SUP Surfing 101 Basic Track Chapter 1

This post is the first in a very long series (I hope) on surfing your SUP. A lot of people are buying SUP boards just for flatwater paddling. More power to them, but there may come a day when you decide you’d like to try a bit of surfing. The good news is that all the things you’ve learned in paddling flatwater–balancing on the board, paddling techniques, turning, moving around on the board–will all come into play. The bad news is that it’s not nearly enough.

This series will give you practical knowledge about surfing. It won’t teach you to do it–only time in the water can do that. But it will accelerate your learning by showing how to best spend that time.

I’m not qualified by long experience to teach you to SUP surf. I’m a writer who SUP surfs. The knowledge here comes largely from other, more experienced people and from the lessons I’m learning as I take the same path you will take. I’ve been doing SUP surfing for about two years, but I do it intensively. I live in Portland, Oregon and Haiku, Hawaii, and I SUP surf and paddle in both places. I have the luxury of time–I’m semi-retired. I try to get in the water every day and probably succeed about 300 days per year. When I’m in the water I don’t just play, I’m always trying to learn new things.

Chapter 1 Section 1
Etiquette, safety, and wave knowledge

Step one is to reassess your swimming ability. When you’re SUP surfing, as opposed to flatwater paddling, you’ll be in rougher water, and you’ll have a higher likelihood of losing your board, even if you have a leash. You need to be able to swim to the beach from wherever you are surfing. In some cases, like reef breaks, that could be a mile. You also may be swimming in currents, chop, whitewater and breaking waves. Beef up your swimming before you tackle surfing.

Step two is to practice your breath-holding. It’s easy to get held down by a wave, even in relatively small surf. You might be held down for just a few seconds, or it might be more like fifteen. In very rare cases you might have to hold your breath for thirty seconds. That may not sound like much when you’re sitting on a couch, but it can be difficult. It’s worthwhile to practice holding your breath while you’re doing inactive pursuits, like watching the TV, and especially worthwhile to practice swimming underwater. The key to surviving a long hold-down in a big wave is not to panic. The only way to train yourself not to do that is to experience it many times. Start small–trust me, a hold-down from a chest-high wave can scare the hell out of you.

Etiquette and Safety
Before you venture into the water you should know what the surf community expects of you. There aren’t any true rules other than to respect the people you are going to surf with. But there are some customs and expectations you should know about. The “rules” of the SUP community are contained in a site called SUPright (HTTP://WWW.SUPright.com). these rules will change over time as other people add refinements to them, but here is what this site says today:

First thing to understand is that there really aren’t rules–not yet anyway. Right now there are simply ways that the community of SUP surfers believe we should act. If you don’t follow these ways, someone might yell at you, and people might think you’re a jerk, but that’s it.

And that’s the best reason of all to follow these ways–because we don’t want that to change. Join the community and share the stoke because that is what makes surfing–all surfing–so very special. Don’t put yourself outside of that by being an idiot.

Beginners and experts have a different set of responsibilities. We’re going to take pains to explain everything as clearly as possible, which will make this a little tedious. If you find that too slow just jump to the summary at the end.

Beginners
What’s a beginner? Well obviously if it’s your first week on a SUP and you’re still falling in every few minutes you’re an absolute beginner. Once you get into waves you’d probably count yourself a beginner if you can’t turn easily without falling. But the definition needs to be a little more precise.

Beginner: You can paddle out past the breaking waves without falling when knee high whitewater hits you. You can pick the right place to be in a wave, paddle to the right spot and turn in front of the wave without falling, then catch the wave.

Intermediate: In waist high waves you can do a bottom turn, a cutback, and turn out of the wave without falling. When you do fall you can grab your board. Your leash is rarely needed.

Beginners have no business in a popular break. You’ll get in the way, you can get hurt if a closeout wave or set comes through, if you catch a wave and fall you’ll lose your board to the end of your leash. Almost everything you do will endanger yourself and endanger other surfers. Paddle away from the break, find some small waves and practice.

One very important thing to practice is controlling your board. If you watch experienced surfers you’ll almost never see their boards at the end of their leash. They either turn out of waves at the end of their ride, or in the rare cases that they fall they grab the board as they fall.

The leash DOES NOT prevent your board from hurting other people. When your body is outstretched, being dragged by your runaway board you have four feet of body, perhaps ten feet of leash and eleven feet of board. That’s at least a 25 foot radius you can hurt other people within. Your board will generally be in the wave, sticking out just waiting to nail another surfer.

One disciplined way to practice controlling your board is to surf BY YOURSELF without a leash. By yourself means NO ONE in the water who could be hit by your board–all the way to the beach, because that’s probably how far you’ll have to swim to regain your board. You can certainly simulate this with a leash if you don’t want to do all that swimming, but going leash-less is a useful training aid and a commitment. Just never do it around other people.

If you are a beginner, and you want to paddle out and watch the more advanced surfers, stay in the channel (which should be obvious–it’s the way most surfers will be returning to the lineup) and sit down. Don’t wobble around in the lineup and loom over all the prone surfers. It’s rude and intimidating.

Intermediate: If you can execute basic surf maneuvers without falling and can control your board, you should be welcome in an uncrowded lineup. If the crowd grows you should paddle off to the side or go looking for new spots. Your SUP board can catch waves that longboarders can’t. Don’t be a sheep, you don’t have to be in the pocket of a lineup with twenty other surfers. If you can’t thread your way through a half dozen people in the way, and contend with people dropping in or the need to pull out from the wave at ANY time without EVER losing control of your board, then you shouldn’t be there. Yes there will be be people there that can’t do that. Just because someone else is a kook doesn’t mean you need to be. Ride your own ride

All SUP Surfers

1. Don’t be a wavehog: It’s easy to grab every rideable wave with a SUP. You can always be first into the wave, closest to the shoulder. Everyone else is just dropping in. If you are spinning laps, paddling back out quickly and setting up for the next wave, you’re the worst kind of hog.

2, The second worst wavehog is the guy that maneuvers outside, coming in like a locomotive on every good set wave. Do it once and you’re getting all the wave can offer. Do it five times and hoot others off your wave and you genuinely, truly, absolutely suck.

3, When your turn comes, take your wave, surf it well, paddle back out and sit down. Talk to people. Watch for good waves. Let them pass and make it obvious that you’re sharing. Show some aloha, some kindness, some wisdom.

4. Don’t drop in. Dropping in means another surfer has caught the wave closer to the shoulder. If you find you accidentally have, turn out of the wave immediately. If you can’t do that without falling then sit down on the tail of your board (and if you can’t, what are you doing in a crowded break?). Never undertake a maneuver that might cause you to ditch your board in front of the overtaking surfer.

5. Using your high vantage point to call out waves might be a good thing, but ask your fellow surfers if they’d like you to do that. A lot of people surf to decompress and relax. Having some guy bellow “here’s a good one” five times in a row for mediocre waves may disturb their Wa.

6. Don’t paddle out through the middle of the break. Go off to the channel, or if there is no channel, well to the side out of the surfing zone. Killing someone’s ride by standing like a deer in the headlights will not gain you any points.

7. If you must paddle in the surfing zone, signal which way you are going to try to pass any surfer on a collision course with you. Generally you want to pass behind them so they don’t have to cut back, so if you fall you won’t take them out. Make your intention clear. It might not work but at least you tried.

Any time you think a rule doesn’t apply to you, you’re just BS-ing yourself. “I didn’t really drop in because I was so far down the wave”: BS–you wouldn’t come up with an excuse if you didn’t KNOW you were wrong.
“I tried to grab my board but I missed it” BS–go back and practice control.

Find new places. SUP boards are magic for that. You are missing out if you don’t explore, and you’re just adding to the congestion. Five miles is no big deal for a SUP board.

Don’t let nitwits control your standards. Just because someone doesn’t appreciate your efforts to share and to observe traditional etiquette doesn’t mean you should abandon it. Set your standards and live by them.

Summary

Beginners: Stay out of popular breaks. Find some small waves and practice controlling your board. Learn to turn out of waves and/or grab the board as you fall. Do not rely on your leash–in fact consider learning to surf BY YOURSELF without a leash with NO ONE in the water who could be hit by your board–all the way to the beach. Alternatively simulate this with a leash if you don’t want to do all that swimming, Going leash-less is a useful training aid and a commitment. Just never do it around other people.

Intermediate: If you can execute basic surf maneuvers without falling and can control your board, you should be welcome in an uncrowded lineup. If the crowd grows, paddle off to the side or go looking for new spots. If you can’t thread your way through a half dozen people in the way, and contend with people dropping in or the need to pull out from the wave at ANY time without EVER losing control of your board, then you shouldn’t be in a crowd.

All SUP Surfers

1. Don’t be a wavehog.

2, When your turn comes, take your wave, surf it well, paddle back out and sit down.

3. Don’t drop in. If you accidentally have, turn out of the wave immediately.

4. Don’t paddle out through the middle of the break.

5. If you must paddle in the surfing zone, signal which way you are going to try to pass any surfer on a collision course with you.

Any time you think a rule doesn’t apply to you, you’re lying to yourself.

Waves and breaks
Before long you’ll be sitting in a lineup with other surfers and they’ll start talking about the waves. That they are mushy, or blown out, closeouts, or sectioning or A frames. That there’s too much west in them (pick a direction), that the tide is going out or it’s all short period stuff. There’s a lot to know about waves, but you don’t need to know much to start with. Here’s the basics and we’ll talk a lot more about waves later.

Waves for Surfing

Surfers ride waves on the shoulder (or curl), which is the steepest part of the wave, right where the smooth face of the wave and the whitewater of the already broken part of the wave meet. Beginners can have fun playing in the whitewater, and a SUP board can use it’s speed and size to ride a wave almost anywhere on it’s face, but the shoulder is the sweet spot of the wave.

The broken part of the wave is called whitewater, foam, or soup. It’s turbulent and a lot of the power has been spent. You can ride it if you point your board mostly toward the beach, but it’s bumpy and hard to maneuver in.

The lip is the top of the wave, especially when it’s starting to curl over as it gets ready to drop. How the wave drops is an indication of the amount of energy in the wave and how the ocean bottom is shaped to form the wave. When the lip pitches way out and falls into the trough at the base of the wave or even well past it at some fabled breaks it can create a tube (called the shack, a pipe, the green room, breaking top to bottom, etc.). But most waves crumble or form just a partial tube as they pitch over and fall into the face of the wave

Beginner Waves

What you want as a beginner is a wave that has a shoulder that is gently spilling as it travels across the face of the wave. And you want mushy waves, which are waves that crumble down their face, rather than the ones that toss a lip far out and fall with a whump to the base of the wave. You also don’t want waves that are breaking right onto a steep shore or in very shallow water. In other words, you don’t want to paddle out at Pipeline, unless you have grown tired of life.

Waves create rip currents and often have channels in them, that are simply deeper water that doesn’t permit the swell to kick up into a wave at that point. The rip currents and channels are useful for moving back out through a wave, but they also can be a source of danger. A rip current can move a lot faster than you can paddle. If you get separated from your board you may be battling rip currents while you try to get back to the shore or to your board. Simply put, don’t fight rips. Go with the flow and look for a way to get back to shore when the rip dissipates. Generally you can make your way across the backside of the breaking waves and find a place where there either is no current or it’s going more in the direction you want to go. Often you can bodysurf your way closer to shore. In any case, you need to assume that you can be in for a tough swim, in conditions that cause most beach emergencies, injuries and deaths.

The channel might seem like a happy place, non-breaking waves, a favorable current, a fine seat to watch the real surfers from. And it often is, right up until it isn’t. Waves can come up quickly in size, and even if they don’t there is often a sneaker wave that will clean out the lineup as everyone scrambles for the horizon, and not everyone makes it. In those conditions the channel can sometimes be a lousy place to be, because the wave can be at its biggest and most poweful right where they weren’t breaking before. The sneaker waves usually break outside, and sweep up the slow movers in the whitewater. But in the channel they can break right on top of you, and that’s the worst possible situation. The full power of the wave is unleashed on you and your board, You can be pushed to the bottom, grabbed viciously and wrenched back to the top of the wave in a second. Going back over the falls and being pummeled repeatedly. Surfers call this the spin cycle, and that’s exactly what it’s like. You have to be ready for that and constantly vigilant for what’s happening in the outer waters.  We’ll talk about that more later in the sections titled “caught inside” and “big wave safety”.

The best places to get initial experience is beaches that have a sandy bottom or a relatively friendly reef–by that I mean not much coral or rocks sticking up close to the surface at low tide. You don’t want a heavy shorebreak or a steep beach. Not much rip, not much current, and not much wind. Look around for the kind of place that has other beginners, but don’t plan on surfing right in the middle of them, you need to be able to get away from the other beginners.

…to be continued

Cape Cod Bay Challenge – We Made It!

Months of preparation, planning, and training. Hundreds of miles paddled getting our selves ready for a long day on Cape Cod Bay. Mike has been reminding us all to hydrate well and eat right. The mandatory carb loading pasta feast the night before. We were ready…….then Bill, Mike, and I finished off 5 bottles of wine along with some good cigars…….I don’t think that’s typical marathon preparation wisdom.

OMG!…..it’s time to get up already! Down a bottle of Gatorade and a handful of aspirin. Drive to the hotel to pick up Mike and Bill…Oh well…at least I don’t feel as bad as Mike looks….mint julep comes to mind. Bill makes me angry…he’s actually kind of chipper…I feel like smacking him.

6:00….Hey…we made it to the beach! It’s a start. Shawn and Jody are there already looking fit and very competent. I don’t think they drank any wine last night…..smart guys. Heavy fog….real heavy…where’s David, where’s the boat? Start making phone calls….OK…the boat’s on it’s way. Should be here in 20 minutes or so. I get David’s voicemail….I hope he got another plane last night after the 1st was cancelled. Mike is making funny noises. My head is swimming but I can tell I feel better than he does.

6:20…we wanted to launch at 6:30…..we call the boat again. Capt. Paul says he’s getting close….coming in slow because of the fog. David shows up looking like a Hollywood star…oh wait…that’s right he is! Who’s friggin idea was it to have all these young fit guys around?

6:40…We call again…GPS puts the boat 1000 yards off the beach….we can’t see a thing….Capt. says he can’t tell where the house sized boulders are that are out there just below the surface and doesn’t want to risk coming closer, I can’t blame him, it’s like a mine field out there. I’m beginning to think we should have launched from inside the harbor. It wouldn’t have mattered except that we have Jerry and Paul and a board for Bill on the boat. Looks like you guys will have to ferry that board in….start paddling.

6:50…We call the boat again….they say we should be able to see Jerry by now….nothing…..are you folks SURE you’re off Plymouth beach?

7:00….still nothing….wait!, what’s that coming out of the fog….looks like something from a Stephen King movie walking on water coming to eat the tourists. It’s Jerry, I feel like cheering and we haven’t even left yet. Still no sign of Paul though. We decide to paddle out to meet him halfway.

7:15….we’ve geared up…said good bye to friends and family that showed up to see us off and paddle out in search of Paul. Somehow this isn’t the start I was hoping for but at least we’re on the water……and Mike has stopped chumming.

The water is like glass, the fog pea soup, not a breath of wind, the only sound our paddles and boards on the water. We find Paul still a long way from shore. Finally we’re underway….look…there actually is a boat! We stop to talk for few and give instructions for signals.

Uh Oh!….my head isn’t cooperating at all. The fog is blending the sky into the sea and I have no horizon to help my balance. (If you’re interested you can read some of the background of why I need a horizon for balance here: http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org/Standup/standup.html )I fall for the 1st time…..this is going to be a long day!

I don’t think Bill was really running away from Jerry and his floaties…

On second thought….:)

The fog starts to lift about 4 miles offshore…..don’t look back….the cliffs at Plymouth still look close. Finally some horizon…but I think the damage is done….my head is taking lefts while the board is going straight….I get wet a lot. I don’t think my share of the 5 bottles of wine last night is helping either. I’m feeling bad about slowing us down but the guys are very cool about it. Making it seem like it was their idea to take a break when I was struggling. Thanks guys…:). I’m happy to see Mike looks like he’s feeling better. There’s actually some flesh tones showing through the green.

Hehe…I just noticed that you two look like twins, sorry David…:)

Hhhmmm….I guess Bill and I did too….LOL

The fog is finally behind us

What happened to our forecast? As of Friday night we were supposed to have 10-14 kt tailwinds and calm seas. Instead we have maybe a 2-4 kt WNW and once we got out further into the bay 2 ft side swell from the north and confused chop. At least there isn’t a headwind.

Fast forward…..we take a break at the halfway point. Jody has picked up a mylar ballon that was floating 10 miles out….reminds us why we are doing this. Shawn and Jody are having no problem keeping up on their 10-6 Vec’s. A combination of Shawn’s shaping skills and the fact that they are the most fit amongst us no doubt. The boards look like they have motor’s when they want to make them move.

15 miles in. Everyone is making it look easy. I’m feeling awkward, old, and slow. My head is still swimming occasionally. I pull my hat back….having the brim in my field of vision is bugging me….I don’t usually wear a hat. 5 minutes later my head is clear…or close anyway. Can it be that simple? I know that vision and balance are closely tied together. I can only guess that having an artificial horizon of a hat brim moving around was causing me problems. I don’t think I’ll wear a hat on the water anymore. Maybe a bandana and a cutlass….I’ll be the 1st SUPirate.

20 miles….We’ve had Provincetown in sight for awhile. We also get leeward of Race Point and the water flattens nicely. The hardest part is behind us. Still 8 miles to go but no question of making it now. As we get closer the boat traffic gets heavier….Capt. Paul is like a pit bull mother with her puppy’s….any boat approaching us finds a 50’ sport fisher aimed at it….making it very obvious to stay clear.

We had to be quite a site to the folks on the beach at Race Point. 8 guys coming in from the open ocean walking on water. Just so long as they didn’t want any wine….I’d had my fill of wine for awhile.

I couldn’t believe how excited I was to make the last turn into the harbor. Folks on boats taking pictures. The Capt of one of the big whale watch boats getting ready to go out announced our arrival over the loudspeaker and the passengers lined the rails watching and waving as we went by. Family and friends were on the dock, there were boat horns blaring. It made me want to hold back a bit and savor the moment. WE MADE IT! Let the record show that Jerry Issel was the 1st man to paddle across Cape Cod Bay, Plymouth to Provincetown, shore to shore. The rest of us all landed within the minute.

It felt good to feel solid ground again. We had a great lunch at the Surf Club Restaurant (how appropriate) and then parted ways. It felt strange to break it up, like it should last longer somehow. The best thing about this whole experience is the great friends we’ve made. This is a great crew of guys and I’m proud to have shared this with all of you. I know we’ll all get on the water together again.

L to R: Shawn, Jody, Bob, Bill, David, Jerry, Mike, and Paul

Beyond the sense of accomplishment of making it across we raised money and awareness for a good cause. The final numbers aren’t in yet but I think it’s safe to say that we will have raised somewhere between $11,000 and $12,000 for the Ocean Conservancy and their International Coastal Cleanup. We also raised awareness of the sport itself and on a personal note I hope I’ve inspired some others that are facing health issues to try something different as therapy. Get out there and live…..this isn’t a dress rehearsal.

Start training for next year guys….
Aloha.

Photo Credits: From the water:
Lynn Wilson
From the dock/beach in Provincetown:
Betsy Brown

I’ve included the previous video by Lynn Wilson here as well. Thanks Lynn…awesome job.

Introduction–Cautions and Precautions

The tips section is where each new chapter of the book: Stand Up Paddlesurfing will appear each week–one chapter per week. Chapters posted here will be moved to the Book tab after publication.

 
Before you start paddle surfing you need to assess your swimming skills and your ability to handle yourself and your board in surf. Any watersport is dangerous, and good swimming skills are a necessity, even if you only do standup on flat water and lakes.

Leash: Wear one. Even on a lake. When you fall you often give the board a kick that sends it zooming away. Then the substantial freeboard gives the wind something to push against and suddenly you’re all alone. In waves it’s even easier to be abandoned by your board. I had to swim in from the outer reef at Kanaha when my leash parted one morning last summer. It was after noon before I hit sand. Long morning.

It’s not just your safety that’s at stake though–you can kill or injure someone with one of these boards. A leash is not a cure all for that problem but it’s a start.

More important though is the issue of where you practice. Don’t learn where there are other surfers. These are big boards and it’s easy for them to get out of control. You don’t need the best spot in the lineup, all you need is some sloppy waves to practice on.

Don’t forget how long the board and leash are. If you get worked and are bouncing along in the whitewater your board can be 25 feet away from you. There’s no excuse for learning where there are people below you who can be hit by your board.

When you do fall in, pretend that you don’t have a leash. Do what you can to control the board. DON’T grab the leash though–if it gets wrapped around your fingers while you’re in the wave they can easily be broken. It’s happened. It’s a good idea to have a grab handle on the back of the board. A handle is handy on the front of the board for that matter. If you have a solid handle to hang onto then it’s much easier to keep your board away from people. The other big advantage is that you can get an occasional breath while you’re being bounced around–you’ll always be near the surface if you’re hanging onto the board.

While we’re talking about breathing and drowning, your paddle is actually a big help when you’re getting pushed down by a wave. Put it across your chest with the paddle blade above your head and the dihedral bent down. As you are pushed through the water the paddle will send you upwards. I’m not sure why this works, but every time I try it I’m amazed at how fast I pop up.

Lifejacket: It’s not unreasonable to wear a kayak-style lifejacket. The inflatable kind that are almost as narrow as a pair of suspenders are really handy. Some of the best big wave surfers in the world wear them today. Yes, you’ll look stupid, but you’ll be alive and stupid, not dead and cool.

Be aware of the wind and currents, you can easily be blown to sea by an offshore wind or find yourself fighting a powerful current. Start your learning experiences where there are lifeguards, and it’s highly recommended to have someone on the shore that’s paying attention to where you are and whether you are screaming or not.

Etiquette: Once you get good, remember that you have a huge advantage over other surfers–and DON’T take more advantage of it than you should. You can start into a wave long before standard surfers can, you can see that the third wave is better than the first two, you can get back to the lineup much quicker, and you can catch waves even when you’re out of the slot. Don’t be a wave hog.

There’s a backlash starting of surfers being pissed off about SUP folks coming into their favorite spot and taking too many waves. Of course there are some territorial knuckleheads that think they own the beach. They think any wave you take is too many waves. But there’s two good reasons not to irritate fellow surfers:

First, you don’t need their waves. A SUP surfer can surf almost anywhere. Waves that are too small for shortboarders are just fine for SUP. Long frequency, no shoulder waves give long and fulfilling rides. You can SUP surf in a ski boat wake. You can also travel long distances to get to outside breaks or breaks that aren’t easy to get to from shore. It’s fun and good exercise getting there, and you don’t have to dodge the grems and groms.

Second, they were there first. No matter how stupidly they might assert their territory, you’re the new guy, even if you shortboarded that break for the last twenty years. Give them room.

SUP Surfing 101

If you’re beginning stand up surfing then I suspect you’ll find this very helpful. This is a collaborative document that will reflect the knowledge of anyone that has something to contribute. I’d like to include your perspectives. They don’t have to carefully written, just informative. I’ll edit and polish to make the document readable.

1. Introduction–cautions and precautions
2. Etiquette
3. Gear–Available boards and why you would choose them
4. Board Tests
5. Board Theory
6. Paddle tests
7. Paddle Theory
8. Building a Wood Paddle
9. Adding handles and tie downs
10. Getting up–Standing on your board, paddling, balance, turning techniques
11. Standing
12. Turning
13. Distance Paddling
14. Board Trimming
15. Paddling technique
16. Surfing–How to catch waves and some techniques for riding them

Introduction–Cautions and Precautions

Special thanks to Blane Chambers at Paddle Surf Hawaii for reminding me I needed to add this section. Blane has very useful sections on his website with instruction in both basic and advanced technique.

Before you start paddle surfing you need to assess your swimming skills and your ability to handle yourself and your board in surf. Any watersport is dangerous, and good swimming skills are a necessity, even if you only do standup on flat water and lakes.

Leash: Your choice of leash or no leash is personal, and depends on whether or not you think you’re better off tied to a twelve foot board in the surf. Personally, I wear them. Even on a lake. When you fall you often give the board a kick that sends it zooming away. Then the substantial freeboard gives the wind something to push against and suddenly you’re all alone. In waves it’s even easier to be abandoned by your board. I had to swim in from the outer reef at Kanaha when my leash parted one morning last summer. It was after noon before I hit sand. Long morning.

Lifejacket: It’s not unreasonable to wear kayak-style lifejacket. The inflatable kind that are almost as narrow as a pair of suspenders are really handy. Some of the best big wave surfers in the world wear them today. Yes, you’ll look stupid, but you’ll be alive and stupid, not dead and cool.

Be aware of the wind and currents, you can easily be blown to sea by an offshore wind or find yourself fighting a powerful current. Start your learning experiences where there are lifeguards, and it’s highly recommended to have someone on the shore that’s paying attention to where you are and whether you are screaming or not.

When you are beginning, stay away from other surfers. These are big boards and it’s easy for them to get out of control. You don’t need the best spot in the lineup, all you need is some sloppy waves to practice on.

Etiquette: Once you are good, remember that you have a huge advantage over other surfers–and DON’T take more advantage of it than you should. You can start into a wave long before standard surfers can, you can get back to the lineup much quicker, and you can catch waves even when you’re out of the slot. Don’t be a wave hog.

A little more on hogging waves–there’s a backlash starting of surfers being pissed off about SUP folks coming into their favorite spot and taking too many waves. Of course for some of the territorial knuckleheads that think they own the beach, any wave is too many waves. But there’s two good reasons not to irritate fellow surfers–first of all, you don’t need their waves. A SUP surfer can surf almost anywhere. Waves that are too small for shortboarders are just fine for SUP. Long frequency, no shoulder waves give long and fulfilling rides. Cripes, you can SUP surf in a ski boat wake. You can also travel long distances to get to outside brakes or breaks that aren’t easy to get to from shore. It’s fun and good exercise getting there, and you don’t have to dodge the grems. And second, they were there first. No matter how stupidly they might assert their territory, you’re the new guy, even if you shortboarded the break for the last twenty years. Give them room.

Gear–Available boards and why you would choose them

The first issue is the right board. For a rank beginner there’s almost no such thing as too wide or too long. But once you start catching waves or riding in difficult conditions like chop and wind, you might outgrow your first board.

Here’s what Ron had to say on the subject: So I borrowed a board that is 11′X28″X4.75 thick and I’m thinking: This board is fricken HUGE. Wrong. It actually was quite a bit too small (I’m 6′3 and 225) and it gave me no end of grief. Tippy and really hard to control, and today I am one sore puppy from holding that lateral balance. What a great workout though.

Oh yeah and I love it.

But a suggestion. Make sure the first board you use is, if anything, way big for you. Not too small. First time out you won’t be doing any Laird moves anyway. Gotta figure out how to handle the damn thing first. Even for a long time surfer there is that paddle in there confusing things. Just getting used to that takes some work without having to contend with a hard to balance board. And make sure the paddle is long enough too. A short paddle makes you lean sideways, not good.
Anyway way maybe I’m just a total klutz but that’s my thought. The more you weigh, the bigger the board needs to be. I’m 6′3″ and weigh 240. My favorite board for purely getting up and paddling around is a Jimmy Lewis 11′ 0″ by 30″ wide. It’s thick and floaty, has a huge fin that adds stability, and it’s easy to get it moving. It’s an epoxy sandwich board so it’s very light. That’s good news when you’re moving this thing around.

I also really like the Ding King hollow board I waited about six months for. The Ding King has one mold for making these boards and they take about a week apiece. Last I heard Mark still had a long waiting list. Mark’s boards are 11′6″ and 27″ wide. They have a full length pad and they’re fairly stable considering the relatively narrow width. The two best things about this board are how it tracks and how it sails. It’s relatively easy to paddle this board fast and straight. I had a mast track put onto mine and I sail it more than I paddle it–it’s great fun to chase down a big wave and ride it until it poops out, then sail back to the reef and do it again.

I’ve also looked at the new Lairds, the largest of which makes my Jimmy Lewis boards look small (I think it’s 12′ 2″ by 31). They are hard to get right now, but I’ve got my name in for one. They’re being made in Asia somewhere so they should be widely available soon. I’d love one with a mast track, but I don’t think that will be happening soon. I was talking to a buddy of Laird Hamilton’s at the beach yesterday who quoted Laird as saying something like “I was the first guy (in recent history) to do standup, and the last to offer a board, but I want anything I put my name on to be absolutely right”. Everyone I’ve talked to loves these boards, but I haven’t tried one yet. Stay posted.

Most people I know say that JL board is still too small for me–that I need something around 12′ 6″ and 30 inches wide. Sounds good, but for now I’m happy. I finally figured out to surf this 11′0″, and I’m having a great time with it. this board is by far the easiest board to stand up on that I’ve tried. Even much larger boards are harder to keep your balamnce on–I don’t know what kind of mojo Jimmy added to the shape, but it’s working.

The new Starboard boards due out in april also sound very interesting (Update–I now have one of the Starboard 12′6″ boards on the road racing trip I’m taking around North America (www.allaluminumtour.com ) and it’s great for lake paddling–best cruiser I’ve tried yet. I’ll do a review asap). The Hot Sails Maui forum has some interesting details on this.

I also have a Jimmy Lewis 11′7″ x 26. I use this mostly as a regular surfboard–it’s fabulous in small surf. Now that I’m getting better at standup I can actually paddle this thing, but it’s very tippy, especially in side chop. I think it would make a fabulous SUP board for a small or skinny person, especially once they start catching waves. I’m not a good surfer yet, but I can actually shuffle my way to the nose with this board.

Another good choice is a big softop. The bigger the better. But don’t buy one unless it’s seriously cheap, you’ll outgrow it quickly. These are probably the only stand up boards you can rent.

Here’s what Juanita K says about choosing a board for the kind of paddling you plan to do: My husband and I bought 2 SUP boards late last year (made at Burleigh Heads) and we are just about to buy 2 more. Why? Coz we have learnt over the last 6 months that our boards (coolite…like a true paddleboard, 12ft long, 4-41/2 thick, 28″ wide) are perfect for smooth glide and flat water paddling or riding bumps and doing downwinds (which is fine coz in Hervey Bay where we live there is no surf). But, the problem is that when we take these boards surfing, they are way too corky and the rails are just too thick. So…you need to work out if your board is for paddling and surfing OR for surfing and paddling.

Over last weekend, we have some friends at Noosa who kindly let us try their SUP boards and it is amazing how much better theirs surf…BUT…when I took one on a sightseeing paddle around to National Park, our boards gliiiiiide so much better and you can feel so much less resistance on each stroke, coz it feels like they are slipping over the water, rather than ploughing slightly through it. So we are doing a lot of research and asking heaps of questions of a few very good SUP boarders up on the Sunshine Coast, so that we get the specs right for surfing, not so much paddling.

All the best in your hunt and welcome to the SUP fraternity on the east coast of Oz

Hey, Jaunita, thanks for the comments. I’m working with some friends on Maui to build a board that’s right for both surfing and cruising. I don’t think the two need to be mutually exclusive, in fact I think they both demand the same things of the board. What might be impossible is to combine good surfing and cruising into a BEGINNER board.

For example, the Ku Nalu board is the best cruiser I’ve tried–it seems like a single stroke carries you yards and yards, while the JL 11er feels like you travel the length of the stroke and not an inch further. It’s also not the best surfing board. But it’s amazingly stable, maneuverable and a decent surfer. The Ku Nalu is an excellent surfer, it’s nearly as good as the magical JL 11′7″.

So what we’re trying to do is borrow a little stability from the general outline of the JL 11er (but a bit narrower) with the cruising ability of the Ku Nalu in the bottom and rails. The result should be an intermediate board. If it works out well go into limited production.

If you’re buying a board, see if you can get a mast track put into it. Not only will that open a new set of doors (longboard windsurfing) it also makes the board a lot easier to handle. Get whoever puts the mast track in to route some fingerholes in the track at one end. You can still use it to hold a mast base, but you can also stick your fingers in to carry the board. These boards are too wide to tuck under an arm.

Boards with a rubber deck are great for foot grip, but when you’re first learning you’ll spend a lot of time on your knees. The deck is very grippy and can wear holes in your knees. Wax on an undecked board won’t do that. Take a look at my knees sometime–I’ll have the scars for years. I went to the drugstore and got some neoprene knee braces–solved the problem, though you look like a dork. But you’re going to look like a dork for a while anyway, no harm done. You should still wax the rubber deck–makes it much sticker. Just like the boogie boarders wax their soft boards (I didn’t know that trick until recently, I always wondered how those guys kept the boards under them when they swim).

Waxing a board without a deck pad works just fine–for awhile. The problem is that SUP surfers stand in one place a lot longer than surfers do, and the wax gets squeezed away from exactly the places you need it most. Still, you don’t NEED a deck pad, they’re just handy.

Paddles: Then you need a paddle. Two choices generally available, wood or carbon fibre. I’ve seen a few aluminum shafted paddles, but haven’t found any for sale. Carbon fibre is about half the weight and twice the price–about $300. You need a paddle that’s about one shaka above your head–six inches taller than you. Wood paddles are considered better for learning since you’re supposedly less likely to break them. But I’ve found the carbon fibre to be very forgiving and I like to think they’re less of a deadly weapon when you’re flailing them about. In either case, put a layer of duct tape around the paddle edge to cushion it. When you fall you’ll be whacking the board with your paddle edge. Do it a little hard and you’ll knock a chip out of the board. Don’t ask how I know this. You can take the tape off later when you stop falling every thirty seconds. I have two paddles and I like both of them, one is a Pohaku Beachboy paddle, and I don’t know the source of the second one–I’ll dig into that.

Another gear question: Bootie or no bootie. For the first few weeks I think it’s a really good idea to have booties. You’ll be falling in all kinds of crazy positions. Landing on the coral without booties is not fun. I like the O’Neill Superfreak split toe tropicals . They seem to affect your balance less than solid foot booties. While I’m delivering unsolicited plugs, the O’Neill Superfreak board shorts are the best board shorts I’ve ever had–spendy, but worth it. The O’Neill website is pretty cool, though they desperately need a writer who doesn’t just babble corp-speak. Could use a proofreader too, but so could I.

I don’t know why all the stuff I really like lately is named superfreak. Maui Hot sails Superfreak windsurfing sails, superfreak booties, superfreak board shorts. Someone may be trying to tell me something.

Enough gear chat, let’s get in the water.

Carrying your gear

These boards are huge, so carrying them around and getting them in the water can be a challenge in itself. If you’re in heavy shorebreak doing it wrong can be dangerous.

Thanks to Wardog from SurfingSports.com for this section of tips and modifications to make handling your gear easier.

I’ve written about some of these issues on other posts…doesn’t hurt to reiterate here…
Bill, may even want to integrate this into his Standup 101 page…

This first tip is actually for longboard sailing, but since many standup paddlers also get mast track on their boards, it’s a good tip for this section as well. My first recommendation, for difficult launches with shorepound, is to get the Chinook EX pin style base and foot…or similar…single bolt or double…doesn’t matter… (some people call this a European base)

http://surfingsports.com/images/chinook_ex_pin1.jpg

http://surfingsports.com/images/chinook_ex_pin2.jpg

http://surfingsports.com/images/chinook … x_rdm1.jpg
http://surfingsports.com/images/chinook … x_rdm2.jpg

What matters, is having a convenient push button to release your board/rig…
You aren’t gonna be able to release it with the standard 2 button cup…have to get the board on it’s rail and the rig perfectly aligned to get your fingers in there to release…very difficult and takes too much time…

Another helpful item is to make a rope handle utilizing the double leash plugs…

http://www.surfingsports.com/standup_pads/big_blue2.jpg

http://www.surfingsports.com/standup_pa … blue04.jpg
http://www.surfingsports.com/standup_ba … _bags3.jpg

It’s way safer to hold onto your board in the shorepound with the tail handle, than holding onto the fin…
If you hold onto the fin, you will get sliced…these boards are big and the hydraulic forces involved are tremendous…

http://surfingsports.com/cali_longboard … ling71.jpg

Walking the board and rig backwards when getting out works mo bettah…
http://surfingsports.com/cali_longboard … ling67.jpg

don’t want to do this beginner move…way harder, even if you have big arms…

http://www.surfingsports.com/cali_stand … g_last.jpg

Another helpful item are the inserts that we have installed on the rails…
http://www.surfingsports.com/standup_pa … blue01.jpg
http://www.surfingsports.com/standup_pa … blue03.jpg

Fabricate some webbing handles…they are not in the way…and come in handy while transporting the board to and from the beach…my wifey and her friends really like them…makes it easier to carry the handle with other hand…

…and if you run a bungee across the mid-section and nose…you can secure your paddle in front of a big wave and turtle roll using both hands…otherwise, the Golden Rule of standup is NEVER LET GO OF YOUR PADDLE!!!…;-)

Lastly, you could install footstrap inserts on these boards…at one time, someone made very soft, flexible, foam straps…might have been the old NSI…or Padworkx…I even made some myself…
Lightweight race straps might work…
I installed them on a surfboard that I rode with straps…so that I could lay on them…
Even if you go strapless…you could still install webbing straps to help carry the board and lift it over rocks…

Gotta run…it’s blowin’ like stink…6th day in a row…

Mahalos…

Warm winds, good waves, & strong strokes…{:~)

WARDOG

Actually, I occasionally intentionally toss my paddle out past the break to surf a wave or two in the conventional lay down position. That only works well with a transitional board like the Jimmy Lewis 11′7″ or the Ku Nalu because they are narrow enough (26″) to hand paddle. If you do this it’s a good idea to wrap a turn or two of flourescent tape on your paddle handle so you can find it easily. I’ve never had a problem finding mine again–they stay put pretty well as long as they are past the breaking waves. You just stand up outside and look for them.

Adding handles and tie downs

From Jimmy Lewis via Linter: meanwhile, back at the ranch, i emailed jimmy about inserts and within hours he got back to me with advice that makes it clear that it’s a job for the professionals and not me; to wit, for any among us who still might want to give it a go:
(JL) “You CAN put inserts in but make sure you follow these instructions. True, you can melt the foam but ONLY if you put the epoxy in VOLUME. It’s not going to heat up unless you have a big gob of it in the hole. So what you want to do is route the hole that the insert goes in VERY close fitting to the insert. Don’t make a big hole where the insert is rattling around.

Then you epoxy it in. Now, the important thing about doing this is that you need to glass over the top of the inserts. If you don’t, there is a better than GOOD chance that it will leak. After you’ve epoxied the inserts in where you want them, sand the insert down level with the deck and sand the paint off in a radius of about an 1″ outside of the insert. Don’t sand too deep; just enough to take the paint and the primer off so you can see the glass. Then put two circles of 4oz glass over each insert with epoxy. This will seal where you’ve cut into the lamination to put the insert in. Make sure you get ALL of the pin air out of the little circles. Then you just drill
through the “caps” to open the hole and you could countersink it a tiny bit too. Then you’d only have to touch up the paint if you wanted it to look better.”

Pretty nice of JL, as well, to take time out of his day to write that kind of detailed response, and it’s that kind of customer service that makes people say great things about a business. well done, jimmy. keep it up!

Getting Up

Pick a day with minimal wind, little or no chop, and small waves. If you’re doing this on a lake–good for you. That’s perfect.

The easiest way to start is on your knees. Get in about two to three feet of water, push the board forward and slip onto it in a kneeling position right about in the middle. You’ll probably be slouched down almost in a crawling position at first–that’s okay. You’ll also fall off a lot even from this relatively stable position. Don’t sweat it, it doesn’t mean there’s no way you can do this. In a few hours you’ll wonder what the fuss was.

Immediately start paddling out towards the waves. Just choke up on the paddle and stroke on either side as necessary. If you can, try to feel the effect of stroking different ways. Initially you’ll be focusing on not falling off and won’t have any concentration left for learning other stuff. But as your stability increases, start trying things. If you paddle far away from the board it will turn more than if your paddle enters the water vertically and close to the board. If you sweep outwards a little at the end of the stroke it will tend to go straighter rather than turning away from the stroking side. As you pick up speed, kneel up straighter. You’ll find there are basically two kneeling positions–hunched and stable, or tall and not. Tall is better, it gives you more of a chance to gain your sea legs.

Once you’re moving along at some forward speed, lurch to your feet. The best way is any way you can do it, but most people who have surfed will find it easy to do a typical surfing “pop up” except that you’re starting from a kneeling position and their feet will come up in an athletic stance that’s suitable for more advanced paddling. At first you want your feet side-by-side, planted wide on the board–almost to the edges. It’s the most stable position. You want to be far enough forward so the board is flat in the water and nose is an inch or two off the water. If you’re too far back the board will stall and be hard to paddle. It will also be very unstable.

Feet centered–side by side position (photo courtesy Paddle Surf Hawaii)

Perhaps you’d like a more detailed description than “lurch to your feet”. Place your hands on the board a few inches ahead of your knees with the paddle in your dominant hand and the blade resting on the nose of the board. Press down with your arms straight and hop to a standing position with your knees bent deeply and your feet planted wide. Get the paddle in the water as quickly as you can–it will help stability–but stay in an athletic, knees bent stance. Look at the nose of the board and start paddling.

Your paddle is your friend–keep it in the water as much as possible. You can push the blade forward or back to keep from falling, and even lean on it or pull up on it momentarily to keep from falling.

If you’re having trouble keeping your balance, look at the tip of your board. It’s even helpful to have some feature there to look at. If your nose is featureless you might want to make a wax line across the tip so you can look at it. If you look at the water you’ll be right where you’re looking in short order. It’s not just target fixation, your body is moving relative to the board, not the water or the horizon.

If you’re in surf or chop, it’s easiest to go straight into the waves. As a larger wave or whitewater reaches the nose of the board, stick he paddle in just past the crest and pull yourself up into it. Before long you’ll be ploughing over good sized waves with no drama–it’s surprising how easy this part is. It’s much easier to get a standup board through whitewater or shorebreak than a regular surfboard because the wave doesn’t hit your body, just your feet.

Special Balance Problems

I suspect that almost anyone that can stand can do SUP at some level. Here’s a dialog with “Linter” about overcoming fundamental balance problems. Linter overcame his problems and is deeply involved in SUP:

Linter: Is anyone still giving any thought to canoe paddle surfing? On Swaylocks, an early Blane Chambers thread on it was deleted for reasons I don’t know (does anyone here?), and then in early ‘06 came back in a new form, under a thread entitled How to Safely Canoe Paddle w/ Pics, which was very informative. Since around then, however, I’ve rarely seen it mentioned. Has everyone forsworn it for stand-up paddle surfing? Is it considered too much like cheating?

The reason I ask is, I have certain neuro-muscular disorders involving balance that’ll make it well-nigh impossible for me to SUP. And making it even more close-to-impossible is that the board I just got is a 12′ softop, a handful even for good surfers. So, at 190 lbs and with certain physical issues, I think I’m going to be “stuck” doing the canoe paddle thing.
If anyone else is doing CP, maybe it’s evolved a little since Blane’s early posts on the subject, along the evolving lines of SUP. Care to share? Got any tips, especially as it might pertain to a softop? Thanks!

Billb: I assume you’re talking about sitting on the board with a standard canoe paddle or a kayak paddle. I’ve seen a few people doing it, including a friend of mine with artificial knees. There’s also a guy in Maui that had a rowing rack mounted onto a Laird SUP board–this is the kind of rack that reverses the oar pull so you can see where you’re going. I don’t know how that worked out.

There’s certainly plenty of people using surfskis and kayaks to surf.

I guess my first request is that you clarify your question.

My brother is very interested in SUP but he has balance problems resulting from a tumor on his auditory nerve. I don’t know the nature of your neuro-muscular problem, but I think SUP might be helpful to my brother, though it will certainly be challenging. With the right board I suspect he’ll be able to do it. But you’re right–at 190 pounds a 12 foot softop would be very difficult for anyone, and impossible for me (at 250).

I’d encourage you to try a suitable board before you give up on SUP. Balance can be improved, if it couldn’t, there’s no way I could do SUP. It may be that you never be Laird Hamilton, but you could be sucessful at a level that would give you a lot of satisfaction, as I am.

Linter: Thanks for weighing in, bill. actually, i do ride a waveski and it’s great fun; but i’d also like to stand-up surf if at all possible. as per Blane’s Swaylocks thread, the idea with canoe paddle surfing is, you’re *kneeling* on the board and using a paddle that’s maybe 48″ long to propel yourself. once you catch the wave, you pop up to standing from that kneeling position.

Yup, it sounds like your bro and I are in the same, er, boat.

And I know you’re right: with practice, I could improve my balance; but then the issue becomes, how do you test and buy the “right” board if you don’t even really have the regular balance skills to see what feels best? Got any suggestions? I live in new england and think several places around here have SUPs for sale, probably Surftech Lairds, though I know how fond you are of your Jimmy Lewis 11′, and I’d sure like to be able to test ride one of those, though maybe it’d be far too much for me given what’s going on with my balance business.

Billb: I’d go for the Laird. It’s the most stable board around with only the JL 11 as a very close second. I would expect that most shops will have demos eventually, or a board available to rent. The interest in SUP is through the roof. The Surftech Laird can be surfed at a very high level, as Teddy, Laird’s right hand guy, has conclusively demonstrated to me. Even if it turns out that you can’t do standup, it would be a good board for canoe paddling.

I’d be surprised though if you could canoe paddle but not standup. Lurching to your feet from your knees is more difficult than standing to begin with. You don’t have a stable platform to pop from as you do in the laying down position of regular surfing and you have a paddle in the way.

As I’m sure you know, balance can come from a variety of senses. When you’re young and flexible it comes mostly from the inner ear. But geezers like me rely a lot on vision to balance. That’s why older people have a very hard time balancing on one foot with their eyes closed. We also have to learn the weight shifts and movements that keep us on the board. It’s amazing how you can progress from falling off in dead calm water to standing comfortably in heavy chop and waves. It’s more than balance, it’s practiced movements.

Linter: Well er ah um — i’m now the proud owner of a jimmy 11! Wow boy did that happen fast! Anyway, it’s a beaut — red on top, white on the bottom and surprisingly light. I left it at the shop to have some leash plug inserts installed on the sides for carry handles. Believe me, given my balance issues and the rocky hilly terrain around here, i need handles.

Linter: Well, got my jimmy-11 out for the first time today and messed around on it for about 20 minutes, which is when the thunder and lightning started. Knee paddling was no problem but there was a mighty wobbling of the legs when i got to my feet. But at least I was on my feet! And making headway! So what I know now, I think, is that I *can* do this even given my leg and balance issues. It’ll take time before I’m wave ready but that’s okay. I’m stoked! And I s’pose if I want to ride some wave while I’m getting my stand-up sea legs in order, I could always paddle in to some on my knees, canoe style.

Pretty cool. Linter’s success has my brother stoked so much that he’s been losing weight and getting in shape to give SUP a shot. I think he’ll do fine and it will be great excercise for him.

Getting Better: Once you are able to stand and paddle on the board, you need board time to improve. Spending as much time on the board as you can will quickly build the muscles you need to do this sport, and give you the subtle balance training you need to improve. Here’s some things to start paying attention to:

Paddling–reach forward with your paddle and put the blade in almost vertically, close to the board. Stroke back, visualising pulling the board forward in the water. Don’t try to extend the stroke too far past your legs, that angles the blade too much and pulls the board edge downwards. Your blade is angled forwards for two reasons–to make the blade more stable in the water (as you’ll see if you try to stroke with the blade backwards) and to improve the release of the blade as you pull it up. Stroking too far backwards defeats that smooth release.

Foot position–You generally want to retain the centered stance for long distance paddling on flat water because its more stable and gives you easier, even paddle transitions from side to side. But when the surface is choppy or you’re in waves you’ll want to adopt a more fore and aft stance with your dominant foot forward just as in normal surfing. If you’re not a surfer and you don’t know which foot is your dominant one, slide on a slick floor with your socks on, or hop up onto a high step. The foot you put forward is your dominant foot. Left foot forward is “Regular Foot” right is “Goofy Foot”. Attach your leash to the rearward foot. You might prefer a calf leash instead of an ankle leash for a board as large as most SUP boards.

Foot forward position–more power, less side-to-side balance. The stroke bias that would normally push the board to the right of the picture is countered by the weight on the left rail (surfer’s right). (photo courtesy Paddle Surf Hawaii)

Happy feet–You need to learn that your feet are not bolted to the board. As your balance improves you can move around the board more. In flatwater you need to initate this learning by forcing yourself to move your feet around. Shift from centered to fore and aft stance. Move your back foot more towards the tail then back centered again. In chop your learning will be automatic–when you master sideways chop you’re bound to be moving about on the board.

Spinning the board. Step back or lean back on the rear foot, paddle hard (photo courtesy Paddle Surf Hawaii)

Turning and Spinning–Initially you’ll be turning the board slowly by stroking away from the board, but this is the slow way around. Fine for flatwater, but too slow to surf. The faster way is to put weight on the back of the board and stroke with the paddle to pivot the board. Once you are in a fore and aft position you can start practicing this by just putting weight on your back leg.
Works even better if you take a step backwards. You need to lean on the paddle a bit to optimize these moves. Once you can spin the board 360 you’re ready to surf.

Paddle Handling (copied from a separate post)

This is a little reptetitive since I copied it into this document from a separate post, but the information is good and I’ve added to the original post.

I’ve been learning a lot more about standup paddle surfing lately, because I’ve been teaching it to some other people. There’s no faster way to learn than to teach someone else. Most of what I’ve been learning has to do with using your paddle, hence the title.

First of all, resist the urge to choke up on the handle and hold it any way but with one hand on the top T, and the other part way down the shaft. I see people holding the paddle like a broom and taking little ineffective swipes at the water. All this does is upset your balance. You need to be in an athletic stance, knees flexed, back straight and arms extended. You use your legs, back and shoulders to paddle when you’re doing it well.

Put the paddle in the water about as far forward as you can reach it with the handle nearly vertical. You reach out with your lower arm most, the upper arm a little less, and you bend your knees some to push your upper body forward. Place the paddle and pull it back close to the side of the board in a straight line. Think of it as pulling the board forward through the water, NOT flinging water backwards to propel you forwards.

Pull the paddle out just as it reaches your feet, when the blade is still vertical. Even with a forward-raked blade, if you stroke the paddle behind you the blade is at an angle to the surface very much like you are lifting a shovelfull of water. This pulls you down as you lift it out of the water, upsetting your balance. Beginners fall into the water at the end of their paddling stroke. This is why.

Yesterday (April 13) I was teaching my nephew how to do stand up and noticed a guy who was flailing away on a Munoz soft top. When he managed to get into a wave he did elegant bottom turns, top turns and cutbacks and cross-stepped his way to the nose–clearly an accomplished and experienced longboard surfer. But when he was paddling for a wave he’d sweep the paddle far back and he was falling into the face of the wave at the end of the stroke. Bingo. I showed him how to reach out to the nose and stop the stroke at his feet. Instantly he was able to catch any wave without falling. A simple change but very important.

To turn, put the paddle in the water way up near the nose, and sweep outwards. Again, beginners tend to put the paddle out perpendicular to the board and sweep backwards. Not only do they not get good leverage, but they upset their balance. Instead, start at the nose and sweep until the blade is nearly perpendicular to the board, then sweep again from the nose as many times as you need to. By doing this you are getting the greatest amount of leverage against the fin, which is pretty much the pivot point for the turn unless you have a very small fin.

Not only does this improve your balance, but also you can turn faster and you’ll be able to get more knee and hip movement into your turn.

Practice changing paddle sides without interrupting your stroke rythym. Canoe paddlers do it all the time, and they’re sitting, so it’s harder. You need to be able to do it fluidly to catch waves. Sometimes accelerating to catch a wave will turn the board, and you need to correct without losing speed or power.

Reverse sweeping the paddle to regain your balance is a valuable move. Anytime during a paddle stroke that you start losing your balance you can reverse your stroke direction with a quick outward sweep. The reverse bend of the paddle creates a powerful thrust that you can lean against to regain your balance. With practice this move becomes automatic, and it will save you from a dunking. This movement and dragging the paddle blade on the face of a wave or in the whitewater are really the only moves you should make with the paddle behind you. It’s no surprise that both of these moves are balancing moves–you tend to fall backwards on long boards to begin with. Don’t exacerbate the problem by making strokes past your feet.

Another handy move is placing your paddle blade in the center of the board and using it as a third leg. Don’t rely on this too often, the best place for the paddle is in the water, but if you need to reposition your feet, or you need a little rest, it’s a handy tool. If you’re going to rest long it’s a good idea to reverse the paddle and rest the T on the deck–a little more stable and easier on the board and paddle blade.

Getting into the Wave

Generally you’re standing pointed out at the waves, looking for one you like and the location of the peak. Once you find one, paddle towards the peak, and when the wave is still a pretty good distance away (unless you’ve become REALLY good at turning around) start your turn. Don’t panic and rush it, get the blade in up by the nose and push yourself around with steady, powerful sweeps. When you are pointed more or less at the beach, switch sides and start paddling. The reason for the switch is that you will almost always overdo the turn, even when you think you haven’t turned enough. You don’t want to switch just as the wave starts to lift the tail.

As the tail starts to lift, move your normal surfing rear foot a good step back, and give a good paddle thrust. As you start down the wave you’ll probably need to lean back on that back leg, or even hop back more to keep the nose up. You can dig the blade in behind you on the inside of the wave (away from the shoulder) to help keep the nose up and start your turn. Unlike conventional surfing, you want to get your bottom turn done as soon as possble. Unless you are a good surfer you’ll find it hard to swing the nose around quickly.

If you don’t catch the wave immediately, don’t just give up. You can paddle a lot faster with a standup paddle boards, and a few strong strokes can get you into a wave that either hasn’t stood up enough to give you good drive, or that’s a little past the center of gravity of your board. It’s worth a try. I’d say that thirty percent of the waves I catch and ride are ones that I wouldn’t get if I didn’t chase them down with hard paddling.

If the wave crumbles on you and you’re in the whitewater, you can often ride past it by letting the nose of the board slide back more straight in to the beach, and rest the blade on the whitewater to brace yourself. Once you’ve gotten past the crumbled section you can swing back and get up on the wave.

These are big boards, they move deliberately, like a big ship. The guys that are good toss them around pretty neatly, but at first you want to make your movements subtle and smooth.

Surfing Stand Up

When you get into surf the liklihood of scaring the heck out of yourself increases geometrically. The fear has a basis–you can get hurt or killed. You WILL get hurt sooner or later, it’s part of the deal. Here’s some things to consider:

Understand the area you’re surfing. I’ve ridden a board way past where everyone else was bailing out of the wave only to find myself in ten inches of water over coral covered lava. Not fun. You need to watch what other people are doing. Know how and where to get into and out of the water. Spend some time watching what the waves do and where the shallow spots are.

You’re going to fall. when you do, take a deep breath before you hit, try to fall into the wave–with the board between you and the shore. If you’re in shallow water and small waves try to land flat (picture not sinking at all). In bigger waves and deeper water tuck your chin down and curl up, cover your head with your arms. Try to punch into the face of the wave so it doesn’t break on top of you. Relax, don’t struggle, save your energy and your air. Wait for the thrashing to end, then open your eyes, find the top, and swim calmly for the surface. When your head breaks the surface get a good breath and look outside to see where the next wave is. If you have time you can pull your board to you and hug it, but don’t do that if the wave is right on top of you. Paddle out of the impact zone. Thank the gods of the sea that they’ve spared your sorry ass once again.

If you’re not scared when you’re surfing you’re either Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama, or stupid. And the last time I saw Laird he had fourteen stitches in his face from a little face/board interception incident at Ho’okipa and a cheek that looked like Popeye.

Laird with popeye face modification. He’s as good as they get and he can still get hurt. Of course he got smacked in the face with a 14 foot board and never quit smiling, so there’s that. Photo courtesy Maui Surf/Windsurf Forecast, Giampaolo Cammarota