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superkook 
Small Brained Tadpole
Joined: 18 October 2009
Location: Oakland, CA
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Posts: 44
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 Topic: Humbled at The Wavehouse
Posted: 04 November 2009 at 6:26pm |
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Been in town for a week on business. Surf looked super small today so I thought I'd try something I'd always wondered about: the artificial waves at the Wavehouse.
I took about 5 rides and got totally worked. Apparently, you've gotta keep all your weight on the back foot to avoid having the wave grab the board, and it doesn't fit what I'm used to (I do quite a bit of front foot weighting both skateboarding and surfing). I ate sh*t every time - really bad the last two times. I landed on my back and hit my head both times. My elbow hurt and I figured I better stop before I seriously injured myself.
Man, was that humbling. Has anyone else had this experience or am I just the King of Kooks?
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vegas mike
Barracuda Cuda
Joined: 16 June 2009
Location: San Diego
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Posted: 04 November 2009 at 7:32pm |
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truth...
i'm afraid to try it.
i know i'd eat sh*t and probably hurt myself.
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The guys who can't catch a wave cause their board is Too Sweet.... they're the kooks.
-Baratacus
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themathteacher
All Mighty Humpback
Peak crumbler
Joined: 07 October 2006
Location: United States
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Posts: 3640
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Posted: 04 November 2009 at 8:41pm |
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To tell the truth, after some friends showed me their wipeout videos from a time they went and I couldn't make it I lost insterest in trying it. If I was 20 again maybe, but my old body takes too long to recover LOL
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Baratacus
Barracuda Cuda
Joined: 12 December 2007
Location: Ocean Beach
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Posted: 07 November 2009 at 10:18am |
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from what I understand, flow riding is a lot more like snowboarding than surfing or skating. You lean out of turns instead of into them. I guess it's good for snow boarders when there isn't any snow.
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You can't smell fear unless the fearfull have loose bowels.
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superkook
Small Brained Tadpole
Joined: 18 October 2009
Location: Oakland, CA
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Posted: 07 November 2009 at 11:34am |
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I figured I'd be halfway good at it since I surf and skate.
Talk about slinking out with your tail between your legs. In the meantime there was this fat guy who had two kids riding and he was rocking it.
KARMA!
Nice lesson for me there. Don't be overconfident about sh*t I haven't yet tried.
the followup: definitely not even thinking about paddling out in the 12-15 foot surf today. If that little wavehouse kicked my ass, Big Daddy Ocean's gonna teach a Real Lesson!
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Baratacus
Barracuda Cuda
Joined: 12 December 2007
Location: Ocean Beach
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Posted: 08 November 2009 at 11:45am |
it's 12-15 today??? oh man! I got babysitting duty today! dang!
when you flow ride or snow ride, you don't have a fin holding the back end. With a fin, the board turns on the tail towards the edge that has the most resistance. Without a fin, the board will slide to the side with the least resistance. If you unload the left side and dig the right rail, the board will turn left, the opposite of what would happen on a skateboard or surfboard. I suck at snowboarding... I always go the wrong way.
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You can't smell fear unless the fearfull have loose bowels.
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superkook
Small Brained Tadpole
Joined: 18 October 2009
Location: Oakland, CA
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Posted: 08 November 2009 at 3:08pm |
Originally posted by Baratacus
it's 12-15 today??? oh man! I got babysitting duty today! dang!
when you flow ride or snow ride, you don't have a fin holding the back end. With a fin, the board turns on the tail towards the edge that has the most resistance. Without a fin, the board will slide to the side with the least resistance. If you unload the left side and dig the right rail, the board will turn left, the opposite of what would happen on a skateboard or surfboard. I suck at snowboarding... I always go the wrong way. |
It was 12-15 at Pacifica (and bigger at the other breaks) in the SF Bay Area. Sorry, I should've been more specific.
Surfline did have Black's at 9-12 though, so babysitting did get you.
I was thinking of doing some snowboarding to help my surfing but after reading your anecdote, I might have to scrap that plan. Sounds like it'd be about as helpful as flowriding (getting my ass kicked).
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superkook
Small Brained Tadpole
Joined: 18 October 2009
Location: Oakland, CA
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Posted: 08 November 2009 at 3:13pm |
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Black's at 9-12 was yesterday (Sat). Today, 5-8 w/ occasional 10.
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vegas mike
Barracuda Cuda
Joined: 16 June 2009
Location: San Diego
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Posted: 08 November 2009 at 3:24pm |
Originally posted by superkook
Black's at 9-12 was yesterday (Sat). Today, 5-8 w/ occasional 10. |
blacks looked GOOD!!! from the cliff yesterday.
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The guys who can't catch a wave cause their board is Too Sweet.... they're the kooks.
-Baratacus
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superkook
Small Brained Tadpole
Joined: 18 October 2009
Location: Oakland, CA
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Posts: 44
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Posted: 08 November 2009 at 5:43pm |
Originally posted by vegas mike
Originally posted by superkook
Black's at 9-12 was yesterday (Sat). Today, 5-8 w/ occasional 10. |
blacks looked GOOD!!! from the cliff yesterday. |
You didn't go out?
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vegas mike
Barracuda Cuda
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Location: San Diego
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Posted: 08 November 2009 at 7:48pm |
no i was busy yesterday, wife and i were on our way to encinitas from ocean beach so i decided to drive up the coast. stopped for 10 mins to look from the cliff.
went out today in ob and the waves were 8-10' faces. mostly big nasty closeouts, but i got 2 nice rides. had my longest hold down of the year today. wouldn't have been that bad if i held my breath, but i didn't see the lip coming down on my head. i thought i was gonna get a short closeout barrel. lip landed right on top of me
oh and i'm scared of blacks, (that sounds racist  )
maybe this winter i'll paddle out there again. it's been a long time
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The guys who can't catch a wave cause their board is Too Sweet.... they're the kooks.
-Baratacus
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superkook
Small Brained Tadpole
Joined: 18 October 2009
Location: Oakland, CA
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Posts: 44
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Posted: 08 November 2009 at 7:55pm |
Originally posted by vegas mike
oh and i'm scared of blacks, (that sounds racist )
maybe this winter i'll paddle out there again. it's been a long time |
When it's head high and up I'm scared of Black's too.
At least it doesn't have currents (that I've experienced) that hold you in the impact zone. If it had that, the place would be deadly.
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vegas mike
Barracuda Cuda
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Posted: 08 November 2009 at 8:14pm |
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i had a bad wipeout there a while ago, broke my leash and took me a long time to paddle in. once i found my board i sat on the beach for half an hour before i walked back to my car.
my 7' leash was stretched to about 10feet long, it broke at the swivel.
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The guys who can't catch a wave cause their board is Too Sweet.... they're the kooks.
-Baratacus
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superkook
Small Brained Tadpole
Joined: 18 October 2009
Location: Oakland, CA
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 44
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Posted: 09 November 2009 at 7:31pm |
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I've got a very similar story. Broke leash, was worried about drowning on the paddle-in. When I got onto the beach another guy was lying spread eagled on the sand - same thing had happened to him.
It was double overhead plus and when it's got some form there, it's got power and it churns and there's a lotta whitewater and I don't float in it. I had nightmares (real ones) for years about that. Haven't had any in awhile and I think the reason is: I don't paddle out in surf like that anymore. They have real surf reports now, thanks for that!
Black's, it's no joke there when it's on.
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vegas mike
Barracuda Cuda
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Posted: 09 November 2009 at 8:56pm |
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yeah it was close to double overhead the day i was out.
i don't know if you read in the sessions reports of what happened to me today, but when i was stuck in the impact zone today i had flashbacks of the day at blacks. that is when i started to panic today.
i think i'm gonna start running again to get my lungs back in shape.
also gonna hold my breath for a few seconds every min so my lungs get used to exercising and not being able to breath.
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The guys who can't catch a wave cause their board is Too Sweet.... they're the kooks.
-Baratacus
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Baratacus
Barracuda Cuda
Joined: 12 December 2007
Location: Ocean Beach
Online Status: Online
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Posted: 10 November 2009 at 5:18am |
I've taken hits across the back that broke my board, I've had the wave smack me in the face hard enough to chip my teeth, I fractured a rib once and my pelvis another time, I've always been really good at holding my breath, but sometimes the situation prevents it. When I was a lot younger I learned some techniques to keeping your air.
1- don't let your breath out when you come up, even after a long hold down. First get your bearings and make sure you have enough time to gulp more air before the next wave hits. Getting pushed under with stale air is way better than sucking water on your way under.
2-when you get dunked, and the wave gets a solid hold on your board, don't try to pull your board back in untill the wave eases its grip. That wave is hauling on your board with tons of force and your leash is dealing with the resistance of your bodys mass dragging behind it. Pulling on the leash won't bring your board to you any faster, it just puts another 60 or 70 lbs of force on your leash.
3-when you're tumbling in a wave, make yourself as tight and small as possible and try to cover your head. It's easy to get a limb wrenched the wrong way or whack the bottom of the ocean or your board with a flailing appendage or skull.
4-Remain as calm as you can (defenition of calm in some of these situations means not waving about screaming like a little girl) Keeping your focus and not panicking is the key to success in just about any dangerous situation.
Hope some of this helps... Practice holding that breath, time how long you can hold it and remember, when you're in the water, being held under, that you can hold your breath way longer than that wave can hold you down.
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You can't smell fear unless the fearfull have loose bowels.
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superkook
Small Brained Tadpole
Joined: 18 October 2009
Location: Oakland, CA
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 44
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Posted: 11 November 2009 at 7:30pm |
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Barat - thanks for the tips. Easier said than done though! gonna take some practice, especially the "calm" part.
Did you read the Potato Patch article I posted in the "News" part of the forum? Might be right up your alley.
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