[Paddlewise] Side-Surfing Kookyakers (Part One)

Report from this past Sunday:

Well, it was that time of year again. Time for the VCKC's sea kayak surf
clinic held every year for new and/ or growing paddlers from the club
wanting to gain some confidence, safety and skill at side-surfing their
sea-yaks shoreward. It's not a bad concept, as clinics go, and even one
of the local paddlesport stores has now incorporated something similar
in their syllabus.

By 10:00 am, ten of us had assembled at Jordan River. It was sunny,
lovely and spring-like, with only a hint of cool wind building. The tide
was changing but, the surf had died to a simmer (or was that a
dull-roar?). My preference was to head over to the point break, just
west of the Sewer's break, past the mouth of the river. It may be rocky
and shallow there, but it is always reliable if there is even a hint of
swell -- and unfortunately, usually crowded with a hard-core clique of
board riders and WW kayakers. It can also be too gnarly for the neophyte
paddler. Fortunately, the group seemed like it had lots of enthusiasm
and more collective experience than last year's group. All had basic
bracing and wet exit/rescue skills.

The year previous I had co-taught with another instructor. This year,
the responsibilities fell mostly on me. Assembled on a grassy, wave-cut
cliff edge, the benefits and particulars of stretching and flexibility
regimes were extolled and practiced. Included were the wrist stretch,
which was also suggested as a pre-paddling regime for simple touring as
well. Various shoulder stretches were tried. A new one we all liked was
one of the easiest. You simply place your right hand or fist on your
right hip, elbow out to your side, then move your elbow as far forward
as you can without releasing contact with your hip. Repeat for other
side. Back, neck, and hamstring stretches were also done. It was
suggested students should, once seated in their kayaks, develop the
habit of rotating their torso backwards and "walking" the fingers of
their outstretched hand towards the stern as far as comfortable. This
should be done whenever you get into any kayak, as increased flexibility
ensues from actively pursuing it on a continuous basis.

Safety issues were raised: Elbows must always retain a slight bend.
Never lock your arm straight out, lest dislocation occur. Keep high
braces to a minimum, and keep elbows close in to your body. Students
were reminded of a well know BCU coach visiting from the UK, who
dislocated his shoulder during a surf clinic, only a few short miles
away on the Cape Flattery not too long ago. It was stressed that if
students were rolled over to shoreward, that they must tuck into the
front deck and keep their paddle parallel with the side of the kayak.
Never extend or high brace to shore -- always and only to seaward. Even
in small breakers, never alight from your kayak where this would leave a
paddler between his or her craft and the shore. It is too easy to get
bowled over. A helmet was a must, as was immersion gear and a proper
fitting PFD. I personally inspected all grab-loops. As with last year,
if one kept lecturing ad-nauseum, the surf would eventually come. I
stuck with "Plan A" and continued.

Normally students would be led into the surf zone first, taught to swim
in it, then would learn to launch in it, wet exit, and then practice the
correct technique for swimming a kayak to shore -- all before actual
side-surfing. Swell direction and surf conditions were not advantageous
for that methodology, nor did the group appear to need that kind of
tutelage. With the program coordinators concurrence, we spoke briefly
about the difference between leaning downstream on a river or current
and leaning into a wave on the ocean. The difference between edging a
leaning was briefly discussed, but when Gary's eyes lit up, I knew some
good sets were arriving with the flood. Without further delay, we headed
out into the 8 degree C (44 degree F) bone-rattling water temperatures
off the point break and its good peeling surf.

Our group was pretty much first on the scene. Gary and I decided to let
each participant circulate into the break zone one at a time, rather
than split the group up into two. A long over-the-head peel-line meant a
good majority were swept toward the beach right off the mark anyway, and
so began the usual surf carnage with capsizes and deep water rescues
between the inordinately long lulls. It didn't take long however, for
most folks to realize that leaning or edging the kayak into the wave,
resulted in the least amount of roll-overs. "Moon the beach" was the
operative term employed. Some folks realized early on, that rolling
classes were next on their agenda.

I use a combination of leaning and edging myself when surfing, and often
never raise just one knee in a classic edging maneuver while negotiating
surf. So likewise was my reluctance to over-coach the edging point.
Paddlers develop their own perspective and balance strategy for hull
presentation to line of travel. My heart swelled as the more hesitant
paddlers caught on and let out a hoot or two or three. Sea kayaks are at
a distict advantage when it comes to initially catching a ride and the
requisite speed to catch a wave.

With the growing surf, the men-in-black arrived, looking for their piece
of the action. I had warned each student not to let go of their
respective chariot. Indeed, they were to retain their paddle and swim
immediately to the bow toggle if possible after a bail-out, then swim
the boat ashore, stern toward the beach. An 18-foot swath of loose
destruction wasn't exactly the best way to engender friendship with the
local surfing community -- especially at Jordan River where bad attitude
"localism" hasn't been too inclusive of outsiders in the past, let alone
toward the plethora of yaksters in recent times. I paddled up to what
appeared to be a local turf-conscious boarder, and explained the
situation about new paddlers in large sea boats. There was no
acknowledgment. Okay, so I was a "kook" (surf-slang). We did our best to
keep away from their hunting grounds.

DL






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