Here's some more vid from the other day.

The weather is an unpredictable thing..

Epic downwinder days can go from heaven to hell in a real hurry if the wind gets too strong and turns more off-shore.. and that's what happened last Friday.

The run started off sweet with a near perfect direction.. We soon found ourselves a little further from shore than I would have liked to be.. and every runner needed to be surfed hard left because paddling hard on the right side did very little to head left in those strong winds.. It meant letting some bombs pass and some super long runners pass because they were always heading right and holding your line to the left is more important than having fun.. Once we got to Green Point (3/4 through the run) I decided that we are best to get on our knees.. There is no shame in having to kneel peddle on a downwinder if you find yourself getting blown off course.. One important thing to remember is don't paddle if your board is pointed the wrong way.. Back paddle on the other side.. Get the board pointed where you want to head.. and then paddle on the other side to try and keep on course.. Once you start heading off course again do the same thing again.. I see people all the time paddling hard on one side to try and get back towards shore are their board is still pointed the wrong way.. It can be almost impossible to paddle the nose around in strong winds and every stroke you take with the board pointed wrong just sends you more the wrong way.. Once past Green Point the wind always gets even more off shore.. and even though the waves seem to be going the right direction the wind was blowing a different direction.. It's the wind that's more of a problem than the waves.. Sometimes getting low (on your knees) is the only way to stop your body being like a sail in the wind.. We soon found ourselves back in a safe position again so we could stand and paddle again.. We had to come in through a gap at the end of the marina.. If we had of missed that gap the next land would be about 40 kilometres away.. Lifting our boards over the centre of the mania was a hassle but it all worked out ok.. When you find yourself getting into trouble don't think she'll be alright and I'll worry about it later.. because the sooner you react the better and easier it is to get yourself back out of trouble.. Leave it too late and you might never be able to get yourself back out of touble.. You also need to be able to save yourself.. You can't sit on your board difting out to sea and think someone will come and save you.

I don't mean to put a downer on the fun of down winding but we always need to always pair up so you're never alone.. and look out for each other.

DJ

That is a great share for those less-experienced (and those experienced who can easily get sucked in by fast-changing wind direction), cheers DJ.

Mottman

Great post and topic, DJ.

Everyone should heed your advice

Also, seeing you exit reminds me that last time I did a downwinder I exited via the marina also, thinking it would be easy. However, I didn't know one couldn't paddle right through so I kept paddling to the far side of the marina assuming there would eventually be a way through.

You seemed to have a lot less trouble than I had in lifting your board over out of the water, traversing the jetty and then getting back in. I'll have to re-watch and take note of your technique, lest I get in that situation again.

Back to the topic - I think it's always good to show a first-time-supper how to tuck the paddle under their chest and paddle prone in case they ever get caught in a massive wind going in an adverse direction.

We're pretty fortunate (or unfortunate) here on the Gold Coast that we don't usually get radical shifts in wind. If anything, it often goes more on-shore than you planned and you have to keep trying to paddle out out to sea!
I'm a bit surprised more Downwind paddlers aren't using Rudders? I have a SIC Bullet 17'4 and so many times I hear other paddlers complaining about having to paddle on one side or having take a less enjoyable line because they were worried about missing their finish spot while I'm having a ball and hardly even having to think about it.
Not saying a rudder would stop you having to knee paddle in the situation described above though once you're on your knees you could knock the rudder over to one side and it would help.

We get a lot of N - NW'erlies in winter. That's why if you are Melbourne-based the quiver has to include at least an 8' 6" and a 14'er so that downwinders are on the agenda when it's too windy for a surf. And, of course, if you don't like the weather at any particular point in time, just wait 4 hours.

On the downwinder front, lately it seems that our best conditions are during the week when some of us have other things to keep us out of the water! Personally, I would take good surfing conditions over downwinding any day, but it's still really great fun to get out into the Bay when it's 25+ knots.

DJ, one other thing I see missing from the excellent post of yours is plans in place for when you or a fellow paddler breaks a paddle. Not sure if that's happened to you yet or not but probably will eventually the way you lean on the carbon paddle behind and to the side of you at times. If you manage to recover the bottom half then you can sit/ kneel paddle and find your way home, if not then paddle boarding arms only is all that's left. It can be a tough arm paddle though fighting the wind to return to shore if its not favourable.

I guess that's when you pull the phone and call for assist.

One a lighter note, awesome consistent winds you guys are getting down there on PP Bay, real ocean downwinds are great too, but the best downwind conditions I've ever had were in a bay also, Morton Bay Qld, RedCliffe to Nudgee Bck. Shallow water, 40-50kts Northerly, super fast, long paddle-less runs. ( even better than my Maui- Molokai runs and Maliko in 2006) I'm originally from Melb, paddled west coast, but never paddled the Bay, must join you one day even though I hate the cold.

Keep looking after the less experienced you're doing a great job and seem to be relying very much on you.
Cheers R

That camera angle you're getting with that new mount is fantastic DJ!