I met this guy over the weekend and he says he averages 60 - 70 strokes a minute on his SUP. He also stated that it took him less than 3,000 strokes to reach the Kahului Harbor from Maliko which is over 8 miles. I don't remember the exact miles he quoted me since a set was coming and I became preoccupied. My bullshit meter was on high alert but did not want to say anything. Is this humanly possible without drugs. ;D
Aloha
Byron
And I thought I was wierd counting the steps it takes me to get to my office from the parking lot.... (820 in case anyone cares) ;D
70 strokes per minute... :o
Even at 60 strokes per min. that means he did the 8 miles in 50 minutes or 9.6 mph.....LOL. I believe drugs are necessary for that.
Dave Kalama did it in 1:06 with a 25 mph tailwind and good swell at the Naish race. Something tells me the BS was deep in the water that day Byron....hope your tetanus shots are up to date..... ;D
drugs are possible with anything... or is that the other way around?
Was he on a Penetrator? ;D ;D ;D
Unfortunately he was not on a Penetrator. Maybe the lightning bolt he was riding has some kind of extra super power. ;D
Aloha
Byron
Hehe...I think I've seen that guy....blue leotard, red cape, big red S on his chest... ;)
just got it from a reliable source that 60 - 70 strokes per minute are possible...
...with viagra
Woogie and I counted Jake and Jacko doing something like that in the Gold Coast race but they are young guys...............
Hopefully some guys and gals with success in racing will chime in here but it seems like SUP is more of a long pull at a slower rate. In Outrigger the short rapid strokes work well in the 6 man boats that carry a lot of momentum. The faster you go the more glide, carry and momentum you have the more a short high stroke rate works. In the one man OC-1 which are usually 21'6 and glide better than anything SUP you have to have a longer reach and stroke. Someone much smarter than me said
"I used a LONGER paddle to OC1. Why? In an OC1, the overall length of the stroke increases because the boat doesn't glide like a six man, so where in OC6 you have your power phase, take out at the thigh and smoothly recover, which you can do because all the weight develops better momentum and you get 'glide', and OC1 doesn't do this as well so a longer blade allows me to 'load' my longer, OC1-style stroke better, from all the way up front. You use a longer stroke in OC-1 because you need to hold your boat up longer."
Well I guess we just have to look at who is really fast and study that. Since SUP (especially the shorter ones) have far less glide than OC-1 I think the above theme, often repeated would apply. I know for me a short high stroke rate feels terribal and of course takes a ton of conditioning to keep up...I guess in the end for me since all I am doing out there is being the motor I will do what feels best which I that long stretch and feeling the every muscle pull that board forward. Maybe the tip tap hammering is faster but thats why I never liked the surf ski though it is the fastest thing out there, I felt like I was in a hamster wheel is some way.
With many things the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, moderate stroke length, high rate.
Any thoughts?
I totally geeked-out yesterday and counted my strokes per minute (paddling that is).
I paddle about 35-38 strokes/minute for my 1-2 hour pace. My all-out 20 minute pace is about 55/minute & that has me almost vomiting at the finish. Interesting to see what Chuck Patterson or Woogie do in a race.
GD was hoping to hear from you, as an OC and SUP what are your thoughts on the stroke for the SUP a shorter fast Tahitian style, a long Hawaiian style or something in between? I am looking for some David K footage. Arron Ns which I have put up before it pretty radical in that he is bend over at 90deg.
Shawn M: I am at best a novice OC paddler. I have been experimenting quite a bit with different strokes on the SUP... still not sure what works best. I have been really concentrating on stopping my stroke at my feet, since not much power is produced passed this point. In turn I am trying to reach farther forward to start the stroke. Also trying to incorporate bigger back and shoulder muscles instead of smaller (puny) arm muscles. What I am trying to speed up is my return to get the blade planted as quickly as possible in hopes of keeping the board at a consistent speed and not accelerating/decelerating with every stroke.
That said, I would think a quicker, not super powerful stroke might be better? I don't know.
I was told that if your OC is rising up and down out of the water with each stroke, this is not efficient paddling? What are your thoughts?
GreatDane, I am a novice paddler myself but have been shown and told a fair bit by Woogie and have worked closely with him as I developed and built my Penetrator boards. His stroke rate is generally between 40-45 and he likes to do exactly what you said you have been working on i.e. starting the stroke as far forward as possible (without bending over too much) and not bringing it much past your feet. I know personally, he hates the rapid attack for a sup and likes to maintain a fairly upright position. His approach seems to work as he's paddled my boards in 5 races now and hasn't come close to being beaten yet leading from start to finish in each........
Hey that is great info. Is it woogie or the boat? Both for sure! My new 18 ft by Joe bark looks a little like the your design, great minds think alike, I will have to get a picture up. Sounds like a lot of the oc principals apply to SUP.
Just for fun, far and away fastest OC-1 paddler at several distances, sprinting here...Danny Ching, the best from the mainland was in this heat, I think he was 2nd to last, we have a lot to learn.
I do think OC, C1 olympic canoe have a lot of good coaching points for great SUP so I hope this is not unwelcomed....check it out
http://embedthevideo.com/popup.php?url=http://blip.tv/file/get/Mindy-Vaa1Champion505.mov
Very, very cool. Since SUP is so new, I think we have no choice but to borrow techniques here and there from sports like OC that have been around for 100+ years? Thousands maybe? Notice the bent shaft paddles on the video.
Good to here from Stuey too... what great resources we have on this site.
Sean... get on those pictures of your Bark... I'm hoping to get him working on one for me for next summer. Just have to convince the wife. Might have a Vortice for sale pretty soon.
Yea, thanks to Stuey, advice straight from the top. RE: Joe's boards. It seems like he is favoring the design style seen in this photo below where the board is high in the center and lower on the sides...as opposed to the unlimited style concave top in the middle of the photo. I saw the one he made for Guy Perrie (top hawaiian SUP not sure if spelled right) and some he sent to Hawaii that were 19ft!! but they were all with raised center and lowered sides...I dont know how that effects surfing a swell with the foot placement since I dont surf but that seems to be what most of the new boards are built like especially for the heavier paddlers who need the board volume...hulls are all custom to the type of seas with the hawaiian ones more like the penetrator look and the california one with less rocker and more conventional shape. I will have to dig up my camera. My board looks like the green one but has black tips fading into a red center and a carbon color hull. Many of the SUP in calif have not been getting as much out of their rudders as hoped do Joe says many are not asking for them...he has some new hydralic rudder design on the board but I guess it is still in the works.