Surfing
Surfing
Paddling and positioning: Learning the basics of riding a wave
Everyone does it, not many people talk about it. Everything you need to know about paddling, right here...
Sun’s up people. A golden shimmer on the mythic waterline. The sets are flying in, and we’re standing at the shoreline about to dive in deep.
This week on Surfing With Wings, we’re tackling some of the basic how-to’s of the actual wave riding itself – something often presumed, and not usually talked too much about – from the ins and outs of paddling out and standing up, to all the things you should probably be thinking about as you ride that bad boy back to shore.
As ever, we’re hitting up the sage advice of Mornington Peninsula surf maestro Craig Regan, with his buck ‘o five on how to get out there and how to ride like a hero.
Mick Fanning on the paddle-out
© Trevor Moran/Red Bull Content Pool
Art of the paddle vs. hunting for rips
Love it or hate it, all sessions begin the same way: paddling. As Regan attests – just like everything in surfing – there’s a knack to it.
“Paddling out is probably rarely mentioned I reckon. I don’t know that much has been written about it. But for me, paddling out – the right way – is really important thing to teach new surfers.”
Surely it’s a simple deal right? A matter of searching out to where the wave’s breaking and … paddling there. Sure, but it’s not always quite as simple as that.
“I’ve seen guys who’ve surfed quite a lot, but they’ll paddle out to the right spot and get absolutely munched,” says Regan. “Y’know, you get these huge – especially around Noosa and other point breaks like it – you get these big sweeps of water, which no human being can paddle against, and this sweep of water will just thwart any attempt, waste any attempt by your body to paddle through it.”
So while you might, at your peril, insist on brute paddling strength alone in these instances, rather than getting munched, here’s where rips can actually be a wise move.
“Surfers look for the rip to get out – other people jump in and they drown. I’ve been teaching my son – ‘see that water there, see how it’s a bit different: different colour, see how there’s no waves breaking, see how it looks like it’s choppy? … if you paddle out there, watch where it goes, you’ll drift up into the break, and you’ll be ready to go’.”
For the uninitiated, rips, aka rip tides, are strong currents formed when water piles up near the shore after a series of waves. To find equilibrium, this water flushes back out seaward, and can move at a pretty hectic rate if you’re not prepared to be in one.
As Surf Live Saving Australia demonstrates in this neat vid, rips tough to see if you’re not used to pointing them out, and they can be highly changeable. What to look for? As Regan mentioned, deeper, darker water is a sign that they’re there, or a spot where you find fewer breaking waves, perhaps a rippled surface surrounded by smooth waters.
“Rips and currents are actually good for surfers,” says Regan. “But learning how to jump off rocks and getting out there is important too.”
Ultimately, each break will determine the route, and whether you’re getting yourself out there either by muscle power or the riptide freeway, Regan’s pretty clear on the broader goal:
“Spend more time surfing, and less time paddling. That’s the number one rule.”
When it comes to the actual act of paddling, though? There are a few basic tips:
- Swing your arm around to its full extent, using all your power and muscle at once
- Pull your chest up, using your back muscles to help move your arms through the water
- Cup your hands when you’re paddling, use it as a paddle. This single tip will make your paddling a whole lot more powerful than if you had your fingers spread apart as you pulled them through the water.
- Just like a golf swing, follow through with your paddle. Bring them all the way around your back, using your full rotation with each stroke.
- When the going gets tough, just grit your teeth and dig deep… you’ve got this!
Playing ‘wave of fortune’
So you’ve paddled your way out – or successfully tacked onto the pull of the rip – and you’re finally positioned nicely for the break.
The question then is: which wave to take – jump on the first one you see? Or hold back and wait for ‘the one’? What’s the selection process when the sets start coming, and which wave is likely to get you ‘yeehawwing’ like an animal all the way back to shore?
When in doubt, says Regan, make sure to know the break first – or get a few insights into how it’s actually breaking before you go hammer and tongs out there. If you’re not timid, there’s no harm in asking a carpark surfer for advice… they are usually more than happy to help out a fellow surfer, and could give you some great advice on where to sit and the best takeoff zone.
“If you don’t know the break, you’ve gotta watch the break, and you should spend some time watching others – watch what they do, and where they sit. And I always say to anybody: ‘Why are you trying to get a wave there when all the good guys are over here? Do you reckon they know something that you don’t? I reckon they do.’ So if you watch the hotshots, you wanna see where they are – obviously you don’t want to cramp them too much, ‘cos they might, if you start dropping on them, they might tell you to fuck off – you don't wanna get any of that localism shit going on … but yeah, you wanna find a spot that you can read, and you can understand. And if you watch the guys, what they do long enough, you’ll get the drift.”
Given the explosion of sage tips on these essential matters, we split part eight into two sessions, so stay tuned for part 8½, with juicy info on how to position yourself on the board, and how to stand up like a bona fide Big Kahuna.
Recap: What did we learn? Here are the best tips for paddling and catching the right wave:
- Rip tides can be scary when you don’t understand them, but used correctly, they can be freeways to the lineup!
- Use a rip tide safely to help get out the back to the lineup.
- Swing your arm around to its full extent, using all your power and muscle at once.
- Pull your chest up, using your back muscles to help move your arms through the water.
- Cup your hands when you’re paddling, use it as a paddle. This single tip will make your paddling a whole lot more powerful than if you had your fingers spread apart as you pulled them through the water.
- Just like a golf swing, follow through with your paddle. Bring them all the way around your back, using your full rotation with each stroke.
- When the going gets tough, just grit your teeth and dig deep… you’ve got this!
- Know your break before you paddle out, spend some time watching the sets, so you understand.
- Ask a fellow surfer for advice on the best place to paddle out, and the best takeoff zone.
- Watch where the locals and the more advanced surfers are paddling, chances are they know the break pretty well and can pick the right waves.
- Don’t get too close to others in the lineup – give everyone their space – but learn from observation.
