Messages

1

Sessions / Re: November tidal bore on the Sittaung river is amazing

« on: April 13, 2020, 03:34:55 AM »

Anyhow, your NSP All Rounder does a nice job on those tiny waves which the tidal bore produces

Yes the NSP All Rounder is doing well on those waves and allows me to enjoy pretty long rides. It is also comfortable enough to paddle for hours at a good pace to reach far sections of the river.

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Sessions / Re: November tidal bore on the Sittaung river is amazing

« on: April 13, 2020, 03:29:59 AM »

Love your spirit of adventure Myanmar SUP man. Your interaction with the local fisherman always puts a smile on my face. They probably think your're a bit crazy:)

Hi TallDude, yes they do think I'm a bit crazy 

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Sessions / Re: November tidal bore on the Sittaung river is amazing

« on: April 13, 2020, 03:27:55 AM »

Imagination vacation is just what I needed during this prolonged downtime.  Thanks for taking us along for the ride!

Glad to hear that you found it entertaining 

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Sessions / Re: November tidal bore on the Sittaung river is amazing

« on: April 13, 2020, 03:26:36 AM »

That March update is no less than amazing and spectacular. The drone footage really enhances production. Looks like you've check all the safety boxes w/that pack and paddle leash. Keep on that bore, Mayanmar.

Thanks for your comments surfercook. That's right, I try to think of anything that can improve safety. I use paddle leash when I expect rough conditions although it's not very comfortable to paddle with it. I would be in big trouble if I dropped it in the middle of the river, so I cannot compromise on security.

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Sessions / Re: November tidal bore on the Sittaung river is amazing

« on: April 12, 2020, 07:48:54 AM »

Your compilation video of your March sessions was really nice to watch. Nice to see a sup video during this "stay at home" pandemic.

Thanks Night Wing

BTW, you've got a nice looking NSP sup. I'm just curious. If you don't me my asking, what is the model of your NSP and what is it's length and width?

This is an NSP 06 coco All Rounder SUP 10'6 Aqua, 10'6 x 32 x 4 1/2 and 187 L. I'm quite happy with it so far, it meets my requirements especially for these long river trips where I have to paddle in various conditions, it's good for ocean surfing as well and price was reasonable.

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Sessions / Re: November tidal bore on the Sittaung river is amazing

« on: April 12, 2020, 03:11:06 AM »

Follow up after February and March sessions. I have pretty much reached the limits (16-17 km from village base) of what I can do on a solo one day trip given the constraints of the tide tables. Rideable tidal bore has been observed another 25 km further down the river, so there is still a lot to see, but with different logistics obviously. So far I have not been able to surf in a single ride the 15 km section I have surveyed, although I managed to stay within short distance of the wave frontline over about 10 km. I had to pull out of the front wave in shallow water sections but was able to re-enter the wave a couple of times getting into deeper waters.

Here is a video compilation of March sessions. (I'll have to skip my planned trips for April and May due to the pandemic)
Comments are in subtitles.

7

Sessions / Re: November tidal bore on the Sittaung river is amazing

« on: March 02, 2020, 07:39:43 AM »

That's crazy you surf that all alone. Nice work! I would be apprehensive to do it by myself.

I've done it a couple of times with a friend, but yes most of the time I am all alone out there. For sure I take extra care because nobody can help in case anything goes wrong, but it gives extra shot of adrenaline as well...And I like it! I am kind of adventurous by nature. My last session was last week and I paddled 16 km to the launch spot which was within wider section of the river mouth (10 km wide) about 1 km off the river banks that you can see in the video, it was like open sea. Quite thrilling...

But I have absolutely zero experience on a river bore wave.

I had no experience either before giving it a try on this river first time two years ago. Big difference with ocean wave riding is that you MUST have a successful take off at any cost, you don't care if it does not look good or if you are not stylish...If you fail you just go home and come back one month later to try again! I must say it happened to me a few times while getting to know the wave and trying to figure out the best spots for launching. It is quite frustrating, but you always learn something about the bore, and you have one month to think about it and how to do better the next time. I always capture videos under various angles as it helps me to see details I have no time to pick up in live, you have so many parameters to look after when the wave comes onto you, it is constantly changing and you have to adjust in real time, another big difference with ocean surfing where the peak is more or less always at the same spot. But that's the beauty of tidal bore riding, it's different every time!

Looked like it was all white water riding. Does the wave ever offer any open face?

Yes the wave opens up and closes at different locations of the river depending on the water depth. I have surfed it last year some open wave, you can check the video that I posted here maybe April / May 2019. But I am trying now to put together a 10 km ride, and for that I need to follow a very precise route to avoid all obstacles on the way, like fishermen's gear that stays on the water surface, shallow waters that would block my fin, side rivers mouth where wave opens up but where the push is decreased . In order to do that I have to ride mainly white water to keep a constant push. I know where to ride open wave, I'll do it again once I 've managed to ride the distance I have in mind.

8

Sessions / Re: November tidal bore on the Sittaung river is amazing

« on: February 04, 2020, 02:33:56 AM »

Nice work Myanmar, fun video and I always love seeing the countryside and groundwork at the launch site.

I appreciate all the time and effort to get the drone and surf footage.... very time consuming.

When you wiped out into the opposing wave, how do you get to the pick-up spot..... or do you have to paddle back to the launch site?

Thank you Rick. I guess it's nice to show not only the ride, but the effort and preparation to get to the launch spot and to get ready.
I confirm that it is very time consuming  and I shoot short sequence after short sequence over several days. I carry the drone in my bag all the way and fly it in uncomfortable conditions...
After I wiped out I had to paddle about 1h to the pick up site, but that was in the same direction as the tide stream, so I did not have to struggle too much.
I am going back in a few days time and I hope to be able to combine this November section, even extended further down the river, with the March section I surfed earlier into one single ride that could really be worth it 

9

Sessions / Re: November tidal bore on the Sittaung river is amazing

« on: February 04, 2020, 02:19:39 AM »

Coolest video I have seen in 2020!  You’re the man, what an experience.

Thank you! I'm glad that you like it 
It's for sure an unbelievable experience, and I really enjoy doing it!

10

Sessions / Re: November tidal bore on the Sittaung river is amazing

« on: January 05, 2020, 07:28:33 PM »

Me too, MS, good one.  I was thinking about the bacterial/chemical load, what little thingys would swim up your nose...  And what if you muff'd the takeoff?  Is that a once/twice-a-day event?  ...and that 'backwash' - we get a little of that in our local shorebreak occasionally - not with quite that much juice. ' Hope that was near the end of your ride. As NW noted, the drone really added to the video.

I gather Muslim surfers are shot if caught in the lineup?


Jim

Thanks for watching and for your comments. The water is muddy because it carries a lot of natural sediments which make the soil very fertile in this area. So that farmers don't need any chemicals, then there is no risk with bacterial and chemical stuff as opposed to some western countries beaches, lakes or rivers where it happened to me to have my skin itching after SUP sessions. Never happened on this river.
In case I mess up with take off, which I have experienced already a couple of times, I can come back to base at a pace of 4 km/h with the tide stream more or less. So I plan my sessions according to tide table carefully to have enough margin to be able to return to home before dark in any case.
The backwash took place about half way of the ride I was planning to complete that day. Then I had another 1 hour of paddling to return to base after that.
There is no risk for anyone to be shot out there, there are only fishermen and farmers around and I'm anyway the only crazy guy on the lineup 

11

Sessions / Re: November tidal bore on the Sittaung river is amazing

« on: January 05, 2020, 07:08:37 PM »

I really enjoy the drone shots in this video. Loved the panoramic views it gave.

It  was cool watching you surf the tidal bore and then meet up with a smaller wave coming towards you.

Thanks for sharing your video.

Thank you. It's not always easy out there on the river, but I try to capture drone shots when I have a chance. It's good to have various angles for the camera and it helps me to plan routes for my trips as well.

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Sessions / November tidal bore on the Sittaung river is amazing

« on: January 04, 2020, 12:51:39 AM »

Last november I had a few more sessions on the Sittaung (Sittang) river to surf this incredible Myanmar tidal bore. I found out that the bore pattern, the locations where it is ridable have completely changed compared to what I had experienced in March. I even was in situation to ride two different waves coming in opposite directions!

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Flatwater and Touring / Re: December is perfect for a SUP tour on Inle lake

« on: December 26, 2019, 06:25:16 PM »

I love the traditional lifestyle and culture is still in existence somewhere. I watched some of your driving tours through Myanmar as well. I will share these with my mother in law:) Thank you for sharing. Nice drone work too

Thank you. Yes I guess your mother in law might be interested by other videos of Myanmar.

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Flatwater and Touring / Re: December is perfect for a SUP tour on Inle lake

« on: December 23, 2019, 08:16:30 PM »

That was beautiful video. Gorgeous scenery. The vegetation on the lake, the high drone camera footage, the fisherman and you paddling amongst them...........really made for a very nice and pleasant video to watch.

Thanks for sharing your video.

Thank you very much for these comments

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Flatwater and Touring / December is perfect for a SUP tour on Inle lake

« on: December 22, 2019, 04:55:53 AM »

December is a perfect time for a SUP tour on Inle lake and for capturing drone footage as water level is high, sky is intense blue, cloudless and crystal clear, temperature is mild during day time so that you can paddle comfortably