Re: [Paddlewise] Weird Shoals or Beating Dumpy

Jim Tibensky wrote
>
> Last month I was fortunate enough to paddle in the Dodecanese islands in
> Greece.  Kalymnos has huge, sheer cliffs.  When we passed them, the
> waves were building to peaks of about five feet.  They came straight
> into the cliffs and bounced off at angles determined by the angle of the
> cliff to the wave.  We deliberately paddled right up against the cliffs
> where the wave action seemed more regular than it was further off.  For
> two hours we surfed, bounced and ran riot in the confusion.  Rock
> gardens added to the fun.
>
I've done this off of East Sooke Park just west of Victoria BC.  You are 
absolutely right.  I would get in close to the rock wall where the wave or 
surge coming down the Strait of Juan da Fuca would lift me up the vertical 
wall like I was on an elevator.  Your mind and eyes tell you that you are 
going to be smashed against the rock wall but for some inexplicable reason 
there is always a cushion of water a couple if inches wide between you and 
the wall.  When the elevator starts to drop you surf back away from the 
wall.  On that day I was getting these great surf rides that seemed to go on 
for ever.  What was neat was I'd be surfing back into the on coming surge. 
Once the energy of the rebounding water played out I'd ride the surge back 
into the wall.  I must have made six or seven trips with very few forward 
stokes, just the timely brace and a stern rudder.

If you want to try this; the first time do it with a couple of buddies, wear 
a helmet, and have decent tow lines so you can initiate a rescue should 
things go wrong.  I did this on waves that were not dumping down on the rock 
face,  That would indicate the bottom of the wave had slowed on an 
underwater obstacle causing it to loose energy and spill or dumb onto the 
rock face.  On this day and place the waves would climb the wall and rebound 
back away.

Lots of fun. 
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