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| Archives and Online Features : Outdoor Shape: How To's |
An Introduction to Surf Kayaking
By Ann Beman
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| Photography: Barry Tessman |
"Um, can I ask you something?" says the blond, freckled coed in jeans and trendy T-shirt. "What are these?" She and her friends have stopped their Deveraux Beach stroll to gawk at what appear to be either surfboards or sea kayaks from another planet. Laid out on the sand is a collection of watercraft. Stubby plastic whitewater boats lay next to much larger sit-on-tops, and fiberglass wave skis are abreast of state-of-the-art, tri-finned surf kayaks. The Southern California hipsters have no idea that what they're looking at represents the evolution of a sport - surf kayaking - that blends the best of surfing and kayaking.
The Culture
"Surf kayaking is not just for people who don't want to stand," insists Fletcher Burton, who took up the sport at 18. Currently ranked third in the world, the 21-year-old is among the sport's few young practitioners. "I think soon there will be more, once they see the moves," he says. "The right tool for an ocean wave is still a board, because you can't get the leverage you can when you stand up." But he's working on it. Gunning for #1 in the 2001 World Surf Kayak Championships, Burton worked with surfboard shaper Eric Elliot to design a specialized kayak called the Slot. "We're trying to make a board you can sit in," he explains. Why is Burton, who still surfs, going to that effort?
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Why surf kayak in the first place?
There are several reasons: You can catch many more waves, paddle back out more quickly, and get to breaks that would be a long walk or paddle on a board more easily. Plus, you can have fun in more diverse conditions. Also, kayak surfers
are good people.
"The culture of surf kayaking is like that of board surfing 30 years ago," explains Randy Phillips, a California native who has been surfing for that amount of time. Now also a surf kayaker for six years, he moved over because he "plateaued out." But with kayak surfing, he says, he progresses every day, and he's doing things surfers can only scratch their heads at: aerial moves, barrel rolls, total releases from the wave. In 1996, Phillips and his paddling buddy, Scotty McGuire, started the Jalama Expression Session, an anti-contest in which there are no rules. It's a gathering of surf kayakers, like the Class V Surf Dogs, "people who remind you of the way surfing was in the 60s." They are in it for the sake of camaraderie and to share ideas.
Jalama, notorious for its giant surf and inclement weather, is in northern Santa Barbara County, near Phillips' hometown of Lompoc. The session drew 20 surfers its first year, but last year it drew a whopping 60 from as far away as England. "It's really a grassroots group that comes to play and see equipment," says Phillips. "We also try to cater to beginners. An elitist attitude is the last thing we want."
The Gear
Phillips has spent about $15,000 developing his own boats. Piloted by 17-year-old Rusty Sage, Phillips' first UFO (unidentified floating object) won the 1997 World Surf Kayak Championships in Thurso, Scotland. Made from state-of-the-art composite fiberglass with epoxy and an Airex foam core, his second-generation UFO won the 1998 Nationals in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
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Acknowledging a schism between kayak surfers who advocate fins and those who oppose them, Phillips is a staunch fin supporter: "Fins give valid access to high-performance surf kayaking." San Diego-based surf kayaker/whitewater paddler/kayak polo player Preston Holmes agrees. According to Holmes, who is the 28-year-old codesigner of the Riot Boogie surf kayak, there is a movement to take kayaks toward the same level of performance as surfboards and wave skis. As he points out, "There aren't any surfboards that don't have fins."
Surf kayaking has two schools of thought, continues Holmes, also a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience and a keen student of surf kayak culture. "There are those in surf because they have a kayak for other purposes, and it's just another way to use the boat," he explains. "And there are those who kayak in surf as a primary use of their kayak. This second category is becoming more conspicuous. The sport is growing in popularity, and manufacturers are recognizing that a lot more people live along the coast than on the river."
To the kayak-ignorant, surf and river kayaks don't look that different. They're both shorter than 11 feet—more like eight feet these days—and they are both rainbow-hued sit-in boats that take spray decks or skirts. At second glance, however, it's obvious that whitewater boats are plastic and curve up at both tips, while surf boats are made of fiberglass, with a rocker in the nose but relatively flat under the seat and through the tail. "It's a design subtlety," says Holmes. "You can create a much edgier boat in the ocean than in the river, where currents are more chaotic and unpredictable."
However subtle, this difference allows for higher speeds in the ocean, where you're relying more on gravity than on the movement of the water. Though gravity pulls you down and in front of a wave, you want to move laterally across it, which requires more speed and less stern rocker. As for paddles, there is no difference between whitewater rodeo and surf kayak blades. In surfing, you're often starting from a dead stop, so a shorter paddle shaft works nicely because it lets you get your cadence up faster and more efficiently. In addition, sit-on-top surfers often use leashes to rein their paddles in after a submersion.
Any way you look at it, surf kayaking is gear-intensive, much more so than board surfing. "It's easier to become a board surfer. There's more info, and more people are into it already," says Jeanne Walker, who took second in the international class at the 1999 Worlds in Rio de Janeiro. A member of the U.S. Surf Kayak team, she keeps a small quiver of boats: a hard-railed, hard-edged Mega Rio international class surf kayak; a Mike Johnson Mini-Mako; and a Merv Larsen wave ski.
Walker would like to see more people surf kayaking. She supports local competitions because they're an opportunity for people to observe the sport. "Local contests are good for making casual contact with the public," she says, "but I prefer it in a grassroots situation, as a recreational thing, as an exhibition of what we like to do."
The Method
The biggest thing for beginners to grasp is the period of waves. The closer together the waves are, the harder it is to get out through them. So when launching off the beach, look for patterns in the series of waves. Wait for the larger ones to pass, then launch when the water is as close and low down on the beach as possible. Be on the lookout for side shore currents as well.
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If it's a rocky beach and your boat has fins, you might have to walk out to knee-deep water and get into the boat with the help of a buddy. Then paddle over the broken waves, at a 45-degree angle, to get out to the surf zone. Before the foam, sweep on the side that lets you swing yourself up and over, rotating to face the wave at 90 degrees and leaning back. Then throw your weight forward as you climb up and over. "Timing is crucial," says Holmes. "Practice timing on small waves first."
To catch waves, pick your location to wait and decide how soon to paddle into a wave. First, consider wave selection. Within sets, look for waves with more ground speed-ones that pitch harder and have a steeper face. And by all means, keep paddling for waves that seem impossible to catch. If you stop paddling, they'll be impossible for sure.
Next, consider your takeoff. You're looking for the wave's peak. It's not cool to ride a wave that's already broken. Paddle into the wave and point the kayak's nose to the beach. Lean forward as the stern rises to accelerate down the wave. Once on the wave, however, lean back to keep your nose from pearling, or burying itself—a sure way to flip tail over head.
You control your kayak by leaning it, so, in general, lean where you want to go and apply the appropriate rudder stroke with the paddle. Once you've mastered the art of the lean, you might try basic surf maneuvers, such as cutbacks and bottom turns. A cutback is a radical change of direction, or "cut," of at least 45 degrees on the face of the wave, done by turning either toward or away from the wave peak. For a bottom turn, drop straight down the wave's face, bank, and turn hard in the trough, digging in your kayak's rail and putting in a stern rudder. Then rise onto the wave's face and continue surfing.
* When you're in a broken wave, your boat will tend to turn sideways. Lean into the whitewater pile. Otherwise you and your boat will experience a washing-machine effect.
* If you flip, tuck to protect your noggin. Sand can be as abrasive as pavement.
* If the waves are coming in sets, wait for lulls.
* If you get knocked back, don't stop paddling. It may be the difference between making it over the next wave or not.
* Be aware of who is behind you when paddling out. Avoid being directly in front of someone, in case a big wave knocks you back and takes you in.
* If you are paddling out and there is someone on a wave, take a path that won't interfere with that person's ride. If in doubt, take the side that puts you in the foam.
* Be courteous as hell to surfers and other kayakers.
* Go where there are already a few surfers, but not a crowd. Avoid crowds until you have complete control.
* Consider the shoreline: Is it rocky or sandy? If you come out of your boat, how will you swim to shore?
* Breaks with predominantly longboards are usually good places for new kayakers. Point breaks are especially novice-friendly because you can paddle out to and around waves in calm water.
* Of course, cultivate a good vibe.
Where To Go
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On the West Coast: La Push, WA; southern Oregon coast, from Florence to Port Orford; Crescent City, CA; Pacifica, CA; Steamer's Lane, Santa Cruz, CA; Pismo Beach, CA; Jalama and Hollister Ranch, northern Santa Barbara County, CA; Santa Barbara's Channel Islands; San Onofre and San Elijo State Beaches, San Diego County, CA.
Way off the West Coast: Oahu's North Shore; Puerto Escondido, Mexico; Tavarua, Fiji.
Off the East Coast: Maine coast; Martha's Vineyard, MA; around Newport, RI; Ocean Beach, NJ; Cape Hatteras, NC; Wrightsville Beach, NC; Nags Head, NC; Folly Beach, SC; Cocoa Beach, FL.
Last Updated: Feb 24th, 2006 - 14:18:11
© Copyright 1999-2006 by Hooked on the Outdoors
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