct by my knowledge. I just wanted to add if your attempting the latter suggestion of "kick turn and drop" watch out for the board. It can get caught in the wind and hit you in the face. Also be careful not to hit the board with the paddle, dings happen and end sessions.

After writing this I'm thinking... the "kick turn and drop" works great for the traditional surfers who need to paddle back out laying down. There is nothing wrong with Pono's suggestion, but you are stand up paddle surfing so try and stay standing after your wave, and paddle all of the way back out to the line-up. This will show other wave riders that you are in control of your craft and they wont be so quick to give you the treatment. Plus gliding over the rollers is so much fun!~Stay Stoked!

[beaglebuddy]

In simple terms, you need to have some speed going and simply do a hard turn.
If you wait until the board comes to a near dead stop it's much harder to turn it around. It's something I figured out as well.