Author Topic: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing  (Read 4988 times)

supnorte

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Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« on: November 27, 2014, 08:00:20 AM »
Aloha!

I've written this article for Total SUP with some tips for SUP surfing: http://www.totalsup.com/en/articles/item/515

Are this tips helpful for you? Anyone want to add some?

PonoBill

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2014, 11:39:40 AM »
Nice article Nuno. I notice that the WindGuru chart is for Maui, which is probably the ultimate tip for winter surfing.
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coldsup

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #2 on: November 27, 2014, 11:51:27 AM »
Think I have been ignoring point 7 for a good few years..... :)

Also, take advantage of the days when it is snowing and the water temp is a good few degrees higher than air temp.....fewer people are out. Love winter surfing....

Zooport

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #3 on: November 27, 2014, 12:13:57 PM »
Like coldsup, I disregard point 7 almost every day. 

Does anyone pour warm water in their wetsuit just before a paddleout?  Makes braving low 50 degree water and cold offshore winds in January much more tolerable. 
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PonoBill

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #4 on: November 27, 2014, 02:05:08 PM »
Before I started diving with a drysuit it was standard practice to have an old-style pump fire extinguisher full of water to fill your wetsuit between cold water dives. It helps, but just. Cold water diving in a drysuit was great in the water but sucks on land. Heavy suit, 45 pounds of weight. Ankle weights, and then all the gear. Bah. Now I only dive in warm water, and hardly ever do that.
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Zooport

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #5 on: November 27, 2014, 02:15:52 PM »
Before I started diving with a drysuit it was standard practice to have an old-style pump fire extinguisher full of water to fill your wetsuit between cold water dives. It helps, but just. Cold water diving in a drysuit was great in the water but sucks on land. Heavy suit, 45 pounds of weight. Ankle weights, and then all the gear. Bah. Now I only dive in warm water, and hardly ever do that.

Agree, it didn't seem to help as much when I was doing SCUBA here in SoCal.  Winter was the best diving, best viz, but water temps were in the low 40's at depth.  Warm water poured in the suit helped a little, but as you said, not that much.  In the winter, I wore 13 mils of rubber around my torso, but never owned a drysuit.  My friends that had them said they had a buoyancy learning curve, but swore by them.   Always wanted one, but never shelled out the bucks. 

Warm water in the suit helps more when surfing but seems somewhat unheard of.  Maybe because it's such a wuss kind of thing? 


« Last Edit: November 27, 2014, 02:21:20 PM by Zooport »
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surfinJ

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #6 on: November 27, 2014, 02:35:05 PM »
Aloha Nuno.  Excellent article and good reading for all. 

Pretty much the program I try to follow, though 7 does change with size.  After about 10-12', the place you'll be in trouble is somewhere under the peak, a long way from those guys you were just standing next to before you tookoff.  Unless your friend is on a ski, nobody is going to be able to help you. 
The flotation vest is a big aid. 
And if the wave is already broken don't waste energy diving, just submerge and let yourself get blasted inside.
You will be quicker out of the beatings, pushed to the inside. 

freetobeme

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #7 on: November 27, 2014, 02:53:32 PM »
Caught some nice surf today in 50 degree water. Wore my new 5/4 Xcel wettie. I'm sure it will be great down to low 40's. I could have gone with my 3/2 but was eager to test ou the new gear. Anyway, Paddlesurfer was kind enough to give me a jug of warm water after our session. An olde Stoneaxe trick I hear. Something to def add to my packing list.
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stoneaxe

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #8 on: November 27, 2014, 03:33:30 PM »
I'm frequently out alone unfortunately.

I always bring large bottles of hot water with me for winter surf. A critical component for enjoyment IMO. I have 3 one gal bottles. I fill them with hot water and wrap them heavily in towels. They stay warm through the whole session even when its real cold. Just before I go in a drink a quart or so of hot water and pour the remainder of that bottle into my suit. You walk into the water toasty warm with no cold flush. After an hour or so of surf, temp dependent, I go in and drink/pour in some more. Last bottle gets reserved for the finish...go in get a warm drink and rinse off in warm water before stripping off the suit. Makes getting out both warmer and easier.
« Last Edit: November 27, 2014, 03:37:00 PM by stoneaxe »
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Zooport

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #9 on: November 27, 2014, 07:30:46 PM »
I'm frequently out alone unfortunately.

I always bring large bottles of hot water with me for winter surf. A critical component for enjoyment IMO. I have 3 one gal bottles. I fill them with hot water and wrap them heavily in towels. They stay warm through the whole session even when its real cold. Just before I go in a drink a quart or so of hot water and pour the remainder of that bottle into my suit. You walk into the water toasty warm with no cold flush. After an hour or so of surf, temp dependent, I go in and drink/pour in some more. Last bottle gets reserved for the finish...go in get a warm drink and rinse off in warm water before stripping off the suit. Makes getting out both warmer and easier.

Ah cool, so other people do the warm water in the suit thing.  'Course, I'm still a wimp because I do it in SoCal where it is nowhere near as cold as your local. 
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supnorte

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #10 on: November 28, 2014, 04:17:52 AM »
Thanks for the feedback, guys  ;)

This article is mostly intended to beginners who started SUP surfing this summer and want to go out during winter, so I know some of you guys go out alone or with someone less experienced.

Cheers

eastbound

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #11 on: November 28, 2014, 04:52:25 AM »
nice waves on LI yesterday morning--paddled out in 34 degree air, 51 degree water temps-4-5 ft--<10 knot offshores--a great pre-turkey exertion blowout-totally warm in my 4/3 w/ 3mm booties gloves beanie cap-stayed dry for a bit, then got in the water and.....

realized anew for this winter how much i hate f'ing hoods. i was just wearing a beanie but same effect: water always gets in, gets in ears, which then tend to suction against inside of hood. requires fiddling to drain ears. so there's the fiddle problem, but there's also balance trouble. when in the work zone, trying to get back up on board, stand and get the f outta there, no time to fiddle, but ears full of water, semi-suctioned---messes big with balance. once outside, i can fiddle and fix and have balance for the next wave, but whenever in water, same problem all over again. and with gloves/mitts, there's more fiddle to the fiddling.

other than to not fall in the water, is there any advice out there? any hood that works particularly well? thinking of buying a pyrotech w/ built in hood, but dont want to marry a hood i end up hating, where a better option may work.

i am surprised no one has developed a big flappy valve w/ mesh or something, to allow hearing and drainage.

someone mentioned on another thread the advantage of not hearing in the lineup--made me laugh--can be a good thing

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1tuberider

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #12 on: November 28, 2014, 06:34:12 AM »
Try silicone earplugs under the hood. They should be in every surfers gear bag.

I wear a hood year round because I hate ear surgery. I also wear ear plugs every session. The hood keeps them in.
Hoods are pretty much warn by all who surf these waters in the winter. Since I only wear a 5/4 for our more extreme cold days which is hooded I have a hood that I add to my 4 mil most the time. Its like a cap and well worn but would be missed on my first dunking.

I had ear surgery due to surfing so cal beaches for over 15 years.  Wear your plugs. Want more incentive, consider a 6 week time out for healing. 

I am not a fan of warm water doses until I am finished surfing or sailing. I would rather beat my blue hands until they are red and then I am good for the rest of the day. I found that warm water rinses causes the hands to freeze again and then the tingly fingers.

Another tip about cold weather surfing would be to hang your wetsuit to dry and place it near your car heater while driving to beach. Don't leave it in the back of your truck when its freezing out. Do you know how hard it is to put on a frozen wetsuit stuck together by ice.

Around here, winter surfing is increased when you know your area. Tide, wind and swell all play into this and knowing the best tide and swell size and wind direction as it roles into the various spots will increase your time on water.

For you so cal guys one of the best tips is to be early and first in the water. Live close enough to the ocean so you can hear the cracking when a new swell arrives. I used to live in Huntington Beach on thirteen and Walnut and some days allowed three sessions and I would have missed two of them had I lived beyond the sight of surf zone.

For us in the northern Ca winter can be wild. 80 inches of rain, winds can go to 60 and air to cold to be comfortable changing. Winter also brings gems. Waves of size and shape. Be ready.

Zooport

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #13 on: November 28, 2014, 07:57:53 PM »
Put your wetsuit on at home, not out in the cold at the beach.  This preserves body heat and helps tremendously, unless you have a very long drive where a suit would become uncomfortable. 
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mrbig

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Re: Useful winter tips for SUP surfing
« Reply #14 on: November 29, 2014, 05:59:52 AM »
Yep! And put a tarp on your seat, ride home in your suit, and remove it while sitting in a bathtub filled with HOT water!
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