Author Topic: Surfing on Hala Carbon Playa  (Read 5733 times)

strbrd

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Re: Surfing on Hala Carbon Playa
« Reply #15 on: September 13, 2020, 08:35:38 PM »
Hello and Thank you for this great forum!

First time poster here but I have frequented the site for tons of info for all things related to SUP.

I can relate to scrooner as I tried to learn with the exact same board 4 years ago. Was looking for the all-around intro board that I could travel with. Learning on the Hala on the Oregon Coast was insane!I am surprised I stuck with it. Granted I did not know how to read or understand surf reports that well and caught myself in surf that was not the best for learning or surfing for that matter.  I finally caught a small surf day and it was great!

I took the Hala to Maui and it was even better. Decided to try a hard board while in Maui and didn't surf the Hala for at least a year. Now I have three hard boards and the Hala. On rare occasions I will take it out and it is fun and floaty in small surf. I usually replace the flex fins a single hard fin.

P.City was great this weekend for learning minus the smoke. I was out for a couple hours this morning.

I don't want to knock the Hala too much as I have received compliments on how well it can surf (probably not as good as the Uli) but it isn't the best for learning unless you can regularly find the right waves and that isn't going to happen here.

Take it down for some white water before the rain comes. I took it down the Clackamas river and it was a blast.


PonoBill

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Re: Surfing on Hala Carbon Playa
« Reply #16 on: September 13, 2020, 09:15:44 PM »
Basically I'm echoing what surfcowboy said back in the second post of this thread. As usual, he's spot on.
Foote 10'4X34", SIC 17.5 V1 hollow and an EPS one in Hood River. Foote 9'0" x 31", L41 8'8", 18' Speedboard, etc. etc.

scrooner

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Re: Surfing on Hala Carbon Playa
« Reply #17 on: September 14, 2020, 08:55:50 AM »
Thanks everybody, this has been really helpful!!

dmilt, did you go to the Cove?  We were planning to stay by our usual beach this summer (Kamaole I in Kihei), and the Cove is a short paddle north from there, and is supposed to be a great beginner spot, so that's why I bought the Playa.  I'll be taking it there next summer with the credits from our cancelled flight, if travel to HI is possible by then.  I had planned to use a rigid surf fin too....the flexy one doesn't seem like it would be very effective in the ocean.

https://www.hawaiianbeachrentals.com/Hawaii/Maui/Kihei/thingstodo/LearnhowtosurforstanduppaddleattheCove.htm

Last summer we were camping by Sunset Bay in southern Oregon, and we went out to the beach to watch the Sunset.  There was a guy there SUP surfing 1-foot waves there on a longboard, and it was the most beautiful thing to me.  He'd just casually paddle out, turn around and ride straight in on the first wave that came by, and then head back out and do it again.  He never fell in or missed a wave, and was just cruising.  I would be happy as a clam in those conditions, though I could see why it could be boring to experienced folks.  It would be terrible without a paddle.

strbrd

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Re: Surfing on Hala Carbon Playa
« Reply #18 on: September 14, 2020, 09:24:42 AM »
I have been to the Cove. Great spot to learn but might be crowded in the summer.  Board rentals right across the street. Rent a hard board for sure. Many spots to learn there and within a short distance. I surfed the Hala at Launiupoko all day long but the hard board is way more fun.

scrooner

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Re: Surfing on Hala Carbon Playa
« Reply #19 on: August 23, 2021, 10:55:28 PM »
Okay, I've had 3 mornings of surfing the Playa at Cove Beach, and it has been, for me and in these conditions, amazing.  2-4 foot waves, and not too much wind if you show up early like I have, around 6:30am.  It catches waves easily as long as I get a head start of ~6 paddles, and I'm regularly riding 2-300 yards at a time.  I catch just about every wave I try for, though it does feel sketchy to me as the waves near 4-5 feet.  I've tried it with a single FCS click-in and with the added side bites, and it seems easier to turn with the side fins (reminder, I'm a noob) though it really prefers to just go straight.  Seems to require quite a bit of trimming fore and aft, though I'm not sure how much is normal for surfing.  I love the little kick pad on the back - when I'm done with a wave I just stomp back on it and I'm out.  All in all, it has been super fun here and worth lugging with me.  Not sure if I'll bother trying a hard rental board on this trip.

 


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