i'm currently on the longest board i've ever had since i started. a 9'2 that suits where i mainly surf- currumbin alley. normally long paddles, can be choppy, windy and ck mouth etc to deal with.

sure there are times when it would be good to be on my normal shorter boards.

HGFish said..

Guys paddling out would bore most folk but I understand your reason for wanting to see it. Head down where they're holding comps and just watch / video it yourself as it's unlikely someone would "waste" time / battery / memory on filming it. From the comps I've been to, generally the guys that can surf the short boards can paddle the short boards too.

To be honest mate and maybe its just my opinion but I disagree with part of what you say. I hang out with a lot of guys that go supping and by far one of the biggest criteria that they have is the ability to get past the break and THEN take a wave. If you see the pros really struggling with their balance then there is a good chance that you will to. I just think that the focus is on choosing a board thats good on a wave especially when you see the good guys out there in the absence of videos which really portray the whole picture.

In saying that I guess you have to as always jump on the board and paddle for yourself but I think it would be good to see the entire picture. Just sayin...


oz

Here another one showing Zane and others tackling some whitewater......www.standuppaddleboarding.tv/

One thing we learned at a Daniel Keropa clinic last weekend was to use the paddle blade kinda held flat on the water as a third leg to stabilise yourself when things get a wobbly straight after getting over the whitewater and into the aerated water the other side.

Too funny Robdog. All very different contexts and waves. Too cool Kai and Keahi (maybe going out with Tha Dogman or Feese would have been more of a fair comparison) Funny but quite often the big waves are much less dangerous than the 3 footers that are breaking on shallow banks!! Excellent work Robdog. Must be some swell down your way?

Thanks guys, all very interesting. You know I think that it isn't easy for the average punter. Guys like Kai, Keahi, Breeny etc surf a lot even Dogamn had a couple of issues and I would say that he surfs a lot by comparison with "average" people. I think sometimes we can be too hard on ourselves because we see all of these "top paddlers" on videos. The reality is that it isn't that easy to paddle out and even catching a wave can be hard in certain conditions. It helps to watch other paddlers and share videos like these ones. Not everyone gets the chance to surf several times a week or everyday. Water time is the best teacher but that can be hard to come by for some people. Best advice I ever got was watch others, surf as much as you can in all conditions and be prepared to get hammered from time to time.
Thanks again. ET.

Great video, and regardless of board stability, it's our challenge to stay upright.

Some things I've learned from surfing a beach break all the time, where constantly faced with whitewater:

Keep paddling through white water .. many just stop paddling and lose the stability / momentum. Having your paddle in the water helps plenty.

If it's powerful white water, it's more stable to quickly switch to a wide surf stance, get low, punch through, then switch back.

Depending on the board/wave, you can choose to punch the nose through the wave, rather than ride over the top.

Timing .. read the wave, and paddle like buggery if it looks like it will break, versus, holding back, letting it break/avoid the impact

If there's a peak, and you can make it, paddle sideways as dogman in the video did to completely avoid the whitewater.

On bigger days, best option can be to drop down with paddle under chest, and prone paddle out, as getting up/down wastes the precious seconds you have to get out between sets.

If you're going to take one on the head, then do a dive off the front of your board, rather than just fall in, as every meter gained towards getting out the back helps.

Conserve or Go like hell? Depends on the break, but sometimes, when it's big, and waves are coming through fast, then get a move on! Getting out the back as fast as possible will save time & conserve energy. Other days, it can pay to read the rips, and be more relaxed, take a few on the head, and time your runs to get out the back.

It's all good fun...

A trick I use if I am standing and I can't pop the white water is to flick my board up and over the white water just before I dive down as deep as I can.
If you can get your board up and over it want get caught and drag you back.
Also safer if there are others around you. Works a treat (most of the time)!

^^^ I've adopted the (braced) surf-stance to get over whitewash up to head-height...although anything over waist-height & my odds of making it reduce dramatically. Keeping the paddle in the water, or dipping it as soon as you get on top will help.

AA's technique will save you from losing too much ground if you have to bail.

Sorry - forgot to mention that you also need to throw in some common sense.
Check that there is no one in front of you before you flick the board over the foam ball.
I am not talking 2'ers. This works best when you are looking at 5'+ foam balls and cannot pop them.
Your paddling out - you having plenty of time to make this call.

Too may times I see guys bailing and not looking behind them and they forget that their 10' board on 18' of stretched leg rope is a distance of almost 30'! Look around you, use your common sense and make a judgement call.

... and some of us sup where there's no one else within 50m, so safe to do so.