Preferred technique for a fast 180 (to catch a wave)

[Marcelo]

Pilon, after reading so much about CR here, we (wife and I) decided it will be our next vacation destination!

[PilonSUP]

Marcelo
That puts a smile on my face...hope to meet you folks.
For a good pic of the day try
papagsurf.com     click pavones for our area

His report can be a little bland but we like it that way. Were in the off season,5 foot again today..
Surf starts pourin in march 15..mas o menos      pura vida   Shawn

[crtraveler]

The 180 pivot turn is surely necessary.  Without it, you miss a ton of waves because you simply cant turn the board around fast enough with normal paddling (forward or reverse or combination of both).  Lots of time in flatwater, then lots of time in the choppy flatwater, then finally start to try it in the surf.  It will take a long time - don't be frustrated.  Another huge factor is the board you're riding and how it is shaped.  Some boards you can simply take one step back and the tail sinks, others you need to step back a few steps and then the tail only starts to sink.  Obviously with a big board w/ a lot of float will require alot more effort to bring the nose around - again, don't get frustrated!!

[linter]

for the life o' me, i can't do a fast 180; but that said i don't find myself missing that many waves i want with my triple-time quick stroke from the usual stance.  just got to work it hard and not be afraid of looking like a dork 

[stoneaxe]

Fast 180s are tough for me too. Quick balance shifts always throw me off. I need to practice more....or get a new head...

[PonoBill]

Chump waves today--closeouts at Kanaha and double over ankle at Thousand Peaks (it was supposed to wrap, but didn't). Played around at TP all afternoon with my new Foote surfboard--a duplicate of the Gecko board only much lighter.

I practiced spins right in front of the little wave peaks. Got it down to really fast ones. The big trick--stay low, get your back foot back quite a bit, transfer weight to it as you start your sweep, then press down with the front foot to get the nose back in place. When your paddle is at the end of the sweep raise the handle and pull the paddle in toward the board.

[PeconicPuffin]

I need to practice more....or get a new head...

Where do I sign up for a new head?

[PonoBill]

Doing a little 180 practice really helped me today. Some pretty big bombers at Kanaha today. I was doing some pretty quick turns into vertical faces.

Son of Gecko is a righteous board, though the tail seems to wash out a bit more than Gecko, and it's tougher to drop into a windy wave. Bill Foote suggested bigger side bites. I got some, we'll see how it goes in the morning. More big waves headed here. Ho hum. More waves. What a winter!!!

[Pierre]

Of course, to achieve a 180° " turn,take off and drop" is at first fuctional. thans to all repiles here above!  the most challenging to me was 2 things :1-to gain speed just after the turn. i realized that putting weight back on the forefoot helps a lot.
2- to perform this turn on my non-paddling side as well -useful when I must paddle towards the peak- ( being goofy I'm better turning right). I now train doing it on a regular-foot stance and switch during takeoff, and it works  . but sometimes i feel more comfortable to proceed towards the peak ( to the left) then to perform a 270° turn to the right and takeoff....

[ODJ]

Damn, you mean i need to learn this move with both stances??!!! i'm goofy foot and just finally got the quick 180 turn dialed. on my old 10 footer i just couldnt find the sweet spot and was never able to consistently do them, but 2 days on the new board and i've been busting them out pretty quickly and getting into waves faster.

i ALWAYS turn to the right since i am goofy foot, and always have issues if i need to go left before paddling into a wave. learing to turn around in a regular stance is going to be REALLY difficult to learn, and i am going to look like a fool, but i will give it a shot!

[PonoBill]

You need to be able to turn fast both directions.

[ODJ]

dammit!

[1tuberider]

The quickest turn is going to be done within the length of the board. spun in place.  Not to many of the pivot turns I see are doing that unless the tail is sunk in the water. Pretty easy to spin the board around with feet parallel by back paddling for initiation and then a thrust off the bow to complete the revolution. A few short strokes and you should be taking off.

Most of the pivot turns I have seen are large radius circles.  If you sink the tail and pivot with the paddle in place when complete by placing weight forward you could get some drive from the tail popping up. Not very easy to do.

[tautologies]

...or get a super small board...you'll have to start paddling towards the wave to be in the right position when the wave hits.