goatman said...

I agree with Hilly - bigger waves does not mean bigger fins - more likely to track!!

Make sure you have you legs spread a bit further apart and get down real low when setting up the bottom turn. Keep your back foot in particular over the inside rail.

Personally I feel more comfortable on a SUP in bigger waves than a prone board these days - so can't agree with you there Simondo. Ya can see better, get into position and into the waves more easily.

Just had 6 days straight down the NSW south coast in nice 8 - 10 foot faces, swell pumped all week!

Pics please

hilly said...


Pics please

Hey Hilly, here's one I got on what was the most crowded session with the tide getting a bit high............no SUP pics I'm afraid. This is an awesome wave, one of the best on the East coast on it's day.

I don't think it is a fin issue with the 9'6" Naish. You have plenty of fin in that board.

I think the foot position thing is what you need to look at. The thing is, IMO it's all about speed and planning.
With bigger waves you are generally going faster by the time you are setting up for your bottom turn.
This means there is more preasure on your fins and it's harder to rail which can cause them to skip out.
The actual fix is to get your board MORE on it's rail (more than in smaller waves) and then let the rail
and rocker do what it's designed to do. The best way to tip a wide board on it's rail is to get your foot
right over the rail for better leverage. Also try get your back foot further back to sink the tail more.

The reason speed is a factor is due to planning. The easiest way to explain it is to imagine a speedboat
doing 15 knots. It is planning but sitting very low in the water so when you turn the wheel the boats
hull shape does what it's told. If you accelerate to 45 knots it will still be planning but sitting on top
of the water and when you try and turn it will skip and bounce all over the place. If you could
miraculously drop 1000kg on the boat it would again turn how it is meant to. Does this make sense???

I still find it happens every now and then and I can always relate it back to my foot position. Usually I'm
not on the tailpad or my foot is centred.