Getting Out of a wave

[SUP Leave]

Had a fun session this morning. I came out ready to work on my back hand SUSing and got some good work in. Was alone at the break I chose, and the waves were things of beauty. Gorgeous to look at.  Waist high, steep, and fast. Much different from the mush I had been surfing on the last two times out. These little beach break gems were pitching hollow into about 2' or less of water.

Out of the 40 or so waves I rode, I made the shoulder maybe 5 times. The rest of them I just could not outrun. Sometimes it was because it closed out, the other times I just couldn't get there fast enough. The first time I was perched between the end of the pad and the nose (gargoyle style) on a high line (regular foot going right), big dumb smile on my face, and all my focus was on the shoulder. . . Needless to say I faded right up into the lip and was tossed on my hip in about 8" of water (bad spatial awareness), and to make matters worse the board is tossed right on me, I blocked the kill-shot with the paddle and now my right ring finger is like a kielbasa, goes good with my broken left pinky from early July (leash stupidity).

Anyway after that I was a bit gun shy and would just turn out of the waves before they got fast, for fear of going down like that again. Don't get me wrong I tried for any shoulder I thought I could conceivably get to.

So when do you decide to turn out of a wave?

What do you do if you are past the point of no return? Just straighten out? Jump off the back?

When I back out of wave before the drop (thinking it will close out), I fall down a lot because of the quick deceleration and destabilization. Any tips for that?

I had a lot of fun this morning, but I had some of the most awkward and painful wipeouts of my short SUP career. Obviously my main weakness is knowing which waves to take and which not to take.

[surfcowboy]

I take a lot of closeouts (Fun drops and pretty safe at my main local break) and when they start to "go" I straighten out and often just go off the back to get away from the board unless I've got the juice to get over.

If you're an intermediate or better you should be able to see the wave breaking and do a bottom turn and go over the back before it goes but that can take a while to get.

Part of my "surfing off of the tail" practice has made gracefully kicking out much easier. If it's beachbreak and nasty, definitely get away (and behind) the board. The gear is the most dangerous part of any surf sport.

[NatalSUP]

For how long have you been sup surfing?

I've the same doubt, some time ago...

Nowadays, even with no rigid statistics,  I think that I finish standing in 50% of my waves.

[supthecreek]

Sorry... long answer... but that's how I roll.
Cape Cod is traditionally the same sort of wave you describe. In winter when it's big... it's downright dangerous. It always breaks in stupid shallow water where hitting the bottom hard then getting smacked down by your board is a real danger

You have to surf differently than a nice point or mushy beachbreak. The main reason I wanted to lose weight, was to get on a smaller board that I could get away from.

Commit to the takeoff... do not hesitate. Your best protection is to be in control. Get in early... control the situation. Once you have control, you can pick your own exit.

Look ahead, the wave will tell you when to exit.

I tend to stay lower on the wave, when it gets critical, to avoid the big body slam, which more often then not, includes your board.

In beachbreak, the waves are usually short and steep... kicking out early is difficult at best, and shortens an already short ride.

My usual exit: Just before the wave explodes in a closeout, I turn hard towards shore and shoot out in front of the wave, then I use my speed to do a hard backside turn and kick my board over the wave. I fall flat on my back and let the wave roll over me. I pop up behind the wave, grab my board and head back out.

I always flick the board over the wave with a backside turn because it is the tightest turn and gets good height. It also puts your back falling in front of the wave and gives you a chance to get under it without diving on you head and breaking your neck.

If you do a flyaway kickout going frontside, you are turning into the wave and stand a much better chance at getting a lip smackdown, which can drive your head into the bottom.

A fun alternative is to turn up the face into a reentry, followed by the same backhand flickover.

Never jump over the back.. it rarely works and puts you right in the power of the wave.

Last resort... if it is too shallow to turn in front of the wave, I just fall off the tail into the lower part of the wave face and flick my board forward and a bit towards shore so it won't get driven down by the lip and broken. With SUP in beachbreak, it is very important to control where your board goes. It can hurt you and it can be folded in relatively small waves because of the shallow water.

More injuries happen in smaller beachbreak waves, than big surf.

Disclaimer.... All this is done with consideration to others in the water. They are your first responsibility.

This picture is not a perfect example, but it does show proximity to shore, a weak closeout in shallow water. I am throwing the board over the back with a sharp backside turn. I will fall backwards into the wave face where there is some water, and my board will not hit the sand.

[SUP Leave]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I have only been SUP surfing for about 4 months. I have surfed quite a bit, but never really had this problem, mostly because with a surfboard I didn't worry so much about getting back out quickly for another wave. Yesterday I was by myself, I didn't want to take the closeouts to the beach, because then I couldn't get back out fast enough to get more waves out of the set. I admit most of this is wave gluttony with a side of safety.

Honestly this is the most beat up I have been after a session in my life. I hit the bottom a few times and fell on my board at least twice. But it was so fun, I would be back out there right now if I could.

STC that picture you showed is a lot like what I was dealing with yesterday, the waves I was on had just a bit more speed, and were throwing a bit of a lip. I wish I had a camera to get some barrel pics. Gorgeous waves.

The closeout here is pretty safe if you go straight, now I am going to try the back hand turn and fall, and see if that gets me back out faster.

These are all great tips, I am going to put this into use.

[Cardiff Sweeper]

It's much easier on a narrower board.

[alap]

creek, I owe you again, exellent explanation, excellent picture as an illustration

[alap]

creek, one Q though, just reread your post.

on this pic the wave is peeling left, you are in regular stance, you surfing backside, going left; you are making a sharp backside turn.

however if the wave woulda be closing right, you in your regular stance woulda be going right, surfing frontside.
Then you shoulda be making a very sharp frontside turn. not bakside one.

correct me if i am wrong pls.

[supthecreek]

I almost always kick out backside... if going right, I straighten out as the wave closes out and do a "Reverse" kickout... meaning I always prefer the outcome from a backside kickout.


I will certainly kickout front side if the situation warrants... but when the sh*t his the fan in sucky beachbreak... I prefer flicking it over backhand because of the way I can control my water penetration when its really shallow... plus I can take the board out of the mix. I had been hit enough when riding my first big SUP's. As SUPleave said:

Honestly this is the most beat up I have been after a session in my life. I hit the bottom a few times and fell on my board at least twice. But it was so fun, I would be back out there right now if I could.

Getting away from your board and controlling your water entry is critical in shallow beachbreak

[surfcowboy]

I surf a right a ton and end up going out backside a ton. That said, when I was just starting, frontside was the only way I could consistently make it. In a close out on a small wave, if I was not making it, I'd simply step off frontside into the wave over the back.

Speed is your friend. Learning to pump and generate speed is the best thing I can offer you.

Also, this all changes, for the better, when you feel comfortable getting into bigger waves. Small slow waves are important for learning but everything changes when you get better and can handle more powerful waves. Things people talk about here make way more sense.

[notahogsup]

I had a similar experience trying to kick out frontside. I have been surfing a long time and usually my timing is pretty good. This time however the wave fooled me and sucked me back over and BAM! I attribute this partly to the weight of my sup as opposed to a regular surfboard which is easier to flick around.

So true supthecreek that its usually small days and beach brake where you get hurt. I can't let my guard down and must respect the low tide shallows.

My question is how do you hold the paddle in bad wipeouts or if you are close to a nice curl ride or barrel(unlikely for me)?  I have been holding the paddle with a death grip in both hands. I am thinking of one handing it like some of the videos show. I might even let the paddle go if the wipeout is critical.

Also, I will try the backside kickout method. Susing is different than regular surfing because you have a bigger heavier board and a paddle to deal with while you roll around in the wash cycle!

[PonoBill]

If you're committed to trying to beat a closeout when your going frontside then there's usually no time to spin 180 to exit out the back, and the shoulder will usually be steeper there. In shallow water you can't just turn straight and run it out in the foam. You might try just turning as hard as you can into the wave and over-commit to the turn--that is, lean really hard to the inside. With the tiniest bit of luck you'll make it out the back, if not, at least momentum is on your side and you might be able to get over the lip with your body if not the board. Nothing works every time. Some times you're just gonna take a beating.

I've also just straightened out a bit and stepped hard onto the tail. Kind of a desperation move if the surf is good sized, but I've had good results on occasion. In all cases you want to try to get off on the low side--meaning into the face of the wave or over it. I've seen people dive to the inside, and that's just asking for it.

A backside turn and exit is like going down on the low side on a motorcycle, as opposed to going off the high side or over the bars. It's works because your ass is on that side, and your body naturally commits more to butt side falls than going off face first. It's usually tentative moves that screw you up. You wobble, take too long, and then stand up too tall because you're uncommitted. Whatever you do, do it boldly and it will work better. Mostly.

[linter]

   in shallow water, when i dump, i *always* try to kick the board out in front of me or down the line and then fall backwards, arms and legs spread in the starfish position.  that usually (not last saturday, however) keeps me from hitting the local rocks in some pretty skinny water.
   a great surfer once told me that the best way to avoid a beating in many close-out situations is to tuck into the barrel.  his theory was that the wave would often sort of spit you out the back.  i dunno.  i've always been too chicken to try it.

[supsurf-tw]

This is what you want to do. The deeper you are the more the energy of the wave is dissipated. It's a nice comfy, foamy place to be, at least more comfy than getting pounded by the lip. Nice view too for a split second

[Mil-Surf]

This works!