[Paddlewise] Kayak surfing question

I finally did some actual kayak surfing off the coast of South
Carolina last weekend. On Saturday, there were hardly any waves and it
was a great introduction. On Sunday, however, I was in for a real
surprise with some monster (to me, anyway) waves! I only capsized once
on Sunday, my paddling partner took a swim three times.

One thing I noticed that confused me is that often when I'm surfing a
wave (in my Perception Captiva), towards the end, I'll feel the wave
torque my boat to one side or the other (usually towards my left side,
it seems). I'll typically end up with my boat parallel to the
wave. For a beginner like me, it can be hard to keep the boat upright!

The feeling can be a bit strange as I find myself having to brace
pretty hard into the wave to keep upright. Once, I found the
resistance of the wave to disappear (as waves do, of course) and I was
bracing into nothing---capsize!

I'm hoping that someone can provide me some pointers to why I get
turned like this. I'm sure it's something to do with my paddling
technique. How can I keep my boat straight? Pointers to websites or
books would be great, too.

Thanks to all,
--Eric

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