Here's a very short vid showing catching a downwinder runner.. and here's a few tips for those DW newbies.

Don't paddle, paddle, paddle.. It's not a race..

Don't look down at the nose of your board..

Don't look at the water just in front of the nose of your board..

Don't look back to try and see runners (waves) coming.. They're not behind you..

Paddle casually saving your energy for when you need it (to catch a runner)

Look up.. way up.. Approximately 30-50 feet away.. Sometimes further..

If land is on your left they will usually head (move) left.. Not so much head directly towards the shore.

If land is on you right they will usually head that way regardless of the wind direction.

Look for waves that stand out because you can see the backs of them..

Wind waves (runners) are usually in set of two or three.. and sometimes four..

It's best to get in behind the last one.. It's usually the biggest.. You are trying to surf into the hole left behind the wave in front of the wave that you're surfing on.. If you catch the first one and you quickly run ahead and into nothing.. If when you see these waves ahead and you just stop paddling they continue to move forward and away from you.. It just takes a steady pace to catch up to them.. They are more like a standing wave on a river than a normal surfing wave.

In my case with land on my left I'm looking for waves that are not only ahead but ahead and to my right (because they move across towards the land)... If they're straight in front of me by the time I catch up to them they will have moved too far off to my left to chase them down without heading too much off my finishing point direction.. Holding your line towards your finishing point is very important..

Anyone else with with tips please feel free to add to my list.. I'm sure there's more..

or if anyone disagrees please also feel free to coment..

Also.. In my vid I could have surfed the runner more to the right to milk it more.. but I chose to use it to surf left.. to hold my line towards the finishing point.. Towards the end of that runner you can see another set of waves ahead and over to my right.. I might have been able to link the two together but I was more concerned with holding my line and going left..

DavidJohn said..
Here's a very short vid showing catching a downwinder runner.. and here's a few tips for those DW newbies.

Don't paddle, paddle, paddle.. It's not a race..

Don't look down at the nose of your board..

Don't look at the water just in front of the nose of your board..

Don't look back to try and see runners (waves) coming.. They're not behind you..

Paddle casually saving your energy for when you need it (to catch a runner)

Look up.. way up.. Approximately 30-50 feet away.. Sometimes further..

If land is on your left they will usually head (move) left.. Not so much head directly towards the shore.

If land is on you right they will usually head that way regardless of the wind direction.

Look for waves that stand out because you can see the backs of them..

Wind waves (runners) are usually in set of two or three.. and sometimes four..

It's best to get in behind the last one.. It's usually the biggest.. You are trying to surf into the hole left behind the wave in front of the wave that you're surfing on.. If you catch the first one and you quickly run ahead and into nothing.. If when you see these waves ahead and you just stop paddling they continue to move forward and away from you.. It just takes a steady pace to catch up to them.. They are more like a standing wave on a river than a normal surfing wave.

In my case with land on my left I'm looking for waves that are not only ahead but ahead and to my right (because they move across towards the land)... If they're straight in front of me by the time I catch up to them they will have moved too far off to my left to chase them down without heading too much off my finishing point direction.. Holding your line towards your finishing point is very important..

Anyone else with with tips please feel free to add to my list.. I'm sure there's more..

or if anyone disagrees please also feel free to coment..

Also.. In my vid I could have surfed the runner more to the right to milk it more.. but I chose to use it to surf left.. to hold my line towards the finishing point.. Towards the end of that runner you can see another set of waves ahead and over to my right.. I might have been able to link the two together but I was more concerned with holding my line and going left..

Thanks DJ for taking the time that information is golden having not come from a surfing background the biggest challenge for myself is reading the ocean.

Cheers.

Great info, spot on, exept for the left and right thing.
where I live conditions change a lot, the south west part of the Island, is completely different from the north Side.
on both sides, you can go left hand shore OR right hand shore, depending on the wind direction.
you have to adapt to these conditions for sure, but I don,t recognice what DJ says in this

Excellent work Dj

Very hard to explain and teach. It is an art form. Some of our best paddlers were once beginners at this and I know from experience they didn't learn it overnight.

I do like to look at the water in front of the board.
I don't normally look to far out in front. Basically studying the water in front and to either side of the board.
There is a diferent technique to catching a bump/runner than your normal stroke.

Your quite right about NOT looking behind. This is a common mistake with a lot of people.

cheers

Pete Dorries

Hi there seabreeze's I am new so hope this is the correct spot to ask for advise,
I have picked up a 2nd hand 14' fly race (red rocket) and been playing in North Qld short choppy waters.

My request is for tips on paddling out to get a suitable downwind angle you have great tips on the downwind component of this additive sport but I have some seriously uneven bumps to get through when I head out. I dont seem to be getting any better at this part of my paddling seem to get knocked off a lot, end up on my knees etc I do not have anyone to copy tequnique so it's over to you guys for any tips.
Thanks

You should have a school with that info DJ.

Thanks for the input everyone but i think my question may be misunderstood.
Downwind all good having a ball even getting some runners joined together.
Getting offshore far enough at a 45 degrees angle to the swell is my problem.
If I stand back near the centreline handle the nose is continually blown downwind and if I am up on the front of the deck pad the waves coming over the nose don't allow me to get enough speed to make headway.
Is it just a stubborn resolve needed to get out.

Or do you all just start from land that is directly upwind of your expected arrival point in downwinders.

MOSCA said...
Thanks for the input everyone but i think my question may be misunderstood.
Downwind all good having a ball even getting some runners joined together.
Getting offshore far enough at a 45 degrees angle to the swell is my problem.
If I stand back near the centreline handle the nose is continually blown downwind and if I am up on the front of the deck pad the waves coming over the nose don't allow me to get enough speed to make headway.
Is it just a stubborn resolve needed to get out.

Or do you all just start from land that is directly upwind of your expected arrival point in downwinders.

Up wind paddling sucks but I do it for training runs if alone out into the bay and back. I have a big boof nose board so any side wind spins it. I find paddling hard dead straight into the wind and swell is best. From any angle and it's going to throw you around a bit.
It's just finding the right angle and then hitting it hard short sharp strokes help in head wind paddling and I also stand left foot forward just a little bit in surf stance but maybe that's just me.

If you find yourself going to ur knees then I think it's just practise and practise getting the balance worked out on the board in those conditions.
A hard slog upwind is always worth it when you turn and get a few kilometres of runners back.

MOSCA said...
Hi there seabreeze's I am new so hope this is the correct spot to ask for advise,
I have picked up a 2nd hand 14' fly race (red rocket) and been playing in North Qld short choppy waters.

My request is for tips on paddling out to get a suitable downwind angle you have great tips on the downwind component of this additive sport but I have some seriously uneven bumps to get through when I head out. I dont seem to be getting any better at this part of my paddling seem to get knocked off a lot, end up on my knees etc I do not have anyone to copy tequnique so it's over to you guys for any tips.
Thanks

If you're still using the stock fin in that board then try smaller as it's massive. Large fins will force the nose off the wind as they can't drift meaning you put a lot of force in to redirecting the board which is slow and very tiring.
Smaller fins are far more agile and let you keep the board pointing where you want it to point not where the wind wants it to point

Thanks DJ good advice as usual.

But I am afraid that I am FRONT LOOKER.

ET.