Author Topic: Greece downwinder  (Read 5781 times)

yugi

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #15 on: August 23, 2016, 04:56:12 AM »
^^  I'd say with a bit of knowledge of your waters , wind and coast and a good downwind board just go for it. If ever it gets too tricky just kneel it. Go on windy days and scope things out at take off and landing spots.

I did my first downwinder in 35+ knots (40+ mph). Then later I got a downwind board. But I already knew my waters, winds and coast well from years of sailing, windsurfing and kiting.

Those are sweet troughs though. Nice riding, excellent camera and editing work. Conveys the experience well.

coldsup

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #16 on: August 23, 2016, 05:54:51 AM »
^^  I'd say with a bit of knowledge of your waters , wind and coast and a good downwind board just go for it. If ever it gets too tricky just kneel it. Go on windy days and scope things out at take off and landing spots.

I did my first downwinder in 35+ knots (40+ mph). Then later I got a downwind board. But I already knew my waters, winds and coast well from years of sailing, windsurfing and kiting.

Those are sweet troughs though. Nice riding, excellent camera and editing work. Conveys the experience well.

Yup - that's what we are more or less doing but in lighter winds....pretty exposed and cold waters where we are...not so bad in summer. We are all surfers so know the coastline pretty good....just time and building up the experience I guess. We are trying not to involve the RNLI or Coastguard too much lol!!

dk78

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #17 on: August 23, 2016, 08:18:07 AM »
^^  I'd say with a bit of knowledge of your waters , wind and coast and a good downwind board just go for it. If ever it gets too tricky just kneel it. Go on windy days and scope things out at take off and landing spots.

I did my first downwinder in 35+ knots (40+ mph). Then later I got a downwind board. But I already knew my waters, winds and coast well from years of sailing, windsurfing and kiting.

Those are sweet troughs though. Nice riding, excellent camera and editing work. Conveys the experience well.

Yup - that's what we are more or less doing but in lighter winds....pretty exposed and cold waters where we are...not so bad in summer. We are all surfers so know the coastline pretty good....just time and building up the experience I guess. We are trying not to involve the RNLI or Coastguard too much lol!!

To my opinion the best way to practise downwind is by doing a lot of light downwinders or upwind/downwind workouts. Even with 10 knots you can practise catching bumps and although the glide is minimum the benefits are maximum. Then when you go out on a good day it would be much easier to catch bumps and have fun. The bumps in these video are some of the best i have ever paddled in Greece but our usual run in Athens is nothing like that. 8/10 times are messy with side swell and a lot of chop, but we are out there practising and learning something every time. If you like downwind paddling try to do it as often as you can, even if sometimes you swear under your breath. :)

PonoBill

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #18 on: August 23, 2016, 09:03:07 AM »
Every run had someone pioneer it.  When four or five of us started doing Viento runs it was well established as a kiting/windsurfing downwinder spot, and there have been OC's and skis doing downwinders in the river a long time, but going on a SUP was brand new. First guys I saw do it were Robby Naish and Dave Kalama--goofing around doing a downwinder prior to a little evening race that started in the hook. The bunch of us started doing it a week later. Last week there were probably more than a thousand runs completed.

Yes, safety is the big deal, but as long as the wind isn't offshore and you have a landing spot scoped out, you're gold no matter how wicked the wind gets. You can always knee paddle or even prone paddle to get in. Just be sure of the wind direction.  The safest downwinders have a catcher's mitt of land to grab you, that's why Maliko runs are scary but relatively safe.
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Eagle

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #19 on: August 23, 2016, 09:22:27 AM »
To my opinion the best way to practise downwind is by doing a lot of light downwinders or upwind/downwind workouts. Even with 10 knots you can practise catching bumps and although the glide is minimum the benefits are maximum. Then when you go out on a good day it would be much easier to catch bumps and have fun. The bumps in these video are some of the best i have ever paddled in Greece but our usual run in Athens is nothing like that. 8/10 times are messy with side swell and a lot of chop, but we are out there practising and learning something every time. If you like downwind paddling try to do it as often as you can, even if sometimes you swear under your breath. :) 

^^^
And fantastic conditions in your vid as well!  Very proper dk.  Nice.  :)
« Last Edit: August 23, 2016, 09:24:23 AM by Eagle »
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coldsup

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #20 on: August 23, 2016, 12:16:14 PM »
^^  I'd say with a bit of knowledge of your waters , wind and coast and a good downwind board just go for it. If ever it gets too tricky just kneel it. Go on windy days and scope things out at take off and landing spots.

I did my first downwinder in 35+ knots (40+ mph). Then later I got a downwind board. But I already knew my waters, winds and coast well from years of sailing, windsurfing and kiting.

Those are sweet troughs though. Nice riding, excellent camera and editing work. Conveys the experience well.

Yup - that's what we are more or less doing but in lighter winds....pretty exposed and cold waters where we are...not so bad in summer. We are all surfers so know the coastline pretty good....just time and building up the experience I guess. We are trying not to involve the RNLI or Coastguard too much lol!!

To my opinion the best way to practise downwind is by doing a lot of light downwinders or upwind/downwind workouts. Even with 10 knots you can practise catching bumps and although the glide is minimum the benefits are maximum. Then when you go out on a good day it would be much easier to catch bumps and have fun. The bumps in these video are some of the best i have ever paddled in Greece but our usual run in Athens is nothing like that. 8/10 times are messy with side swell and a lot of chop, but we are out there practising and learning something every time. If you like downwind paddling try to do it as often as you can, even if sometimes you swear under your breath. :)

DK ...Good to hear that....that's what we are doing really.....but we are having a fair share of rubbish conditions. However, you are right in that you always learn on light days and get fitter the more you go out. We do LOTS of swearing  ;D we are all surfers firstly ....the DW is a second best for us all at the mo.

Pono....the exit points are generally okay but in really strong winds I would be thinking otherwise on some of the routes when the winds have south in them (offshore)  as you will need to kneel on the boards to get in....strong crosswinds. I'm on the cautious side so won't go on a route I don't like the look of if the winds are strong.





yugi

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #21 on: August 23, 2016, 11:41:45 PM »
If wind is side shore and you have a bay (like I think you have) you will generally find “rubbish” waves in that bay. Without going into details of why that happens I generally give such bays a wide birth as the mess tends to even come out a bit, especially at the leeward point of the bay. Take that into account when scoping lines.

Good to be cautious and avoid downwind line where kneeling is required to come in to shore in strong cross winds. You need to build in margin in case you are exhausted. Which happens some days. Pick the “catcher mitt” LZ’s (landing zones) as Pono calls them. A sidewind section to get out is OK, even if a pain in the ass.

A pure in-line downwind is bliss and far less taxing than a far shorter one which involves any crosswind paddling. The stronger the winds on those long in-line ones the better they are (hey, you finish them quicker!).

coldsup

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #22 on: August 24, 2016, 04:14:09 AM »
If wind is side shore and you have a bay (like I think you have) you will generally find “rubbish” waves in that bay. Without going into details of why that happens I generally give such bays a wide birth as the mess tends to even come out a bit, especially at the leeward point of the bay. Take that into account when scoping lines.

Good to be cautious and avoid downwind line where kneeling is required to come in to shore in strong cross winds. You need to build in margin in case you are exhausted. Which happens some days. Pick the “catcher mitt” LZ’s (landing zones) as Pono calls them. A sidewind section to get out is OK, even if a pain in the ass.

A pure in-line downwind is bliss and far less taxing than a far shorter one which involves any crosswind paddling. The stronger the winds on those long in-line ones the better they are (hey, you finish them quicker!).

Yup - we are starting to find out a bit more on which runs work better than others......but slowly. If we went far out in the middle of our stretch of water we would certainly get big DW conditions but we would also be hugely exposed and in real danger. We have to hug that coastline a bit just now. We'll get there....

Eagle

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #23 on: August 24, 2016, 09:55:04 AM »
Good to be cautious and avoid downwind line where kneeling is required to come in to shore in strong cross winds. You need to build in margin in case you are exhausted. Which happens some days.

^^^
This is very important to always keep in mind when on a DW run.  As well changing wind direction and strong ocean currents can also play havoc on the line in.  As soon as we notice we are getting pushed we take corrective action.  Sometimes miles out from the landing point.  Went out with one zoner and he barely made it back in to Squamish.  The run up there is not a straight DW run in.  So this is very good precautionary advice.  As well - some get really tired if they get dumped multiple times and happen to slam into their board.  Best to not venture in conditions like that unless experienced and can ride DW waves easily.  It can go south pretty quickly when the winds whip up to 25+ knots.  ;)
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NEplay

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #24 on: August 24, 2016, 10:49:24 AM »
Incredible footage. I think this is my favorite downwind video ever. What an amphitheater. The ambiance is spectacular. More please. Can I come play in your reindeer games. I would definitely pay Boston to Greece for that.....in my next life when I am a  jet setter and not the person who took the advice to " do not spend your youth making money and your money finding youth" a bit to literally.
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MaineSUP

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #25 on: August 24, 2016, 05:25:08 PM »
That's a fantastic video. 

dk78, is that a Dart Pro you're riding? 
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dk78

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #26 on: August 24, 2016, 11:10:20 PM »
That's a fantastic video. 

dk78, is that a Dart Pro you're riding?

Thank you MainSUP,
Yes the board is the Dart Pro.

Blue crab

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #27 on: August 26, 2016, 10:10:00 AM »
Another great video DK.  It is kind of a unique feature of downwinding that unlike many comparable sports, it is largely a self taught endeavor. Aside from one lesson with Jeremy, I've learned almost everything from watching youtube videos. Jeremy & Livio's videos taught me to paddle less and use the rudder to angle into more swells.  Your video emphasizes the utility and fun of carving mid glide. I just spent a week in the gorge & did about 10 runs, mostly in big conditions.  I spent a lot of time focusing on carving the F16 and was surprised how easy  it was to make figure 8s from the back of the board.  I had been doing this before with the rudder when further forward on the board.  However, your videos add a new dimension to how I approach downwind runs.  Thanks again for posting!   

dk78

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Re: Greece downwinder
« Reply #28 on: August 26, 2016, 12:35:24 PM »
Thank you very much Blue crab. I really appreciate your words.

 


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