Duckdiving — From: Josepi 1
Subject: Re: Wave Ducking (curse it!)
Wave ducking seems to be quite on the talk these days in this newsgroup. (I think I started it!!?) But I got quite some cool tips, of which the best is most probably to improve your paddling so that you can paddle fast out of the way of the wave (if you’re not too close to the inside section, that is) – then you won’t have to duckdive the wave. Duckdiving requires a lot of skill and timing, and doesn’t really help much at BIG waves. You still get thrashed.
True to a point, BUT if you are riding a lighter, less buoyant board, you can muscle it deep enough to avoid getting too thrashed. I was out at Blacks during a HUGE swell in Jan. of this year, The cove was packed and Blacks was Monstrous. When my friend and I paddled out, the one guy out there was actually stoked to see some other people (rare condition in So. Cal!) Anyway, back on subject. I got caught inside by a set big enough to drive a 18-wheeler through the Barrell.No Lie!!!
On the first wave I bailed my board and dove for the bottom, I got worked over big time, held under for ever, slapped upside the head by my board etc. … My leash must have stretched 20 yards as well.
The next wave I paddled directly into, under and through the mass. I think that the trashing from the last wave scared some extra strength into me, but I made it through unscathed. The dolphin technique will work, but it depends on just what the volume of your board is in comparison to your weight and strength. One of the reefs I usually surf breaks pretty mean all of the time. You HAVE to make it under the wave or else you get sucked into the impact zone, pushed in and are totally screwed. So, the bottom line is practice. On longboards, it is a different story. Next post maybe. Josepi 1.
Newsgroups: alt.surfing
Subject: Re: How to duck-dive my 7’2″ x 22″
Date: 18 Jul 1996
Question: Shouldn’t I be able to duck dive the larger board? What am I doing : wrong? Is it OK to yell movie in a crowded fire-house?
I got my first duck diving lesson from Terry SImms after I whined : about him running over me all the time. I reckoned you don’t need : to duck dive a point break, but you need to duck dive Simba. : Anyways, he demonstrated the technique to me on a 10’6″ foot Harbour : board soooo ya, you can duckdive *anything* depending on : how good you are….PS Simms weighs nothing so its all in technique : ….sink the nose followed by leadfoot on the tail. I can’t do it : even on the 7’8″, but its nice to know it can be done. : fang Yea, I use the same way to put my 7’2″ under. It is a great way because you don’t leave your ass hanging out for the wave to snatchup and drag you back over. I read about it in an old surfer mag ( years back ) and it has saved me a FEW times. For those who don’t know: Get forward momentum toward on-coming wave, place back foot on tail of board, sink the nose, swipe with front foot ( important! No half-assed swipes), when board is under as far as she goes… press the tail down with your back foot arching the board back to the surface. This is all one motion! If done correctly, you could sink lots of stuff within reason. This has saved me from Mexico to Jalama to Kauai where I thought I was DEAD MEAT!
Date: Fri Sep 3, 1999
Subject: Re: Water Techniques, questions
uhm…..again i must disagree here… never bail ur board (its dangerous to other surfers and slows u down)! if on a longboard or big funshape, attempt to time the sets as best as possible from the beach BEFORE going out. if caught inside on a set though, which happens, try to time the breaking wave.
its possibel to duck dive longboards on a pre-breaking wave, it requires some arm strength and confidence. get up like a shortboard duckdive, but turn the longboard sideways vertical, drive the rail under water and then starighten it back out. its much easier than trying to press it thru the water flat. then once the board is under the water, begin t the duckdive and kick under and thru the wve. this whole thing needs to be done in a smooth and fast motion or the longboard will want to float up.
another technique, in rolling white water is to paddle up to the white water, stop, sit up, raise the nose out of the water and just as the white water rolls at u, spring forward to the nose and lift the nose, u should carry and spring ur weight up and on top of the whitewater and if timed right, u’ll slide up over it, and not get pushed back.
like i said before, dont bail the board, learn how to get thru safely and efficiently and you’ll surf more and paddle less!
stay stoked
chenzo
From: MN
Newsgroups: alt.surfing
Subject: Re: Longboards in Whitewater (how to?)
Date: 24 Jan 1996
The ‘flip the board’ method seems best but what do you down there? pull the board down? push it up? forward? whatÃs going on ?
While you are in the process of flipping the board over and getting yourself underwater, you have to pull the nose of the board down with you. You’ve got to get the nose underwater. This will cause the whitewater to push the entire board down under the wave…
This technique works in small and medium surf. It is not recommended for surf larger than 6 ft.
Turning your board loose is a bad idea. Especially when there are other people nearby. If you are caught inside and the whitewater is coming at you, turn around and paddle in. There is nothing wrong with riding the whitewater back to the beach and waiting for a lull.
Most breaks have paddling channels. Learn where the channels are and use them. I have seen a lot of people try and paddle out directly through the line up instead of walking 25 yards down the beach and paddling out in the channel.
From: J. B. Donovon
Yes, if you want to duck dive a wave then swiftly paddle toward the wave that you want to dive and push down the nose as far as you can. after the board has dove as deep as it can go and push the end of the tail down with the balls of your feet as you allow the nose to rise. The only way to learn how to do it right is to practice. One must master the skill of duck diving if he/she wants to make it to the line-up.
From: D. Schwarm
Newsgroups: alt.surfing
Subject: Re: Help me Duck Dive!!!
Date: 8 Nov 1996
L. Davis wrote: I’ve been surfing for a little over a year now, and I still can’t seem to master the skill of duck diving. Am I just too weak or doing it wrong?
Try the old long board style of digging one edge under first. Basically, rather than pushing straight down, push the right side down and under the water first – then lean back to the left to “center” your dive. It is slower, but it works… Dave
