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 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. 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