Just got surf board for the small wind days .how do you guys do deep water starts .What is the best way to get on the board . HELP PLEASE we have had no real wind in bay for over 4 weeks .

Skip the first 50 sec or so of the 2nd vid. Sorry, the edit didn't take....

Hey robbo many thanks that has explaned so much . Just got to get out there and give it some . You make turning from heel to toe like fluid and looks soooo easy. I know it wont be . Once again many thanks .

as with all boards, putting your toes in the rail to make the board tip into the water so you can put pressure on it helps whilst your messing with your kite. also, you'll never slide a surfboard across the water. to spin it round make sure you push it forwards or backwards and turn it so the fins don't grab in and stop it moving. I always grab the tail with my back hand and just push it round under my feet.

Hi Robbo
A couple of questions
Have You put a Back deckgrip under your front foot? So you can use the Wedge in the grip to push forward on the front. Help climb broken waves?
I don't think I saw you ride switch. If you choose to ride switch is it better to rotate your body before or after the turn. Or rotate after the turn on your strong toeside and rotate before on your weak toeside. ie as Natural footer should I switch after the turn when going from left to right and before when going right to left.
Do you recommend wearing a surfboard leash when riding Strapless?

when you are ready to do a standing start use your front foot to stabilize and position the board,kite up high then when ready dive kite(doesnt have to be fast unless light cond.) and throw your back foot on ,i see heaps of beginners trying to put their back foot on 1st and they cant control the board and end up on their arse, or do the skate start and throw both feet on at same time.
when going over a wave so you dont lose your board when you hit the whitewater bend your knees and weight even through both feet, and when going over the back of the wave slightly straighten you legs, even so the board may fall away from your feet dont fight it as you generally land back down on it (its all a timing thing),or you can bear away a little so you ride the white water along the top of the wave and the drop off the back of the wave is a bit more subtle

IanR said...

Hi Robbo
A couple of questions
Have You put a Back deckgrip under your front foot? So you can use the Wedge in the grip to push forward on the front. Help climb broken waves?
I don't think I saw you ride switch. If you choose to ride switch is it better to rotate your body before or after the turn. Or rotate after the turn on your strong toeside and rotate before on your weak toeside. ie as Natural footer should I switch after the turn when going from left to right and before when going right to left.
Do you recommend wearing a surfboard leash when riding Strapless?

OK, let me address a few questions at once:

Yes, I've put a section of rear deck grip reversed on the FRONT foot position. This works wonders when you are trying to get over a broken wave. As the wave approaches, you can push you front foot against the heel pad, creating pressure against the board, making it less likely to get knocked out from under you -- it also serves as a good tactical marker so you can feel exactly where your foot should be when riding.

I personally don't ride switch very often but it's a good skill to have simply because you can go upwind better in light winds. There are a couple of ways to switch: Some people are good enough to just hop from regular to goofy and back again. I find that I just crash and burn about 80% of the time. Easiest way (lazy) is just stop, fall in the water and flip the board around. The most common method is to start riding directly downwind then move your back foot beside with your front foot, then change positions from there and keep going as you cut upwind again. It's tricky but with practice you will get it.

Re the question about a leash, there are varying opinions on that. You are generally safe with a leash on a surfboard. Unlike with a twintip which will load up the leash as the tip digs in when you crash, then slingshot back and take your head off, the edge design of a surfboard generally doesn't allow this to happen. It will sometimes "tombstone", making it difficult to unload the pressure on the leash but I've never had it come flying back at me. Reason I use a leash is that if you lose the board, once a wave gets it, it'll usually wash all the way to the beach whereas a TT will just get washed over.

Hope that's helpful.

Cheers,

Robbo

michel said...

when you are ready to do a standing start use your front foot to stabilize and position the board,kite up high then when ready dive kite(doesnt have to be fast unless light cond.) and throw your back foot on ,i see heaps of beginners trying to put their back foot on 1st and they cant control the board and end up on their arse, or do the skate start and throw both feet on at same time.
when going over a wave so you dont lose your board when you hit the whitewater bend your knees and weight even through both feet, and when going over the back of the wave slightly straighten you legs, even so the board may fall away from your feet dont fight it as you generally land back down on it (its all a timing thing),or you can bear away a little so you ride the white water along the top of the wave and the drop off the back of the wave is a bit more subtle

Very good advice here.

Another very helpful hint in getting over large, broken waves when riding strapless is as the wave approaches you, slow down, then ride WITH the wave slightly back toward the beach (as noted above, bear away) as the wave passes under you, letting the whitewater float you at the energy dissipates. At this stage, you're essentially riding along the wave for a brief period, then, as the wave passes under you and you're floating over the whitewater, power the kite up again and pull yourself over the rest of the wave. The key is not to try and power over or through the wave--just take it gently and ollie over it, unweighting the board, shifting some of your weight onto the tail as you float gently over the surface without leaving the water. You can do this either heelside or toeside.

Here are a couple of examples:

Robbo2099 said...

ezza said...

hey robbo, what is your safety hooked to in the vid?

Just the standard Slingshot safety on a REV2. It attaches to the harness ring then the other side to the safety ring on one of the front lines at the depower strap. I usually run the safety line UNDER my harness to prevent it dangling and getting tangled up in things.

hmm that is a good idea! the slingshot safeties are a bit long. I stopped using mine (and started using the one off an Ozone) because a couple of times it somehow looped around my board's fins when water starting. Probably not an issue if you use a twintip with the smaller fins but annoying with a surfboard... sorry OT.