Author Topic: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial  (Read 15519 times)

Dusk Patrol

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #15 on: July 30, 2017, 02:15:16 PM »
Super interesting to hear everyones' experiences/ suggestions... Great thread.
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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #16 on: July 30, 2017, 04:02:38 PM »
Thanks Clay

Great review and discussion. Do the techniques described apply to under 9' boards? Are there techniques that work better with shorter boards?

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clay

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #17 on: August 01, 2017, 08:21:45 AM »
Thanks Clay

Great review and discussion. Do the techniques described apply to under 9' boards? Are there techniques that work better with shorter boards?

Bob

You are welcome Bob.   I am riding boards over 9' in bigger surf.  There is another technique I have seen a few guys use on smaller boards - I guess it might be described as a standing duck dive - I have never tried it so don't know.   The techniques in my video might actually be easier with smaller boards, as long as the nose is pointy, less volume to get smacked in the face with.  Maybe try in smaller waves and gradually work your way up?
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clay

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #18 on: August 01, 2017, 08:23:05 AM »
I am digging all the comments and hearing about what is working for everyone. Thanks for sharing I am learning from this discussion.

I really appreciate all the great feedback.  :)
Aloha, I welcome and appreciate all responses of positivity and good feeling.

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gone_foiling

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #19 on: August 01, 2017, 10:44:55 AM »
This is so awesome Clay. Big thank you!
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PabstSUP

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #20 on: August 01, 2017, 11:36:44 AM »
Another thing I do when paddling up and over foam is take a stroke right as the white water hits the board.  Having the paddle in the water helps with stabilizing yourself.  The real key to the up and over is when to push back on the tail of the board (right before the white water hits) than pushing down on your front foot as you go over the wave - a bit like a see-saw. 

Another thing I like to do for fun when it's big and there's no other surfers close by: after I've caught a wave, pull out cleanly and I'm paddling back out into a monster bearing down on me that I know I'm not going to successfully paddle over.  I stroke up up the face of the wave and jump up off my board right before the lip hits me, launching myself about 10-15ft into the air.  You get a fun trampoline-like shot over the back of the wave.  However, this can be dangerous if you're timing isn't perfect so I don't really recommend it  ;D   
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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #21 on: August 03, 2017, 10:03:08 AM »
Great video Clay thank you.

I would just add emphasis to the patience section. That has been the biggest help to my surfing prone and standup. Take time to watch and read. I used to just charge out and see what happens, often arriving out the back exhausted and needing a long break. Now I wait waist deep (beach breaks) just calmly shoving the board over waves and develop a plan as well as an attempt to understand the rhythm of the sets. I don't always get it right, but have gotten to where my hair is dry after the paddle out about 75% of the time. When I am wrong it usually is getting stuck right at the last wave to get through.

Like Clay I will use knee paddling to sprint if I can't get to my feet quick enough, but I will never go over any size wave on my knees. I took a paddle across the face doing that. When I am on my knees I will go prone before the wave gets there and use the slicing method that Talldude talks about. This is a carry over from some of the big logs I ride prone. With the sup I just hug myself to the board with both hands on the rail (paddle under chest) and turn sideways to try and knife through. This keeps you from getting dragged backward very far.
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Dusk Patrol

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #22 on: August 03, 2017, 11:29:24 AM »
Amazing how getting smacked in the face with your board (or paddle) teaches a lesson. My 'lesson' was more embarrassing, but I'll share for instructional purposes  ::)   Getting back on the board, I set my paddle on the deck, and in one super smooth move swung my body up, landed my knee on the tilted upward blade, and levered the paddle handle up into my lip... Like stepping on a rake... I'm more attentive now...   
« Last Edit: August 03, 2017, 11:31:55 AM by Dusk Patrol »
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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #23 on: August 08, 2017, 09:00:25 AM »
Great video Clay.  Useful techniques, excellent examples and most importantly, it was entertaining! 
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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #24 on: August 08, 2017, 03:20:57 PM »
Oh man, I'm a totally knee paddler!  We surf a lot of beach breaks (often low period) and I'm always caught inside.  I wait wait wait for any gap and then either prone paddle like crazy, or if I have a bit more time, hop up on my knees and paddle choked up with high cadence.  With my back injury, I need a bit of time and calmness before I can pop up to my feet. 

On my knees, I do a lot of cross-arms in front of me to avoid getting sacked by the wave if I decide to paddle over them while they are breaking.  If the wave is too big to go over (ie, I'll over-compress my knees & torso or will risk the board hitting my head) I hop off, quickly turn my back to the wave with my board facing the beach, and will reverse duck dive using my tail pad kick as a tail handle (when my boards were bigger, I installed a tail handle).  With the smaller/lighter boards, spinning them back around after the reverse duck dive is much more doable.
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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #25 on: August 09, 2017, 08:54:11 AM »
As a fellow PACNW paddler I know a lot about short period paddle outs and being caught inside too much.

I occasionally do the move where you spin backwards and sit all the way on the tail pointing the nose up and lean back into the wave, then you can spin and go prone to keep moving. It works on small to medium waves.
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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #26 on: August 09, 2017, 12:05:32 PM »
Anyone can give advice, but to lay it out in a thoughtful and useful manner is key.

You used great video clips of pros to show what you describe, then add in some of yourself from another angle.... perfect to get your points across!

Nice graphics as well, I enjoyed them.

A+

Covesufer is spot on..... watch the conditions before you enter the water.
Learn the best lane to paddle out it.

Use the rip to get you out faster.... paddle WITH the rip, not straight out, to get the most benefit from the moving water.

SUPs paddle very fast, so waiting for a lull may allow you to paddle out without getting hit at all.


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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #27 on: August 09, 2017, 01:43:57 PM »
Great tip on the rips Creek. It's like a free ride out.

I think there is a time to throw in the towel, before you get beat. I was at SanO one day during a big swell. Boards were coming in broken. It was pretty much walled off as far as the eye could see. You couldn't see anyone out because the well OH sets just lined up one after another. I was parked next to Colin McPhillips. We were talking and he was doing his stretches. I was on the fence about what kinda beating I was willing to take that morning. Colin paddles out and was just taking a beating. Me and a couple other guys of just watched him for about 20 minutes. He just got hammered, and really struggle to even prone paddle out. He finally made it and was out of sight.
We all decided, if Colin barely made it after 20 minutes, it'll be worse for us. We went to DoHo instead and had a blast:)
 
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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #28 on: September 02, 2017, 04:21:33 PM »
Thanks Clay very helpful tips!
When in doubt, paddle out!

PonoBill

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Re: How to Paddle Out in Bigger Surf - Video tutorial
« Reply #29 on: September 02, 2017, 04:44:05 PM »
Great tip on the rips Creek. It's like a free ride out.

I think there is a time to throw in the towel, before you get beat. I was at SanO one day during a big swell. Boards were coming in broken. It was pretty much walled off as far as the eye could see. You couldn't see anyone out because the well OH sets just lined up one after another. I was parked next to Colin McPhillips. We were talking and he was doing his stretches. I was on the fence about what kinda beating I was willing to take that morning. Colin paddles out and was just taking a beating. Me and a couple other guys of just watched him for about 20 minutes. He just got hammered, and really struggle to even prone paddle out. He finally made it and was out of sight.
We all decided, if Colin barely made it after 20 minutes, it'll be worse for us. We went to DoHo instead and had a blast:)
 

SanO is kind of strange when it gets big and closed out. It's worth the effort to get out, because you can find some awesome waves, but getting out is the trick, and IMHO you can only do it standing. There are a lot of slots of green water in the walls, and if you see one, you can turn and paddle like a madman for it. Get over that one, and there's another, but it's not behind it, it's twenty yards to the side with head high whitewater on each side. I've picked my way out when there were just a few people out, and paid some dues to make it. But once you have, as long as you don't get greedy and ride in to the sandbars, you can catch empty waves for hours. Of course when SanO is big there's also the occasional set that comes in much too square to the beach that just drops with a thump, one after the other. Get caught inside for that and you're gonna get pummeled.

I find Cardiff to be oddly difficult to get out sometimes. If you're close to the rivermouth the current plus the sets standing right up can be pretty impenetrable. I just let the current and the rip angle me away and try to survive the waves breaking in my face. As long as you stay standing, you get out, but Pocahontas is not an option--you'll be driven backwards until your fins bury.
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