Re: [Paddlewise] _Landing_ in Dumping Surf

> The discussion on dumping surf launches has been very interesting, but I'd
> like to ask if anyone has suggestions regarding landing.  In our group, I
> seem to be the one who always "gets volunteered" to go in first.  The
> problem I run into, especially on a steeper beach, is that I land ok, but
> then don't quite get my spray skirt off in the nano-seconds needed to avoid
> getting sucked back out by the receding waves running down the beach.
> However, I do usually manage to get the skirt off just in time to be dumped
> upon by the next wave crashing on the beach, thereby filling my boat with
> sand and water and cursing kayaker.  How do other people handle this?
> 

   Well, it appears that no-one else wants to tackle this, so I guess I'll 
bite. Landing in the surf requires a certain amount of discipline and 
patience. You want to try to land on the back of a wave and ride it up the 
beach as far as possible before it subsides. While it is possible to ride up 
onto the beach on the front of a wave, you will not have as much control and 
you might receive a severe beating in a really brutal shore break. Once your 
boat is on the beach if you do not think you have enough "nano-seconds" to 
spring from your boat hitting the ground running in order to reach the bow 
and grab the toggle to drag your boat up the beach before the next wave hit's 
you, then you should sit tight, firmly grasping your paddle, with your 
sprayskirt in place, and wait. 
   You may be able to use the next wave to nudge your boat further up the 
beach and give you more time to exit. Or the next wave may drag you back out 
into the water in which case you will need to make another approach. Really 
steep beaches might require a number of attempts before you are able to 
"stick" the boat on the beach with enough time to exit. If the surf is really 
large and dumping then it will require considerable bracing to remain 
upright. If you are not conformable with this, then you should really look 
for a beach with a gentler more forgiving slope to land on. 
   When you do finally decide that you have the time to exit your boat then 
you should ALWAYS exit on the ocean side of the boat - never on the beach 
side. Finding yourself between your boat and the beach in the surf zone, 
either swimming in the water, or standing in the shallows, can be a very bad 
thing :-)

Good luck!

Scott
So.Cal.

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