Posts Tagged ‘ocean paddling’
Thursday, August 25th, 2011
 Surf Ski Technique Balance Over White Water
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.
Tags: ocean paddling, surf skills
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Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
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 (more…)
Tags: how to surfski, learn surf ski, ocean kayaks, ocean paddling, surf ski, surfski
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Friday, July 30th, 2010
http://surfskisupremacy.com/ If you want to learn how to paddle a surf ski, this excellent eBook will get you flying over the water (more…)
Tags: how to surfski, learn surf ski, ocean kayaks, ocean paddling, surf ski, surfski
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Friday, July 16th, 2010
http://surfskisupremacy.com/ Learn proper surf ski paddling technique with this excellent guide. (more…)
Tags: how to surfski, learn surf ski, ocean kayaks, ocean paddling, surf ski, surfski
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Friday, July 9th, 2010
http://surfskisupremacy.com/ Learn surf ski skills and proper technique with this excellent guide. (more…)
Tags: how to surfski, learn surf ski, ocean kayaks, ocean paddling, surf ski, surfski
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Friday, July 2nd, 2010
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. (more…)
Tags: how to surfski, learn surf ski, ocean kayaks, ocean paddling, surf ski, surfski
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Saturday, June 5th, 2010
 Come Fly With Me 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.
Tags: ocean paddling, surf ski paddling, surf ski paddling form, Surf Ski Technique
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Saturday, May 29th, 2010
 Learn To Surf Ski 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.
Tags: ocean paddling, surf ski choppy waves, surf ski in rough conditions, surf ski windy
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Saturday, May 8th, 2010
Come Fly With Me 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.
Tags: ocean paddling, surf ski skills, surf ski waves
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