C-Forum

so i finally got some decent sidesurfing at the playpark today, but got a little nervous as my boat had the tendency to want to move to my offside from a front surf. i've seen plenty of videos of C and OC playboaters spinning on waves, but i'm not quite there yet. is there a way to sidesurf to your off side in a way that's comfortable and safe for your torso and shoulders? on one occasion i found myself bracing slightly against the downstream current on the upstream side of the boat (if that makes sense) but couldn't see myself wanting to do that for very long. any other thoughts? Thanks heaps!

Ditch the paddle. Spin clean.

You are on the right track.

Brace off the incoming green water with your torso rotated upstream, your paddle shaft parallel to the gunwale, and your paddle blade vertical. The idea is to dip the bottom part of the blade without catching an edge on the incoming water.

It takes some getting used to, but it's easier on the shoulders than bracing offside. As you get more comfortable, you'll spend a lot less time bracing.

I'm no great surfer myself, but I think the upstream brace is doable, as long as the water pouring into the hole/wave isn't too steep. As far as being able to get spins, I think momentum is part of it (keep the boat moving, don't let it sit in one spot). If there is enough down-stream current below the wave, use your paddle to pull the bow or stern around. This is in the Option, yes?

Shep

yeah, i'm in an Option. by the end of the session i was thinking i might try to spin on a mellower wave, but i was getting pretty tired. I tried uploading a video last night but it was taking forever. I'll try again today. Thanks for the feedback!

ideally you don't brace unless you are flipping.
like gumpy said.. ditch the paddle.
in a smooth mellow hole= practice just bouncing around in there with paddle out of the water (onside first, then off side when that becomes boring). no bracing. paddle only to move the boat

Use the hips and keep the torso centered (J lean verse "bell bouy" lean)! If that makes sense!

Don't forget to lean back, unweight the bow, if you want to pull the bow around. And true, in the ideal world, you don't use your paddle to brace, but to work the boat around in the wave. So commit into the lean, and work the blade on your offside... .

Balance, balance, balance. On and off side, you should be able to stay upright with minimal or no paddle involvement. The little spin hole at the LY putin is a perfect place to practice this. Just make sure you can either roll or swim back to the eddy if you flip - Entrance is not a fun rapid to swim...

In an old school long boat, a cross brace can help quiet the bouncing and help complete a spin if the boat wants to lock in sideways, though the better you get, the less that's needed. I'm not there yet, for sure, since spending too long sideways on my offside still usually leads to either a power flip upstream or a slow motion fall on the downstream side for me.

I've never side surfed an Option, other than once unintentionally during a brief demo when I caught the eddy behind a small pourover and promptly got sucked up into it when I underestimated just how tightly an 8 foot canoe will turn and just how little hull speed they have . It seemed smooth enough then, though it did take a while to get out of that surf.

A former cboater turned kayak instructor many of us may know is famous for screaming at students (and anyone else that happens by ) that surfing is all in the hips.

I have seen him climb into a canoe that he can't get into the outfitting, leaving him basically sitting on the seatback, and proceed to flatspin, front, back and side surf for long periods without touching the water with a paddle. I've seen him do this in a kayak in some fairly nasty holes where he is spinning his paddle over his head with one hand.

Maybe someday I'll be there but for now at least I know it's possible

I'm not there yet either, I'll blame the lack of good local playspots. But what does make sense to me is this...

Bracing, especially on the upstream side, is only going to end your side surf one way; OK, 1 of 2 ways: you could flip, or you could just sink.

Bracing just buys time and postpones that outcome. So, to get a different outcome, you have to do something other than bracing & waiting, something more dynamic, like going offside to the downstream side and paddling. If you're going to sink or flip anyway, you might as well go down trying trying to control your boat! As mentioned, the paddle is only part of success, balance comes from your knees and hips, and doing something dynamic requires your head & shoulders to be proactive about where you want to go.

That's the theory, but apparently it's no good unless you actually practice.

Good luck, and good question, Pat.

Truckeeboater, although the following video link discusses kayak wave technique, I'm sure that you will agree that it is useful: http://vimeo.com/4287708. Since you are driving one of Jeremy's boats, I didn't think that you would mind.

Marc