hey teatrea here is a link to an interesting discussion about wipe out and options with handles at the back of the board ...have a read
www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=185c6b497d4f8f6a64c44bdcfd1a3dff&topic=2741.0

tom

teatrea said...

Thanks messup , geez that was a long thread , but some good info!

Teatree good topic mate. I have tried a few different things in bigger stuff tackling whitewater and the ever so scary, just about caught inside on a double overhead beast I dont think you can stand and just paddle into it when you have a huge , powerful wall of fast moving white water approaching , I have tried this a lot of times and broken ribs, been badly winded and near been smacked in the face by the deck of the board flying up at me. I ALWAYS now revert back to the old tried and tested surfing possy of laying down paddeling with the paddle under my chest, coming from a surfing background it is the instinct move I am used too that feels safe and works great. I paddle as hard & fast as possible at the approaching foam, as I hit it I grab my rails and hang on and also wrap my legs around the rail for grip if needed. AS i grab the rails I push my head up away from the deck of the board, works great for me, give it a go mate

Like Brooko, I often lie down with the paddle under my chest and push through that way. You can lift your head up to raise the nose of the board and get over broken whitewater - or put your head down to punch through the lip if it is just breaking.

Warning - Just the other day, while wearing boardies, I tried the head-lift-pop-over-the-whitewater thing but raised my upper body too much which freed my paddle from under my chest, pushing it backwards at a rate of knots. This acted a bit like a guillotine and nearly took the end of my "little fella" off. Don't laugh - scared the crap out of me.

Casso said...

Like Brooko, I often lie down with the paddle under my chest and push through that way. You can lift your head up to raise the nose of the board and get over broken whitewater - or put your head down to punch through the lip if it is just breaking.

Warning - Just the other day, while wearing boardies, I tried the head-lift-pop-over-the-whitewater thing but raised my upper body too much which freed my paddle from under my chest, pushing it backwards at a rate of knots. This acted a bit like a guillotine and nearly took the end of my "little fella" off. Don't laugh - scared the crap out of me.

Nah mate, no eskimo's here... like old mate casso said just lift your shoulders and head a bit skyward (sort of push up off the board) as you are about to hit the coming foam.
Maybe all that rubber we wear down here is good for something, life wouldnt be worth living with out your little fella

I haven't tried the lie down paddle technique. I usually try to get over the first one, then fall off, then get back on and paddle on my chest and before the next one I dive under. I will have to give the full paddle idea a go as suggested.

It's weird how your board comes up at you so quickly when you try to stand paddle over big white water. I thought it was just me and my technique that caused it!

Thats when the board gets hit by the white water and gets smacked into you. I rekon it's about 1/10 of a second before it happens to the guy in that shot.