Messages

31

Downwind and Racing / Re: Maliko video

« on: September 27, 2019, 05:40:55 PM »

I think this is your best video yet, and the others are great! I wanted to save this on Vimeo, but the Vimeo link on the forum viewer does not seem to work, and when I went to your Vimeo page, I could not find this new video. Would it be possible to link this to your Vimeo account so that we can watch it later?
Thanks.

32

Training, Diet, and Fitness / Re: "immediate" sea legs

« on: September 21, 2019, 02:07:05 PM »

Minor thought. I often paddle out well before sunrise, when there is just barely enough daylight to see the water. I know that my balance is not nearly as good in the dark when my eyes cannot help with the balance (try balancing with your eyes closed). As soon as it starts to get brighter out, my balance improves.
As another approach, one thing that I often do when I first start paddling in the morning is to intentionally rock the board side to side, both to wake up my balance muscles, and to reacquaint my brain with the primary and secondary stability of whatever board I am one. This seems to help a lot, compared to trying to keep the board quiet and level, which tends to make me stiff instead of soft in the ankles and knees.
Having said all that, it is certainly true that getting closer to 70 requires more time and effort to balance and adjust, so there is that.

33

SUP General / Re: Lessons Learned the Hard Way

« on: September 10, 2019, 10:28:42 AM »

Hi Oki,
I just wanted to follow up on your comment about a 9' X 32"ish board for larger waves and windy chop.
This is my own current solution for changing conditions (I am about your weight, but 68 yrs old, two artificial hips, back surgery, post-concussion syndrome and a damaged eye from a surfing accident, so my balance is not as good as it once was):
Glassy: 8'7" X 30" Sunova Flow, or 8'10" by 29"
Small to moderate wind and chop: Blue Planet All Good 8"8" X 31". The fairly wide nose and thin profile (under 4") really help the stability. If I could only have one board, this would be it.
Really rough water with wind while going for larger waves (for where I surf, that is overhead to head and 1/2): Tabou 9' X 31.5". The Tabou has the wide point forward, with a fairly pulled in tail which is critical to making that wide a board work in good-sized hollow surf. The only thing I would change about the Tabou would be to flatten and thin the deck to get my feet lower to the water and to get rid of excess volume that does not help stability. For what its worth, I have tried going to 32" wide for stability in big wind and chop, and it really did not work. The boards were just to bouncy in the chop. I would rather go longer than 9', rather than wider than 31.5". A board I am looking forward to trying for those conditions is the Sunvova Flash at 9'1" X 31.5" with 10 less liters than the Tabou.

34

Downwind and Racing / Re: Need downwinding advice

« on: September 07, 2019, 10:42:43 PM »

Thanks all. Some great points that make a lot of sense:
Pono- Good points. The frustrating part is that the falls I am dealing with are happening when I am fully confident and charging. Catching bumps, the board is flying at top speed, and then wham. I am certainly the least stable when I not paddling hard enough to keep the board planing, but I can usually brace through those lazy, or lack of wind, moments. It is the full speed, having a blast surprises that get me. I will pay a lot more attention to the angle of my tiller foot, and see if using that to narrow up the stance will help. Someone suggested that I stay in a more side-by-side stance, and that did not work nearly as well for me as staying in more of a surf stance.
Area 10- I had to laugh when you mentioned conditions that are not like the Maui videos, because that is where I live. Kihei is where I do 99% of my runs. It is pretty predictable with dominant larger bumps coming from the right, and smaller tighter bumps coming at almost 90 degrees from the left. What usually gets me is when I am going left on one of the bigger bumps, and then the left rail gets hit by one of the smaller bumps coming from the left. I think that you are right about the rudder being much of the problem when flying at full speed. I will sometimes surf the F16 in small clean reef break waves. I have found that when the board is trimming fast along a wall much over knee-high, it feels like the rudder starts forcing the board up and out over the back of the wave. I can fight it, but it really feels like the fast water flow is forcing the rudder out of alignment.
Despite that, the rudder has too many important pluses for me at this point to let it go. I love using it to make sharp cuts left or right to switch from riding one direction to the other. I once got caught being pushed up onto a rocky point without a rudder to steer against a crosswind, and that bad memory is pretty well embedded. Also, a run that we do a lot, if we are short on time, is half a Kihei run, and then a turn in towards our home, which means a quarter to half a mile of paddling straight across a 25+ mph sidewind. With the rudder constantly turned against the wind, this is pretty easy. Without the rudder, I have no confidence that I could nail my land target from that far offshore in a 90 degree crosswind.
Burchas- I must admit that I was really intrigued by your custom board with its thinner rails. It went against my previous concepts of what would be fast and stable, but it sure seemed to work great for you in the video, and I can see the thinner rails with maybe some bevel in the front third solving many of my problems. The trouble with a Foote or other option is my addiction to the rudder, which it sounds like may also be the source of some of my high-speed crashes.
Thanks for all the great insights, and I continue to welcome them.

35

Downwind and Racing / Need downwinding advice

« on: September 05, 2019, 08:53:49 PM »

I did not get nearly as many downwind runs in this summer as I had hoped, due to work, and also too many great south swell days. However, skills are still slowly improving, with good success at catching bumps, and getting better at making connections for long glides. My main problem is too many unnecessary falls.
I am riding an F16. I seldom fall even in high wind and rough seas when not on a glide. The two things that knock me down during a great glide are: 1. Having the nose or mid-section get hit from the side by a cross-roller, that suddenly veers the board off course, which throws me off in the opposite direction from the turn. 2. During a fast glide, having the downwind rail up near the front catch, causing the board to suddenly veer off course. Since I spend a lot of time SUP surfing, my bracing skills are pretty decent. If the fall happens to be towards the side that the paddle is already on, I have a good chance of saving it. If I need to try and reach the paddle around behind me to brace, odds are not so good.
I would love to finally get in some runs without falling, so I would welcome any advice. My current strategies are to anticipate the most likely side that the cross swells might hit me from, and have the paddle on that side ready to brace, and 2. When on a particularly fast glide, step back further on the tail to try to get those forward rails out of the water so that they do not catch and make the board suddenly veer.
Thanks for any help.

36

SUP General / Re: First lesson did not go well. Struggling and disheartened. Bigger person

« on: August 22, 2019, 07:10:25 PM »

Don't give up, especially based on what you imagine other people are thinking. You have every right to learn at your own pace, and do not need to compare your pace to anyone else's. Where I live I get to watch beginners on rental boards almost every day, with no lessons. At first, they all fall off within a second or two of trying to stand up. The smart ones then paddle around on their knees for a few minutes so that their brain can start feeling and adjusting to the tippiness of the board on the water. After a while, some of the lighter ones are managing to stay on their feet for brief periods. Unless they are given appropriate boards for their size (which almost never happens), the bigger people will always be more challenged at first and will take a little longer, but they will progress. if they come back the next day, the progress is very noticeable. The only ones that don't progress are the ones that give up.
Here are a few tips that might help:
1. 'Board size' to 'person size' ratio is a big deal for all of us, beginner to expert. The size board you describe would be a good size for the average person to learn on. However, if it is perfect for them, it may be too small for you if you are bigger than them. I have an older friend who weighs about 220 lbs, and is very out of shape. He wants to learn, and asked me what size board to start on. I suggested a 10'8" X 36" if he wants a little challenge, or 11'2" X 40" if he wants life to be easy while he builds his confidence.
2. Forward momentum is your friend. Imagine trying to balance on a bicycle standing still; nearly impossible. Get that bike moving forward, and balance gets a lot easier. The same is true on a SUP. Whether you are on your knees, or on your feet, try to keep paddling to keep the board moving forward. The moment you stop paddling, balancing will become more challenging.
3. Someone earlier described the classic way to get to your feet. For myself, I have too many years and too many old injuries to get up that way most of the time. Here is a trick that works for some of us: Start on your knees, and paddle until the board has some forward momentum. When you are ready to stand up, first bring your feet up underneath one foot at a time you so that you are on the balls of your feet and sitting on your heels. Then hold the paddle in one hand, and stand it up vertically with the blade resting on the deck in front of you. Use this as a crutch to help you up, and to stabilize yourself on the way up. The moment you are upright, get the blade in the water and start paddling forward. If you are more flexible than some of us old injured types, the standard way may work better for you, but try both and see what happens.
4. Never try to balance with the blade out of the water. Having the paddle in the water is your third leg for stability. This is true whether you are on your feet or on your knees.  Have you ever seen a two-legged stool? Nope, stools need at least three legs to be stable; same on a SUP, and the paddle either on the deck or in the water is that third leg. If your paddle is waving in the air trying to balance, you will fall.
5. Find totally calm water to practice on. Even one inch of chop on the water will make life ten times harder.
In answer to your question, there are a lot of paddlers on this forum who are big people (many are well over 200 lbs), and many of them are great paddlers. In most cases, they use boards that are bigger than the average-sized person. When they were learning, many started on boards that were much larger than the average beginner boards (or at least they wished they had). If you do not mind the challenge, you can stick with the same board and you will succeed as long as you do not quit. If you need some confidence building success, insist on something wider; at least 35" or 36" until you build your confidence.
Lastly, don't measure your success based on other people's progress. Base your success on your own progress. If you can do something a tiny bit better than you did the day before, that is progress, and progress is all that matters. When I recently had my second hip replaced, I was ecstatic when I could take two steps without crutches. It did not matter how many steps the patient down the hall was doing, all that mattered was that the next day I could take three steps. If you don't quit, you will progress.

37

Sessions / Re: Typhoon #9

« on: August 13, 2019, 12:40:52 PM »

Good stuff!! It would be great if you could remind us which board you are on in each video. I remember that you have more than one Blue Planet, but I can never remember exactly which models, so it would be good to have a reminder as we are watching the vids. Thanks.

38

Wingsurfing, Windfoiling, Wingfoiling, Wing SUP / Re: Window or Not???

« on: August 07, 2019, 01:09:31 PM »

The one time that I went out on a Duotone, I found the window to be pretty important. I was in an area that was busy with windsurfers, and it was important to be able to see what was going on downwind and in front of me, especially when I was preparing to jibe. Once I was up, the wing was pretty constantly in the same position as a windsurfing sail would have been, and the window played an equally important role. Since then I have been in situations where I was windsurfing, and saw people using wings who were sailing on a broad reach towards me with no visibility.
It is certainly true that it is easy to lift the wing at any time and look around, but most people when powered up across the wind may not bother to do that. Personally, I think that windows are an important aspect of any wing (though I have almost no real experience beyond that one time, so this opinion may not be worth much).

39

SUP General / Re: Seattle Times Article on SUP Related Drownings

« on: August 02, 2019, 01:09:36 PM »

I completely agree with the posts on this thread that suggested we should be voicing our thoughts on this subject to those outside this forum. For better or worse, these posts inspired me to send a letter, both to the Seattle Times, and to the author of the article. Someone mentioned drafting a letter that others could use, who are not inspired to write long letters. I am attaching the letter that I sent, so that anyone interested can use it as a starting template if they choose, that they can then edit to their own beliefs and opinions. Though I did mention a national forum in my letter, I was careful not to mention the Zone, so that I would not be claiming my opinions to be those of everyone on the forum, which I am sure they are not.

Here is the letter that I sent:
"As someone who paddles SUPs (stand up paddleboards) on a regular basis in a wide range of conditions, I would like to offer some well meaning feedback on your recent article in the Seattle Times regarding paddleboarding and life jackets. Your article attracted a lot of attention on the primary national SUP forum, and there is a strong consensus that, while the article makes some valid points, it misses the most important issues.

While life jackets can play a valid role in some situations, the real key to safety in SUPing is wearing an ankle leash that attaches the board to the paddler. The board has much more flotation than any life jacket, and allows someone to climb back on board to escape cold water situations. Most fatalities do not involve someone wearing a leash but not a life jacket. The serious or fatal accidents are caused by not wearing a leash, so the board is able to float or blow away from the paddler. A person wearing a life jacket in this situation would have flotation, but would still be stuck out in the water without the board, which could be serious in cold water far from shore. If the paddler is a strong swimmer, and the leash were to break, having a life jacket will slow the person's swimming speed down to the point that they may not be able to catch a board that is blowing away, that they could have easily reached if they were able to swim normally. There is no question that any non-swimmer, or a very weak swimmer, should wear a life jacket during any water activities, including paddleboarding.

The most ridiculous, and dangerous, regulations are those that require, or allow, a life jacket to be strapped to the board. If the person is not wearing a leash, the board may get away from the paddler, taking the life jacket with it.

Experienced paddlers would never consider getting on a board, even for a moment, without a leash, but there are some situations where wearing a life jacket may be considered unsafe. Much of my own padding is done in surf, sometimes quite sizable. In large surf, it is often critical to be able to dive underwater, either to swim under a powerful wave, or to escape from a surfboard or surfer coming towards you on the surface. In a surf situation, no experienced paddler would ever wear, or support someone else wearing, a life jacket; it is just plain dangerous to be trapped on the surface. What is critical in SUPing in the surf is the use of a heavy duty leash designed to survive higher stress loads.

One of the more extreme branches of SUPing is what is called ‘downwinding’. This involves going out in 20 to 40 mph winds, and paddling with the wind in order to catch and ride the large rolling windswells. Those of us who are very concerned with safety will sometimes even wear two ankle leashes during the most extreme conditions, in case one leash were to fail, and some of us will wear an inflatable device that is worn in a compact waist belt. A full Coast Guard approved life jacket could once again be dangerous in these intense environments. Climbing back onto the board in high winds and rough seas can be challenging, and wearing a large life jacket can make this a great deal more challenging, verging on impossible; a dangerous situation.

Some Coast Guard regulations that try to link SUP safety to boating regulations are very misdirected efforts. No one is going to leash themselves to a boat, whereas in SUP, this is the primary rule of safety. It makes sense to require life jackets to be carried on a boat, but attaching a PFD to a SUP is asking for a drowning, as the PFD floats away attached to the board. This gives a dangerously false sense of safety to those new to the sport.

We in the SUPing community applaud your effort to bring SUP safety into public awareness. However, it needs to be recognized that it is the ankle leash that is the primary safety device in paddle boarding, not the life jacket. Life jackets have their place for non-swimmers, very weak swimmers in a non-surf environment, or in extreme cold water situations, but only if used in conjunction with a leash.  It is very concerning that the ankle leash, the primary safety device in SUPing, is never mentioned in the article.

I hope that this information may prove useful in any future articles on paddleboarding."

40

Downwind and Racing / Re: Molokai to Oahu Race 2019

« on: July 30, 2019, 08:44:14 PM »

Well done Robert; both for you and for your boards.

41

SUP General / Re: Multi Year Fin Experiment on "no Toe"(straight) Fins

« on: July 27, 2019, 01:38:59 PM »

JARVISSUP, I agree with everything you said. The first couple of waves that I caught with the new fins were slow mushy waves, where all the fins were usually buried in the water, and I right away told my wife that the fins were faster. When the tide went out and the waves got enough juice that I always had one fin or the other out of the water, that is when the larger toed fins felt like it could generate more drive out of the turns.
I also agree about the fit of the fins. I would always rather buy a fin that I can achieve a perfect fit after a little sanding, than get a loose fit that I end up trying to shim.

42

SUP General / Re: Multi Year Fin Experiment on "no Toe"(straight) Fins

« on: July 26, 2019, 03:52:18 PM »

I wanted to give a report on my experience with the Riptide no-toe fins. Importantly, this is not a review or judgement on the fins, just my own experience, which may not be worth much. Note that the Riptides are 4.75", and I am comparing to Colin McPhillips 5.16" on an 8'8" 120 liter board.
I did not notice any difference in paddling speed, or in catching waves. Speed when surfing felt the same, though maybe slightly faster when the board was flat in the water with both fins fully buried, like when riding a swell remnant into the beach at the end of a session. When I am surfing, I rarely have both fins buried in the water. The Riptides felt a little looser, but I think that was mainly the size and having less rake. The larger Colin fins had more drive through turns, but again this could just be size and the additional tip rake. After a few days of switching back and forth, I am now mostly using the larger Colin fins, just because of the extra drive through turns. I would say that both are great fins, and worked well for me.
We all know that performance is always mostly the rider, secondly the board, and thirdly the fins. With that in mind, I cannot say which would be better for others. I can say that no-toe fins are far better, faster, and less prone to stall on a wavesailing board, but that is at an entirely different level of speed.
One thing to note: neither one of the Riptide fins would fit into my Futures boxes without 5 to 10 minutes of hand sanding. No big deal, but be sure to have some sandpaper handy when you go to insert the fins.

43

Gear Talk / Board weight reality check

« on: July 26, 2019, 03:24:01 PM »

Hi all. I am looking at a decision regarding board weights, and would love any insights you guys want to offer.
I bought a new Blue Planet All Good 8'8" a couple of weeks ago, and am loving the board. Since it was a total unknown to me before I bought it, and demoing was not an easy option, I was reluctant to pay the extra $500 for carbon construction, and the bamboo construction that I got saved me $500, but came in at around 22 pounds. I am liking the board enough that I am considering selling this current board, and paying the extra to get the same board in carbon, which is supposed to come in at around 18.4 lbs, almost 4 pounds lighter than my current board.
So here is my question; how much difference is there really going to be in performance. We all know that light is cool, and picking up and carrying a superlight board just feels good. But, how about performance on a wave. I have never had the chance to surf two identical shapes, of different weights; how about anyone else out there? For example, in windsurfing, a lightweight board is great for getting planing in light winds, and feels so much better in the air, but sometimes in high winds and chop, a heavier board can smooth things out a little, and can be easier to bury the rail at high speeds in choppy water. One of my goals with this board has been stability in chop; will a heavier board get knocked around less by chop?
My surfing style tends to be pretty active; I am either pumping the board down the line if the wave is fast, linking tight turns whenever there is time, and roundhouses whenever the wave gives me room, never really just trimming down the line. This is what makes me think that the weight difference might be a big deal for me, but on the other hand, I am loving the way the current board surfs.
The lightest board I ever owned was an 8'8" Starboard in their lightest construction, and it was also my least favorite board ever, and was sold after just a couple of months. One reason was that the board tended to be really bouncy in anything over shoulder high, but it was also a very wide board with a very wide tail. With my weight of 163 lbs, it did not feel like I could keep the rails of that wide, light board, buried in the water. My other current boards are Sunvovas that are between 19 and 20 pounds, which feels fine.
So before I sell a perfectly good board, and plop down an extra $500 to loose 4 pounds in board weight, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks.

44

Gear Talk / Re: My Single Thruster Quad Battle

« on: July 25, 2019, 03:13:54 PM »

Okiwild, thanks for the great report. At this point, each one of my boards is set up slightly differently to get closest to what I want.
9' Tabou- 4.75 sides and 4.5 center, no quad option. This is my board for extremely rough water, so stability is a priority.
8'10" Sunova Speeed- 4.75 3D sides, and 3.75 center, no quad option.
8'8" Blue Planet All Good- 5.16 Colin McPhillips sides, and 5" cutaway all the way forward in the box.
8'7" Sunova Flow- Custom quad set that I shaped. 5" fronts with good base chord, and 4.5" rears with very little chord or rake
I will try to attach pictures of the quads I shaped, along with the fins I bought to shape from, since they had massive area to start from. My end product looks fairly similar to what you settled on.

45

Gear Talk / Re: Paddle length question

« on: July 25, 2019, 02:49:05 PM »

+1 to everything eastbound said. I have two paddle lengths, one for surfing and the other for downwinding.
 When surfing, the deck of my board is right at water level, and when paddling for a wave I am in a very low stance. Once on the wave, I want to be able to switch quickly from side to side for alternative styles of turning, which for me is much quicker and easier with a shorter paddle. My surf paddles are 1" to 2" overhead.
 My downwind board is over six inches thick, and sits very high in the water. When clawing onto a bump when downwinding, I am also in a very low stance. My downwind paddle is six inches longer than my surf paddle, and when on the appropriate board, they both feel just right. Just out of curiosity, the other day I took my dw paddle out surfing, and it was horrible; way to long.