From the Rainforest: Surf Safari

October-November 2005

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

by Dan Lewis

As fall and winter storms begin to sweep across the north Pacific, many people prepare to follow the birds southward to warmer climes. I too will be heading south—a few minute’s drive to BC’s Long Beach in Pacific Rim National Park, for some surf safaris!

I used to drive here all the way from Vancouver and surf my brains out for eight hours a day in order to get my money’s worth from the ferry ride. Nowadays I’m more inclined to spend two hours in the surf, then stroll the beach looking for treasures. And Tofino now has a lot more to offer in terms of galleries and restaurants than it did back in my younger days.

Playing (and simply touring) in surf are both a lot more enjoyable if you prepare with some flatwater training at home beforehand. The best training for paddling is paddling. If you’re anything like me, you tend to dawdle along looking at the scenery. This uses mainly long-twitch muscles, which give endurance. You should cross-train to build short-twitch muscles for sprinting. Here are a couple of workouts to build into your typical evening or weekend paddle.

First, do wind sprints. You need to be able to quickly get your kayak up to hull speed in order to catch waves. You don’t have to sustain a sprint for long. If you’ve chosen the right place to take off on a wave, three or four strokes with everything you’ve got is usually all that’s needed. And wind sprints will help you build up what you’ve got. As you toodle along the shore, every minute or so paddle flat out for twenty strokes, then resume paddling at a normal cruising speed. You may notice that you’re huffing and puffing by the end of twenty strokes. Good! The whole idea of this exercise is to build anaerobic capacity, the ability of muscles to work without oxygen. Try this a dozen or so times whenever you’re out paddling.

Definitely have your high brace working before surfing, to avoid shoulder injuries. Work on rolling as well. Without a roll in surf, you can’t have as much fun playing. Every time you push your limits, you flip and waste time swimming to shore, which is tiring. Work on the roll in a pool. Once you have a decent roll, get out in the ocean and practice. Try rolling on the twentieth stroke of a windsprint, right when you’re knackered and out of breath. This is great mental preparation for the surf zone.

Other workouts include sprinting forward or backward to hull speed, then stopping and reversing direction within four strokes. It’s important to be able to stop your kayak effectively so you can back through the bigger waves you don’t want to catch!

Work on edge control. I like to paddle my boat on edge for about half a mile each time I’m out on flatwater. Shift the weight in your butt so you’re balanced on one cheek, then lift the opposite knee. As you paddle forward, the boat will want to turn every which way. Steer with sweep strokes. Stay on one edge as long as you can, then smoothly roll up onto the other edge and repeat. This is a great way to finesse directional control and become comfortable paddling on edge.

Once you get to a surf beach, a couple of safety reminders. First, make sure you’re wearing a whitewater helmet, wetsuit, warm woolies and a paddling jacket. Tape the rudder to the boat so it doesn’t get trashed. Check the local weather reports, so you know what conditions you’re likely to encounter. When you arrive, scope the surf zone. You’re looking to see where the waves are biggest, where they are smallest, and also for rips, areas where water flows back out through the surf to return to the sea.

Stay close to shore in the soup zone until you’re warmed up. Remember that collisions are the biggest hazard in surf. Buddy up on the water, or better yet, have one spotter per paddler. Be aware at all times of where everyone else is, and pay particular attention to those directly offshore of you (get out of their way immediately), and those directly inshore of you (move laterally to avoid collisions).

Watch out for board surfers. A sea kayaker should not be surfing among board surfers. Our boats are simply too long to control and, with the guillotine mounted on the back end, we’re a real threat to the safety of others. Fortunately we can catch waves anywhere—we don’t need the perfect waves that surfers do.

If you plan to play in surf kayaks, you need to learn about etiquette in the surf zone—who has right of way on a wave, that kind of thing. Do not drop in on surfers. Share the waves—there are always lots more coming. Be aware of who is between you and the beach, and don’t go for a wave if someone is down-wave of you.

It’s fun to learn about surfing culture. A couple of my favorite sources are a video called Numb by Tofino surfer Jeremy Koreski, and a book called The Cedar Surf by Grant Schilling. Both of these would make excellent stocking stuffers for any fan of kayak surfing. Hope to see you out there in the waves this winter

Email: mail@rainforestkayak.com Web: www.rainforestkayak.co