The Stoneaxe approach is working....Kind of....

[Shawn Michael]

All my blah blah blah about padding 20miles in the harbor might have locked in some good stroke mechanics but it is all BS.

Out on the open ocean is a different animal.  I am not paddling inside the harbor anymore, what is the point, it is a different species.

The trade winds come up in the afternoon when I am out there and it is a carpet of small but relentless chop.  5th time out on the open water.  Going straight out or straight back is easy, going parallel the the shore is another thing...legs fried numb, burning fall off, fall off fall off. 

A few weeks ago the wind was howling...me scared.  So I went for it and going over the top and the board smacking down, wind howling.  Scared.  How the hell am I going to turn around?  How will I ever get back on the board?  Somehow got around and road back in, that was fun, could do that forever....after that, everthing looks "doable" even if I am still falling.

The side swell is another thing.  The main problem is that the ocean is dictating where you go, the swell just turns you around not matter how hard you paddle....so it is time for a rudder and to see if that will work.

Thanks for listening to a new guys thoughts.  It seemed impossible, but maybe now there is some hope.   I still feel like I am bobbing and swaying around, sitting in front of my computer hours later.

Unknown to me, my leash has a "quick release pin" which I somehow hooked with my toe when I fell off.  The most horribal feeling was that board blowing away...like Tom Hanks losing "Wilson" on cast away.  The board blew into the rocks.  I am so thankful that I was not where I had been 30 minutes earlier, dont know what I would have done.

I am going to go see about the rudder tommorow, though I have not heard the best reviews on Barks rudder....maybe he can fabricate something with my spit fire fin....will see.

Thanks
Shawn

[PonoBill]

It's been a revelation to me that open ocean SUP boards require sturdy leashes--but they do. And I think quick release pins make great sense on surf leashes, but are perhaps not so good on a distance SUP. You are not likely to get your leash tangled on the bottom, which is why surf leashes have quick releases. Incidentally, you don't need to replace the leash. You can take an allen screw out of any other old leash and replace the pin with it.

It is horrible how fast a race board can blow away from you. No one can swim fast enough to catch them unless they happen to turn.

As far as the big chop and swell goes, I know exactly how you felt. the first time out on a Maliko run I thought "I'm really not up for this, I'm way over my head." and I was. But the surprising thing is how quickly you can get used to it.. One thing I've learned riding Gumby is that the swells are how you steer. Even a side swell can be ridden to some degree. Most of the time you can zig-zag in the swells, and the way you go left is by going that way more often than you go right. It's really only when you have to make a point on the shore that's too close that you start having big navigation troubles. If you plan far enough ahead it's a lot easier.

this morning I paddled out at the cove in a nasty kona wind. I did it mostly just for bump practice and to work off the bagel I had for breakfast. I was surprised how much wave and chop I could take without falling. I know I couldn't have done it two months ago, before I started working to master the Penetrator. The wind kept increasing, and increasing, and finally it started absolutely pelting rain. I was laughing while I paddled, it felt like some kind of goofy movie set. All I had to do to catch a wave was to allow the board to turn, the wind took care of the rest.

When I finally came in I found that my slippahs had blown away. When your slippahs blow away it's time to get out of the water. I liked those kicks--they had beer openers in the bottom. Damn. BEER OPENERS. I found one out in the street, the other is somewhere in Kihei.

[DavidJohn]

I agree.. I also need to get out in the rough stuff more often.. Too much flat water paddling gives you a false sense of ability/confidence.

The bigger it gets then you often get lumps on the lumps and not always going the same way.. These pics are from our last Mega down-winder.

These pics were before it got real serious.. I had my camera tucked away then and taking pictures was the last thing on my mind.. 

DJ

[1tuberider]

Shawn glad to hear you are getting out.  If you find it to rough and confused or you are tired, try paddling from your knees till the conditions improve or you get rested enough to stand again. 

Loosing your board in the wind offshore will ruin your day.  Make sure you check the condition of your leash before you venture to far out.  They tend to stretch and can become unreliable over time.  I would also disable the quick release since you are not surfing it. 

How long of a paddle do you use?  I have a friend who is 6'6" and even though I use a longer paddle than most it still looks to short for him.  My paddles for me are around 82" and it looks like he could use a 90" paddle.  He also wants a big blade and a thick shaft.  I am going to build him a custom paddle even though he is just starting, I don't want it to be to short. 

[greatdane]

Totally feel your pain Shawn.  I did my 7 mile loop again the other day, and had a little panic when the wind picked up significantly on my way home.  It was hitting me from the port front and I had to paddle 90% on my starboard side to stay on course.  I was using a 8" longboard fin, not the rudder... for the first time ever, I considered beaching it and hiking to the highway and calling my wife for a ride.  I NEVER would have heard the end of it.

I made it home finally, but my grip strength was non-existent for the rest of the day.

The 18' Bark, as you know, has a lot more profile with it's piercing prow, and it is a very good wind catcher. 

Time to play with the rudder some more.

[stoneaxe]

Happy to help Shawn...I think...

The 1st time I went out in a nor'easter I had much the same feeling. Somewhat afraid I was in over my head but feeling very alive once the fear slipped away. I really look forward to wild days like that now.

I'm definitely careful when I go out in those conditions. I always let someone know I'm out, when I expect to be back in and will call when I land. I check my gear carefully. My wife usually will want to come down and keep watch if she can.

I'd love to get a crew together to do a reverse of the Cape Cod Bay Challenge during a nor'easter. It would be 22 miles across the bay. I figure it would take 3 hours max in those conditions. Safety gear for that would include PFD, VHF radio, SPOT, and flares....double leash too.

I like Bill's analogy to the goofy movie set. In the December nor'easter getting smashed by waves and sideways snow I felt like Lt. Dan up in the rigging of the shrimp boat shouting "Is that all you've got?". Never felt so alive.

Bill...you lost the beer opening slippahs?...how much is the reward?

I have to admit...I'd be very hesitant to go out in heavy offshore winds. The nor'easters are onshore and I fight my way out (half the fun) and I'm nearshore because of it. One of the longest days I've had on the water happened when I was doing my workout loop while training for the CCBC and a heavy offshore wind came up on the last leg. I was 3 miles out and it was well after dark before I made it back in. I was too stubborn to kneel down until the last 1/4 mile when I had no choice, the wind had picked up even more and I had nothing left. Had a hard time picking up a beer after.

[shapeshifter]

i happen to appreciate the simple tiller bar system employed by bark on his boards. the rudder is pivoted with a direct connection to the tiller and not translated by a cable assembly which has performed flawlessly for me. having the bar above the deck and present at all times has only proven to be a minor inconvenience at most. i'm playing with the idea of a yoke assembly so should the board get loose, the tug of the leash instigates a turn that brings the board about. just wonder if this is the right thing to do under certain conditions.

[Shawn Michael]

Thanks for the replies.  Keep in mind whatever we have in Southern Cal is not anything like what yall are dealing with.  BTW I have those beer opener flip flops (sell em at REI if I am thinking of the same model) and they are pretty substantial...if those blew away that is some good wind.

I think I would feel better with some backup for my leash, not sure what is the best way to do it.  Im off to Joes shop about the rudder.

My analogy is in powerlifting we do walkouts in the squat and partial pulls in the deadlifts and lockouts on the bench with weight significanly over our max to strenthen the tendons, nervous system and the mind...you never really master something until you have gone beyond it so you own it and it is a comfort zone.

Ill just keep working.

[Shawn Michael]

At Joe's shop they did a good job of convincing me that their design is the simplest, most fail proof and reliable and they say they have tested dozens. As you can see in GD's pics, instead of using a round rod they have a flat rectangular tiller than hugs the top of the board without sticking up.  He used to use a cable design for the earlier SUP and had some issues, but never problems with the rudder/tiller.  They just rolled out Jimmy Terrels new board, 24.5 wide!!! 

They did the work free.  Nice.

Will try it out this weekend.

[diesel]

DavidJohn, those pics look awesome.  I used to race oc1 downwinders where the bumps look very similar to your pics.  Thos are some of the best pics I have seen online to show what a downwinder feels like on a big day.  I love when the bumps look like that and you get that type of foam in between the troughs.  Hard to explain what it's like unless you do it.  All I can say is when the bumps look like that you will be flying on your downwind run. Stoked for you.

[Shawn Michael]

Yea, great photos...you are lucky to have some buddies to go out with.  Even though I hear all this about SUP taking over and saturating the beach and "reaching critical mass" I have NEVER seen another SUP out on the ocean..just a few tooling around the harbor.

1Tube...It is interesting I feel like I can balance better with my longer paddle...I have 8, 11, and 12.5 over head and the longer the paddle the better I feel in speed, balance etc...I am just trying to heed the shoulder wrecker advice though my shoulders feel great...my blades are 9.8inch from ZRE, same as I used for outrigger.  My whole understanding is the the blade is stationary in the water and you pull yourself past the blade so why would you want anything that slips? I dont know...Tahitians use the big blades I guess it cant be totally wrong esp for heavyweights...I think 90% of the shoulder problems can be avoided if you keep the elbow of your top hand down and work your rear delts and external rotators hard.  Kind of an extream example but....

[1tuberider]

Hey Shawn.
I am using a paddle that is +12 with a 9.5 blade.  I like wood paddles and now I have made 4.  To keep my paddle in place while pulling on it, I am shaping into the blade a bowl and experimenting with shapes to see what works better or if their is much difference. 

I also think a longer paddle pulls better and gives better balance.  I usually keep the blade in the water when station keeping waiting for a wave to help with stability but one other benefit of a wood paddle is the weight for stability. You can use you paddle as a balance beam.  I don't think I would want to race with the wood paddle for any distance but I believe it makes a better trainer for muscle development.  I have not had any shoulder problems pulling because when I feel the wrong feeling I usually lower my blade in the water vertically, pull with bottom hand and sort of push with top hand sweeping the paddle along the rail till past my body then do it again. I have a lot of twist in body to pull past pole so my shoulders are not bearing the brunt of the pull.  I have tore some muscles or moved the floating rib pulling thru some surf once which still hurts when I laugh but I am pretty much back to task.  Be careful of that feeling also.  I tend to push so its my fault it happens. 

thanks for the paddle talk.