Basic skill tips need refreshing each season you begin ski paddling.
You may spend the winter paddling in the river or lakes, ensuring you keep dry and avoid illness. Now that it is warmer though, the surf is where you will be heading.
What key tips do you need to paddle through white water confidently, so you ensure you prevent yourself falling off and not getting past the waves to enjoy a long paddle in the ocean? Top Paddlers use the same method as the one we have detailed in Surf Ski Supremacy – only they have practised it enough it has become second nature to them. These skills await you in the Surf Ski Supremacy eBook.
As you begin your journey at mastering the balance on a ski you may find your thigh muscles become tight. How do you prevent this?
You see experienced Paddlers smoothly glide by and you are sure they do not have the feeling of uncomfortable tight thigh muscles as you do. Their balance is relaxed, yet you feel unsteady in the craft and now the muscles in your thighs are tight and there is a threat they will cramp. This is a common issue with new paddlers in the surf as well as flat water like canals and rivers. After 10 to 15 minutes paddling, you have not fallen in, but survival to prevent this is to paddle slow. Pretty soon your endurance and time you want to stay on the ski runs out as it becomes too uncomfortable sitting in the saddle as your thighs are tense.
The good news is that correcting this problem is a simple adjustment to two elements of your technique.
What is the technique and skill needed to relax these muscles? Its all in the Surf Ski Supremacy eBook. Click through to the home page for more information.
The most effective position for blade is vertical in the water. Surf ski paddlers modify this by going off vertical to compensate for changing environmental conditions and to assist balance.This should be avoided.
The power of the stroke is when the blade is accelerated between the knees and the hips during the trunk twist and heel pressure. Blade entry is between 45 and 50 degrees to the water. The stroke makes a line following the wash of the bow of the craft (Kayak) and inside the wash of a surf ski because it has a longer bow.
Strength is required in the back and abdominals of the athlete. The optimal technique requires the paddler to lean on the blade during the pull phase and arm and elbow are at 90 degrees. At exit the elbow and arm position is at 90 degrees and the shaft raises to parallel to shoulder height.
During exit the blade is turned on its side (90 degrees) to give a quick release from the water with minimal drag.
The advantage of practicing drills on the ergo is that there is no concern for the environment
e.g. turbulent water. The Paddling shaft may be repeatedly used to focus on one step of the stroke e.g. the catch, the pull through or the exit. You may be trying to improve your exit hand out of the water and as there is no concern for balance you may perfect this step of the stroke in one sitting.
Anyone who has trained on such a machine usually realize its specific benefits to ski/kayak paddling. They feel it is a necessity as a conditioning and technique improvement substitute for actual ski paddling. This is because using the ergo is so specific to the real thing and also it is a little harder because the resistance is consistent for each stroke, therefore giving you a stronger pulling stroke when out on you ski.
Being tense and muscling the stroke reduces speed.
Accelerate the blade through the water and shorten the stroke. Tenseness causes you to pull the blade through the water at the same velocity. Speed is gained by accelerating the blade through the water. Lean on the stroke. Think of the Spinning the wheel: When you have a bike upside down and want to spin the wheel, you start by grabbing it and flinging it down. From there, you don’t grab it and muscle it an more. Doing so would stop the wheel and restart it. Inefficient. Rather, you tap it when spinning, minimising impact of the current velocity while increasing speed.
Choppy conditions: You spend most of your time on survival. That is, technique has gone out the window, remaining on the ski and not falling off is your priority. You are struggling to maintain balance and you may find after every three or four strokes you fall off your ski.
Relax. How do you relax? Relax by breathing out. Use deep breaths and let them out with a sigh. Stop paddling with legs over the sides and paddle resting in the water. Relax, let the whole body relax.
Rest on your paddle. A paddle is similar to a tight rope walkers pole. They use the pole for balance not the body. Similarly use the paddle for balance not correct with the body. The body is kept relaxed. Core strength is important.
Now start up again, heel pressure with leg tense on stroke side, other side relaxed. Concentrate on how your body feels. When paddling at all times note the bow of your ski. Keep it flat, no rock. In all conditions good balance is measured by the bow being flat or level at all times.
One of the past-times I really enjoy on my surf ski, is fishing. Particularly during Australia’s winter when the tayler are running.
Here is a picture of 5 good sized tayler I caught on one recent outing. My fishing partner Dale caught 10 that day and we also threw back 3 or 4 each. Is was a stellar outing in the ocean.
Eating fish so fresh is a real treat too. In this case, the 5 fish was too much for my family to eat on the evening, so rather than freeze them and lose that freshness, I gave 2 fish each to my neighbors. The biggest Ikept for my family – there was so much meat on it it really was enough. I was a real popular guy that week!
So how do you fish on a surf ski? I’ve seen a few different methods, we trail a lure behind us. We start with a bike tube. This we sling over our shoulders, which leaves our hands free to paddle. We tie about 10 metres of fishing line to the bike tube, then attach a good sized lure to the other end.
When we start paddling our surf skis, we let the fishing line out and paddle on both sides of the breaking waves. Deep channels on the beach side of the waves and any areas of turbulent water (rips, high currents etc) are all great places to catch fish.
This really is a great part of my surf ski lifestyle. A wonderful and fun way to keep fit while enjoying the outdoors when full on training is on the back burner.
Everyone experiences a disappointment in competition at some stage of the titles. If it is not due to poor execution of a skill from a basic ski jump start by falling off at the gun start; making a mistake during the course around the bouys; to not knowing the rules and not qualifying. While watching the rounds of single and double skis with up to 400 or more different Paddlers every mistake possible is observable. Some more consistent than others for example falling of in the shore break before the finish line. Some still qualify and some who should don’t. Knowing the rules is also as important to help qualify as some paddlers have performed better than the rest only to miss out due to lack of rule knowledge. Their was a waist depth gutter before the finish line. Some sweep to the left of the finish line, looking from the beach. Double skis were in a qualifying position only outside the finish and needed to paddle or walk back up across the line.
The common errors which cost many teams were
they tried to walk against the current
they tried to paddle against the current – a better option although oncoming white waters kept tipping some off their skis.
The best and fastest option when you know the rules is paddle straight to the beach outside the finish. Then pick up your ski and run to the finish line. You do not have to be on the seaward side of the line but you do need to finish over the line from the sea. Simply walk the ski or board over the finish line towards the water then back over again. Takes one step each way.
It was a shame to see so many miss out due to not understanding or knowing this rule. Several years ago I missed a gold medal from not knowing this rule. You reckon that was’t disappointing. It would have given me back to back to back golds in my single ski race. Anyway that is another story.
Another common mistake made this year was double combinations not watching other race finishes because they would have seen it was much faster to get back on their ski after falling of in the shallow shore break and paddle to the finish line compared to walking beside the ski and pushing it across the line. One of the biggest upsets of the carnival was the disqualification of the Northcliffe ski team when their 1st paddler jumped on just before the gun and was pulled out of the final. They were last years winners.
Disappointments may occur due to officials making an incorrect call, your own club stuffing up entries or not being marked off for an event by team managers; you the athlete not checking your craft is race worthy. One double crew had to pull themselves out of the starting line due to a rudder problem.
Most of these above issues were and are controllable. The only non controllable issue is wicked mother nature and what she can put in your way or another craft taking you out of the race. Mother nature is the only preferred obstacle you need to overcome and control all the rest. Mother nature may be beaten and complied with by having a good race plan. Obviously have more events to reduce the odds against you in a big surf.
Broken paddles most commonly occur when verring off sideways in the white water on a ski. When this happenes, the paddle is jammed between the rail of the ski with the blade in the water then the lever action snaps the shaft.
How To Avoid Breaking Your Surf Ski Paddle
Remember to drop or let go of the paddle immediately if this happens. Always brace yourself with the paddle leaning on or into the white water when going sideways along white water. Lean into the wave.
Story: He lost his ski and paddle in the big sea:
‘An unfortunate broken paddle occurred at Kurruwa 2010 in big surf when a masters competitor lost his ski and paddle after being cleaned up by a big wave. The safety Insure Rescue Boat went to pick him up and in their process they ran straight over the paddle, which was hard to see as they were negotiating large white waters to get in a position to pick up the competitor. From the beach we watched the $400 plus paddle float in pieces for a short time before both ends sank.’
For all the information and advice you need about riding your surf ski, purchase your own copy of the Surf Ski Supremacy eBook
Look at the depth of the water and wave size in the shorebreak to prevent broken or damaged rudders.
If the wave is breaking into shallow water you need to be concerned about timing your mounting of the ski and your timing when paddling into an oncoming wave. Being hit in the chest with no momentum in your ski, then back shooting into the sand can damage your rudder and ski.
Slight damage is only a bent rudder. Major damage which you will not see at first as you have straightened your rudder and headed off on your paddling session is damage to the internal shaft. The rudder stem slips through a cylinder from the bottom of the ski to the top where it has a locking nut holding it in place. The cylinder is inside the ski. A severe knock by dropping the ski or back shooting with your body weight in the ski into sand may damage the fixture of the cylinder inside the ski, causing it to fracture at the join.
If this type of damage occurs, the ski will take water which will be a surprsise to you when your session is finished and you pick up your ski.
The angle of craft on descent may cause it to break. Taking a wave at an angle or veering to the left or right on the swell before it has broken, then freefalling on the ski as the wave breaks will more than likely damage your ski if not break it. The weight of your body and wave dumping will create damage. You must roll out of the ski before the drop therefore your body weight is not going to fold the ski.
Keep well clear of other craft in the shore break when on a wave. When your ski is nose-diving or you drop late on a sucking dumping wave, make sure you roll out immediately. The weight of your body can cause the ski to snap. If heading for another craft, when on a wave throw your legs over to stop the momentum.
For more great tips like this, buy the Surf Ski Supremacy eBook from our home page
http://surfskisupremacy.com If you want to learn how to paddle a surf ski in the ocean this excellent eBook will get you punching through the white water flying over the water and catching waves back
Surf Skiing across the Ocean can be an exhilirating experience. It can also be frustrating though, and even scary, particularly when dealing with waves. You really do need to understand the technical side of paddling, before tackling the ocean.
In the Surf Ski Supremacy guide, many of the techniques for riding a surf ski in the ocean are covered. You can get your own copy of this eBook at
I still get coached and attend regular coached surf ski group sessions. Why? Its simple. Coaches who observe their students will pick up many things that the students do not even know they are doing wrong. They also have such a wealth of experience and knowledge in the sport, that good coaches will teach (or re-teach) their students, something new every single session.
These lessons are often simple things. But these simple things often make the biggest difference to your performance in the water, or on race day. One great example is core rotation. Rotating and using your core to paddle, rather than your arms, is where you get the majority of power out of your surf ski. A paddler using his arms too much will always be beaten by a paddler who correctly paddles through his core. This is one aspect of my paddling that I always think I do well, right up to the moment where my coach points out how badly I am doing it, corrects my technique and has me “re-feeling” correct technique.
Just the other day also, I was given a golden nugget of advice. I was paddling along with the group, going along on my merry way but failing to gather much speed. My coach pointed out that I was paddling at the speed my ski was going. How could I expect my ski to go faster, when the paddle was going at the same speed? To increase speed, I needed to accelerate my paddle while it was in the water. Such a simple piece of advice, but something that made a real difference to my craft speed. I never would have made this logical connection myself.
On Saturday morning, I competed in a surf life saving endurance race, paddling my surf ski over a 12km course in the ocean. There was not much swell on the day, but the night before, a good stiff wind had blown up, leaving the ocean angry on race day, frothing, and boiling in extremely choppy conditions. The chop was running in all directions with minimal consistency, varied between 0.5 and 3 metres on the faces and with a 20 knot wind to boot, it made for a very difficult race.
I’ve had it so good recently that I’d forgotten just how challenging these types of conditions are. Often you just go into survival mode, doing nothing other than trying to keep your craft upright. Having fallen off before the first turning buoy myself, I got angry. I searched my memory banks and remembered all the techniques you have to follow to be effective in these conditions. I employed these tips to immediate effect.
At the end of the day and in retrospect, it was really great having the hit-out in such difficult conditions. Once you get past the survival point, choppy water is just so good for your surf ski strength conditioning. I woke up on Sunday really sore, with a deep and satisfying muscle soreness that I hadn’t experienced for a long time.
Having returned, I reviewed Surf Ski Supremacy and added a new chapter. The new chapter covers these types of extreme ocean conditions and the 5 things you can do to move from survival mode and into competitor mode.
http://surfskisupremacy.com/ If you want to learn how to paddle a surf ski, this excellent eBook will get you flying over the water
If you are thinking about taking up the rewarding sport of surf ski paddling, you must get a copy of the excellent electronic book, Surf Ski Supremacy. It covers all the important bits on balance, paddling technique and skill that you really need to know to operate these craft effectively. The books catch line is "come fly with me" which is appropriate. Get the techniques right and you’ll fly over the water. Don’t master technique though at your own peril. You will be choking on water and sand!
Last weekend I paddled in a 12 km ocean race at Byron Bay in Australia. It was a lot of fun – it was my first distance paddling race.
I was actually coming off 3 weeks of illness, so I was not very competitive, but I enjoyed participating and love collecting the t-shirts you get in these races.
One thing I thought was interesting though was the observations of my wife, who was watching from the beach with our 2 year old daughter. She made 2 observations:
At the start of the race, my technique was terrible – I looked like I was bobbing up and down like crazy
At the end of the race, so many competitors had terrible technique, they were such different paddlers to what they were at the start of the race.
I can remember the start, I tried to stay out of everyone’s way at the back of the pack, thinking I’d pick up people as I go. It is not a great strategy. All the people in front of you really churn up the water, making it super bumpy. I am sure this is what gave the “bumpy” view that my wife saw. When paddling through these bumps, you really need to rate up your stroke.
At the end of the race, people are getting fatigued and as they do, they lose correct technique, paddle inefficiently and subsequently fatigue faster. It is a great argument for the long sessions in flat water, honing technique while improving fitness. He who paddles efficiently over the course of the whole race has such an advantage over he who loses efficiency as he gets tired.
My final observation is that surf ski races are so different to running races. If you participate in a half marathon or similar distance race, you always get the non-runners participating, the punters having a go. You don’t get this in surf ski races due to the costs involved in buying equipment and the dedication involved in learning simple balance. In surf ski races, everyone competing is a paddler. So don’t be embarrassed if you find yourself down the back at the end, just work harder for the next race.
http://surfskisupremacy.com/ Learn proper surf ski paddling technique with this excellent guide.Surf ski technique
is difficult to master. Not only do you need to know what the rules and guidelines are to ensure an efficient and powerful stroke, you also have to optain a perspective of your own current paddling style, understand its errors and the drills you need to do to improve it.
The Surf Ski Supremacy ebook covers all this and more. It definitely is the ultimate guide to those wanting to perfect this art.
http://surfskisupremacy.com/ Learn surf ski skills and proper technique with this excellent guide.
Surf skiing is an amazing sport. From the incredible feeling of speed and flight across the ocean, to the power of riding large waves, it has something for everyone. There is a big difference though between surf skiing and surf skiing well. Paddling a surf ski is one of those technical sports, a sport where what is actually happening is dramatically different to what it looks like.
For this reason, so many people get the skills and techniques of paddling a surf ski wrong. They paddle inefficiently, don’t balance correctly or sit right. There are so many technical aspects that having a technique guide is crucial to mastering your
The surf lifesaving sport called Ironman first got its start in Australia, 1964, when it was developed by Valentine Trainor. Ironman involves the 4 key disciplines in surf lifesaving (swimming, ski, running and paddling) all in a single gruelling race. This sport should not be compared to the widely popular Ironman endurance triathlon.
The most recognized winner of the Ironman event was a lad by the name of Grant Kenny, who made history at the tender age of 16 by winning both the the Australian Open Ironman and Australian Junior championships in 1980. What made him more incredible is that he won both of them in less than an hour. This made Grant a national hero in Australia, his face appearing in on cereal boxes and in television commercials. He was seen as the apex of all the Australian sportsmen. Until now, the Ironman event still remains as one of the most watched event in all surf carnivals.
In the 1980’s, due the popularity of the Ironman event, a movie was made in Australia called “The Coolangatta Gold”. The movie portrays an Ironman event that obligated the competing athletes to complete a tortuous 46 kilometre course that was set along Queensland’s Gold Coast. The movie in turn inspired a real Ironman circuit which totalled to a course that spans almost 46 kilometres.
The course that was plotted included skiing 23 kilometres, 15 kilometres of running, swimming for 3 and a half kilometres, and paddle boarding 5 kilometres. And the hard part of it is that the running event is divided into three legs, making the whole race seem longer and much more difficult.
In 1989, the sport was made more accessible to the public when an elite group of Ironman competitors created the whole event for showing in television. The event was referred to as the Uncle Toby’s Super Series (Uncle Toby’s is a popular cereal brand in Australia and was the major sponsor of the event). And now all the major events are being televised and shared all over the globe, contributing to the ever growing popularity of the sporting event.
Injuries are not uncommon during these events, but there are rarely any fatalities. But still, the popularity of the Ironman event does not diminish. It’s an accepted fact that injuries and the occasional casualty will happen sooner or later. But the thrill people get while watching these competitors give it their all to just even finish the course is astounding.
Dispute raged between Bronte Surf Life Saving club and Bondi Voluntary Surf Life Saving as to which club surfaced first. Historians have subsequently agreed that Bronte was the first and Bondi was the first official club. Voluntary Surf Life Saving began because of various reports of drownings around the world during 1906.
Volunteers offer their time to these clubs so that bathers could swim safely in the sea. Procedures are taken and followed to ensure safety and rescuing of bathers. This includes resuscitation if needed. A patrol captain is in charge of the divers and oversees the operation of the club.
Volunteers must complete and pass an annual life saving exam. They must also have a Surf Rescue Certificate or bronze medallion for life saving. These volunteers operate in groups and are busy on weekends, holidays and public holidays on public beaches around the world.
When on duty, volunteers wear yellow and red colored caps. When not busy with rescue work their attire will be long sleeve yellow shirts and shorts that are red. The long sleeves are for the purpose of sun protection. Rescue work requires clothing that enables them to the job of rescuing people. RWC (Rescue Water Craft) divers are clothed in wet suits. Officers on jet rescue boats and offshore rescue boats wear tabards that are highly visible. This is in order to be seen by other colleagues they collaborate with at rescue missions of a serious nature. Lifesaver helicopter crew will don aviation clothing and equipment.
The clubs also have another cap with different colors. This cap is for when clubs partake in the often held inter club competitions. These competitions keep the lifeguards in tip top shape for what they do best – saving lives.
While the competitions add stimulation to an already exciting and challenging pastime. Voluntary Surf Life Saving is a satisfying and fulfilling activity.
http://surfskisupremacy.com/ It can be difficult for a novice surf ski paddler to find consolidated and robust information about this great sport. Finally there is a downloadable guide available.
It is very difficult to find any meaningful information about surf skiing for beginners. Most knowledge is hoarded in the minds and hearts of champion paddlers and coaches.
Finally, here is a resource available for people who want to learn. This excellent eBook covers everything a beginner – intermediate surf ski entusiast needs to know, to become a powerful, efficient paddler.
Not limited to topics like balance, correct surf ski technique and paddling training, it also offers many trouble shooting tips, tips which help resolve the issues learning paddlers face.
It is one of those "Must" resources all budding surf ski paddlers should get a copy of. Visit www.SurfSkiSupremacy.com today to get your copy.
Voluntary surf life saving first began in Australia in the early twentieth century. This type of service was rendered to people that were interested in engaging in water sports, but wanted to assure that if something adverse did occur on the water that they would be protected and watched after. Even though this service first began in Australia, a lot of countries have adapted this principal around water as well.
Typically, individuals will provide lifesaving services on different beaches and pool areas throughout the week. The government will typically employ lifeguards to assist with tasks around open waters, and the lifeguards will generally offer additional opportunities to individuals on a voluntary basis.
Every lifesaver is required to learn how to swim properly, apply first aid and how to rescue people from the waters in order to avoid drowning or death. Even though this occupation does not seem strenuous, it can be rather tedious.
Training is provided to anyone that wishes to assist with lifesaving duties. There are specific clubs that individuals need to visit in order to obtain the proper training that is required for this strenuous occupation.
The training will teach lifesavers how to properly address basic things that could arise during their patrol period. For instance, the training will teach these individuals how to react to wave patterns in the water, how to apply first aid to an individual as well as how to properly rescue someone that is drowning.
Voluntary surf life saving is an intense service to get involved in. Who knows, if you are good at providing voluntary services, you may be offered a full time position as a life guard at a later date.
Australia was the country where Voluntary Surf Life Saving was born in the year 1906. Subsequently, it has spread to other parts of the world such as Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and America.
While originally started to save lives, surf lifesaving has now become a competitive. Beaches throughout the world have lifesavers offering bathers protection on holidays, public holidays and weekends. These volunteers constantly patrol the beaches.
Members of the public appreciate what these volunteers do in order to keep them safe. Not only are they on beaches, they also service bathers at swimming pools and lakes. Some lifesavers are professionals who are paid by local government to provide these vital services on a full time basis. Besides rescue work, they are on hand to offer first aid and related advice.
A patrol captain is responsible for managing the people who volunteer their time in order to keep the beaches safe. A roster will be drawn up for the lifeguards who give their time free to keep bathers safe in any swimming environment.
Training to become a volunteer lifeguard is extensive and one cannot be a lifeguard without training and certification. The various life saving clubs offer training and certificates. The Bronze Medallion is mandatory and is also known as a Certificate II in public safety and aquatic rescue. This extensive course covers all aspects of life guarding work and includes: Patrolling in a power craft, occupational health and safety, different terrains of beaches, wave patterns, currents, resuscitation, first aid, communication, radio communication, different rescue methods and other aspects of rescue work. Once the volunteer has completed and passed the course, they are able to become a lifeguard.
A variety of equipment is used to assist with the patrolling of beaches and in life saving missions. To accommodate hazards that are part of difficult environments, many types of equipment are available to the lifesavers. The equipment includes rescue boards, oxygen equipment, wave runners (jet skis) and all terrain vehicles.
There is an ongoing need for people who are looking at performing the selfless act of becoming involved in Voluntary Surf Life Saving.
Today I was out paddling with my coach, we paddled for just under an hour and then followed up with some technique work on the ergo machine.
One of the things that my coach has been talking about recently is to not put on the brakes by paddling too hard. He says that paddling should be similar to spinning a bike wheel. (while the bike is upside down) To start, you grab it and give it a good hard spin. When it has momentum though, all you need to do is help it along with lighter surface taps. If you keep grabbing it to spin it, each time you grab it, you stop the momentum so you have to use additional energy to start it again.
My coach pointed out that this is how I paddle. I am paddling so hard that each stroke grabs the water, slowing my surf ski down, then starts to push through again.
Following my hour paddle in the ocean this morning, we went into the gym to work on this a bit. We have a surf ski ergo machine there. When my coach started paddling, he was paddling at a rate of about 105 strokes per minute and was producing about 135 watts. When it was my turn, I struggled to get my rating above 80 strokes per minute, yet I was producing about 170 watts.
I could only increase my rating to 100 strokes per minute, by really focusing on reducing the watts I was producing. And guess what I had to do to achieve that… If you guessed stop using my arms – you would have been spot on. My current stroke is still too much arms. I really dig in and try and bully my way through the water. In doing so, every catch puts the brakes on a little, meaning every stroke is a little less efficient. By concentrating instead on core trunk rotation, a more efficient stroke ensued. I could much more easily maintain the higher stroke rating without tiring and there was much less “brake” at the catch part of the stroke.
So bringing this experience back out into the water, one thing you can do to judge whether you are using too much arm power and not enough core power, is look at your rating. Can you increase it and maintain a rating over 100 strokes per minute? If not – try lightening your stroke power and increasing your trunk rotation.
Today I went for an hour training session in the ocean, in pretty crazy and wild conditions. The waves were not massive, only peaking at 2′ – 3′, however they were very choppy, the water was moving in all directions with a sweep to the south east, and half way through the training session, the wind picked up big time.
I had two hairy moments in the water today. Firstly, when I was about 2kms out to sea, I fell off due to nothing more than a lack of concentration. I was checking up on the other paddlers, was not paying attention and next thing I knew, I was in the drink. Holding onto my ski and paddle, I was downwind from my craft. The wind was blowing strong over the ski and then me. I found in this position that the ski kept drifting over me, pushing my torso back and trapping my legs under the ski. This made it very difficult to remount. Eventually after 6 attempts I managed the straddle remount – it certainly was not elegant, but it got me back up. This experience shook me a bit so I took a moment to compose myself before continuing.
The second hairy experience was much closer to shore where again, a lapse in concentration resulted in me tipping off my ski as a wave hit me from an unexpected angle. This time though I ended upwind from my ski. This situation probably is a bit scarier in retrospect as the wind started taking my ski away from me, rolling it across the top of the water. It is quite difficult swimming with a paddle, so in the end I had to throw my paddle at the ski and swim after it. It was the only way I could catch up to the surf ski. Further out to sea with a slightly stronger wind, this situation can be very scary.
The two lessons I learned from these experiences are:
When doing any ocean sport, there will always be the element of the unknown, times when the unexpected happens. This is why it is an extreme sport. You must always keep yourself fit enough that you can swim back to shore if you lose your equipment. Today in both experiences I could persevere in my efforts to retrieve and remount my ski as I knew no matter what happened, I could swim back to land.
In windy conditions, it is worth considering investing in a leash for your ski. Ensuring the ski is attached to your body will ensure you will not lose it out at sea, forcing a swim to safety. If this is a decision you make though, give careful thought to paddling back in through the breakers. Personally in a wipe-out situation, I would not want to be attached to my craft.
Surf ski training shouldn’t be taken lightly, and should be planned well to be able to get a paddler ready for an upcoming event. So if you’re out to plan your own surf ski training regime, here’s the breakdown of useful activities to include in your schedule.
Rest and recovery. Rest is every bit as important as training. It won’t do to be injured or too exhausted to compete because of an improperly planned training regime that didn’t include time for rest.
Training. Training can further be broken down into paddling training and body training. The former deals with techniques, styles, and skills that can be developed, honed, and sharpened in the water with training sessions. Like downwind paddling, stroke factors like breathing, full shoulder turns, and full arm extensions. The latter deals with training the athlete’s body. Running, swimming, or visiting the gym usually accounts for most of body training. Aerobic leg exercises are good preparations for any sort of distance event, surf ski races notwithstanding. Besides, it not only builds up leg muscle groups, but improves overall athletic strength and stamina.
Practice. Practice differs from training in that how you practice is how you will play or perform in the actual event. That said, though training sessions are more intense and area specific, practice sessions should take longer. The gist is to train smart and hard, but not too often, and to practice for comparatively long hours but not as intense or hard. The key to practice sessions is duplicating the conditions and the entire environment of the upcoming event or race.
A hard week of training can then be somewhat like: day 1 accounts for body training or simply rest if previous physically tasking training or practice was done; day 2 can be paddling training on flat water. Day 3 is completely for rest and recovery; day 4 is for paddling training with concern over specific areas; day 5 is the same as day 4, though things can be done faster or at a higher level; and days 6 and 7 are reserved for practice. One to one and a half hours of training would do (so you can easily fit them in your everyday schedule, too), while two and a half to three hours should be set for practice. So naturally, days 6 and 7 would be the days when you don’t have work. And of course, continuous weeks of hard training would have the opposite effect, so alternate easy weeks with hard ones.
How can you break down training, practice, and rest into a surf ski training week schedule that allows conveniently wraps around your lifestyle, but can also effectively get you ready for an upcoming race? Let’s analyze what you need to do: training can be further broken down into paddling training and body training, done in more intensity than practice sessions, practice is simply practice, but those sessions need to be longer than the training sessions, and of course, rest and recovery. If you want to use a complete seven day week, here’s how you can make them all come together.
Alternate a hard week and an easy week for six weeks before the competition. The hard week’s details are as follows:
Day 1: You can simply rest if you’ve just been in serious training or practice the day before. Normally you should train: do some running, visit the gym, or swim. If you really want to paddle, do no more than 30 minutes to an hour of stroke correction.
Day 2: Some flat water training. About one to one and a half hours of flat water paddling to get your body gradually into the mood. Don’t try paddling in big wind to avoid damaging your wrists for the rest of the week’s long paddles.
Day 3: This is a required rest and recovery day for the coming four days. This week is scheduled to include a four day cycle of training and practice to help accustom your body to similar conditions during a race.
Day 4: More flat water training. Again, one to one and half hours of flat water paddling, though you can paddle downwind this time. Try breaking down your session into two minute 500 meter sprints interspersed with eight minute slow cruises to rest your body without getting slack. During each sprint, focus on different aspects of your stroke like full shoulder turns, breathing, full arm extensions, and so on.
Day 5: More of the same, only faster. Do much of the same thing as you did the previous day, only a level higher and faster. And focus on your weak spots during each sprint.
Day 6 and 7: Practice sessions. Do two and a half hours of practice during both days. Try to imitate the environment and overall conditions you’ll be under in the race, then practice. The next day, practice downwind.
Day 6 and 7 are normally the weekends, but it should be the two days you don’t have any work to do, as they entail more time than the training schedules.
If you’re going to enter in a competition and you’re in dire need of real hard surf ski training, here’s a schedule you can try out and pattern to your own:
Monday, the off day. You can relax and rest up for the coming days, or if you really must do something, you can go running, swimming, or train in the gym on this day. If you can’t help paddling feel free to do a 30 minute stroke correction session.
Tuesday, flat water training—no big wind. One to one and a half hours of paddling in flat water will do for this day. Try using a K1 canoe and never in big wind, as you risk damaging your wrists and thus significantly lowering your capacity for the long paddles.
Wednesday, the recovery and rest day. Rest and recovery from the previous training session is required for the coming four day cycle.
Thursday, flat water training—downwind included. Just like on Tuesday, paddle in flat water for one to one and a half hours. This time you can breakdown your training hours into 500 meter two minute sprints with eight minute slow, relaxed cruises in between. During each sprint, you can focus on different areas of your stroke, like breathing in sprint 1, full shoulder turns on sprint 2, and so on. You can even train with some buddies regardless of differing skill levels. Simply regroup after everyone finishes the two minute sprints and cruise together for the eight minute slow paddles.
Friday, same as Thursday session, just faster. Try to go a notch or two above your Thursday performance while working on specific areas of your stroke that you consider your weaknesses.
The weekends, long downwind practice sessions. You can choose to do a three hour session on Saturday and a two hour session downwind on Sunday or vice versa. The idea is to replicate race conditions as much as you can and then do the same thing on the next day downwind.
This schedule is designed specifically for four day cycles to accustom your body to what it will be undergoing in an actual race. Do not try to wrap the rest of your life, schedules, and commitments to your surf ski training, it should be the other way around. This hell week training would work best if you alternate one hard week with a relatively easy one for about six weeks.
Preparing for a race and don’t know the best way to get ready? Need good training and practice sessions but can’t find the time? Do you even recognize that practice and training are two different things? It doesn’t matter if you’re an intermediate paddler or just a beginner, if you surf ski for leisure or serious competition or sport, you have to train and practice. Here are some pointers to keep in mind during surf ski training.
The difference between training and practice. Do they seem the same to you? If they were, they won’t be called any different from the other. Think about other sports. Basketball players can train in gyms, but they can’t practice their sport there. They build up their bodies, stamina, and strength in training, but what they do in practice is what they’ll be doing in the hard court. It’s the same with surf ski training. You can train in gyms, or simply run for aerobic leg exercises that give you stamina, and build up muscle groups in your legs. You can train different aspects of your paddling, like breathing, full shoulder turn, and full arm extension in flat water. But when you practice, you duplicate the environment or the conditions you will be under during the competition you’ll be joining in. What you do in practice is what you’ll do in the actual event. How you will play is how you practiced.
How much training and how much practice. Practice is preferably done during weekends—or whenever it is you don’t have work for the day. You’ll need more hours in practice than in training, though training should be more intense. Training schedules can stretch for one to one and a half hours during a regular day, but as mentioned before, should be intense enough to build up your paddling capacity and acumen. That being the case, training sessions should not be done too often, and never when you’re tired to begin with.
A good surf ski prep week. So keeping all these in mind, if you plan a seven day surf ski preparation regime, you should distribute the days to three things: training, practice, and rest. You can allocate three days to training separated by two rest days, and the remaining days (presumably the days when you don’t have any work to do) should be spent on practicing. Training sessions should be done both on water and on land for paddling specific training (like technique and skills) and body training (for stamina, strength, resilience).
Whether you’re surf skiing for fun or for serious sport—like competition level sport—you still need to do some training to get anywhere. Surf skis aren’t the easiest things in the world to handle, so some surf ski training regimes would do you some good. Here’s a typical surf ski training week you can pattern your own schedule to:
Monday: Rest. Yes, Rest. Especially if you’ve raced on the weekends or have had similarly physically tasking practice sessions.
Tuesday: One to one and a half hours of paddling. Use skis on flat water. Here’s how you can break down your one and a half hours: 20 minute warm ups first, then two minute sprints of 500 meters separated by slow cruises of eight minutes in between. The sprints you can do from a standing start. You can even do this with a group of individuals with different skill levels. Simply regroup after the two minute sprints and slow cruise together for the entire eight minutes. During the sprint, don’t try to concentrate on all or many aspects of the stroke at the same time. Try focusing on individual aspects in different sprints, like full arm extensions on sprint 1, then breathing in sprint 2, and so on.
Wednesday: Aerobic leg exercises. You can run, visit the gym, it’s your choice. Doing aerobic leg exercises builds respiratory capacity and resilience, and it shapes up leg muscle groups. It’s also a good preparation for any sort of distance event.
Thursday: You can choose to do the sprint sessions, or visit clubs for high intensity exercises that help overall paddling performance.
Friday: More rest. This is the ‘in-between’ rest period for the week. If you missed some sessions or exercises, you can do those.
Saturday: Practice. Duplicate the conditions you’ll be under in the race you’ll be entering, and do long distance, slow trips in those conditions for two and a half hours. If you’re not entering in any event, try to do the two and a half hour exercise in conditions similar to the environment where you surf ski. This is to familiarize yourself to the conditions and environment where you’ll be racing or skiing. If you continually practice for long hours in a completely different environment, you won’t be able to apply much of what you practiced on the actual surf skiing area you’ll be going to. It’s true that in the future you will need to be flexible enough to deal with any environment, but take things one step at a time. Like in the sprint sessions: one aspect of the stroke at a time.
Sunday: Repeat the Saturday session. It is important to actually make the full two and a half hours just like the day before—remember, practice makes perfect. It isn’t a cliché for nothing.
Among the surf ski skills and techniques perhaps one of the most often neglected is the remount. That’s somewhat queer, because common sense dictates that remounting should be one of the first surf ski skills learned and mastered before moving on to others. But one would find that most intermediate paddlers only know the rudiments of remounting, and just one type of remount. If you’re just beginning to surf ski, now is the best time to learn all about remounts.
The straddle and sidesaddle remounts should be most useful for beginners. The straddle remount is generally faster but when it can’t be used, the sidesaddle remount would work best. There are also ski types that work well with one or the other. The straddle remount entails that you’re upwind of your ski and that you can point it into the wind. Grab the foot straps and paddle with one hand and the far rail end of the cockpit with your other hand, and pull yourself up from the water. Lie face down diagonally on your ski and then swing your legs over and across the ski while swiveling your butt onto the seat. This may take some practice and you will find that you’re most vulnerable while performing this maneuver. Grabbing the paddle with both hands stabilizes your position and then you can swing your legs into the cockpit. You can pull your legs in while balancing the whole ski using the paddle. A paddler well versed in the straddle remount needs only a few seconds to perform it.
In extreme wind and wave conditions that prevent you from pointing the ski’s nose into the wind, you can let it drift sideways and remount using the sidesaddle method. Again, you must be upwind of your ski. Boost yourself up using the same grips as the straddle method, but instead of lying face down, immediately swing your butt onto the side of your ski, sitting on it. With your legs hanging down into the water you’re in a pretty stable position. The hard part is getting into the center of the seat from that position. But a deft slide of your butt and swing of your legs can get you into position quickly, and then you’re on your way.
Like other surf ski skills, remounting needs effort and practice. Practice remounting in warm waters and try it wearing the complete gear you’ll expect to wear during extreme conditions, so you can get accustomed to remounting with all of the gear on you.
Some surf ski skills that can keep you from embarrassing, losing (not to mention life threatening) situations include knowing what to do when things go wrong. You can be in the Impact Zone, or just catching a wave when you get thrown off your ski. Nevertheless, you should know what to do automatically.
When the wave gets the best of you and you wipe out, remember to immediately turn the ski into the waves or back to shore, never turn it sideways. If you can’t get the ski to face the waves, be sure to position yourself between the waves and the ski. Doing so would ensure that when you wash ashore, you get washed onto the ski and the ski doesn’t wash over you. Having a ski washed over you can potentially hurt more than your pride. But even before you let the waves beach you, try hard to get back on the ski quickly. If there isn’t any time or opportunity to do so, just hang on tight. Grab the foot straps and wait for your chance to get back on. If you’re heading for the shore fast and your ski is in between you and the wave, try ducking underneath the ski and coming up on the opposite side. While doing this, obviously you don’t let go of the ski.
If the wind and the waves insist on pushing your ski sideways, do a sidesaddle remount, otherwise, normally a straddle remount works faster. Here’s where all the remount practice kicks in. Regardless of whether you’re new to surf skis or not, you have to know your remounts. Upon remounting, remember to focus and get it right the first time if possible, because doing it a few times over can cost you a lot of energy. Sufficient practice would prevent any injuries brought about by a combination of cold, harsh waters, adrenaline, and rushing upon remounting, so practice, practice, practice. In fact much of what you do by instinct when things go wrong can be trace to how much and what you practice. So your training regimen should have ample time for practice.
Upper body strength, especially arm strength, helps a lot during remounts, so work your arms during body training. Building up your stamina can also help you outlast a menacing set of waves in the Impact Zone, not to mention it improves your cardiovascular and respiratory capabilities.
Having all the required surf ski skills needed to paddle out and return safely is good, but if you don’t have the proper attitude and mindset, you’ll still flounder. The skills you can hone during training and perfect with practice, but the traits you can’t get just anywhere. Be sure you have the traits and facets that should go with your surf ski skills before paddling out:
Assertiveness. The waves and the wind can break a meek spirit. Be aggressive about the whole deal. In fact, surf skiing can help get rid of some frustration or anger.
Direction. Know your directions. Keep facing the ski into the waves, not side on.
Commitment and speed. Do not hesitate. The wind will knock you down and the water will engulf you. Decide, then execute. Go all out, and don’t dawdle.
Awareness. Look around before paddling out. You do need to be committed and speedy in making decisions and pulling off maneuvers, but don’t be too quick to rush into a hopeless situation. Being in a rip or next to a pier doesn’t excuse you from waves.
Always move forward. Paddle into the wave, even if it’s just foam. You need to be going forward, otherwise you won’t get through.
Now the next challenge is the Impact Zone. This is the area where the waves break and have a lot of power. The Impact Zone can present more than just a rough ride, so you should know how to get through:
Simply paddle through smaller foam wash to the point just before backline.
Assess the situation. Check for sets of waves and what the current holds for you. IF there is a set, wait it out, if it’s relatively open, go.
Legs out when in doubt. Put your legs out to stay in control in the foam. From this stable position you can further assess the situation.
When you’re good to go, go flat out. The impact Zone is usually about 30 – 40 strokes long, but though it’s a relatively short distance, it can be physically taxing, so if you’re going to go, go hard. After 50 strokes you should be in the clear.
And once you do decide to tackle the wave, don’t stop paddling. While you only have to cover a short distance, you can’t simply stop. You’ll be wiped out if you stop in the middle of the Impact Zone.
Regardless if you are just new to surf skis or if you have been paddling for some time, you need to be familiar with and be skilled at remounting. Especially if you’re a beginner and you find yourself spending more time falling over than actually paddling out, you’ll find that mastering surf ski skills like remounting can really make your life easier. Some intermediate paddlers even lack some basic remounting skills that they make up for late in their paddling game. So it’s best to know about remounting now—here’s the sidesaddle remount for you to look over.
The generally faster straddle remounting method may not work in extreme situations where the wind blows the ski sideways; making it virtually impossible for you to hold it’s nose towards the wind and waves. In such situations, the sidesaddle remount works best.
First, don’t fight the ski and let it drift sideways at right angles to the winds. Grab the foot strap and paddle with one hand and grip the far rail of the cockpit with your other hand. Pull yourself up from the water (as you can imagine, this may take a lot of upper body—especially arm—strength, so train your upper body rigorously). As you get up on the ski, immediately swivel your butt onto the cockpit and seat, so that your feet are hanging over the side. In that position, with the ski moving sideways to the wind and your feet dragging below the water, you’re completely stable. You can even just sit there and rest up if you like. Anyways, after that position you need to bring your feet in. During this maneuver you can easily fall off again, because you’ll practically be sliding your butt to the center of the seat from one side of the ski, so be careful, but don’t dawdle and be quick. Once both your feet are in, you can go ahead and start paddling again.
While practicing remounting may not be as cool as the actual paddling, it’s essential. Practice in warm waters first—preferably with the complete gear you’ll be wearing in extreme conditions to accustom your body to it—and don’t stop until you’re confident you can do it almost automatically. Failing to remount a few times can cost you a lot of stamina and sap your strength, so if need be, rest up and catch your breath after every stable position.
New to surf skis? If you are, understandably, you’ll be falling over more than you’ll be paddling. If that’s the case—and in fact, even if it isn’t and you’re already an intermediate paddler—you need to practice and master one of the basic surf ski skills: remounting.
Remounting a ski may seem pretty easy, but it’s a challenge. A single failed attempt to remount a ski can cost you a lot of energy. So fail three or four times, and you might find you don’t have any strength left to remount; thus your surf ski day ends prematurely. You can even injure some muscles or tendons given the proper factors like cold water and adrenaline. So be familiar with these surf ski skills and make sure to practice them as much as you do paddling until you become quite adept at them. Here’s the straddle remount:
The straddle remount is, in general, faster than other remounts like the sidesaddle. It’s easier to perform on some skis too, though this is true for the sidesaddle as well. Anyways, to do it, turn the ski (be sure you’re upwind of the ski first) so that it points to the waves and the wind. With one hand, grip the paddle and foot strap, and with the other, grip the far rail. Pull yourself out of the water and onto the ski; you should be lying face down in a somewhat diagonal fashion on your ski afterwards. Swing your legs over and across your ski while pushing your body up. Swivel your behind into the cockpit as you do this. You can easily fall right off again at this point, so be careful. Grab the paddle with both hands to stabilize your position. This stability gives you ample time to swing your legs into the cockpit. While controlling your overall balance with the paddle, pull both your legs in, and you’ve remounted. With enough practice (as well as upper body strength), this remount would take only a few seconds.
It helps to stop and pause after every stable position to catch your breath and not fall off. Falling off and having to try again is really physically taxing. Keep in mind that things are easier upwind, as if you are downwind your legs are dragging beneath the ski. If you find yourself downwind, duck beneath your ski and come up on the other side, without letting go of the ski.
