[Paddlewise] _Landing_ in Dumping Surf

Evan said:
>>The discussion on dumping surf launches has been very interesting, but I'd
like to ask if anyone has suggestions regarding landing...nano-seconds
needed to avoid getting sucked back out by the receding waves...How do other
people handle this?<<

I assume you mean landing on a steep lee-shore with a foreshortened dumping
surf zone with surf surging up the gradient just as it breaks(?). This can
be a difficult spot to land gracefully. Forget finesse -- the main thing is
to make it ashore in relative safety.

There are only three possibilities and two sub-possibilities: Coming in
backwards; coming in sideways (a broach to starboard or port); and coming in
forwards. Backwards isn't normally the way I'd land in dumping surf (though
if I was trying to break out off dumping surf, it is entirely possible to
get thrown backwards. If I was stuck on a beach with Niels and he was eating
dead Seagulls and drinking his urine, I'd definitely try to breakout!
-)  ).

Broaching in can be problematic too. If you try to bail out landward and
another wave hits or the boat gets sucked back out then slammed shoreward
again just as you are alighting, the hapless kayaker runs the risk of
getting seriously nailed by his inertia-guided fibreglass weapon of
mass-production destruction. On the flip side, if the kayaker leans seaward
to avoid the above potential for injury, on a steep beach you are probably
at risk of disembarkation into deep water due to the readily receding
shoreline and attendant drop-off depth seaward. Unable to gain footing,
etc., the hapless kayaker gets maytagged either half out of his or her boat,
or thrown up against the kayak if you did make it out.

Over the years I've found it easiest to nudge my bow up the beach, usually
at a slight angle toward my non-offside brace. Then, I simply roll over
sideways and let the wash take my kayak "off" me like a pair of jeans. I
still have a relatively solid footing once out, the kayak cant mow me over,
and I'm not in deep water with my hand, elbow and head dunking under the
water trying to pull myself out of the kayak's cockpit. With bowline in
hand, I run up the steep beach as best as possible, struggling to  maintain
tenure with the kayak which is usually getting sucked back out. The steeper
inclines are the worst, especially with a fully loaded kayak, but getting
nailed by your own kayak upon exiting, especially fully loaded, isn't
something I wish to repeat, having had the pleasure once before.

Skilled paddlers will more than likely be acquainted with a number of the
above points, and may also have found different beaches and different
boat/cockpit combinations mean different strategies. Most landing situations
are on a case-by-case basis.

Making progress out through dumping surf is usually accommodated by patience
and persistence (like many things in life). Forget rogue waves and all that
set-counting. I usually wait patiently, sitting in the kayak, spray skirt
on, waiting for the un-rogue set to eventually come in. Be alert and ready
for it. Keep the situation, um, fluid.  There is usually a dead spot in the
wave sets sooner or later. Its all about timing and working with the rhythms
extant. And PFD's and helmets please - at least on northern coastlines up
here.

Doug Lloyd
Victoria BC (best blooming city in Canada)

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"Whatever can be said at all can be said clearly and whatever cannot be said
clearly should not be said at all."
Ludwig Wittgenstein
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