Help with Steeper waves

longboarder

Can anyone help with advice on catching steeper waves on a longboard?

In Tullan and a nearby reef recently I had great difficulty catching the waves. At the last moment they would jack up and become very steep (faces were head high) and I would end up nosediving a lot. I have been doing reasonably well on regular beaches with similar height waves but it is the steepness of these ones that is getting me.

One thing I did notice is that with a winter suit and thermal rashie I am finding paddling harder - perhaps I am just not fast enough??

Any help would be much appreciated.

OldGuysRule

Have you tried taking off at an angle? If the waves are steeper, you need to be a little further back on a longboard than your usual 'sweet' spot, but then you have to be moving faster.

dave_brent

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I62X7kgzivw

worth the watching...

seachto7

great vid dave_brent

phil

They've got a buckload of them and they're all great

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=surf+simply+podcast&aq=f

Wopp

dave_brent wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I62X7kgzivw

worth the watching...

+1 on the great find!

rodento

Best thing you can do is head out to a quite beach/reef break and practice, if you can't handle bigger steeper waves, you have no right to be out in crowds as a longboard can do a lot of damage in a lineup

gerk86

steep waves on a longboard, scooch back on the board a little bit when you're paddling for the wave.

longboarder

Thanks for the replies and the vids are great.

However at one point in the vid he reccomends being more forward on the board for steeper waves to enable you the get down the wave fast while two of the replies advise the opposite!! any thoughts?

To Rodento:
Firstly: I would never dream of going out on a crowded reef if I couldn't handle the conditions. For this very reason I tend look and watch but mainly surf beaches. This day the reef was quiet with only a few (mostly friends) out.

Secondly in Tullan it is usually possible to get your own little peak down the beach a bit.

Thirdly: How can you learn to handle these conditions if you dont go out in them?

OldGuysRule

Not sure that the vid was directly aimed at longboards. Bottom line is that you need to keep an eye on the relationship between the nose of the board and the wave, it should be as close to the surface as possible - without pearling! If you have to move a little further back so that the board does not pearl, then so be it, but as the video pointed out - too far back and the wave will pass you by. Easier to manage your weight without shifting around on a shorter board - once you go longer, your position on the board may need to actually move forward or back.

Trial and error, but it is good to find the sweet spot(s) on the board for different types of waves

longboarder

Thanks Oldguysrule.

rodento

As I said, practice in some quite break with no one around, plenty of places hold head high steep fast waves and are safe enough to learn on, even tullan can be steep and fast at size :rolleyes:

VNP

pretend its a game of bowling but with with a big Bic popout bullit proof 9 foot+ go out and see how many short boarders you can smash with each wipe out.

lorcan122

You need to move back on your board, and you also have to have a lot of speed, so make sure you have plenty of rime to paddle.

jarv

Paddle hard grab the rail and hold on

rodento

Catching the wave is the easy part, you have to make sure you have an exit plan, no point catching a close out that lands you in the impact zone, on a log

VNP

great point, what are the options tho rodento? esp on bigger steeper stuff you cant just get out over the back of the section on a big stick?:o do you just figure out buy watching a few bigger sets from the shore then orientate yourself so you know where you are roughly, then try figure which sections will close out due to the wave size, and only take the ones you might be able to manage? thats my approach dony know if its wright or waste of time?

dave_brent

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HbhKSMSkOo

VNP

Yeah great guy some great vids seen them all numerous times, i guess thats what makes it a cool sport there's some small things need tons of experience to predict right with the basic principals being used.

Greenman408

These videos are good, thanks for sending on the links.