Rob Small
is a Fanatic SUP
International/ION and K-66
Surf Division rider. He’s a
respected surfer and SUP
surfer who owns Crantock
Surf School in Cornwall.
Rob’s coaching experience is
considerable and he’s worth
looking up if you’re in the
Newquay/Crantock area of
the West Country. You can
check out his site here crantockbaysurfschool.com
Place yourself away from any large groups of
surfers and try to find a peak, the triangle
shape as a wave rears up just prior to
breaking. A good trick to locate the peak is to
look at the triangles of white aerated water on
the surface left over from waves that have just
broken. This will also help you identify if the
waves are breaking to the left, right or both
directions. You will encounter closeouts too –
waves that break all along their length at the
same time. Too many close outs and your
session won’t be fun!
Once you have found a peak, wait just to one
side for a wave. Note that paddling straight to
the top of the waiting surfers is very bad
manners and will land you in trouble straight
away, so wait your turn and try to pick off a
wave that doesn’t have anyone else going for
it. Priority is with the surfer deepest in the
peak or closest to the breaking part of the
wave. DO NOT paddle for waves that someone
is already riding; this is called dropping in and
will not be accepted.
Wait for a wave that you feel confident to
catch, bearing in mind that you may need
to be mobile to position yourself to catch
the wave as it steepens. The best SUP
surfers are always hunting waves down but
do so with respect and awareness of the
others in the water.
OK, let’s surf
Catching your first waves:
So there’s a wave approaching you, nobody in the way and no one paddling for it. You’re still
facing out to sea and now need to start paddling. Let’s suppose that the wave is a left (breaking
to the left from the rider’s perspective) and you are positioned in front of the wall of the
oncoming wave, with the breaking part to your left as you face out to sea.
In the parallel stance, paddle on your right rail towards the peak, allowing the board to prescribe
an arc counter-clockwise. When you are parallel to the wave, step back into your surf stance.
This is important as it allows you to brace as the wave rises under you and the nose of the board
drops (if you remain in the parallel stance you may well fall backwards).
Keep an eye on the wave and on the area directly in front of you and using short, rapid stokes
try to have the board pointing directly to the shore and down the wave as it reaches you. You will
feel the tail of the board rise and a sudden burst of acceleration as the wave face becomes more
vertical and gravity causes the board to start to drop down the wave. Compress your stance, look
where you are going and enjoy the ride. You are SUP surfing!
A left to right mirror of the above works for rights. You can also start from a position closer to the
breaking part of the wave and draw an arc in the direction of the wall of the wave, indeed you may
have to as you react to the wave’s movement, however most of us find it easier to employ the
method described above.
As your positioning, timing and wave knowledge improve, you will find that the arcs you paddle
into waves become tighter until eventually you will use very few strokes and possibly even pivot
turns to get in the spot.
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