Messages

31

Share the Stoke / Re: Beginning SUP - Chronicles of Remickulous

« on: October 17, 2016, 08:48:13 PM »

Remickulous, Thank you for your service.  Do reward yourself with a lesson from Rob. So many of us in Seattle got started with him.  His tips remain helpful after several years in the sport.

32

Downwind and Racing / Re: Board length

« on: October 16, 2016, 10:51:14 PM »

Hi Stefan,  In response to your inquiry about King's boards, I own a King's AC 14 x 25 Elite, as well as SIC F16 V3 hollow & SIC V1 carbon bullet.  The King's AC Elite is a gorgeous board but is definitely designed for 20 knots or less & is the quietest / smoothest board I have tried in glass conditions.  I mostly use it for work out paddles around Seattle. i don't race much but it works well for racing as well.

Occasionally, I will take the AC Elite out on true downwind days just to spice things up. It is particularly useful when I don't have a shuttle and need to paddle upwind.  It actually surfs left & right really well (much better than a Dominator for example) & is stable for 25" considering my balance is so so.  However, the AC Elite requires an enormous amount of concentration.  Relative to SIC boards, it is MUCH more sensitive to trimming.  If you go even an inch too far back or forward, the board slams on the brakes. The goal I have learned is to barely avoid pearling. I enjoy how different it feels from a typical downwind boards but don't think it is the optimal board in these conditions.

I am not familiar with the King's S series.  I saw a newer 14" King's model this summer with a bit more rocker / bulbous nose: perhaps this is the one.  It looked like a nice attempt at a hybrid board, in keeping with the newer "all in one" All Stars, Naish Malikos that are currently popular & effective.  I bet it would work well in downwind conditions, though I am partial to boards designed specifically for downwind, i.e. SIC models.

Regarding 14 vs 16, this weekend I finally tried both of my SICs head to head in truly optimal conditions (>50 mph winds on Lake Washington).  Both boards are so much fun but the F16 is the better DW board, hands down. It is easier to get the F16 into glides with less padding effort. The rudder is awesome and gets you at least 20% more bumps, and allows carving when you are not fully back on the board.  The 2 boards are about equal when it comes to carving right & left. The F16 is probably a bit less stable because of its narrower width, but the difference is slight. Both boards feel sluggish in flat water but are surprisingly only slightly slower than true displacement hull boards when I have done informal time trials. If you can find one & your local conditions are big enough, I'd go F16.

33

Downwind and Racing / Re: Viento run from a high vantage point

« on: August 26, 2016, 10:43:19 PM »

I am all for a thread getting hijacked in the name of trash talk.  It is sounding like I'll need to get an OC at some point.  Not on the 1 year horizon, but eventually. Cove, is the OC fun in flat water or choppy crap? The reality is that represents 90% of my TOW.

The speed / glide thing is never so evident as when paddling with my 2 sons aged 10 & 11.  For some reason, the margin for connecting very few versus tons of bumps is razor thin with those guys.  I think it is some combination of strength & mentality.  If the wind is <25, then they just can't muscle in quite as much.  They seem to be paddling the whole damn time.  However, when it is fully on, and they don't get spooked for some reason (~50% chance), then they can really fly.  Last week, my older son did his first run and it took >2 hours.  His very next run was somewhere between 80 & 90 minutes. While the 2nd run was a bit windier, the first was still a bonafide downwinder. 

34

Downwind and Racing / Viento run from a high vantage point

« on: August 26, 2016, 10:22:33 AM »

My wife took this iPhone video of me from Mitchell's point. I am visible on an orange board about 1/4 of the way across the river.  It is pretty grainy & crappy quality. However, I think it captures the power of the river nicely.

It also captures the simple & obvious fact that speed on a downwinder is all just % of time in plane.  For the first 20 seconds or so, I am essentially bobbing about doing nothing.  However, I link a few after that and end up covering a lot of water pretty quickly. 

35

Downwind and Racing / Re: Greece downwinder

« on: August 26, 2016, 10:10:00 AM »

Another great video DK.  It is kind of a unique feature of downwinding that unlike many comparable sports, it is largely a self taught endeavor. Aside from one lesson with Jeremy, I've learned almost everything from watching youtube videos. Jeremy & Livio's videos taught me to paddle less and use the rudder to angle into more swells.  Your video emphasizes the utility and fun of carving mid glide. I just spent a week in the gorge & did about 10 runs, mostly in big conditions.  I spent a lot of time focusing on carving the F16 and was surprised how easy  it was to make figure 8s from the back of the board.  I had been doing this before with the rudder when further forward on the board.  However, your videos add a new dimension to how I approach downwind runs.  Thanks again for posting!   

36

Downwind and Racing / Re: 360 Viento

« on: July 28, 2016, 08:16:47 AM »

Bill,  Your recent posts have me thinking... new paddle, 360, or neither, or both? The 360 on top of a ski helmet on a powder day would be pretty epic. On the other hand, in the name of frugality, I've been pretending that all paddles are the same for the last 3 years. I suspect this is not so.

37

SUP General / Re: visiting downwind paddler in the Gorge -- a couple of questions

« on: July 19, 2016, 07:17:29 PM »

Neoprene is more than fine unless you run cold. I usually wear flip flops down to the beach and then rope them into my pfd: high fashion.  However, bare feet is also fine with just a bit of ginger walking getting to the put in at Viento.

I'd do you your first run on something super stable like a Naish Glide or F14.  You'll get plenty of glides and build your confidence more quickly.

38

Downwind and Racing / Re: Fun in the Gorge

« on: July 19, 2016, 07:13:30 PM »

That photo is ridiculous.  The next time I can make it down to HR, I need to explore the the Hatchery / Swell City rather than sticking to the Oregon side.  I've only been over there once. It was a couple of years ago when I was just getting into the sport.  I was doing the run on a 2011 Naish Javelin.  I was stoked and overconfident that I had made it about 3/4 of the run without falling in without falling in, so I decided to try Swell city.  It was a complete blood bath. However, I bet it is a blast on a slightly easier board & more TOTW.

39

Downwind and Racing / Re: Enjoying the glide

« on: July 13, 2016, 08:14:39 AM »

DK, This is really top shelf stuff.  Awesome footwork. Awesome scenery.  But the incredibly skilled carving is what puts it over the edge... definitely something to aspire to! Well done.

40

Technique / Re: Dumb Question for the Dumb Question guys. Downwind boards more stable with wind?

« on: July 11, 2016, 10:41:45 PM »

SUPcheat, If there is any chance at all to have your first few downwind sessions on a lake, then this is the ticket.  We have one local run on Lake Washington which relative to Puget Sound or the Columbia River is a piece of cake.  I have taken beginners out in all 3 places and invariably they have much more success on the lake.  The lack of other dynamic features in the water such as currents & tides allows for smooth, predictable bumps.  It amounts to the difference between a groomed intermediate run and a double black chute.

Interestingly, this is true even on really, really windy days.  40 mph in the Gorge is epic, but frightening & no place to get started. On the lake, however, 40 mph is actually the ideal set of conditions for a beginner to catch big bumps.

The critical TOTW piece for more complex runs such as Maliko & Viento are the natural micro-adjustments necessary to stay on the board during periods of side chop. I bet this type of bracing accounts for 50% of energy expended on these runs for all but the most experienced paddlers.  This skill is relevant for all downwind runs but is less vital on a lake.  In general on a lake, the board will feel more stable which allows more time to focus on timing your bursts into bumps and perfecting your footwork.

41

Downwind and Racing / Re: Fun in the Gorge

« on: July 11, 2016, 10:21:25 PM »

Looking really good on the F16 Blue. You have sure racked up a lot of experience since our run in the Gorge together back in 2013! You look like Jeremy now! Thanks for the vids, they came out great.

You are too kind Cove.  Jeremy & I are tall white dudes from the mid-Atlantic who like to stand on SIC boards in windy conditions. Sadly the similarities end there.

I still think of that 1st Viento run often.  You were beyond patient.  I've now taken a decent number of folks out for their first time on the Columbia.  There definitely is an art to it.  Say too little & the noob will keep falling in over & over. Say too much & risk irritating them to death.  The pace also has to be just right. My new strategy is to hang around at Viento for 30 minutes & watch until they are almost out of sight. Then I catch up, do some very low key coaching & then relax again until they are almost out sight. Then repeat. It pays dividends down the road as it is so fun to watch people catch the bug.

42

Downwind and Racing / Re: Another wild day on the bay.

« on: July 11, 2016, 10:10:41 PM »

Nice DJ. That Maliko sure looks like it does the trick. I wonder how it compares to my favorite Naish board, the 2014 LE Jav.

43

Downwind and Racing / Re: Fun in the Gorge

« on: July 10, 2016, 03:51:25 PM »

That looks great fun. What is the water temp?

At this time of year, I am guessing mid to high 60s.  Not cold at all.  I've only been once in the early summer and it quite chilly at that time

44

Downwind and Racing / Fun in the Gorge

« on: July 10, 2016, 10:59:03 AM »

Amazing conditions last weekend in the gorge. All of this footage was from our first run. The second was actually windier.

45

Downwind and Racing / Re: How good is this?

« on: April 13, 2016, 08:06:50 PM »

Cove, A10, Yugi, Pono.... all great points. I am not trying to suggest that an unlimited is the solution to all of life's problems.... just most of them.

The larger point I am trying to make is that I think the "UL in Maui and 14' everywhere else" paradigm is a bit off.  I was just amazed at how much of a game changer the F16 was for me in local conditions, and am convinced that this would be the case for other enthusiasts with my level of experience.

2 huge caveats: #1: I am not terribly interested in racing and adhere more to the free ride spirit.  I want to go as fast as possible in the fun parts of the run but am content with a board that just gets by in less than ideal conditions. The less paddling the better. The higher percentage of time in plane the better. The vibe that JR captured in the video is what it is all about for me.

#2: From everything Cove has said over the last few years, it sounds like the F16 and 17 foot bullet provide totally different experiences. I've never tried the 17 foot bullet in anything but flat water so my experience in the UL world is in fact "limited". That being said, I remain convinced that the F16 is a wonderful niche board for conditions in the gorge and a lot of our local runs. I also agree with Pono about the rudder. Although, the rudder does diminish the minimalist aesthetics of a beautiful board, for me the advantages were evident immediately and continue to accrue as I gain more experience.