Be warned that it’s not uncommon for the
board to be flicked towards you going over
larger waves, so be prepared for this and try to
ensure your paddle isn’t between you and
your board. I’ve had a couple of bashes in the
chops from mangling this one!
Once you get out past the last line of white
water you can then zig zag out, paddling over
the shoulder of incoming waves. Again I like to
employ a split stance going over unbroken
waves. It’s best to avoid the steepest, breaking
part of the wave – not just for safety and easy
paddling but because this is where surfers,
bodyboarders and other SUP surfers will be
riding, so try to give them plenty of space and
remember that the rider has priority. We’ll deal
with rules and etiquette shortly.
Once you are clear of breaking waves, position
yourself facing out to sea just a little further
out from where most of the waves are
breaking. Try to stay well away from other
water users until you are very comfortable
with the surf and having traffic around you.
Note, getting caught inside. Caught inside
means being too close to shore when a larger
wave comes so that it breaks in front of or
even on you. You probably won’t be able to
paddle over the wave, so you’re going to have
to bail. LOOK AROUND YOU FIRST. If the area
surrounding you (how long is your board?
how long is your leash? BE AWARE) is clear,
then slip off to the side and duck under the
wave as it comes, take the hit and recover
your board afterwards.
If the area around you isn’t clear, your
responsibility is to remove the risk. You can
either duck under the wave whilst holding
onto the rail saver (the fabric part of the leash
closest to the board) or turn your board to
shore and belly ride it out of the impact zone
into safety. Employing the first method will
only work in very small waves and you run the
risk of injuring yourself. I’m a fan of the belly
ride out method.
Negotiating the lineup: This is where the
other surfers are waiting for waves and is
governed by priority and traffic rules that
pretty much stand up worldwide. You will
also encounter local hierarchies and pecking
orders that need to be respected. Again we’ll
take a closer look shortly.
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