Would you paddle out? Barreling beach break

[southwesterly]

One thing I would NOT do is surf that break with a “pole cam” projecting off the front of my board.  That would be a significant threat to others...,
not to mention, I can’t imagine the locals would be throwing out the welcome mat.

Understatement of the year.

Remember, this is at a place where they shot down a drone.

[mrbig]

Clay, Lose the pole cam. Even if you were the only guy out. Hazardous to your health.
It's all about the shorebreak. Took some serious gas recently. OH clean but when the tide filled in the shorebreak was ceiling high. My HR monitor maxed out at 191. Beep beep time to go.Only made two waves in an hour. My buds were out for me and had a good laugh when I got worked like a junkyard dog. Pics are not of me, but representative of Cape Cod Crunchers!

[surfcowboy]

I'd have gone but on a prone board.

Clay, do you have a health issue that keeps you from surfing prone?

I couldn't navigate those with a paddle and board with folks out myself. I just can't control a SUP in the crazy wipeouts that come with hollow waves personally. (Hope to get there.)

If it's your only option, get it. Personally I'd take a mat out and have the time of my life.

[Rider]

So, those waves are a daily occurrence on the central coast of California.  Actually they’re a bit better because we would have way more offshore winds. OK, today was a bit smaller but with 35 mph straight offshore, not so much fun.  So the water here was today was 53 degrees.  Been there done that lot’s of times. Having a board you can duck dive in those conditions is like day and night. Yes you can do it on a paddle board.  But why would you if you can still surf? If you can’t surf for some reason, a high performance boogie board would be awesome.

[surfercook]

That's a tough call for a tough line-up. I most likely could handle those waves and that crowd on sup, but would more than likely go w/a regular board. Just easier to deal w/the crowd/barrel factor. Looks alot like my local break on an really good day.

[clay]

Clay, do you have a health issue that keeps you from surfing prone?

The last few times I have shortboarded I got a case of the WTF am I doing laying down and missing so many waves!   

Last 2 times I surfed a prone board in Santa Cruz I realized I never wanted to do it again.  Sitting there waiting and waiting and waiting, and the bad vibes were a total bummer.  Three guys older than me started hassling a SUPper who was just out for a paddle, screaming out him to get the F out of here.  The next time a woman older than me gave a nasty soapbox rant to a young kid.  I was so disgusted I wanted to puke.  No thanks.  There seems to be something ingrained in prone surfing that brings out the jerk in to many people. 

I have had plenty of barrels on a prone board.  The challenge and excitement for me is trying something new, and seeing what I can do on a SUP and a foil.   

[eastbound]

i had to giggle, creek--nice waves, riding your creek.....but the SS3 has a wandering eye, or something....

oye, and i own one, so i really shdn't find this funny.....

like the new color scheme

had 8'10" creek out finally for a decent session--it's faster, holds steeper sections, and turns better--and it's tippier--then my starby airborn 8'8"--i had it out on a pretty clean chest high day in full winter rubber--got bert's stocks in frt and a 4.7" center from an fcs mayhem tri in the rear--spun out, when i went all fcs--needs the bigger bert fins up front--yesterday was chest high but sloppy--so i went with the airborn--clearly the creek is the preferable ride, just need to get more comfortable getting around in slop on it--on cleaner waves, the creek is the obvious choice

i anticipate getting better balance over time with the creek--my starby will get lonely when that happens

likes waves like those in clay's ob video

[surfcowboy]

Clay, I hate to get all hippie on you but, those people will be there no matter what you ride.

I feel you about wanting to push the progression on new gear.

[TallDude]

Clay, do you have a health issue that keeps you from surfing prone?

The last few times I have shortboarded I got a case of the WTF am I doing laying down and missing so many waves!   

Same here. I was testing out my new prone longboard and was watching the SUP's get wave after wave. There were way more prone kooks in the lineup dropping in on me, and every wave's a go straight party wave. An continual onslaught of Wavestorm's blocking me. Anyway, the waves were small and mushy. Hardly enough energy to get my new under volume performer longboard (9'4 x 23" and sunk to my waist) up and planing much. Not that I won't take it out again, I just have a better time on my SUPs.

[PonoBill]

^^^^^That. Plus the last time I went prone surfing for an hour I spent three days sleeping sitting up--neck and ab cramps if I laid flat. Plus the simple fact that moving into the lineup as a peer doesn't gain much. I can see prone surfing if you can get away from everyone as I always can with a SUP, but the ponytailed old farts that yell at us on
SUPs and never catch anything are also constantly pulling in front of you in a lineup and then missing the wave you had to pull out of.

Worse yet for spoiling me for surfing is foiling. I surfed my SUP yesterday for a little while after foiling went sideways. I paddled out to the outer reef at Tavares. Did my SUP because that would be a horrible paddle with a foil. After catching a couple of waves and trying to pump up onto the foil that wasn't there I decided I was not having enough fun. I'm told I'll get over this phase, but for now, if there's something to surf I'm foiling.

[Sup-position]

That is just another day at the office for me..

Be mindful of your skill level.

No one wants someone in the line up that doesn't know
what they are doing or can't handle the conditions..

If you even have to question it just watch...

[eastbound]

jeez, big, youve been a magnet for danger of recent

stop that!

[NorthJerzSurfer]

i prone surfed plenty of days like that at OB when I lived in SF and I can say for a fact that a sup would be difficult for the one thing Clay mentioned.- the lack of peaks

When most of OB closes out and only a few defined sandbars are working- and its still manageable (Thats manageable OB for the locals)  guys and boards are EVRYWHERE on that bar.  You can see from the one clip how many guys centered in one little area- Theres no channel, no walk down the beach and paddle back out somewhere else- but turn tail and paddle straight back out- right where the folks are droping.

I donated about 50 bucks to a guy for a repair that i caused trying to zig -zag the peak and gave the poor guy with nowhere to go paddling out a nice fiberglass tattoo to his board.

[SUP Leave]

I have gone out in conditions like that before on my SUP and found that I only got the same number of waves as I did on a prone board and did just as much work. Getting out with all of the lump and thump I had to prone paddle, getting knocked way back several times. Once out the back the lump in the water kept knocking me off. Once on the wave it was drop and run for the shoulder (which rarely worked out) or drop and go straight, then bail over the white water for a brutal paddle back out.

I stayed away from the crowd no problem, and there were plenty of surfers just watching. It was so hard to get the SUP back out with no channel that I ended up watching a lot myself,  looking for a wave that I was perfectly in position to make the shoulder that it seemed pointless. It is not like I would be getting sweet barrels on my prone board (I'm not that good), but it is so much easier to handle in the impact zone of waves like those.

When there is a lot of energy in the water, it is really fun to be out there so in your position I probably would have taken my SUP out anyway, but I always bring both watercrafts to the beach (fins too).