Downwind SUP Skills

When we learn to paddle SUP, we usually start in calm water in a protected area away from wind, waves, current, and boat traffic.  As we progress, many of us venture out into rougher conditions or environments that are wildly different from where we first learned to paddle. Sometimes, we find a certain aspect of SUP that we gravitate towards.  For me, that has been downwind SUP.  I love downwind paddling because I think it combines the best elements of touring, racing, and surfing.

Skills in one area of SUP transfer to other areas of SUP paddling.  A low brace on the river is really no different than a low brace in the surf.  A pivot turn in a race is no different than a pivot turn in the surf.  This skill set overlap is why I think downwind paddling is the most fun and most rewarding.

From racing, we take the following:

• Fitness (both aerobic and anaerobic)
• Stroke technique
• Stroke efficiency
• Turning skills
• Pacing
• Reading the water

From touring, we take the following:

• Weather forecasting and awareness
• Trip planning and shuttling
• Endurance
• Self-reliance

From surfing, we take the following:

• Board control skills
• Paddle control skills
• Bracing skills
• Turning skills
• Venue awareness

Where these skill sets overlap, we find DOWNWIND paddling.  It's not just paddling with the wind at your back, it's open water surfing, and a lot more!

SUP skill set overlap with Downwind in the intersection.

What is Downwind SUP? - Part 3 - Tips

A dozen 13 tips that I hope help you become a downwind expert!

1. We need waves for hydrodynamic lift (Planing). To plane is to SURF!  Surfing is FUN!
2. Downwind boards are planing shapes but function as a displacement shape at low speeds.  They really come alive when on a plane (i.e., surfing a bump) and that is the goal is downwind SUP, to catch waves and get the board on a plane.
3. You catch waves, don’t let waves catch you.
4. Paddle downhill.
5. Keep your head on a swivel.  Look forward, not behind.
6. Downwinding is not straight-lining.  You are often zigzagging when going from one bump to another.
7. Develop two paddle speeds (one for cruising, one for acceleration to catch the bump).
8. Paddle with purpose.  Don't just put your head down and motor the whole time.  Be efficient.  Relax as much as you can, save your energy for short powerful bursts to catch bumps.
9. Alter stance to maintain trim.  This is crucial, gracefully move from parallel stance to off-set stance to surf stance and back again.  You are constantly moving.
10. Develop a solid, reliable low brace.  You will use it a lot!
11. Be aggressive!  Want it more than you fear it.
12. Use small bumps to catch large bumps, and link large bumps together.  The goal is to plane as much as possible.
13. Stay loose.  Find a way to relax, keep your legs soft and just go with the ocean, don't fight it.

Here's a bonus; a video of Jeremy Riggs explaining how read bumps:

Reading Bumps from Paddle With Riggs on Vimeo.

What is Downwind SUP? - Part 2

In part one we briefly looked at planing vs. non-planing.  This time, let's look at some cool pictures and compare the same board and same paddler in both states of being.

Connor Baxter Planing

Here we see Connor Baxter during the M2O race on a huge bump.  Notice how far back on the board he is.  Most of his weight is over his back foot, hands and paddle are low in preparation for a toe-side low brace or a cross tail heel-side low brace.  Sweet!  Over half of the board is out of the water.

 Connor Baxter Not Planing (displacement mode)

Here's Connor near the finish of the M2O race working very hard.  Notice how much of the board is in the water.  Notice his feet placement compared to the first picture.  He's paddling very hard here.  He's one of the fastest SUP paddlers (in any conditions) in the business.

 Jeremy Riggs Planing

This is a less extreme example of planing.  Jeremy Riggs showing beautiful form on a nice Maui bump.  Notice his feet.  He's not way back on the tail because he doesn't need to be.  The board is planing nicely.  Paddle is in perfect position for a draw, a quick forward stroke or a high brace.  Jeremy Riggs is loose, smooth, and so relaxed.

What is Downwind SUP? - Part 1

I've done a few downwind lessons and guided runs with people who are relatively new to this aspect of SUP and I've usually walked away thinking "something got lost in my message and I'm not sure what it is."  I don't like this feeling at all; mainly because I want to be a good instructor, but just as importantly, because I want them to feel what I feel!  I want them to know that feeling and to love it like I do.  So, what's missing?  It hit me one day when driving home from work.  Some people don't know WHY they are downwinding.  They think they are out there for the sole purpose of paddling with the wind at their back because it's faster and easier.  That's not it though, that's just a tiny piece of it.

They are out there to get their board on a plane and keep it there.  The "why" is to feel the surge, the hit of speed that only occurs when riding a wave.  That's what we are trying to do, we are trying to ride waves.  Period.  When we are not on a wave (or bump) we are resting a bit and looking for another one.

If you have downwinded before (and caught a bump) then you know what planing is.  If you have surfed before then you definitely know about planing.  If you have ridden in a high performance ski boat, fishing boat, or pleasure craft then you know what planing is.  Look at the picture below.  This is planing.

Pleasure boat planing.  Look at how much of the boat is out of the water, look at the smiles on their faces!  Why are they smiling?  One reason is that Donzi wants to show you how much fun their boats are, the other reason is that planing means going fast and going fast is FUN.

Let's think about planing the next time we are out in windy conditions.  Sometimes, there's just not enough wind to create the wave energy to get on a plane.  To get the board the board to plane, we need power to create speed.  Speed creates lift, lift creates planing.  Planing creates fun.  Imagine if the Donzi in the picture only had a 25 HP outboard, it would never plane.  What a shame!

One of the best downwind boards on the market, the SIC Bullet.  This is a planing shape, specifically designed for catching and surfing bumps.

  At rest and at low speeds, both the boat and the board are in displacement mode (i.e., not planing).  At high speed, they plane.  The boat gets on a plane pretty easily from it's big V8, in contrast, we cannot plane under our own power, we need lots of help.  We get that help from wave push and gravity when we catch a bump in the ocean or a wave on the beach.  It's energy, and we need it!

Here are some points about planing.  I don't claim to know anything about hull shapes or physics but I know what feels good and I think these points help to explain what planing is:

• When at rest, a vessels's weight is supported entirely by buoyant force. Simply stated, a vessel will float or remain buoyant when it's weight + cargo weight is less than the weight of the water is displaces.  It's all good. This is us 99% of the time.  This is displacement mode.

•  At high enough speed, the reactionary force of the water pushing up on the board is great than the force of gravity and the board will plane.  When on a bump, the horizontal force is converted to vertical force upwards.  This lift also decreases the wet surface area of the board and thus reduces friction which helps the board accelerate.  To plane, a speed boats needs a powerful engine, a sailboat needs good sail area, and we need a wave!

It part 2, let's look at the anatomy of a board on a plane and a board in displacement mode.

(Stolen from Area10 on the StandupZone where he is explaining what he considers "planing"):
Well, certainly you can do what I call "surge-riding", which happens quite a lot with raceboards that don't plane easily - you are definitely getting a push but you are sitting high on the bump and going at the same pace as it. But what I think of as downwinding is an experience that is pretty much indistinguishable from surfing: the board is moving far faster than the bump and this allows you to plow over the bump in front and into the next trough, and so on. The board feels loose and free, and is throwing up spray at the sides and you need your foot over the fin to move it around to avoid poking the nose into the bump in front. So I don't know if that is what you'd call planing, but that is what I'm aiming for in my downwinding. You can connect bumps by turning and following the direction of the troughs, or you can do it by getting so much momentum up that you are skipping over them, and that's when the real excitement happens, to my mind.


(Additional commentary from my buddy Daniel Alvarez:  Jeff Burton it's a nice article. It's hard to say much more without getting really technical about hull speeds, weight to power ratios and prismatic coefficients 
smile emoticon. In sailing we refer to most boats as 5 knot shit boxes. Most sailboats can't escape their displacement hull speeds no matter what you do. Enter the ultralight revolution that started in Santa Cruz which designed much lighter boats with big spinnakers to allow them with some swell assistance to sustain prolonged surfs. Sounds familiar? The Santa Cruz ultralights were the original downwinders and popular with many of the offshore downwind races. Now they can be a hate mission going upwind in a blow. SUPs are effectively 5 knot shitboxes under all but perhaps some elite paddlers. So if we want to go faster we need help. Our sail area is pretty limited (though it feels humongous when paddling upwind) so wind alone is not sufficient to get us going that much faster. But gravity is. Being at the top of a wave can provide enough force (with some aggressive paddling) to get the board on a plane and enjoy a nice surf. So on a good downwind run, you can get the exhilaration of surfing without getting worked. Though I have to say, as a longtime windsurfer I sometimes wonder why I'm paddling in a blow. I guess it is just a different feeling and challenge connecting with the waves.)

Best Technique Tip for SUP Downwinders

I know this guy named Drew Testwuide, he's become a friend over the past year or so.  Drew is the Captain of the Barbary Ghost which just happens to be the best SUP downwinder support boat on San Francisco Bay.  I'll write more about how this works in another post.  For now, just know that boat supported downwinder trips are dakine.

I feel very fortunate that I'm able to assist Drew with a few of these trips.  In addition to wrangling boards to a from the boat (often in high winds and from pitching deck), I serve as another set of eyes on the water, and even can offer some advice and coaching to first-timers.  Over the past couple of trips, I've tried to think of a tip or two that I can give people on land before getting on the boat or getting in the water.  Many of you may disagree with me here but I consider downwinding to be the top of the pyramid in the SUP world.  Other aspects of the sport merely prepare you for downwinding.  Combine the aerobic and anaerobic training components from racing, the board trimming and wave riding from surfing, the paddle finesse and bracing from whitewater, and the forecasting and trip planning from touring and you have downwinding my friend.  All roads lead to surfing whitecaps.

Okay, on to the tip; the fabulous Nose Draw into Forward Stroke.  First the why.  During a downwind run, we are usually in an off-set or a full surfing stance.  For me, that means I have the best control and most power while paddling on my right side because I am regular footed.  What happens when I paddle on my right side?  You guessed it, the boards wants to go to the left.  In a parallel stance, no big deal, I just switch sides and paddle on the left a few times before switching back to my right.  Not quite as easy on a downwinder.  In an off-set stance or full surf stance, I'm not going to have much power on my left side, that's number one.  Number two is, I'm going to slow down a lot during the transition to the opposite side.  Number three is that I have a really good chance of falling when the paddle is out of the water.  So how can we get lots of strong powerful strokes and braces on our dominant side?  You guessed it.  The nose draw into forward stroke.

How does it work?  Remember, If I am paddling on my right side, my board wants to go left so to counteract this movement, I need to pull the board to the right and that's where the nose-draw  portion of the stroke comes into play.  The nose draw pulls the nose to the right just seconds before the forward stroke pushes the board to the left (slightly).  They work together to keep me going (more or less) straight.  Beautiful huh?  This is considered a "blended stroke" where we combine two distinct strokes into one fluid movement.  Now, on my powerful right side, I stand way back at the tail, utilize my blended stroke to maintain speed and heading.  Nice!  When I get lucky and catch a little bump I can use a hanging low brace on the right side for stability (that's a bonus tip, no extra charge).

To help visualize this blended stroke imagine a lazy "r" connected to the rail of your board (on the right side).  The bottom of the "r" is where you are standing, while the top of the "r" is where you begin your catch. Now take your paddle and trace the "r" using the power face of your blade.  Look at the diagram below.  Try to mix some nose draws (alone) into your paddling to correct your heading.   Once you feel comfortable, start incorporating a little nose draw into your forward stroke from time to time.  See if you like it.  Remember, it doesn't have to be dramatic, sometimes just a little pull is all you need.  I hope this helps you have more success, and more fun on the water.  

Nose draw into forward stroke on the right side in off-set stance.

Making the Board Move

When we take our board to the water we are usually trying to get somewhere (unless it's a yoga session).  It could be out to a surf break, a favorite fishing spot, a hidden cove, or the next bend in the river.  In order to get the board (and ourselves) where we want to go, we use our paddle.  We plant the blade of our paddle into the water and pull ourselves (and our board as we are standing on it) past our blade.  Sounds simple doesn't it?  It doesn't always look simple though, sometimes it looks very complicated.  Just take a look at Danny Ching doing a buoy turn while racing, Dan Gavere executing an eddy turn in whitewater, Zane Schweitzer doing a 360 in the waves, and Dave Kalama linking bumps on a downwinder.  What they are able to do with a high degree of expertise is make the board do what they want it to do at exactly the right moment.  It's that simple. Really, it's that simple.  There are a finite number of things a board can do:

• sit still
• sink a rail, nose, tail
• move forward and backward
• move right or left
• spin clockwise or counterclockwise

What's really important here is how we link these actions together using our weight transfers and paddle strokes while at the same time, we have to also be aware of how the water and wind conditions impact these actions.  Let's say I'm on a downwind run and I see few little bumps right ahead of me.  I increase my cadence to catch up to the bump using short, rapid strokes.  I shuffle my feet forward to put a little more weight on the front of the board and I feel the board accelerate down the face of the bump, now my weight is too far forward and nose starts to pearl, I have to quickly get weight off the nose and back on the tail so I take a big step back with my right foot and stop paddling.  I now have good trim on the bump and I drag my paddle for stability and to help me turn the board a bit.  By now, the bump is starting to pass me by so I move forward again in hopes of catching the bump that was right behind that one.  All of this happens rather quickly but if I pay attention and I'm not too winded, perhaps I can link two or three of these bumps together for a long and really fun ride!

To catch these bumps, I just sink the nose a bit, make the board go forward quickly using short rapid-fire strokes, then put some weight on the tail to ride the bump.  That's it, and if I can do this a few times during a run, I am smiling and laughing like a little kid.  I'm smiling now just thinking about it.

Hat tip to the ACA and Robin Pope for this great article about teaching tips for kayaking.  Take the time to read the whole article here.

Pivot Turn

For getting around buoys during a race or just for turning your board quickly in a tight space, practice the pivot turn.  It's a really valuable skill to have for surfing too as it allows you to quickly turn the board 180 degrees to catch a wave or to orient your board (nose facing the waves) after you take a ride to the beach.  It's a fairly advanced move and you will have to practice a bit to really get it down but once you do, you'll be happy. You can have a lot of fun practicing this turn.  If you really want to get wild, move way to the back of the board, really sink that tail and get the board spinning.  It's a great way to learn how to maintain stability on your board as the more weight you move to the back of the board, the more unstable the board will become.

When I was first learning this, I would always try to keep both feet on the center-line of the board.  It's possible to do it this way, but you will have much more control if you keep some weight on the rails.  When you start learning this, find some deep water away from obstacles (and other people) and prepare to get wet!

 

Getting Started in this Sport

Everyone says that SUP is the fastest growing water sport in the world.  Why has this sport become so popular?  I think there are three primary reasons:

1. It's FUN! - It just brings out the kid in everyone.  It reminds me of the summer I learned to ride a bike.  The act of standing on the water, gliding, balancing, being on the water - it's just so much fun.
2. It's ACCESSIBLE - You don't have to be athletic to enjoy this sport.  You don't have to live on a beach in the tropics either.  Any person, at any age, can get on a board and have fun at their local river, creek, lake, bay or ocean.  You do not have to know how to surf or live near the ocean to enjoy this sport!
3. It's relatively INEXPENSIVE - Once you get past the initial cost of buying equipment, the sport is relatively inexpensive.  It doesn't cost anything to paddle.  You might have to pay parking or launch fee at your local marina, but that's about it.  Aside from clothing and maybe a broken leash, we don't really have consumables.  There's very little on-going cost to the sport of SUP.  The biggest cost is gas to get to your destination.

In order to participate in this sport, you do need to buy some equipment up front.  At a minimum, you will need a board, a paddle, leash, pfd, and probably some way to transport your board to and from the water.

Board:
I think a lot of people are shocked by the cost of a good board.  You can expect to pay about $1500 for a good all-around board.  By all-around board, I mean a fairly large board that is stable and that can be used in flat water or in the surf.  These boards will be surfboard shaped and will typically be 10' - 12' long.  When shopping for a board, you want to consider two very important things:  your weight, and where you will be paddling.  Nothing is more frustrating that trying to learn on a board that is too small for your weight.  You want a board with lots of volume.  Volume is normally measured in liters.  The more you weigh, the more volume you need to keep the board stable.  If at all possible, try to find a local shop where you can demo or rent some quality all-around boards.  If this is not possible, find a good shop online and give them a call.  Tell them about your weight, where you expect to ride the most and they can make some good recommendations.  In summary, look for an all-around board with enough volume for your weight.  This type of board will be great for learning and very versatile.  It will be stable, track reasonably well in flat water, and surf reasonably well too.  All manufacturers make all-around boards.

Paddle:
The most important thing to look for is the proper length.  Because you will be standing, the length of the paddle is determined by your height.  There are many different formulas out there for determining the proper length for your paddle.  Just remember to look for something about 8-10 inches over your head.  When standing on level ground, reach one arm straight up over head.  From this position, you should be able to bend your wrist right over the grip.  This is a good starting point.  Another good formula is your height in inches + the thickness of your board where you stand + 5 inches.  So, if you are 70 inches tall, your board is 6 inches thick and you add 5 inches, your paddle needs to be 81 inches long.  Most paddlers like a slightly longer paddle for flat water touring and a slightly shorter paddle for surfing.  For this reason, I recommend an adjustable paddle.  Although slightly heavier than a fixed length paddle, they are much more versatile.  Look for a smaller blade size and look to get the lightest paddle you can afford.  This paddle will typically be made from carbon fiber or fiberglass or mixture of the two.  A good quality paddle can really make this sport more enjoyable.  I like Werner paddles because they are of the highest quality, light, strong and made here in the U.S.  All they make are great paddles.

PFD:
Everyone needs to have a Personal Flotation Device (PFD) either attached to their board or on their body when using a SUP outside of a surf zone.  This device must be a Type III.  This is a U.S. Coast Guard requirement.  You can get a kayaker style vest or a CO2 inflatable style that you wear around your waist.  Of course, if you are not a competent swimmer, you should always wear your kayaker style vest.  The first pic below is the MTI inflatable (showing it inflated).

Leash:
I think everyone should use a leash, regardless of whether you are surfing or not.  A leash helps keep you attached to your board and provides an additional margin of safety.  If you are unleashed and fall from your board, you will be surprised at just how fast your board can can carried from you on a windy day.  In the surf, a good straight surf leash is mandatory.  Your leash should be as long as your board.  Always use a leash built for SUP.  Our boards are bigger, heavier, and longer than a surfboard so a surfboard leash will not work for us.  Use a coiled leash for flat water and a straight leash for the surf.  The coiled leash (for flat water) is shown in the second picture below.

Car Rack:
This one is easy.  Unless you already have a rack system (like Thule or Yakima), just get a removable pad system.  They are very cheap and very effective.  It's basically just some foam pads over some straps that go on your roof.  You attach the pads to your car and your board to your pads and you're done!  When you get back home, you just take everything off again.  These racks usually have cam buckles so practice using them if you haven't used them before.  Make sure to feed the strap into the bottom of the buckle, and pull it tight.  When putting it around your board, feed in through the bottom, pull tight.  You always want to put a few twists into the straps.  If you don't do this, the strap will flutter in the wind and drive you insane!  On a final note, all of this rack business is a non-issue if you have an inflatable board!  These things roll up into a backpack and can easy be stored in a closet and then thrown into your trunk when it's time to drive to your paddling spot!

That's all for now.  So, get a board and get out on the water.  I'm not exaggerating when I say it will change your life.

Paddling Technique

I'm always on the prowl for new youtube videos on paddling technique.  Olympic sprint kayak veteran and founder of Quickblade paddles does a great job explaining paddle technique here.  This is one of the best videos I've seen on the subject.  There's so much great information packed into this 15 minute clip.  This sport is so new there's really no right or wrong way to paddle a stand up board.  Most of the top guys come from another discipline (kayaking, canoeing, outrigger, etc.) so they apply the same principles to SUP.

Here are few things I took away from the video:

1. Don't over-reach for the catch phase.
2. Don't drive the paddle too deep.
3. During the recovery, your blade is traveling over 3 times faster than the board so feathering the blade is very important.  Feathering the blade means slicing it through the wind.

The most important piece of information is this:  The paddle does not move through water.  The paddle moves the craft.  Check it out...

Technique Tip: Loose Grip

I took the board out into Tomales Bay this afternoon.  Afternoons near the mouth of Tomales Bay can be windy, even in the Fall.  The wind is blowing on-shore and gets funneled down the bay due to the hills on the east side and Inverness Ridge on Pt. Reyes side.  It wasn't terribly windy though so I left from Miller Park and headed northwest into the wind toward Walker Creek.  It was quite rough so I had to pay attention to keep the board perpendicular to the incoming wind chop.  Needless to say, driving my large frame (6'5" 230) into the wind takes a lot of effort so I was really happy to reach my turnaround point and start heading back downwind.  My back and shoulders were starting to get sore now so I just let the board glide on the little bumps.  Going with the wind (following sea) is an incredible amount of fun.  You don't even have to paddle very hard at all to go really fast.  That's exactly what I did.  I just kept my knees bent, shortened my paddle a little and just paddled very gently using a slightly open hand on the grip and just my thumb and first two fingers on my shaft hand.  The burning in my shoulders went away.

During my baseball and softball days, if I gripped the bat too tightly, I could not drive the ball.  If I kept a loose grip (especially with my top hand) and extended my arms, I always got a good pop on the ball.  Tight hands lead to tight forearms, tight shoulders and a stiff neck and back.  I think the same dynamics are at work here.  A grip that is too tight, can rob you of power, shorten your reach, and lead to fatigue and maybe even injury. 

So, keep a loose grip on the paddle to lengthen your stroke and drive the paddle with your torso.  There are so many wonderful things to learn.  Another thing I learned today is "don't give up".  I got a little sideways to the swell when I wasn't paying attention. I felt myself lean wayyyyy to the left, I think the left half of the board was completely submerged, I then started falling back and then back half of the board was sunk!  It was like a pivot turn without the turn.  I fell forward onto my knees, just barely saving it.  I wouldn't have minded the fall mind you, as I was wearing my wetsuit but like Laird says "Don't fall until you FALL".  Good advice.  I just sat there on my knees laughing and looking at the seals popping their heads up front of me.  One looked like he was shaking his head saying "what a newb".

Note:  In the map below, Miller Park parking lot is adjacent to Nicks Cove.


View Larger Map