SUP on Habitat video

[corran]

Its small but its nice...

SUP surfing on a river wave

Corran

[Evan Lloyd]

That's a great wave.  Nice video!

[localpaddler]

Sweet video...have you considered wearing a lifevest?

[stoneaxe]

Cool video. Last time I was up there was when the Habitat was new...Expo 67...I think its time for another visit... . I'd love to come up for one of your paddle clinics.

[corran]

Sweet video...have you considered wearing a lifevest?

yes... in both the river AND the ocean. Since i'm not having to duck dive... why not have the vest and helmet right?

The only deterrent in the ocean is the "kook factor" in the eyes of surfers... the "less intimidating" I look, the better. Having a life vest and helmet tells them "I'm either out of control" or "a danger". So I don't. But I'd rather wear them frankly - in big surf anyway.

Corran

[localpaddler]

I with you 100% on that....I totally understand the kook factor. 

I broke three teeth off in somewhat big surf last year...it almost knocked my lights out.....
I kept surfing until salt water hit my open nerves .....then I was really done for the day.

[Paddle-Plappe]

Corran, do you think this ollie technique works on ocean waves?

[corran]

Yes it does.

its not really an ollie - its actually a C stroke (bow draw to sweep) times exactly with the moment I hit the lip. I'm not actually doing an "ollie" at all... its all paddle power and board placement/timing.

I got a huge one at Hampton Saturday morning at the Wall... all the shortboarders went bizerk when they saw it. A good 3 feet above the lip as the wave closed out - landed on the board at the base of the wave and still made the section and surfed it to the beach... it was a good moment for SUP in the eyes of the prone surfers - several came up and said something to the effect of "you make that [dumb] sport ligit" lol...

But without the paddle stroke I find the SUP too big to air off the lip like a shortboard.

Corran
http://2imagine.net/blogger2009/SUP%20power%20air.html

[kwhilden]

Corran,
Is the c-stroke necessary, or is it the sweep that really matters?

It looks like the c-stroke positions the board to be launched by the sweep, but that you could carve the board into that same position without necessarily using the c-stroke. Although it does look like the c-stroke is a smoother method of getting there.

[PonoBill]

What a difference a tiny bit of experience makes. I suspect on thing that might not be obvious to SUP surfers is something I sort of learned on Sunday ("sort of" meaning I learned the principle but not the practice--yet) is that you are always edging the upcurrent side of the board up. which really feels odd to a surfer, or at least to me. Having had my board swept out from under me at least twenty times on Sunday I now see this video in that new light.

Probably completely automatic to you.