Hey guys,

Just wondering what is your limit to paddling in the wind before it's just too much of an effort? I'm not talking downwinders, but mainly in the surf. I seriously struggle to make any headway over 10knots.

I live in a windy area. if I didn't surf above 10 knots I'd hardly ever surf. 10 knots is fine, I don't even think about it. Above 15 knots the surf is rarely much good unless it's offshore. But it's do-able. Once it gets to 20 knots you know that you are not going to have a really great session. 25 knots is about my cut-off for surf, and it's downwinding time. I have surfed in 40 knots cross-offshore but it was frankly pointless. I caught 2 waves in 2 hours and it was hell sketchy. The board can get taken from under your feet when riding and slammed into your face.

If you surf in wind you need to consider your equipment choices. Heavy boards are very useful and very small boards - or very large ones- become tedious, for different reasons. But otherwise, just grind it out. Use a small paddle and short strokes and paddle like hell. Sometimes if it's very windy you may just have to knee or prone paddle some of the time or else accept that your wave count will be low. Sometimes with very fat waves a bit of onshore wind can actually be your friend, so it's not always a bad thing. Like everything else, paddling in wind gets easier with practice and it will make you a much stronger paddler. It's a different stroke style than in windless flat water. You need to bend your knees to get out of the wind, and as I say, short fast strokes with a small blade paddle (and a fairly short shaft) tend to work best. Good luck!