Topics

1

Travel, Trips, Destinations / Portugal SUP surfing

« on: September 02, 2021, 03:35:39 AM »

I am planning a move to Europe and Portugal will likely be where I settle.  They have so many surf camps but as usual finding a place that rents performance SUP boards is a research project.  Sometimes the surf shops will have one or two but that don’t always advertise.  I found one such shop in Fonte da Telha.  I decided to do a week at Mauka Lodge between Mafra and Enciera.  It was great and I discovered that the owner Tiago has boards he rents out of Lisbon.  So that takes care of the Lisbon area for me.  But next I am off to Algarve.  If anyone knows of a place in southern Portugal where they rent SUP surf boards please let me know.

2

SUP General / Any suggestions on how to google places that rent surf SUPs

« on: March 24, 2021, 01:57:23 PM »

We need a new term because the moment you google SUP, Standup or anything resembling that you end up with a shitload of places that will rent you touring SUPs.  And now there is iSUPs taking up space.  I want to paddle a lot of different surf SUPs under a variety of conditions but man is it difficult to find the places that rent performance surf SUPs.  I do find them on occasion in tourist destinations throughout the world known for surfing but on the east coast it seems SUP renting is only for flat water touring.  Anyone know of places in Florida or NC. 

3

Gear Talk / Different board for different conditions?

« on: February 28, 2021, 08:02:50 AM »

Do any of you switch boards according to conditions?  I paddle a locally shaped 8 footer with tapered rails.  It is very light and the volume is about 124.  I am 180lbs.  I love it in certain conditions but struggle in others.   I have a also found it to be a great board for the steep waves of NC as the rails are tapered, but find that in South Florida the backwash and the wind get to me. Moreover the waves are not as steep so I could probably give up some of the performance for a heavy board with more stability.  The weight of my board at 15 lbs which makes it lighter than the longboard I just sold.  When there is a lot of wind I have to be particularly careful as a gust of wind can send it flying high in the air.

I also wonder if any of you swap out fins based on conditions.  I use a quad set up of all small fins but I feel I should use a tri-fin with a large center fin when there is more wind. 

If you could comment on which boards are most suited for the types of conditions below it would be greatly appreciated.

1.  Clean steep light offshore, light cross off.  My board is perfect for these conditions.

2.  Clean hard offshore.  This is frustrating because the board is great once you get into the wave but the light weight makes it hard to paddle against the strong wind.  When I turn sideways a strong enough gust can knock me off.

3.  Cleaned up wind chop.  When the wind switches off shore after being onshore I find there is a lot of wobble in the water that frustrates my ability to catch waves.  Add a little cross-off wind and my wave count drops to very few. it is similar to paddling on a break with bad backwash. 

4.  Hard cross/off.  If the wind is too strong I won’t catch any waves and will finish with the walk of shame as it can be exhausting paddling on my knees against the wind and useless trying to paddle standing up against the wind for long periods.  If it is moderate wind I will still spend far more time paddling the surfing.  Some days it seems I catch as few as 3-6 waves in a session last and hour. 

5.  Light onshore.  My board is fine in these conditions for small to mid size waves provided the wind has not been blowing hard at any point during the day. 

6.  Hard onshore.  Doubt any board is good in these conditions.  I remember paddling a board with a ton of volume that felt like I was on a cruise ship when the waves were large and the onshore blowing hard.   I had no problem with stability but felt rather sea sick after awhile.  More recently I tried out someone’s Nash  mad dog in choppy conditions and found it far easier to catch waves than with my board but crappy conditions don’t give you much of a ride.

I have already given this a lot of thought.  It seems I could use more length when the wind picks up but i am reluctant to go longer than 9 feet as I like to put my board in the car.  I am also not a fan of thick rails.  When I switched from a narrow ten foot board with thin rails to a wider 8.5 foot board with thick rails I found that if I wasn’t careful the latter would slam into my shins on a steep waves if I tried to engage the rails.  That is what motived me to buy the board I have now.

Any thoughts?  Below is my current board:

4

SUP General / New Airline Policy.

« on: October 12, 2019, 10:38:01 AM »

So both Delta and American now allow surfboards to be checked at the check bag rate and not the $150 it use to be.  The both mention Paddleboards under that category .   Has anyone tried checking a paddle board?  There is one caveat that bothers me.  They have weight and "linear inches" limitation.  My board has not problems with the weight and it is only 8 feet long.  But linear inches is defined as width + length + height and it must be under 126 inches.  That doesn't even work for my 9 foot longboard which is 22 inches wide.   I heard that they are more concerned about the weight than taking out a tape measure.  Why would they list paddleboards when I don't think there exist a paddleboard the has a width+height+length under 126?
Here's what the site says:

Allowance and requirements
Water sports boards include:

Surfboards
Wakeboards
Wave skis
Boogie boards
Skim boards
Paddle boards
Speed boards
Kiteboard / kitesurf
1 bag or case can contain multiple boards and will count as 1 checked item. Keels, kedges, and/or fins must be removed or properly protected to prevent damage to other bags.

Cost
Standard checked bag fees of your destination apply up to 50lbs/23kgs and 126in/320cm (length + width + height) or a $150 fee applies from 51lbs/23kgs to 70lbs/32kgs.

For travel to, through or from Brazil, for tickets issued on or before May 20, 2019, the fee will be:

$42.50 (1st board bag/case)
$85 (2+ board bags/cases)
For tickets issued on or after May 21, 2019, there is no exception for Brazil.

5

SUP General / San Clemente to San Diego

« on: January 16, 2015, 11:44:00 AM »

I'm researching the beaches from SC to SD but whenever I travel there is always the question of where I can rent and how crowded the breaks are where they have rentals.   And will the boards be any good.   

I rarely have to deal with lineups where I live and the attitude towards SUPs is chill for the most part.  In fact a lot of people cross-over.  The beauty of a SUP in some locations is that you can paddle away from the crowds and get a break to yourself.  Where might this possibility exist in southern ca? I was thinking black's beach in SD or way down near the Mexican border.  It looks like San Clemente may have a spot as well.  I always get the impression uncrowded surf breaks at rare and a well kept secret in SC.  Are there certain territorial spots to avoid where the lineup may be particularly hostile to those on a SUP?

6

Sessions / Hooked along with my pet dolphins

« on: May 18, 2014, 02:05:59 PM »

About a month ago I bought my second board and made sure it had enough volume to handle the ocean chop, something I struggled with on my low volume board.  I finally got to dial it on the surf in a variety of conditions.  After a painfully long Atlantic flat spell' we had three days of great surf.  Friday was the biggest surf I've ever ridden on my standup paddle board.  Yesterday it was smaller but when I went out I found a spot by myself at an inlet and a school of dolphins came by to hangout; catching waves, and riding in, around and under my board.  I could almost pet them.  The sun turned into a big orange ball as it lit up the inlet and the tidal pools.  This morning I awoke early and surfed from 7 to 10.  This time there were an army of standup paddlers and long boarders up and down the beach.  Like a scene out of endless summer, we were all catching fun long clean lines even though the waves were only two to three feet high and plenty of room for all of us since we could easily paddle away if the lineup got too cozy. 

Since I moved south and gave up skiing in my 40s, I've tried mountain biking (hurts when you fall), whitewater kayaking (loved it but nearly died twice), Waveski (a type of high performance surf kayak) still love it but can't use it when there's no surf and now this.  Along the way I tried longboarding which is fun but I love having a paddle handy.   This sport has so many dimensions to it and the best part is when the surf sucks you can still have fun on it.  But you guys already know that.

7

SUP General / Board size questions

« on: February 19, 2014, 07:11:39 AM »

I bought the SUP ATX escape last summer.  It is a 10 by 29, 140 liter board. I weigh close to 180 but now that it is winter I expect my weight is a lot more with my wet suit on.   I used this guide when buying it:

http://www.islesurfboards.com/paddle-board-size-and-weight-chart.aspx

I figured the Escape would be similar to the 10x29 136 liter classic board.   Accordingly it recommends being under 154 if a beginner, under 181 if an intermediate.  I didn't want a beginner board since I figured if I stuck to it I'd be intermediate in due time.  Sure enough I soon mastered paddling the smaller board in a variety of conditions.  Here's what frustrates me. I rarely get a good surf day on it.  Clean conditions are hard to come by on the east coast and you have to be an early bird to enjoy them.  It seems every time I go out, the wind changes.  I've gotten to the point where I can paddle it in choppy conditions well enough but the board is rocking and rolling and water is washing over my feet.  It may be worse now to because of the added weight from the wet suit.   As a result my drive to catch a wave sucks under these conditions and I get very few rides.    This means that if we have a cross or on shore wind above 5 mph I will begin to struggle and if it gets above 10 its just not worth it to try to surf.

The solution is obviously a bigger board for sloppier conditions.  But how do I determine what big enough is?  One day, I switched with a guy who was a bit over 200lbs. and had a board over 12 ft and wider than 30 inches.  It was a choppy day but it felt like I was standing on a barge.  I also felt like I was trying to turn a barge.  If I go that big I was thinking I should buy a touring/racing board.  I have resorted to paddling creeks, bays and the intercostal when the wind picks up a lot and I could go faster and further with a touring/racing board.   Please share your thoughts.

8

Technique / calm water drills to help with ocean chop

« on: July 31, 2013, 02:36:59 PM »

 I've been very humbled by my feeble performance on the ocean. My board is clearly too low in volume given my lack of experience but I wanted something I could grow into. I'll be away from the ocean for over a week.  The old man in me wants to take time off, but the kid in me wants results NOW.

Obviously working on my weak side paddling is something I can do in calm water.  The other drill I do is to practice pivoting the board while lift the nose by pushing down on the back of the board.  I can do that in calm water but don't even consider it in the ocean. I also try changing my stance around in calm water.    Does anyone know any other drills that could crossover to help me in the ocean?  And what is your opinion?  Do you feel enough board time in calm water will make it easier in the ocean or is there very little crossover?  I'ver heard two different opinions on this.  My guess is, that if you don't challenge yourself on calm water,  you won't get much crossover to the ocean.

Here's another possible drill but I'm not sure if it is possible or not.  Is it possible to transition from paddling in a kneeling position with only one knee down to a standing position without putting your hands on the board?  It seems getting good at that might come in handy.  

I just found this youtube:



But that looks like a whitewater SUP.

9

Technique / Newby introduction

« on: July 28, 2013, 08:17:00 AM »

Hi folks,

I just bought a SUP a week ago and want to thank this forum and some of the videos on the net for the progress I've made.  I come from a waveski background which I love and swore it was more fun than a SUP but realized you can't rent waveskies anywhere and the cost of air transport of a board is prohibitive.  So when I was in Hawaii, I spent one day surfing a longboard but found myself drawn to the SUP (even though I find surfing a SUP far more challenging than a longboard) .  The breaks are hopelessly crowded at Waikiki so I rented SUPs of various shape and sizes and paddled around in the waves working on my drive on open swells since I didn't feel comfortable dealing with all the tourists where the waves were breaking.

About a week ago I bought the SUPATX escape (10ftx29") model.  I didn't want to repeat my waveski experience of starting out with high volume and turning around and buying a smaller volume one for performance.   I struggled the first few days paddling it in any form of wind or chop and found I would often lose balance when I switched the paddle to my week side.   Eventually I was able to handle some light winds and texture and so I gave surfing it a try.  I struggled to line myself up and time the wave while maintaining balance.  I went through all of this with high performance waveskies so I know I'll get over this hump.  Then there is knowing exactly when to shift the weight to the back of the board.  I always seemed to jump the gun on that.   I need to get better at engaging the rail in the direction I'm catching the wave but since I still feel a bit wobbly, I haven't mastered that yet.   All in good time, and fortunately I can paddle to a lot of places where a kook can be alone with his thoughts. 

Yesterday I took the board to a calm area of the intracoastal to focus on stroke techniques and lifting the nose for a strong pivot.  I"m goofy foot and right handed.  Plus coming from a whitewater paddling background I've spent most of my time rolling and bracing on the right side.   Consequently when switching to the right I instinctively control the paddle with my right hand rather than on top with the left.  I also read on one of the threads here that there is a tendency to push down on the left foot if you are goofy foot.  I was therefore not just yawning but pretty much turning the board when I switch to the right.  On the left side, I have solid technique and could keep it straight for several strokes.    So yesterday I focused on using my left hand on the right side and pushing down with my right foot and like magic my extreme yawning problem was solved. That being said it is easy when a wake passes under me or conditions get choppy to go back to bad habits.

So now for some newby questions I wasn't able to find.  First, I'm sore all over from a week of playing on this board but what do I do about my feet? Tell me this goes away.  Should I buy special shows?  Second question has to do with switching stances.  In calm conditions I like to experiment with a variety of stances and positions on the board.  When I drive for a wave I feel more comfortable in a staggered position because it is one less thing to think about having to time when trying to drop in.  Is this a bad habit that could lead to other problems? Also, while I'm goofy foot, I don't find the regular stance to be that awkward.   I find it strange I'm goofy since I kick with my right foot.  Is there any advantage to switching stances depending on whether you catch a left or right?  Once I get good enough to do cutbacks and top turns I would imagine it would be better to stick to one stance and get use to leaning backwards.

Well enough of my rambling, any insight for a newby is appreciated.

B