Author Topic: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video  (Read 7430 times)

Admin

  • Administrator
  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 6443
    • View Profile
    • StandUpZone
    • Email
Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« on: July 02, 2015, 06:43:04 AM »
If this vid from the guys at SIC doesn't get your blood pumping ...check for a pulse.  Time to head to the Gorge for a visit to the epicenter of summer fun.

The action starts at 00:50.

« Last Edit: July 02, 2015, 07:27:00 AM by Admin »

covesurfer

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1936
    • View Profile
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2015, 10:33:12 AM »
Love this one. All shot in the Gorge last year (2014) before and during the Paddle Challenge.

Eagle

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 2426
    • View Profile
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #2 on: July 02, 2015, 10:52:55 AM »
Thanks for that SIC link - chainsaw had theirs up at one point also - looks like fun -

http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,25743.msg263239.html?PHPSESSID=05081b93290401c8151028df1023ba13#msg263239

If this vid from the guys at SIC doesn't get your blood pumping ...check for a pulse.  Time to head to the Gorge for a visit to the epicenter of summer fun.

The action starts at 00:50.

Fast is FUN!   8)
Dominator - Touring Pintail - Bullet V2 - M14 - AS23

Zooport

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 3533
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #3 on: July 02, 2015, 11:18:50 PM »
I know almost nothing about downwinding, but those seemed like exceptionally long glides.  Is that true?
8'6 Soul Compass
9'1 Sunova Creek
9'6 WaveStorm SUP
9'8 Starboard Element

Off-Shore

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1663
    • View Profile
    • HksupaHK SUP and Downwinding
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2015, 12:12:50 AM »
Zoo. They are long but not exceptional for those conditions without swell and backwash to contend with. That's the addictive part of downwinding as effectively you start to surf.. I mean SUS... You gotta try it!
SB 9' x 33' x 4.1" - RPC 9'8" iSUP - SB All-Star 12'6" - Blue Planet Bump Rider 14 - SB Ace 14 x 27 - RedAir 14' Elite Race - SIC Bullet 14v1 TWC - SICMaui F16v3 Custom

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/HksupaHk_SUP_and_Downwinding

Area 10

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 4057
    • View Profile
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2015, 01:10:01 AM »
We get conditions very similar to these quite often up our estuaries and the glides can be every bit as long as these, and longer. We had one run recently in 35 knots that was basically just one glide after another and we were getting blown into bumps so you only really needed your paddle for bracing and direction changes.

The video highlights the limitations of a rudder in these kinds of conditions because with current board designs you need to stand back on the tail so much when riding bumps like these that your front foot would be off the tiller when you'd need it most.

Admin

  • Administrator
  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 6443
    • View Profile
    • StandUpZone
    • Email
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2015, 05:39:43 AM »
The video highlights the limitations of a rudder in these kinds of conditions because with current board designs you need to stand back on the tail so much when riding bumps like these that your front foot would be off the tiller when you'd need it most.

Hi Area,

Check out Scott Trudon starting at 1:41 and Livio's section as well.  The rudder system (A.S.S.) is there both to position for glides and to use during glides to follow swell.  Tons of micro trim adjustments fore and aft, cross steps etc, happen with the steering foot on the lever. There are definitely times when you will be further back or even way back on the tail but at those times you are already in the swell and have speed.  That is when surf steering is easy.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2015, 05:48:08 AM by Admin »

Area 10

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 4057
    • View Profile
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2015, 07:59:38 AM »
The video highlights the limitations of a rudder in these kinds of conditions because with current board designs you need to stand back on the tail so much when riding bumps like these that your front foot would be off the tiller when you'd need it most.

Hi Area,

Check out Scott Trudon starting at 1:41 and Livio's section as well.  The rudder system (A.S.S.) is there both to position for glides and to use during glides to follow swell.  Tons of micro trim adjustments fore and aft, cross steps etc, happen with the steering foot on the lever. There are definitely times when you will be further back or even way back on the tail but at those times you are already in the swell and have speed.  That is when surf steering is easy.
Yes, but you have to balance this with the fact that a fixed fin can do a better job than the very compromised design of a rudder. If the wind in the video was stronger and the bumps were similar in form but say waist-high, then they'd be spending even more time in full surf stance and their foot would be off the rudder. At those times a good fixed fin choice can pay dividends. I'm not suggesting for a minute that rudders aren't useful in most circumstances, just that there are conditions, and times within conditions, where you can find yourself in more control with a good fixed fin. Actually, my view is that they looked less comfortable in these conditions than on their UL boards in bigger stuff in e.g. Maui when they just motor along for minute after minute hardly moving their front foot from the tiller. And whereas I'm usually watching these guys and thinking "sheesh, that's incredibly good", I was watching this video thinking "I could do that". Now, whether that is actually true or not is another matter altogether... And the harder conditions are, the harder it is to look good in them. So maybe I'm dreaming. But it looked more like an achievable goal to stay with them here - at least for a short while - than it does watching the likes of Georges or Livio at Maliko. Some of that, I suggest, might be because they have fewer opportunities in these conditions to make use of their superior rudder skills.

Whatever, I have to say that IMO SIC make the most mouth-watering videos out there. This is almost on a par with our yellow friends from South Africa (still the gold standard for a DW marketing video IMO). This makes me want to go mortgage my house and buy the entire range of SICs. The fact that the conditions in the video will be more similar to those known to more people around the world than e.g. Maliko or M2O just makes it even more compelling as a marketing tool.

Admin

  • Administrator
  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 6443
    • View Profile
    • StandUpZone
    • Email
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2015, 12:35:47 PM »
Watching a lot of SUP guys coming through Swell City / Hatchery area over the last few months.  Looking good downwinding in the Gorge is very rare.  Whether it is the spacing, the river flow or the swell pitch, it is very hard to make SUP look graceful here.  Really fun but not  really pretty. My reaction to this vid was almost the opposite.  It made me think, rare skills.

With the twists in the river and the wide variety of conditions that happen in every run. it is a great place for a rudder...but fixed fin is more of a challenge and it is always a better workout.
« Last Edit: July 04, 2015, 12:38:20 PM by Admin »

Blue crab

  • Rincon Status
  • ***
  • Posts: 224
    • View Profile
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2015, 12:55:29 PM »
Admin nailed it. The rudder provides a huge advantage in these exact conditions.  A slight touch to the right or left puts the board into the highest energy portion of the swell. Even when you end up way back on the board during a really fast glide, the rudder is never far away and allows you to steer into a new swell as the board starts to decelerate.  It is all about proper trim.

I have no way to prove this but my best guess is that the addition of a rudder on my F16 increases the number of glides per run by 30%, increases the duration per glide by the same amount, and dramatically decreases fatigue as there is less need for strong sweep strokes to pivot into the high energy portion of the swell (and less need for paddling in general). After a couple of years of flailing about, I finally feel somewhat competent doing Viento runs and I attribute at least some of this to the rudder system.

covesurfer

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1936
    • View Profile
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #10 on: July 04, 2015, 01:08:56 PM »
The only one in the video riding a rudder board is Scott. Georges is on a Bullet 14 fixed fin and Andrea and Devin look like they are on X-12's or they could be 14's. Livio is on a Bullet 14.

I have ridden a rudder board in the Gorge for a season - it was a Bullet 14 with A.S.S. At that point in time, I would say that I had no clue how to use the rudder effectively. It would be interesting to have a rudder now that I've been using one for years.

Last August, I got back there for the week up to and including the Paddle Challenge. My rudder skills were way improved and I was wishing that I had one but I rode a fixed fin 14 for that entire week. Yes you can make the fixed fin board work with paddle steering, footwork and foot steering and it's a lot of fun. But, you'd potentially catch more and link far more glides with a rudder board. The limitation comes with the short period swell and fitting the longer board into those more closely spaced waves. But, there is still plenty of room to make it work. If I go this year, I'm sure I'll be on fixed fin 14 again but it will be a blast. Fun to try and wring all the connections you can out of a fixed fin board. Once you figure out a rudder in the bumps however, it is a gigantic advantage.

On a 14' board (or shorter) the rudder is not so essential. You can steer a 14' board a lot easier than an unlimited. Get on a longer board and you really end up relying on the system to quickly change direction and follow the wave energy. It's just not easy to pivot the longer boards without going to the tail, going way out of trim and stalling and losing all the advantage you had in the first place. The position of the rudder can help keep you in the front seat on the longer boards and prevent unwanted stalls.
« Last Edit: July 04, 2015, 01:21:24 PM by covesurfer »

XLR8

  • Teahupoo Status
  • ******
  • Posts: 1122
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #11 on: July 04, 2015, 03:52:49 PM »
I've had recent opportunity to use a Bullet 14' with steering set up regular on a couple of different occasions.  I found the steering mechanism to be mounted too far forward for where I ride.  But I could compensate with no problem and run the steering with my heel.  I found it very fun when I used the steering just right and could create speed just from that.
Blkbox Surf
Instagram: @greatlakespaddler

Eagle

  • Cortez Bank Status
  • *****
  • Posts: 2426
    • View Profile
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #12 on: July 04, 2015, 05:49:50 PM »
Our DW conditions generally run 10-25 kts with short period wind swell and in this a fixed fin is perfectly fine.  It is easy enough to maneuver on a bump with a direction stroke to get you on the swell.  You do need to walk the board though to keep the speed up but connecting bumps is straightforward with a small upright fin.

On a rudder that sweep stroke is not required -> you just turn and stay hot and powered on the adjacent swell.  Glide after glide - and more stable - but less slamming planing sensation.  On the 14 boards you have to earn your rides by positioning the board on the wave and trimming the board correctly.  On the long rudder boards much less effort is required and you do more steering.  The ride is much more refined and generally much faster overall depending on conditions as you do not slow down.  However MR does note that in certain circumstances the Bullet 14 fixed can keep pace with the 17.4.

Definitely open ocean 17.4 is a no brainer - but in smaller stuff you can have a ton of fun on smaller tippier boards.  Just came back from a DW run in full whitecaps and it was actually just perfect on the Bullet 14V2 -> the 17.4 would have been overkill.  So not really sure yet if we can justify getting the 17.4 as the Jimmy Lewis M-14 handles our windier longer runs just fine.

The question becomes how often would we really need and use the 17.4 -> when we are having so much fun already?  Hmmm?

http://youtu.be/rUaU-FZBo84
Fast is FUN!   8)
Dominator - Touring Pintail - Bullet V2 - M14 - AS23

NC Coastal Glide

  • Waikiki Status
  • *
  • Posts: 10
    • View Profile
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #13 on: August 29, 2015, 05:30:10 AM »
Nice video!  Obviously it takes a lot of skill to downwind in these conditions.  I am one of the old guys (68) who only SUP's on the coast of North Carolina.  Watching this video, and others posted on the Columbia River Gorge, raises a question - and I am sure it's a really stupid question but here goes ~ if you fall off your board in areas in this gorge such as that in this video are there rocks just below the surface that present a great risk of getting seriously injured.  When I was much younger I white water kayaked  and anywhere with big water was full of rocks but in the kayak you would not have the same issue of falling from a standing position and we wore protective helmets. I got bruised up a few times but this gorge looks both exciting (for very skilled SUP'ers) and very dangerous.  I hope my question makes sense.

easy

  • Waikiki Status
  • *
  • Posts: 33
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Excellent Gorge SUP Downwinder Video
« Reply #14 on: August 29, 2015, 06:17:45 AM »

  So not really sure yet if we can justify getting the 17.4 as the Jimmy Lewis M-14 handles our windier longer runs just fine.

The question becomes how often would we really need and use the 17.4 -> when we are having so much fun already?  Hmmm?

http://youtu.be/rUaU-FZBo84
[/quote]

 
 How would the Bullet 14,( not the V2) compare to the M-14 in windier longer runs.

 


SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal