Author Topic: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial  (Read 15518 times)

clay

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How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« on: July 29, 2017, 04:54:56 PM »
Hi!

I have had a flat spell the past few weeks and looking forward to a good swell.  Plenty of time to work on this idea I have been chewing on for a while.

I enjoyed putting this video together and am pleased with the outcome. I hope it is helpful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeo_SgCWvLI
Aloha, I welcome and appreciate all responses of positivity and good feeling.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOIE6FWr1SpWvbPJIIiEgog

WhatsSUP

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #1 on: July 29, 2017, 06:09:30 PM »
Really liked and enjoyed that Clay!  The narration and bringing it back to you with your demonstration was great.  Definitely some good pointers and it was also really neat to get a better perspective on wave size that can be achieved with the "up and over" technique on bigger boards.

Thanks!!
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Luc Benac

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #2 on: July 29, 2017, 06:35:34 PM »
Agreed. Great video with good commentaries and examples.
Would love to see more on different technical topics.
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805StandUp

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2017, 03:32:35 AM »
That backlit sunset shot was beautiful!

Ichabod Spoonbill

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #4 on: July 30, 2017, 04:01:07 AM »
Great commentary. I learned a few things.
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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #5 on: July 30, 2017, 05:48:14 AM »
That was a tremendous tutorial. Thank you. I would add one thing; you cannot overestimate the importance of fitness in the success rate. The combination of patience and fitness. 3 years ago I was getting out in most tough or big conditions. Life, work, travel and now I am not even close even though my brain says yes I have not put the fitness back together.
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Night Wing

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2017, 07:09:30 AM »
@clay

That was a great tutorial. Your sense of detail for explaining all the different wave conditions to get out beyond them was superb.

Your post should be made into a "stickey" because sooner or later, everyone experiences wave conditions which are depicted in your post and your post is worth it's wait in gold info wise.

Thanks for sharing your video.
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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #7 on: July 30, 2017, 08:01:33 AM »
Thanks Clay, for putting that together. Great content, and with the sunset footage you captured what for me is the completeness of this sport, meaning you have the athletic side, but then we find ourselves in amazing natural environments. It's early and I'm babbling on... 8)
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PonoBill

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #8 on: July 30, 2017, 09:12:25 AM »
Nice job. I did indeed pick up a few useful pointers, or at least refinements.

I think that my marginal balance and addiction to surfing actually help me refine my strategies for getting out in crap. If I'm at the beach with a board I'm going to try to get out, even if it looks ridiculous. And I do a lot of surfing in Oregon, where navigating the beach break is 90 percent of the skill required for surfing.  The downside of knee paddling is that you can't see and get to the gaps and shoulders as quickly, and when you get hit with whitewater it's your whole body, not just your feet and shins that act as a sea anchor. So I do get up as quickly as is feasible and immediately start looking for spots to get through. But yes, when I get out I'm exhausted, so I rest outside for longer than might seem necessary--I know I'm going to have to do some of it again because I'm too greedy for the ride to turn out early.

It's almost axiomatic that if you find a flat spot in one wave, the one right behind it will peak at the same place, so you have to be ready to break to the side quickly and find the next spot. You can't fix on going straight out. The easiest path is almost always a series of S turns or a long angle. It's never a straight line.

Paddling out I keep my feet close to the stringer. Getting your feet close to the rails just pitches you off the board when it rolls. I often step back to lift the nose on a big wave, but I ALWAYS step forward as the nose goes up, even if it's moderate size. I've caught my board in my face or across my arm too many times not to automatically take that step. If you're keeping your feet close to the stringer you can take the step without torquing the board.

The most important thing to do to learn how to get through breaking waves is to watch the people who do it well. Dave Kalama goes through stuff like a hot knife through butter that would have me tumbling for a hundred yards. Kathy Shipman finds smooth shoulders where there simply aren't any. I watch what they do and try to copy.

Great video, thanks for taking the time. My notes above are mostly me talking to myself, trying to remember what I do and how it relates to your explanation.
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SUPcheat

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #9 on: July 30, 2017, 09:51:18 AM »
Big Surf?  What's that.  Been so flat in Santa Cruz for so long, the ocean needs an anti-depressant.
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Stew

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #10 on: July 30, 2017, 10:47:17 AM »
Nice one - I enjoyed that and can hopefully put some into practice.

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #11 on: July 30, 2017, 10:57:26 AM »
Great stuff Clay. Another option which I use on bigger closed out waves is to just prone paddle and roll my board on edge as I hit the white water. Sometimes the lulls between sets just don't happen. So when it's relentless, just lay on your paddle with the handle forward and under your right arm (if you prefer to roll left). Just as the white water or white wash is about to hit, I roll it on edge and I wrap my right arm over the board almost like I'm carrying it. Just before I roll, I put my paddle in my right hand. The white wash hitting the board on edge greatly reduces the force of the impact. If it's to much force just let the board go. If you hold it closer to the nose, even less force at impact.
Even if it's about to break, I use it like a sideways duck dive. Once the wave passes, just roll back on the board, tuck the paddle under and keep prone paddling out.
I went out at Huntington Beach Pier years ago with Ralph in OH close outs. A few guys didn't make it out. There was no chance if you tried to stand up or even knee paddle.

Another thing that changes my approach, is the shape of the nose on the board. On a more gun board, you don't have to pop the nose much. Just switch into a surf stance and keep your weight balanced. Rounded nose boards scare me in bigger surf. I learn the hard way years ago as well. 
It's not overhead to me!
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covesurfer

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #12 on: July 30, 2017, 11:10:58 AM »
Really excellent instructional material and the video is fantastic!

If the water is deep enough and/or you have a sand bottom, things are well covered. Most of our breaks on Maui have reefs and the consequences of a get off can be session-ending. Watching for five or ten minutes before picking a line to get out can be very important. Observing where it's breaking, how it's breaking and whether there are flat periods between sets can make the difference between success and failure in the effort to make it out. When you do fall, you have to fall flat and never, ever kick when you're remounting (lesson learned the hard way). You also should never stand on the bottom, even if you are wearing foot protection, as it damages the reef. I can't think of a single spot I go here where it's sandy - sure would be nice to have sand once in awhile!

Anyway, thanks for making this, it's pretty awesome.
« Last Edit: July 30, 2017, 11:12:30 AM by covesurfer »

digger71

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #13 on: July 30, 2017, 11:13:09 AM »
Another option which I use on bigger closed out waves is to just prone paddle and roll my board on edge as I hit the white water.
This is me as well.  As my boards get narrower, knee paddling gets harder.   And as Pono mentioned above, taking the brunt of the wave to my nuts/chest doesn't work out well for me.  So I'm either prone or standing

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #14 on: July 30, 2017, 02:05:39 PM »
Great stuff Clay. I have always enjoyed your videos, but this is clearly a big step up.
I would like to share a few thoughts to reinforce and complement your great piece.
1. The most important thing to warn newbies about is to never take oncoming white water in a side by side stance. The odds of the a nose to nose meeting between the paddlers face and the nose of the board is way to high. Small white water is okay with a semi surf stance, and bigger white water is closer to a full surf stance. Like Pono said, as soon as the nose climbs up the white water, shift the weight hard onto the front of the board to drive the nose back down.
2. My own paddle technique is three steps; 1. Take a hard stroke at the base of the wave just before impact, 2. Then swing the blade out to the side to sweep it forward over the surface of the white water as a feathering brace. Even thought the board is not moving that fast, the white water is moving under your blade fast enough to provide a pretty solid brace, especially if you are adding blade speed by feathering it forward. 3. Since you have just brought the blade forward, it is now ready to immediately dig in for a power/bracing stroke to get you out of the turbulent hole you are in. Bottom line, you should always have a working blade on or in the water when going over white water. No paddles waving around in the air.
3. I am not a fan of taking white water head on while on my knees. Just like in a side by side stance, I have seen  cases of the nose coming up to hit people in the face. Even it that does not happen, your body provides a big target for the whiter water to hit and drive you back. If I do happen to end up on my knees with whiter water approaching, I would prefer to go into a prone position. If I am on a board with a well pulled in nose, then I like to lean forward and grab the rails up by the nose with both hands, and then drop my head and try to drive the tip of nose under the wash, while lifting my hips up into a push up position so that my body does not present any frontal surface to the white water, and it can pass under or over. This is simply a less effective version of a short board duck dive. If the board has a wider nose that cannot be easily sunk, then I like TallDude's approach of rolling part way over so that the the board hits the white water tilted up on its edge for less impact area.

Clay, please keep all of this good stuff coming. There are lots of us out here that enjoy and appreciate your efforts.
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