by David Gittens
President - San Onofre Surf Kayak Association - Barbados Chapter
Ten years ago when kayak surfing began to come into its own, the moves used were basically straight rides. A tumble was to be avoided at all costs......... Today, thanks to evolved kayak designs and greater imagination, surfing moves have developed to a point where just about "anything goes." You roll the boat, you squirt it, you do cartwheels, whatever........ After all, the idea is play, fun and fitness.
As with all sports, the key to performance is technique. Technique is the key to performance and practice is the key to technique. Education can make the journey smoother. Whether you are just starting out or an experienced paddler, if you want to excel and have real fun you've got to push the limits of your kayak and yourself.
No move is intrinsically "wrong." The better you understand the mechanics of motion, the more moves you will be able to do. The fun and enjoyment you get is directly proportional to the play effort and imagination you put in! YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN! .
IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER:
1. The kayak is essentially controlled and steered by leaning it.
Depending on the design of your kayak, it may have a sharp edge on its side called a "rail" ... this rail may be on the tail only, or along the entire side, etc. The rail is there to enable you to make sharp turns by digging it into the water. You dig into the water by leaning the kayak....
2. Your paddle, although useful in many situations to help steer, (as with a stern rudder,) should be employed more as a brace to aid balance. Trailing your paddle in the water cuts speed and slows the boat.
3. Juxtaposition your weight by leaning forward and backward ... note the effects and employ them accordingly.
The BOTTOM TURN and the CUTBACK are the basis of all good surfing. These most fundamental turns set up nearly all of your other maneuvers ... they are critical for good technique. Your bottom turns and cutbacks should be done fairly effortlessly, with a feeling of smooth acceleration, setting up your next maneuver with plentiful speed. Practice them and master them!
A "cutback" is a radical change of direction or "cut" of at least 45o on the face of the wave, achieved by turning either toward or away from the wave peak. (Remember to lean the kayak and apply a stern rudder.)
BOTTOM TURN
1. You drop straight down the wave's face, bank and turn hard in the trough, digging in your rail and putting in a stern rudder.
2. Rise back up onto the wave's face ... and continue surfing.
Your kayak is an excellent tool for exercise, but the whole idea is to have as much fun as you can! As Dr. Bob Sillery says "for exercise to be sustainable, it has to be fun!" Learn the following move and put more fun (and showmanship) in your paddling!
STERN SQUIRT
The aim is to get the kayak up and keep it standing vertically on its tail.
Essential fact #1: surf moves call for power. Most of the power and motive force comes from the wave ... small waves have little power.................
1. You want a wave with a steep face that's just about ready to break. Or a broken wave.
2. You are paddling out and you see the wave approaching. It's building and getting ready to break ... or it has already broken and is rolling in. You turn the kayak parallel to the wave and keep on paddling. As the wave approaches ... you lean back ... dip the shoreward side of the kayak into the water and make a single, reverse sweep. (Your paddle is between the kayak and the on-coming wave.) This is a powerful, deep, sweeping reverse stroke, from stern to bow, which pulls the bow around to face the wave.......
3. As you lean backwards, throwing your weight back, tilting the boat shoreward ... so the side nearest the shore is more submerged than the opposite side ... the boat comes around to face the wave with the bow somewhat up. You want to peak the move so the boat comes around to face the wave, just as it comes upon you.
4. Properly done, the force of the wave, plus your weight thrown back, will cause your stern to submerge ... the bow will come up ... and as the wave hits it ... the boat will take a vertical orientation. YOUR INTENTION IS TO KEEP THE BOAT VERTICAL FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN.
5. To do this you make little "chip" strokes with your paddle so the boat spins. These chip strokes can be done on either side. It is the spinning of the boat that keeps it vertical..
6. Eventually the boat will fall ... either right way up, or on its side, or upside down. Whatever.
7. Another way to do a Stern Squirt is simply to back paddle when you see the wave coming and at the moment of impact, lean back, pushing the stern down.
REAR END LOOP
Instead of keeping the boat vertical ... you allow it to loop, that is, to go right over backwards. This is called a Rear End Loop.
POLE VAULT LOOP
On your way over you make a sweep stroke with the paddle, twist the boat a half turn, come down on the hull ... and continue surfing.
Essential fact #2: You learn by doing! Go do it.
N.B. If you want to have fun with your kayak you've got to push the limits! No move is intrinsically "wrong." Experiment! Play! Don't be deterred by "turning over!"
FRONT LOOP (or front ender)
(The English call them loops, the Americans call them endos or enders)
The aim is to get the kayak to stand perpendicularly on its nose.
1. You've got to have a wave that's about to break, it has to be a crashing or plunging wave, not a wave that is breaking at the top and cascading gently down. In other words, it has to be a wave with a steep face, a wave with some power. This can be a wave on its own or, if surfing, one that begins to die out and forms into a secondary wave. Or, it can be a broken wave.
2. You lean forward, pushing the nose of the kayak down as the wave breaks or hits you.
3. As the bow is pushed under the water ... and the kayak begins to nose dive ... you use judgment to maintain balance by throwing your weight backwards, laying back on the rear deck. Throwing your weight back slows the boat down.
4. The idea is to get vertical. Once vertical, you let the boat carry over, and fall forward ... that's a front loop or endo (Or front-ender.)
PIROUETTE
5. You try to keep the boat vertical as long as possible by spinning it. This is done by employing an across-the-deck paddle sweep which spins the boat.
ESKIMO LOOP
(A pole vault loop with a pirouette)
6. You spin the boat a half turn, land on the hull ... and continue to surf the wave backwards!
Essential fact #2: You learn by doing! Go do it.
Essential fact #1: Most surf moves call for power and speed. Most of the power and motive force comes from the wave ... small waves have little power.................
The moves you can do on a wave depend on the special characteristics of each wave. Here is an excellent initiatory move ... at the critical point you can do several things.... an aerial, a top turn, a reverse drop.........
1. You've caught the wave and you're flying across the unbroken face, (the green), gaining as much speed as possible.
2. Ahead of you the wave builds and gets ready to break.
TOP (or lip) TURN
3. Drive your bow into the pitching crest. Use the crest as a pivot point. Lean the kayak with a hip movement towards the shore and use a rudder on the opposite side of the crest. Radically change the direction of the craft ... and shoot down the steep wave face.
NOTE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS TOP TURN and THE 'AERIAL' (paper #7) ... its not as vigorous ... the kayak does not become air borne.
REVERSE TOP (or lip) TURN
4. As you fly across the wave's face you notice the wave is getting ready to break. You orient your bow towards the top of the wave by leaning the kayak and putting in a stern rudder (on the appropriate side,) digging in the rail and causing the kayak to execute a sharp turn up the face of the wave. As you hit the breaking crest you want the kayak to be perpendicular on the face of the wave and flat on its hull. Remove the rudder ... and come down the face ... surfing backwards (stern first).
5. From here you can do a 180, a loop, or whatever...........
FACE ROLL
You are flying across the "green" on a lateral cut just as the wave steepens and starts to pitch. You remove the paddle from a brace or rudder position and move it into an Eskimo Roll position. You then roll the craft over, down the face of the wave, just as ... or just before it breaks. You use the rotational action of the wave (called "window-shading") to pop upright and continue riding the same wave.
TURBO TURN
1. THIS IS A MOVE MADE IMMEDIATELY UPON TAKING OFF, ON THE UNBROKEN OR "GREEN" SIDE OF THE WAVE.
2. You put in a stern rudder (on the side of the kayak towards the top of the wave) ... leaning hard on the rudder and digging in the rail. "Push forward" a little with your paddle, effecting a sharp turn, pointing the bow at the top of the wave and somewhat stalling the boat. The stern will now be facing down the face of the wave..........
3. Remove the rudder and take the drop down the face of the wave, stern first..........
FLYING TAIL SQUIRT
(can also be done from a turbo turn)
1 You come down the face of a wave and go across the green.
2 Dig in your tail, use a stern rudder and go up the face of the wave.
3 Straighten the boat (put it flat on its hull) and have it perpendicular on the wave, just as the top begins to break.
4 Now do a tail squirt ... or go over backwards (Rear End Loop) ... or twist the boat a half turn as you go over (Pole Vault Loop) and continue surfing.......
Use a little imagination ... and play! Have fun! That's what its all about!
No move is "wrong!" Laugh at "turning over" Haw! Haw! Haw!
Essential fact #2: You learn by doing! Go do it.
BONGO RIDE
A Bongo Ride is not a move you set out to do ... ITS ONE YOU TRY TO GET OUT OF! Its when the kayak gets stuck in a broached position on a broken wave and you're sitting there, being carried (bounced) along.
Try to "free" yourself by attempting all sorts of different things:
1 Lean forward, / lean back; with the help of your paddle, make forward strokes, reverse strokes ... on the side of the wave, on the shore side......... Try to get your bow or your stern around.
2 Try a "soup hop" ... get up on top of the foam by elevating the angle of the edge of the kayak nearest the foam side. Once on top of the foam you can, with the aid of your paddle ... flat spin the kayak and go to other options.
You get as much fun OUT as your imagination and effort PUTS IN!
Your kayak is an excellent tool for exercise, but the whole idea is to have as much fun as possible! Learn the following move and put more fun (and showmanship) in your paddling! The fun you get is directly related to the imagination and effort you put in.
ROUNDHOUSE CUTBACK
Essential fact #1: Most surf moves call for power and speed. Most of the power and motive force comes from the wave ... small waves have little power.................
1. HERE'S HOW YOU DO IT: You catch the wave and fly across the unbroken face; (i.e. you do not go down the face of the wave to the bottom.)
2. As you gather speed, you cut back making a sweeping turn down the face and return towards the breaking foam.
3. You run the craft straight into the tumbling foam, as close to the peak as possible.
4. The closer to the peak you hit the breaking wave, the more dramatic this move becomes.
5. You allow the force of the pitching foam to knock your bow around, resulting in a strong turning cut back in the opposite direction ... and you continue surfing ... away from the breaking foam.
PERFORMANCE. As with all sports, the key to performance is technique.
Technique is the key to performance and practice is the key to technique.
Education can make the journey smoother. Whether you are just starting out or an experienced paddler, if you want to excel and have real fun you've got to push the limits of both your kayak and yourself.
The better you understand the mechanics of motion, the more moves you will be able to do.
TUBE RIDE
You position your craft so the folding peak of the wave drops over the stern, behind you, or even shrouds the craft completely ... and you continue riding in the "tube".......
Essential fact #2: You learn by doing! Go do it.
AERIAL
The aim is to get air borne............
Essential fact #1: Most surf moves call for power and speed. Most of the power and motive force comes from the wave ... small waves have little power.................
1. An aerial is any move which gets the kayak air borne. A simple aerial can be done by paddling hard at an approaching wave which is just about to break so you hit the top and "take off."
2. The following aerial is a tail slash which, done with finesse, gets you air borne. Its a very late top turn with a radical cut back. By whatever name ... it looks spectacular to people watching from shore!
3. Here's how you do it: You catch the wave and go down the face developing as much speed as you can. At the bottom you carve a sharp turn and come back up the face.
4. As you come up, you want to maintain as much speed as possible, reaching the top as close to the breaking shoulder as you can.
5. You also want to be at the steepest point of the unbroken wave, at a point where it is just getting ready to break.
6. You dig your paddle in, on the shoreward side of the kayak, (i.e. on the opposite side of the breaking shoulder) leaning heavily on it, putting as much weight on the paddle as possible ... and make a strong reverse sweep.
7. The tail should fly around and you become air borne as the kayak turns in the air. You land with your bow pointing down the face of the wave ... and continue surfing..............
Essential fact #2: You learn by doing! Go do it.
INTO THE WILD BLUE YONDER..........
WHAT YOU NEED: a wave that's about to pitch ... and speed.
HOW TO DO IT: You crank a hard bottom turn, cut up the wave's face and hit the lip at full speed, launching you free............. Hallelujah!
and REMEMBER TO TWIRL YOUR PADDLE ! ! !
Whenever you complete a super move, or roll, or emerge from crashing through a big broken wave, or whatever ... twirl your paddle ... its like yelling "victory!"
MYSTERY MOVE
1. You want quite a big wave for this move, and fairly deep water. You begin as you would for a Front Loop (or Front Ender.)
2. Instead of looping the kayak you continue to drive the bow into the water so the kayak submerges, leaving just about your chest/shoulders/head above water.
3. You make an across-the-deck sweep with your paddle.
4. You now have two actions taking place: 1. the paddle sweep and 2. the wave breaking on you.
5. The effect is as follows: the stern sinks and the kayak submerges completely underwater. The kayak turns 180o under the water and emerges behind the wave, bow facing towards the sea.
6. This move especially favors low volume boats ... such as Twister and Fury.
7. In many cases kayaks have been known to travel over a hundred feet under the water, in this move, bobbing up quite some distance from the starting point!
ROLLER COASTER
A series of linked turns, up and down the face of a wave, while maintaining the same direction.
FLOATER
Position your craft high on the wave's face, but just behind or atop the crest as it pitches downward and then collapses. You ride the backside down into the "soup" and re-emerge to continue surfing.
Fun - Play - Exercise
This is what its all about
Understand the mechanics of motion, ... initiate your own moves!
You GET OUT what you PUT IN!
No move is "wrong!" ... go do it!
THE FIRST SURFER WHO CATCHES A RIDE ON A WAVE (i.e. the first who is able to stop paddling and begins planing, and is closest to the breaking peak of the wave) has wave possession. All other surfers must immediately abandon riding on any part of the wave where they risk interfering with the surfer possessing the wave, or perhaps cause an accident. Note: Also observe this rule when on a wave with board surfers.
In a simultaneous start, the surfer closest to the breaking peak of the wave has possession. However, surfers are permitted to catch the wave on opposing sides of the breaking peak and proceed in cuts in opposite directions.
Surfers on the same wave who ride in the same cut direction are deemed NOT to interfere ... ONLY if a large and significant amount of space - at least four boat lengths - is maintained between them and the freedom of the primary wave possessor is not impeded in any way.
All kayak surfers are expected to wear full protective gear: helmet and life vest. Kayak surfing can be dangerous. Don't learn the hard way.
