Surfski Knowledge Base

Paul Reavley
Mar 2 #26155

I've been rummaging around in old Whatcom paddler posts recently for various reasons. (We aren't running out of space yet, are we Reivers?) and I came across a couple of ancient posts (2005) by Erik Borgnes about basic downwind technique that seem well expressed.

https://groups.io/g/Whatcompaddlers/message/356 and followup
https://groups.io/g/Whatcompaddlers/message/359

Would anyone have anything to add, express differently, or disagree with in these descriptions?

Paul Reavley
Mar 2 #26156

These posts were also saved by LG in the board files section in pdf and text format.

Reivers Dustin
Mar 2 #26157

I rarely understand what most people explain about wave-riding. Erik did well here. Of course I'll forget everything by tomorrow. Great revival post Paul.

I could not describe the details when I get it right. There is an electric feeling for the water, the timing, it all just pops. I definitely notice a confidence element, “being aggressive”. Erik's comment about “Fishscales” is a key. Waves usually don't make nice rollers that continue on. That corn-row scenario is a blast, but is very special and fleeting. I don't think the elite paddlers description translates well to me. I'm trying to work with less quick power. Chicken-stick arms here, can't explode the boat to 8 or 9 mph in two seconds like some. I have learned a great deal watching Simon. I learn better watching. But what he is doing has been grown from so many years of feeling the water. He will crank the acceleration in when I Don't See Nuthin. I have said in the past that he surfs by sense of smell.

Nicholas Cryder
Mar 2 #26158

Good stuff. Some classic tips. And I have to agree, Simon is the devil at surfing.

As a thoroughbred mid-packer who doesn't come from a paddling background, I have become a big fan of simplification in my paddling; when it comes to downwind, there are really only two things I do; surf or sprint to my next surf. Anything else is not good.

In terms of recreational downwind and racing downwind, there is a big distinction to be made. Every top racer I know is masterful at keeping the ski running at its maximum possible speed at all times. So it's far less about fixating on surfing the wave you're on, and more about treating it as a launching pad to jump two or three waves ahead of you where you can be a cold hearted bastard and leave it as soon as you got what you wanted out of it (speed) and jump on to next wave set… two or three waves ahead.

So when to surf vs. when to sprint? Wind waves tend to roll in sets of three peaks; two big and one small. The first wave peak on the front of the set is the smallest, and the ones behind it are bigger. But they are all going the same speed and the same direction, unless they are running over another set or being run over (this happens more on big days. If another set is running over the set I am on, I change direction and surf them…). If you are on one of the back waves in a set, either wait for the set to fade or try to sneak ahead to the wave in front of the one you are on by charging down the trough at an angle to shoot the shoulder of the peak in front of you. If you are on the front wave, there will often be a 20 meter flat spot between sets that you want to be sprinting across as it forms and then closes shut. I use the wave I am on as a ramp to initiate my sprint, so I can jump across with less effort. As I sprint across the flat spot, I look left and right to see where the bigger, faster set will form in front of me. I do not stop sprinting until I land downhill and am surfing again. Surf, surf, surf then sprint. Repeat until stoned with endorphins.

As I chip away at this subject over the years and learn little by little while simultaneously seeing a drop off in what I think I can do physically, the emphasis is counter intuitive; I find myself just getting a little bit better at manipulating the water to go just a little bit faster so that I don't have to sprint quite as hard as I land downwind a little bit sooner. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But In the end my consolation prize seems to be that fat guys sled fast, so my love of beer and good food is simpatico with open water sledding and needn't change.

waterbornewarrior

Mar 3 #26159

I like and appreciate Erik’s wave theory approach, RD’s “be a slippery Saffa named Simon,“ and the KISS of DarthCryder. I’ve been meaning to write up some of the things that work for me, or that I see people doing wrong. Here’s a quick stab, much of which is likely regurg of what has already been posted and talked about for ages - but worth emphasizing - and perhaps some new tidbits that might be useful.

Don

Stability: Use a boat that makes you very confident. Even a small amount of anxiety about stability (and actual instability) will decrease your performance. (Stability has both mental and physical components.)

Relax (as opposed to “be aggressive.”). This will improve your stability and awareness. Lower your shoulders, relax your grip, breathe through your nose and belly, look around, talk to someone (or yourself). You should generally be able to carry on a conversation while down winding. (I’ve had some memorable conversations during races!). Take hard strokes, but in a relaxed way, not a tense way.

Posture: Lean forward from the hips, more than you think. The boat runs better with the weight shifted forward. Sometimes on waves I lean so far forward that my chest (PFD) is on my thighs, and can often “catch” waves without taking any strokes. Rarely lean back. Burying the nose is normal and expected. Only in really big conditions when it seems like you might pitch-pole is it perhaps advisable to lean back. (And first you should try to steer out of that situation, leaning back being the last resort.)

Paddle or lightly brace (paddle drag). Don’t hold your paddle in the air while surfing, as it takes more energy and increases tension. (Unless you’re a youngster with exceptional stability and energy to burn.)

If you have to brace to prevent a huli, lean into it, not away from it. This is counterintuitive and takes practice. Almost anytime you see somebody huli, they are leaning away from the direction of the roll.

Shift the stroke forward, early catch and early exit.

Shift the brace forward, straight out to the side or slightly in front of you, not behind. Practice taking your next stroke on the same side as the brace.

Paddle hard enough to match the speed of the waves, and back off the power sooner than you think. You should rarely experience the “zoom” or “whoosh” of going down a wave face. You want to be near the peak. If you do over-power down a face, take advantage of that speed and keep going until you’ve caught your next ride, even if it means plowing into and through a small peak in front of you - it will dissipate. Another way to think about this is you want your speed graph not to be a series of deep valleys and high peaks (like 5 mph to 10 mph), but a series of smaller speed variations (7 - 9.5 mph).

Don’t paddle with blinders on, but constantly scan forward, left, and right.

You generally want the nose of the boat to be in / over a trough, so look for them (“put your nose in the holes.”) But often the move is to aim for a flat or subtle low spot, that will subsequently become a trough. A wave convergence, two peaks coming together at an angle, will often become a low spot that you can scoot into.

Be aware of and take advantage of wave patterns, but note that the pattern will typically change, so don’t get locked in. Respond to what you see and feel at the moment.

Chase small waves, let the big ones catch you.

Typically there are 3 options, left, straight, and right. Practically there’s usually only 2, as one of them is a “non-starter” (big wave peak, another paddler, shoreline, etc) or will take you off course. With two options, choose the easier option. For example, steering slightly one way onto an adjacent wave versus powering over a peak directly in front, or more radical steering the other way. (Being aware of multiple options requires previous points, like stability, relaxation, looking around, patterns, etc.)

Visualize working through a continuum of waves, vs catching one wave at a time.

It’s OK to broach, especially in training, as your need to find the limits. When you broach, resist the urge to lay on the rudder pedal to correct, but instead either 1) paddle hard with the pedals neutral until you’ve regained steerage, and then steer back downwind, or in a minority of cases 2) lean back quickly and forcefully to re-engage the rudder, and then continue paddling. It takes some practice to know when option 2 is preferable, and sometimes it’s the only option (adjacent paddler or other hazard ahead).

If you swamp the footwell, a quick, hard lean after the wave passes is a fast way to unload much of that water weight, making it easier to rebuild your speed.

In small waves that require a lot of “up and overs,” work a small angle to the waves. This reduces the slope of the wave relative to the boat, and takes less effort.

Jeff Hegedus

Mar 8 #26181

don't think just be

allipp01
Mar 9 #26182

My theory is go as easy as you can and as hard as you gotta. Works for me🏄

Tyler Irwin
Mar 9 #26183

One of the best surfing/downwinding videos that has come out recently is of Kai Bartlett doing a Maui to Lanai run. Just watching how he approaches surfing is a clinic in itself.