I need help with barrel riding techniques for SUP?

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[diesel]

I am super hyped to get barrelled deep on SUP.  Anyone care to discuss barrel riding technique for SUP?  I know some guys guys are getting pitted somewhere and there must be some technique.  I am guessing frontside is easier.  Maybe do a deep and drawn out bottom turn and pull up right in front of the throwing lip into the pocket.  Then what?  Maybe stick the paddle in the wave to stall.  Should you fade up into the wave or can you pull up hard into the pocket and kick the board down.  I have tried and the board travelled to high in the wall and went over.  I have only seen Ikaika and Kainoa Mgee but that was at pipe which is not a normal wave.  There is no footage of barrel riding on SUP so far besides those guys.  I was thinking more of a normal type tubing wave.  I am psyched to learn this if anybody has got some pointers thru experience.  How about Blane and the boys, any tips?  Maybe people can post links if they find footage or pics of good tuberiding on SUP.  Mahalo

[joelcr]

Hey Diesel,

I hope my buddy Gkona will respond to this as I saw him catch a lot of frontside tube rides this past winter. Most of the time he was on a 9'3 ripper, and he got some really good, deep barrells.

 That was the board that I was riding as well, although backside, and it was more difficult for me at the same spot. Normally on a regular surfboard I would railgrab the outside rail and ride it thru, this did not work on the SUB. I tried a few other techniques,dragging the paddle on the face, or on the outside rail, and still had a tough time. Most of the time I would get sucked up the face and thrown over. A few times the lip got me. I got some good frontside pocket rides on the left, but nothing like he was getting on the rights.

Now, Ikaika and the boys, that is another story and hopefully they will respond as well.

[Admin]

Hi Diesel,

Do you get to see the latest issue of Standup Journal?  Sick shots of barrels by a bunch of great of riders including Lopez, Votea David and a great shot for an ad of Drew Brophy.  

Here is one of the many you will find here as well (also contributed by Standup Journal):

Duane De Soto: Mexican Pipeline Proving Grounds


Photography by Moonwalker

Others:

302 Found

[Tom English]

Use the paddle to stall by sticking it into the top of the wave, not the wall.  Leleo Kinimaka demonstrates this technique. 
Aloha,
Tom English

[diesel]

Thanks for the replies guys.  Killer photos.  I also found some stuff thru the paddlesurf.net blog.  I hope they don't mind me posting these links of killer SUP tuberiding at chopes.

http://www.timmckennaphoto.com/us/features/tag-5-teahupoo.html

http://www.timmckennaphoto.com/us/features/tag-15-teahupoo.html

http://www.timmckennaphoto.com/us/features/tag-16-teahupoo.html

Now that is some unreal tuberiding.  The bar is definitely being raised around the world for paddlesurfing.

[paddlesurf.net]

I love pulling in... usually I get TOOLED. Some observations: 

1. These boards are so fast that lots of times I miss the tube because I'm going too fast. I've found that unless I get lucky and backdoor an already pitching little section, I have to take a different line to position myself for the cover up. I've had the best luck with dropping straight down, waiting in the flats for it to start to pitch and then pulling up under the hook- you pay big time if your timing is off but it's the best way for me to get right into the barrel without outrunning it.

2. Helps if the wave is really throating- super hollow- the little almond eye tubes are usually too small to fit all of my junk in... and I'm packing some junk. Downside is when it's the kind of wave that you need- the dues to be paid are pretty severe.

3. Dragging the paddle helps- usually, for me, it gets yanked back up into the spot where the lip seperates from the face- which is a trip- it just grabs it but it does help slow you down a little.

4. When you pull in- point the nose at the hole and get small- and pull up higher in the wave than you think you need to be... grab your line and just let it happen.

Just some observations for what its worth- tube riding's tough on these especially down here on the beachy where they pop up really fast and upredictably.

good luck!

[diesel]

Paddlesurf.net,  thanks for those good tips.  I will try to implement them.  I found those unreal pics of the tahiti parrel riding thru your site.  Thanks.  Aloha

[paddlesurf.net]

Those photos were pretty mind blowing huh? I want to go paddle around over there!

[diesel]

It seems that the level of SUP riding in Tahiti is some of the best in the world right now.  Those pics were mindblowing.  Between the pics we saw and the pics from Blanes trip, I am blown away.  From the pics, it looks like the C4 subvector can handle steep waves as well as the PSH boards.  There was also another red board one of the guys was riding that looked to be handling the waves well also.

[Blane Chambers]

Best technique I have seen and now use is this one that Stewart Ferriman has wired..   One day I saw him in solid waves getting shacked without any problems from the paddle catching.    Right then and there I knew it was the most productive way to ride the barrel without the paddle getting caught...   Later I got these shots of him doing it...   IMO  The best way possible when the barrel isn't big and I have pulled into many barrels and gotten smashed trying to keep control of the paddle.   This way I can relax and enjoy the view...




You basically ride the barrel just like you do with any other board complete with arm stalls if you like.    I got my best barrels using this way and next winter plan on getting a whole lot more!

[hawaiian.style]

hard to tell, but is he just resting the paddle on his bent back leg?

[Allan Cheateaux]

Whatever you do, try to keep the wide open smiling to a minimum. If the hole goes square and it yanks the board right off your feet, you lose teeth...



personal experience... would do it again in a heartbeat though.

[diesel]

Best technique I have seen and now use is this one that Stewart Ferriman has wired..   One day I saw him in solid waves getting shacked without any problems from the paddle catching.    Right then and there I knew it was the most productive way to ride the barrel without the paddle getting caught...   Later I got these shots of him doing it...   IMO  The best way possible when the barrel isn't big and I have pulled into many barrels and gotten smashed trying to keep control of the paddle.   This way I can relax and enjoy the view...

You basically ride the barrel just like you do with any other board complete with arm stalls if you like.    I got my best barrels using this way and next winter plan on getting a whole lot more!

Blane,

This is very interesting.  Why do you guys use your hand instead of the paddle to drag?  I would think it would be easier to use the paddle since you have to hold it anyway.  What about setting up the barrel with the bottom turn and fading up into the barrel.  Is that a good idea or should you not bottom turn?  What about kicking the board down as you pull up the face into the pocket to get barreled?  Is that too hard with a big board?  Thanks for your reply and help.

[Admin]

Also a great set of hand drag barrel sequences on the Kazuma site here:  http://kazumasurf.com/sup.html#16

A few grabs from those sequences:

[lopezwill]

  My question is," Yes you can ride a barrel on a sup but why would you want to?"  Let me clarify big Hawaiian type Pipeline tubes.  Seems like a lay down gunnier,shorter, narrow board would always be the call not a wide sup that has problems going up and down inside the barrel.  Wayne Lynch was quoted many years ago saying he can't go up and down inside the tube with performance on a surfboard larger than 8'3" and wider than 22" something to the effect it doesn't fit in the tube correctly.  I think that is a valid point!

  Don't get me wrong I love sup and take it out in hollow days but for a formidable tube it is a lot safer and easier to ride a regular gun surfboard.  Locals at most well known places that break with big tubes won't even let you out on a sup when the wave is breaking.  This is good talk about inside rail control and paddle dragging pulling into a barrel on a sup but I still own my 8'0" gun for many reasons.  Of course, this is just my opinion. 

  I took my 9'3" sup out on a barrel reef wave last month ( got out at the break of dawn nobody out ) after the first take off wave of a dredging over head tube I wished I was on my lay down gun.  Yeah...it's makeable and doable but your on edge the whole time.  Did I mention getting stuck inside on the reef with a 9'3" apposed to an 8'0"?  This does happen from time to time.  Sup is such a great sport I would hate to see some person paddle out at a gnarley tubing reef break and seriously injure themself only because the board wasn't the correct tool for the conditions.

  I love the photos of people pushing the envelope on these sup's in gnarly tube conditions but for the average joe on their sup "Why would you want to paddle a sup as apposed to a gunnier lay down board in these type of conditions?"