Downwinders: the most common mistakes made by first timers

[Muskoka SUP]

Well done Off Shore, thanks. 

[yugi]

My 2 cents on the perfect ingredients for a first time run: short course (<3 miles), real wind (>20 mph: down breezing is not addictive and does not sell the sport), very stable DW board (29” Glide, F14 or the like), huge emphasis on safety, and beer at the end.

Completely agree with you BC. Most of us commenting on this subject have had downwind experience and / or have taught people to SUP in various conditions including down winding. I find that if newbies feel safe then it makes a HUGE difference.
…

And then there are assholes like me who take total nOObs out for 10-15 Mile downwinders…

There are two benefits to that, well three.
1. Our longer DW are almost perfectly in line with the wind. Taking the shorter one ends up mostly being just a bit too much sideways for a beginner to handle. Better for nOObs to privilege a more in line with the wind course. Even if longer.

2. After 5 or 6 miles the nOObs get exhausted and then a funny thing happens. They get into the groove. They find the right times to paddle and stop the frenetic constant paddling. By the end of a long run they “clicked”.

3. If they survive we have a new DW addict. They might hate me for a little while until they recover but the DW addiction quickly takes over and we remain friends. The stronger the wind the better too! In truth we have a lot of excellent skiers where I live and they pick this stuff up really quickly. They all survive it very well.

[Off-Shore]

In truth we have a lot of excellent skiers where I live and they pick this stuff up really quickly. They all survive it very well.

Almost all the people I downwind with here are good skiers, snowboarders, surfers, or windsurfers and surfskiers and are used to being out in wild conditions. Makes a huge difference if they don't get scared, and have balance skills..

[PonoBill]

Not being scared and good balance are the most important part. One of the earliest guided tours Headmount did was a guy from Alaska. Super nice guy and quite a bit of paddling experience. I went along and the conditions went from mellow to Maliko madness before we got past Baldwin. Camp One and Outer Kanaha was massive with huge windswell and groundswell. Boyum doesn't swear very often, but at one point he looked at me while I was fiddling with something and said "let's get the fuck out of here". guy fell a lot but wasn't scared at all. He had a great time. I was sweating gumdrops, some of the spots we were in were pretty critical. If the guy had panicked it would have been really bad. But he was fine.

[headmount]

I agree that any downhill skier or snwbrder has a great edge on the learning curve because of their experience in focusing on surfaces and attention to fall-lines.  My Canadian pal from Alberta is a great case in point.

As far as downwinders are concerned, there's no surf ones and surf oriented ones.  The non surf deal is pretty damn safe.  But the winter time surf deal could and has gone south.  The incident PBill was talking about was like stopping on the 405 and having a discussion.

Speaking of which... has everyone seen the highway stats recently?  It's thunder road out there folks.  Talk about focus.  Makes downwinding look like a stroll.

[Eagle]

Yes, skiing and especially SB helps one to quickly transition to DW.  Have taught both for many years when kids were toddlers so allowed plenty of time to develop strong fundamentals like edging and unweighting going down big bump runs and waist deep pow backcountry runs.  Skateboarding even more of a cross-over without being buckled in.

Was just thinking yesterday how slamming my Dominator DB in left-over slop and chop was similar to SB and skateboarding - but with tons more cardio and upper body workout.

Also concur that it does help to paddle uphill to get as close to the crest as possible before the swell drops.  Not doing so reduces forward momentum and potential energy just when you need it especially in windspeeds 5-15 kts.

[PonoBill]

The highway carnage this year is nuts. Anyone that worries about the rent collector is just not paying attention. which of course I believe is the main reason for the carnage. I guy nearly ran into me today--head on. I honked my horn. He looked up from his cell phone, turned out of my path and waved. I waved too, but I used fewer fingers. He gave me his little frowny face. I actually wanted very much to kill him, which would have added to the carnage, but in the plus column.

[Off-Shore]

Also concur that it does help to paddle uphill to get as close to the crest as possible before the swell drops.  Not doing so reduces forward momentum and potential energy just when you need it especially in windspeeds 5-15 kts.

I like the way that Robert first described it in the vid at the beginning of the thread, and that is to wait for the wave to pass under you, and then allow it to drag you along. In order to catch the wave as it passes under you, it is easier and less energy to make the first paddle stroke just as the crest of the wave coming in from behind reaches the nose of your board (when it seems to be going uphill. if you wait for the tail to pop up you can still do it, but it may require more energy especially in lighter wind conditions.

If you have ever tried to catch a piece of toast out of a toaster with your thumb and forefinger when releasing the button to let the toast pop out, and catch the toast before it falls back into the toaster, you'll know that actually you have to grab at the same time as you push the button. It's too late if you wait to see the toast pop out of the toaster and you'll grab thin air while the toast falls back into the toaster... Try it..

[Eagle]

Haha - do not have a pop up toaster like that!

But yes timing is everything when it comes to glides.  It seems our short period wind waves requires a slightly different technique than long period ground swell found in places like Hawaii.  But however you can increase and maximize glides and planing the better.

Have found that by paddling more at the right time -> actually allows you to paddle a lot less the rest of the time.  The extra speed gained allows easy linking of glides and planing between swells.  When we luck out and our timing and technique line up - we often end up dry and fresh at the end of the run.

Best is having an ice cold beer after a DW run chilling and chatting with friends and family.   

[sicktwist]

I was able to put a lot of these tips into practice today.  I am sure I was still paddling way too much, but the wind wasn't really ripping and I was on an 11'6" inflatable so I was still having trouble catching bumps and staying on them.  Still this was one of the funnest days I have had on the water. 

Went out and the wind was really light, bumps from the south were barely a foot and there were some leftovers coming from the west that were about a foot, but dying quickly.  Weather and wind reports were for possible thunderstorms and wind between 5 - 15 knots.  With the threat of storms I was planning for a quick paddle around and headed into the light breeze.  Made it about a mile down the shoreline and the wind was starting to really pick up (probably 15 knots with gusts close to 20) so I decided I would turn back around and try to catch some bumps.  Rode these bumps back passed where I initially put in, thinking that I would turn back around and do this run again, but cut back into where I was parked.  Well halfway back the wind really gave me and my inflatable some problems as it seemed to have picked up again.  At this point I wasn't too far passed where I had put in, so I attempted to cut a line back to my Jeep, but the wind wasn't having it and frankly I was having to much fun catching these little bumps.  So I ended up cutting a line and riding the bumps about a half mile back up the beach.  Carrying the board back sucked, but it was well worth it.  Days like today are when I wish I had some friends to shuttle with.  There is a run about 6 miles long that would have been perfect today if I knew other paddlers around my area and if I knew the conditions would be as nice as they were. 

Anyway I hope my crazy report wasn't to hard to follow.  I appreciate all the tips given out in this thread and can't wait to get back out in conditions like this again.

[PonoBill]

I need to get off my ass. I've been off the river for a couple of weeks because we had the grandkids and I was getting my race car ready for last weekend. But now I'm turning my nose up at 15mph wind, which is kind of stupid. All the same, Diane will be out of town for five days so I think I'm gonna go surfing at the coast.

[JP4]

I know what you mean PB.  As the wind slowly tapers of for the season, I find it hard to motivate unless it's really honking.  Missed the big afternoon blast Saturday because I balked at the forecast.
Was going to head to the coast today, but the stars didn't align.  Looking forward to some fall swell.

[Eagle]

Still this was one of the funnest days I have had on the water ...

... Made it about a mile down the shoreline and the wind was starting to really pick up (probably 15 knots with gusts close to 20) so I decided I would turn back around and try to catch some bumps. 

That is one of the easiest and best ways to have fun on a SUP.  A little upwind then back to your starting point.  We do that often as it is quick with no shuttle requirements.  Once you feel comfortable on these shorter out and backs you will be ready to go on your longer runs.  SUP DW is all about fun.   

[sicktwist]

Still this was one of the funnest days I have had on the water ...

... Made it about a mile down the shoreline and the wind was starting to really pick up (probably 15 knots with gusts close to 20) so I decided I would turn back around and try to catch some bumps. 

That is one of the easiest and best ways to have fun on a SUP.  A little upwind then back to your starting point.  We do that often as it is quick with no shuttle requirements.  Once you feel comfortable on these shorter out and backs you will be ready to go on your longer runs.  SUP DW is all about fun.   

Just wish I would've known the wind was going to pick up to the point that I would have such a struggle going back into it.  Had I have known that I would've continued upwind a little further from the start and avoided my half mile walk back up the beach.  It was all worth it in the end though. 

[Eagle]

It was all worth it in the end though. 

That's what matters.   

No doubt the wind can be extremely tough to battle.  We have been in similar conditions and had to do everything in our power to not get blown off course DW in storm fronts we sometimes get.  Knee paddling to lower our COG is perfectly ok for us when we get huge slop and reflected chop bouncing off rocky coastline.  When winds gust 20+ and you need to go upwind or even crosswind -> it can be near impossible to make any headway.

Most times now we just go upwind for 2 miles or until we tire out -> then turn around and surf as many waves as possible directly back.  Normally it is not windy enough to get on plane but is fine for a bit of DB gliding fun.  Best to start angling back early on so you can keep a reasonable line before you get blown past.