Messages

451

Sessions / Re: Winter SUP surf Tofino

« on: December 16, 2016, 01:37:28 PM »

[quote author=supthecreek link=topic=31033.msg340577#msg340577 date

Once, when my leash snapped, I was 400 yards out, alone in winter. OH waves and foggy.
I laid on my back, kicked my feet and "paddled" myself to shore, using the paddle as a kayak paddle.
I laid it across my chest, short on the blade end.... long shaft on the handle end... and simply rowed my body in, like a kayak

Yes Creek,

That is exactly what I did in a similar situation and paddling through/ across a couple of rips and about 1/2 km out. It really was a mass of white water and I remember clearly thinking "This is not the way I want to go out". It shook me enough to start thinking about inflatable life vests and carrying flares. Neither which I do. However if I had lost my board and my paddle I was in serious trouble. Risk mitigation is an interesting concept and if we are trading a small risk for even a slightly larger risk then it is not a good strategy. Again from my kayaking background, I wear a helmet all of the time and don't care that I look like a noob. The only downside to wearing a helmet is the "helmet effect" which is generally you charge harder when you are wearing a helmet regardless of sport and likely take on additional risk. This additional risk however is generally outweighed by the protection afforded to your most valuable asset. I have been hit in the head twice by my board while wearing a helmet and once was hard enough to have caused a concussion if not for the helmet. All of this however is a bit of "bait and switch" when the question is;

"Do you want to be attached to your paddle?"

I will brave the waters, put my virtual helmet on and start a new thread.

Cheers

Bob

452

Sessions / Re: Winter SUP surf Tofino

« on: December 15, 2016, 09:16:11 PM »

Thanks Creek. Yes the paddle leash. I guess that I come to SUP surfing from a background of kayaking where one of the mantras is "never let go of your paddle". Which is I think a very good plan but we would alway would have a back up plan one of which in ocean kayaking is a spare paddle. Open coast kayaking on the west coast of Vancouver Island is not for the faint of heart.  A bit over a year ago  I broke my board leash and had a very long swim in conditions that I should likely not have been out in but I still had ahold of the paddle and found it useful especially when resting on my back to keep moving forward (well technically backward). Without the paddle I am not sure that I would have made it to shore. It got me thinking a lot about some form of paddle leash. After a month or so of mulling it over came up with this and have one on both my paddles. Most of the time I surf early in the morning alone and often on a deserted beach. The leash seems to just disappear and I don't even notice it when paddling now. The biggest surf that I go out in is perhaps a bit overhead. Yes interesting question do you want to be attached to your paddle? For me the answer is yes I think so but I am new to surfing and I am interested any discussion. There may be situations where the answer might be yes such as a downwinder with a 30 knot wind and then situations such as big wave surfing where the answer is no. In between this not sure There is a wealth of knowledgeable paddlers on this forum. Should I start a separate topic or is this idea a none starter? Has it ever come up before?

Cheers

Bob

453

Sessions / Re: Winter SUP surf Tofino

« on: December 15, 2016, 05:24:02 PM »

Thanks WSup,

I suspect you have this but this is Bert Burger's thoughts on the Skate.


Skate by Bert Burger
"Hey guys , just a little more info on the Skate ..of all the boards in our range apart from the new Shroom , the Skate likes really soft, flat, open waves , with gently spilling lips and rolling whitewater .. the rocker is the flattest of all models , so once your moving it continues to carry speed by itself , only needing the mildest of waves to propel it along .. with generous tail area , it has loads of drive off soft sections .. with the noticeable harder bottom edge , the water releases low off the rail , making the board sit high on the water and skate along on top .. the straighter section of outline through the tail , allows it to go fast and make sections if the wave walls up..its weakness is a power turn in the pocket in more powerful waves , it will have a slow rail to rail transition in a sucky section and tend to drift earlier if over powered .. hence its favored conditions of soft, rolling, small waves with open faces.... regards BERT"

454

Sessions / Re: Winter SUP surf Tofino

« on: December 15, 2016, 01:02:36 PM »

Thanks Cook,

Was that guy's name Bob by any chance. He looks familiar. Attached is another  video this time in even smaller waves but with a few more rides.

Cheers

Bob

455

Sessions / Re: Winter SUP surf Tofino

« on: December 09, 2016, 09:41:11 AM »

Hi WSup

No I haven't demoed the Speeed. Not many, Sunova boards here yet........but talk to me in the spring.........after I clock some hours on the 8''10" Speeed......it is on order! It will be an interesting side by side comparison. I suspect the overwhelming consensus of this forum would be if you like the Speeed go for it! Now I just have to sell the 9'5" Widepoint which now is a board that is way too big for me.....which has me thinking of my wife who I have not yet told that I have ordered a new board. This leads me to another funny thought, I was recently down in Guatemala having dinner with a group of friends and the serving person was clearly in charge of the small busy place. Joe asked her if she was the owner/boss of the restaurant........her reply........."No, I'M the Boss of the Boss !"  Such is life......

Cheers

Bob

456

Sessions / Re: Winter SUP surf Tofino

« on: December 08, 2016, 03:34:38 PM »

Thanks MSup and Wsup. MSup let me know if/when you are on the Island and with any luck we can get out in the surf for a session. WSup.......yes it is a bell and yes that would have been funny as long as the dog saw the humour in it! He really was just saying hello. I chose the Skate really for the stability so I could increase my wave count stepping down from a 9'5" board and me at 5'9" and 70 kg, 61 years and beginner/intermediate. Sunova.......well they really are solid little boards. Air temp 0-2 degrees C, water temp 11-12 degrees C, 6/5/4 hooded wetsuit with Goru vest underneath, 1.5 mm gloves and neoprene boots. I was toasty warm......almost too warm!

Bob

457

Sessions / Winter SUP surf Tofino

« on: December 08, 2016, 02:05:20 PM »

Hi there

Got out a couple of days ago. Small waves, very cool, bright and sunny. Creek said recently, "if there are no pictures then it didn't happen". Well this is a first for me, making and editing and posting a video. Not sure how to attach the Vimeo file? This is the link. Warning.......precious little surfing in this video!



Bob

458

Training, Diet, and Fitness / Re: Golden milk-Turmeric drink

« on: December 03, 2016, 06:00:31 PM »

Interesting post. From my understanding you need to ingest a small amount of black pepper with the turmeric. The piperin in the black pepper increases the bioavailability by several orders of magnitude (ie. 100-1000 times). Consequently the amount of turmeric that you need to ingest is not much to have an anti-inflammatory effect.

459

SUP General / Re: Home break

« on: November 02, 2016, 01:19:10 PM »

Home beach is North Chesterman in Tofino about a five minute walk and then Cox beach a 10 minute bike ride towing ancart for the board.

460

Gear Talk / Re: Dry Suit??? Ocean Rodeo???

« on: September 25, 2016, 08:11:33 PM »

Hi there,

I have both a Kokatat dry suit and an Imersion Research dry suit that I use for kayaking. The IR suit is imo a better suit. Including zippers, and zipper position, boots, fabric durability and waterproofing. It is however contoured somewhat for sitting. I have never tried it for SUP surfing and would worry about putting a hole in it and it turning into an anchor!

Bob

461

Sunova SUP / Re: Sunova Speeed 8'8 next to a JP Surf 8"10

« on: July 27, 2016, 07:20:34 PM »

Thanks. The replies are very much appreciated. It sounds like the Style would likely be a better flat water paddler which makes sense as it is 10 inches longer. For our summer waves in Tofino my Skate is a great board but the Style would be good to learn some long board,skills. That said the straight outline of the Speeed would likely not be too much of a handful for my wife. There are five slots on my board rack, it is not clear to me why it should not always be full! Time to sell a surfboard and and the Widepoint.

Cheers

Bob

462

Sunova SUP / Re: Sunova Speeed 8'8 next to a JP Surf 8"10

« on: July 27, 2016, 10:39:57 AM »

Hi Exiled

Thanks for the great comparison side by side of the 8'8" Speeed and th 8'10" JP surf. I am very interested in the 8'8" Speeed as well as the 9'6" Style. Both about the same volume. Can you comment on how you find the stability of the Speeed as well as the tracking when paddling. I guess what I am trying to get at is would the Speeed be ok as a flat water paddler for my 60kg wife. I am trying to rationalize another board. Comments from other "Speeed Freaks"?

Cheers

FRP

463

Sunova SUP / Re: Style and ENDURANCE

« on: July 22, 2016, 08:58:56 PM »

Thanks Tom

It sound about right for us. Time to put the Widepoint up for sale.

Cheers

FRP

464

Sunova SUP / Re: Style and ENDURANCE

« on: July 21, 2016, 01:33:39 PM »

Thanks Rick

It might be that the 9'6 Styl XL at 29" wide and 118 litres might be a a more stable platform and yet still manageable for my wife. It is intriguing however as there are other mentions of the 9.0 Style on the web with similar width and volume. I am hoping that at my age that it is not too late to learn to nose ride!

Cheers

FRP

465

Sunova SUP / Re: Style and ENDURANCE

« on: July 21, 2016, 09:46:11 AM »

Hi. I am interested in the Sunova style as a longboard/nose rider for myself and a flat water paddler for my wife. It would be a replacement for my 9.5 starboard Widepoint. We are 70 and 60 kg. The 9.0 Style is not listed on the Sunova website. Was this a custom board? Any advise regarding appropriate size would be appreciated and would the Style be a reasonable board for flat water cruising around on? I am currently riding a Sunova 8'10" Skate which is a great small wave board.

Thanks

FRP