Author Topic: Newbie Paddling Up Wind Advice  (Read 5269 times)

EastBayFoiler

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Newbie Paddling Up Wind Advice
« on: September 22, 2021, 12:53:00 PM »
So I tried SUP once on my own. It was a little windy maybe 7kts. I didn't have a bad time, but fighting the wind really put me off at the time. I went to wing foiling. Now the wind is consistently too low for me to go out and I'm eyeing that SUP sitting around in the backyard again. I watched a few videos and concluded that yeah... having no technique is probably the problem. I'm pretty sure my equip is decent. (I just snagged my father's set up. He's the same height.)

What's considered light/med/heavy/no-go wind for SUP? How much chop is too much?

Also any tips for strapping a 12' board to the top of your car? It was pretty sketchy last time I did it, and I had it strapped down enough to flex the bars.
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TallDude

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Re: Newbie Paddling Up Wind Advice
« Reply #1 on: September 22, 2021, 01:07:57 PM »
Paddle harder, deeper and keep your head down (like your riding a road bike into the wind). Elbows locked almost straight throughout the stroke. End your stroke when the paddle reaches your feet. Don't keep applying force to the paddle once it passes your feet. You push the paddle down, you don't just pull back.
It's not overhead to me!
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sflinux

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Re: Newbie Paddling Up Wind Advice
« Reply #2 on: September 22, 2021, 09:09:45 PM »
This video helped me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7PG-0PrPoQ
Light 0-10 mph
medium 10-15 mph
heavy 15-20mph
I kite, so 20mph is plenty and a whole lot less work than trying to sup in those conditions.
How much chop is too much?  Depends on experience.  As the wind picks up you will find that your board gets affected by not just the water chop pushing your board, but also the wind catching the surface area of your board.  In 15+ mph winds my board caught wind and whacked me in the head.  Always wear a leash in windy conditions, pfd recommended as well.
When I was working on improving my sup surifng I would challenge myself in windy conditions on flat water.  I found this improved my footwork.  I also found the effectiveness of the high cadence stroke.
In terms of putting your board on your car in windy conditoins, I have found it best to have the board downwind from your car, pushing the board upwind to the rack.  When it gets really windy, I have found a shoulder carrying strap (beasho) is helpful.  I hook the shoulder strap to my rack to keep the board from flying away before it is tied down.
 Robert has a video on how to tie your board down in 30 sec:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4QOMAJvAAU
For me kite and sup are a perfect complement to each other in terms of being able to go out no matter what the conditions.  I think you will find the same with sup and wing.
« Last Edit: September 22, 2021, 09:11:45 PM by sflinux »
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burchas

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Re: Newbie Paddling Up Wind Advice
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2021, 06:40:28 AM »
Adding to the great tips here:

- Faster cadence with shorter strokes.
- Try staggered stance (see pic) in addition to a lower stance and head down, it exposes less of you body surface to the wind.
- Try standing a bit forward to keep the nose down and in control. some boards behave better than other but usually it helps.
- If you have a paddle with a smaller blade, use it on windy days. It will reduce muscle fatigue.

https://youtu.be/96shOg_8e6Q
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burchas

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Re: Newbie Paddling Up Wind Advice
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2021, 06:48:14 AM »
As for loading board on your car. Try https://lockrackus.com. Best system on the market imo. Especially on windy days!
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Bean

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Re: Newbie Paddling Up Wind Advice
« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2021, 07:59:53 AM »
...Also any tips for strapping a 12' board to the top of your car? It was pretty sketchy last time I did it, and I had it strapped down enough to flex the bars.

When you strap a board to your racks make sure that the straps are perfectly vertical from where they leave the board to the rack.  If they are strapped on an angle, even though they might be tight as hell, once they slip vertical they will be slack.  Also make sure there is less board sticking out from the front rack than the rear rack (a 6" difference is usually plenty).   

Quickbeam

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Re: Newbie Paddling Up Wind Advice
« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2021, 12:55:47 PM »
The other thing you can try is "feathering" your paddle. So if it's really windy, when you have taken your paddle blade out of the water to reload for your next stroke, feather or twist the paddle so the edge of the paddle blade is slicing through the wind as opposed to having the force of the wind against the full blade of the paddle.
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EastBayFoiler

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Re: Newbie Paddling Up Wind Advice
« Reply #7 on: September 23, 2021, 05:14:10 PM »
Thanks everyone this is super helpful. I'm looking forward to trying this again.
AK Phazer 90L, Axis 1060BSC/440

 


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