RE: [Paddlewise] surf landings

I freedive off of a 19.5 foot long surf ski ( a surf ski is a sit on top
racing kayak, NOT a short kayak made for surfing at the beach----it is made
to be able to "surf" the big ocean swells a  mile or more out to  sea ) .


If it gets rough while I am freediving over the 2 to three hours I am likely
to be absorbed by the diving, ultimately I'll face a rough entry at the
beach. since I will not want my fins, mask, speargun, or any fish I have
shot to be lost in the entry, it is important to me to make a safe entry.
when the waves are under 4 feet, this is a non issue. As they hit 6 or 7,
and or get very steep, they become problematic. Since the hull speed is very
fast on this boat, my typical solution is to time the incoming waves, look
for a relatively gradually sloping wave, and make sure I can accelerate to
at least 7 miles perhour or so before the wave catches me. As long as I get
the speed up first, the boat takes off down the wave face, and will surf
straight down the wave. No angle over 20 to 30 degree is safe, as this could
cause the boat to lose its ability to fall down the wave, and you could end
up sideways. Without sufficient acceleration prior to the oncoming wave you
want to catch, the back end of the kayak will puncture the wave top, and
your rudder will hang in mid air---if this happens, plan on swimming.

After one 3 hour day of practice to get this right, I have not wiped out in
a surf entry since. This includes one day when the waves reached heights
over 8 feet, and the local surfing community was rapidly responding to their
newly arrived surf fantasy. The only bad part of this entry, was the speed
coming in on the wave was so high, it carried me all the way right up onto
the beach, where the boat was litterally thrown down onto the sand, as the
wave suddenly died. At this point I executed an emergency half roll, to take
the impact my self rather than the hull. No damage to either of us resulted
:-)
Dan Volker

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
> [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of sylvio
> lamarche
> Sent: Thursday, August 13, 1998 12:55 AM
> To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
> Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] surf landings
>
>
> .......
>
> >> << I started practicing surf landings going backwards
> towards the beach, I
> >>  sure do like it that way >>
> >> This  is like walking backwards to cross a busy street, so
> you can run
> >>back to
> >> the crab to miss on coming  traffic. I feel it slows you
> down and you spend
> >> more time in the surf zone. If it gets you on the beach in
> one piece
> >>will good
> >> for you.
> >
> >That is an interesting point, I mean the one about spending
> lots of time
> >in what is a tricky place to be.
>
> I don't think I spend much more time in the surf zone than if
> going forward
> without surfing any of the waves.
>        I think that being able to neutralise the force of the
> wave easier
> actulally help me get through faster.
>         Taking a ride is also easier to control and stop/slow down by
> punching through, so the rides are a bit more under control...
>         In big surf op to 6 ',  I feel quite able to go into
> shore this
> way, much safer, by being able to control the situation easier...
>
> Yours naturally
>
> sylvio  lamarche
> Wycliffe organic gardens
> & Exotic locales all over the globe
>
>
>
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