Surf Smarter: Develop Efficient Paddling Skills
Surf Smarter: Develop Efficient Paddling Skills
Surf Smarter: Develop Efficient Paddling Skills. Let’s face it, the whole point of surfing is catching the wave. Don’t waste energy and tire yourself needlessly by working too hard on paddling out. Here are some key points from a SurfScience article. Check out the full article for details.
Paddling Out Efficiently
Paddling out into the surf is one of the best feelings. However, don’t waste your strength on the paddle out, save it for the parts that count like catching the wave.
Paddling out is a necessary evil. If you do it smart, you can save up to 50% of your energy. Here are three tips to paddling efficiently:
1. Look for Channels: This tip alone can save you tons of energy and frustration. As waves go to shore they bring water in with them. That water needs to go back out to sea somewhere. Water always finds the path of least resistance. There are certain spots where the water is literally channeled back out to sea. These spots are usually deeper so the waves aren’t breaking in them. There is less resistance coming at you so it’s a good place to paddle out.
2. Don’t Extend Your Paddle Back: When the wave dies, get off of it. You want to spend all of your time surfing. Once it peters out, duck over the top and get back into position for the next wave.
3. Time the Sets: Every wave that you have to duck dive/turtle/push through will set you back a few feet. That is just what happens. If you can time the sets, you can catch the last wave of the first set and get out just under the first waves of the next set.
4. Paddle With Purpose: If you don’t paddle hard when its time to get out, you will greatly increase the amount you have to paddle. The slower you paddle, the more waves you will encounter. The more waves you encounter, the more you will get pushed back and the more paddling you will have to do.