Punching whitewater

[Dooner]

You are stuck inside with a head-high whitewater coming at you, WHAT DO YOU DO!?:

A. Freeze up and fall off before the wave has a chance to knock you off... get dragged by your leash (been there, done that)

B. Paddle at the wave & try to kick your board over while jumping off the back... (Done that too, with some success, but not very satisfying & slow)

C. Calmly paddle at the wave, pop the nose up & over and paddle on... (I can do it up to about chest high or so, but no dice over that size so far)

D. OTHER?

[Rand]

Awesome question,

I would say, if it is only head high, and assuming no one is behind you, go for it.  Great time to practice.  Some head high piles can be slopey and easy to roll over, others are unforgiving squares that could be tough.

I would say stay away from #2.  Better to keep a free board behind you.  If it doesn't make it over, it may attack you.

There is a point of impossibility for getting over (probably the same point at which strong longboarders will need to turtle).  The really interesting question might be (or maybe was) what to do in that event. 

Check out Laird dealing with some big piles http://youtube.com/watch?v=6eUfT8r1PsU

Ditch, sit on the tail, get worked.  He uses all three.

[Dooner]

Yeah, I saw that video of Laird. Good to see him get worked and wobbling around on his board, I guess he is human after all... Can't imagine how much work it would be to SUP in that much wind though.

Do you punch over parallel or side stance? It's surprising how much you can get over just paddling at it parallel stance & not really doing much.

It seems like going side stance to pop the nose up & then weight the nose down as you go over SHOULD be a better technique, anyone doing this?

What to do once it's big enough that you can't even think about going over the top?? I don't know, so far I've got nothing outside of A & B.

-Jonah

[Rand]

Do you punch over parallel or side stance? It's surprising how much you can get over just paddling at it parallel stance & not really doing much.

It seems like going side stance to pop the nose up & then weight the nose down as you go over SHOULD be a better technique, anyone doing this?

I use either stance to get over.  I think it is really important that you face the nose directly into the pile (board perpendicular to the foam line).  Hit it with as much forward speed as you can muster.  Pop the board by pressuring it hard and then unweighting it in the flats just before you get hit, and unweight the nose more by a slight backward lean.  Then get your weight forward as you get up on top to drive the nose down.  Get your paddle in brace position before you get hit and keep it there, bracing, throughout. 

That's all I've got.

[shapeshifter]

walk towards the nose of your board...
as your board starts to pearl, squat like a samoan...
grab the sides of the board while kicking it downwards and out...
you'll be on top of your board but on your back (feet forewad) as you streach out to streamline...
once the water covers you and your board, do a sort of summersault, whilst keeping a loose grip on the board. you will wind up on you stomach in the right position for paddling.

don't ask... don't even think about it.

[Dooner]

walk towards the nose of your board...
as your board starts to pearl, squat like a samoan...
grab the sides of the board while kicking it downwards and out...
you'll be on top of your board but on your back (feet forewad) as you streach out to streamline...
once the water covers you and your board, do a sort of summersault, whilst keeping a loose grip on the board. you will wind up on you stomach in the right position for paddling.

don't ask... don't even think about it.

But where does your paddle go? and won't you get water up your nose going feet first??

[surfpainter]

Rand's got it....Paddle at oncoming whitewater (soup) as quickly as possible in parallel stance, and at the last second switch to a surf stance... Paddle hard then kick the nose slightly up into the soup with your paddle,  the speed of the whitewater rushing underneath you will actually stabilize and lift you over at the same moment. Keep your knees slightly bent, and your paddle low in the water for extra stability. Once over, quickly go back to your parallel stance and keep paddling forward and you'll amaze yourself how quickly you're over the wave. With a little practice, this will work for you. I make at least seven out of ten trys. Don't try this with head-high surf, start with small soup . Once you try this and make it in small stuff you'll want more because its really fun...whew

[shapeshifter]

walk towards the nose of your board...
as your board starts to pearl, squat like a samoan...
grab the sides of the board while kicking it downwards and out...
you'll be on top of your board but on your back (feet forewad) as you streach out to streamline...
once the water covers you and your board, do a sort of summersault, whilst keeping a loose grip on the board. you will wind up on you stomach in the right position for paddling.

don't ask... don't even think about it.

But where does your paddle go? and won't you get water up your nose going feet first??

thanks for askin' cause i couldn't remember but that's what seemed to have happen to me in a small but skull crushing wave today. still shakin' the buzz out of my ears. i think i lost my  paddle... crikey! where's my paddle?

[MichaelF]

Rand's got it....Paddle at oncoming whitewater (soup) as quickly as possible in parallel stance, and at the last second switch to a surf stance... Paddle hard then kick the nose slightly up into the soup with your paddle,  the speed of the whitewater rushing underneath you will actually stabilize and lift you over at the same moment. Keep your knees slightly bent, and your paddle low in the water for extra stability. Once over, quickly go back to your parallel stance and keep paddling forward and you'll amaze yourself how quickly you're over the wave. With a little practice, this will work for you. I make at least seven out of ten trys. Don't try this with head-high surf, start with small soup . Once you try this and make it in small stuff you'll want more because its really fun...whew

This is a ton of fun

I was at the C4 Demo, talking with Mike P and a few friends from La Jolla, when Mike p's friend suggested that you should take it as an affront paddling outside on your knees.  That his goal is to never progress forward unless he was standing up and that getting caught inside was one of his favorite times.

I have been working on this the last few sessions and I am finally getting it.  I am convinced that punching whitewater is a critical skill and 3x the workout with more footwork and balance skills.  I was out at Swami's today (empty with only 4 guys out during lunch) and I practiced this the entire time when I was inside.  Sure i have been falling more that I used to but I am getting much more skill work out of a typical session.  I went through a few head high set waves and it was complete joy on the other side.

Additionally, I feel like punching the whitewater in the surfing stance is helping a ton on my take offs, forcing me the be more mobile with my weight/footwork and using the paddle across both sides in very tipping moments.

[Big Island Mike]

I agree with the above. My goal when stuck inside it to take on everything on my feet, even if the wave is right there, I like to hop up and see what I can do. It's all experience.

Definately depends on the break and tide, how much success you will have. Best to stay away from a heaving pit right on you. YARD SALE no matter what you do.   

[Nate Burgoyne]

This thread is awesome. What shines through is how, the stoke of sup surfing isn't only in the waves, it's managing the whitewater, paddling out... the whole package.

One of my favorite memories of last winter was, while I was paddling out in Haleiwa, this huge clean up set came through. Nobody was getting around that one. The wave walled up right in front of me, way over head. After looking behind me and around me, and finding myself alone, grinned and charge straight at it. As I got right in front of it, the lip curled up over my head, then I jumped up and dove straight into the face, smiling all the way. When I came up, one of my buddies said, "So that's how you do it. I always wondered how you duck dive those things."

I think surfpainter got it right on the head of how to get through the whitewater. I've found that, if I have time to get up, I can almost always manage the whitewater much better on my feet than on my knees. While standing, the water can flow through my legs. While kneeling, it hits me in the chest knocking over like a two legged stool.

...and when it's really about to come down on you, smile and enjoy the ride.

[surfpainter]

 Nate, you just reminded me when I think of all the wasted mornings of glass conditions for stand-up when I lived on Maui in the late eighties. There is not a better feeling of exilaration when you punch over fast moving whitewater with success. One note of caution for paddlers trying it for the first time..never stand parallel going into a wave.. the force of the wave face or white water will back push your board into your face and could cause injury. A stagger step or surf stance is the best..

[Nate Burgoyne]

I don't think you're alone on that one Surfpainter. Also, you made a good point about staggering your feet a little. I have a ding on the nose of my board from when it kicked straight up and at me while punching through a wall of whitewater. Fortunately, I got my paddle up to protect my face, and thus the ding. I'm lucky that I got my paddle up so the board didn't knock me silly. It's one of those little lessons that you only need to learn one time.

[MichaelF]

Find that this is putting a 3x on the total workout.  Great point from Nate on the complete skill set in and around the waves.   Even if the waves are small, you have a balance board on the H20 to mess around with.

[snappy]

I punched through my first broken wave coming out still on my feet on the weekend,it was such a buzz.Its funny I caught a heap of waves but that is the one thing I remember from the session.I was cheering to myself and no one else knew.
What I did was paddle hard then step back a bit into a semi surf stance and once I was over I did the same as an unbroken wave and used the paddle to steady myself placing it into the water behind me to one side.
Cheers from Newcastle Australia love the threads.