Just looking for some suggestions here.

Today was a multi-sport day, I was pretty beat from kiteboarding and decided to take the SUP out after the onshore wind died down to about 15 knots.

Our waves are mostly mushy wind chop, today it was about head high with what seemed like 3 second period swells. With the wind and the current ripping, I was able to finally get out after battling constant whitewater for about 15 minutes. But after my first good ride I got stuck inside on the sandbar and just gave up trying to get back out.

This happens pretty often since the quality of waves is so poor and it's just constant whitewater. No outgoing rips or reef features etc to help find a channel to get out.

Is there anything that can really be done to get out in these kinds of conditions, since you can't really duck dive under the foam? It's not a big deal to get through one or two broken waves, but when it's back to back it seems really difficult or impossible.

When it is back to back to back waves, and they are up to head-high, I think it is time to find another activity... I will be curious to read what others say, but my best tips are (sorry if they are obvious):

1. If there is time, standup, paddle as fast as you can, and then either dive over or under the wave the wave depending on size (yep, the leggie will be punished) - you can also do this while kneeling, but still dive over/under the wave
2. As above except flip the board over the wave towards 2 o'clock while you either fall backwards towards 7 o'clock or dive towards 10 o'clock - i.e. out of the way of the board if it comes back with the wave
3. If the period is very short, and the wave isn't too big, hold one hand on the kickpad while you dip under the wave backwards - so you don't waste time retrieving the board after the wave
4. If they aren't too big, prone paddle with the blade of the paddle under your chest. You can't properly duckdive but its better than nothing.

A couple of don't-dos:

1. Don't try to go through on your knees - you will get whacked (in the guts by the wave or in the face by your board) and pushed back faster.
2. Don't hold on to the leg rope - people have lost fingers

Having said all that, right now I have a 15+ knot on-shore with messy surf - and I am here on my computer...

At some time you have to give up

never .

be patient, time your hard paddling for the gaps .

sometimes you just can't get out .

we float too good .

Try laying down with paddle under chest and paddling hard toward whitewater
just before hitting whitewater grab paddle in left or right hand which ever is your preference sit up on back of board
this drops tail and allows nose to rise grab the rail forward of you with your other hand and pop the board and yourself over the whitewater
it is much the same as duck diving

clubbies and prone board paddlers use this method and its no different for a stand up surfer

All that water pouring in has to go out some where , it's doesn't go back out the way it came in , it goes out through channels and gutters causing rips .They are there you just can't see them. Generally where the surf is best is NOT where you paddle out , look either side of the back break and the water will look different because underneath it's flowing out. I learnt this at a very young age in the surf club. Sometimes I will walk up a couple of hundred meters when it's big and look at the land marks where there are rips .So when you try to punch through the shore break not making through you know when the next rip is coming up and paddle on a angle towards it not straight out burning up your energy.

When you are in the impact zone bail and go down and push back off the bottom so you don't get dragged back , always get back on your board laying down and take a couple of strokes before the next one. Always try and make a yard just don't float and get flogged , keep going to the bottom and push back. Persistence will get you out and always take time as I said above to look at the ocean and see which way the water is moving before you try to paddle out. It also helps if you learn to barrel roll it gets back on the board laying down very quickly.

I would second Piros. I would add:

- Do not try to get through whitewater. You will get exhausted, and the risk of injury increases if you to get through it without falling, as you stay close to the board.
- Try to look at the rips before going out, and if you are caught inside after a ride, just ride the foam towards the shore diagonally towards the rip until the foam is small enough to paddle parallel to the beach comfortably to embark on the "rip train".
- before entering the impact zone, wait for lulls in a place where the foam is small enough to punch through/go over it standing up. When a lulls comes, sprint!
- Do not hesitate to go make a BIG detour to get out. Paddling for a km is easier, faster, and safer than "battling constant whitewater for about 15 minutes"
- When facing foam, observe it, most of the time there are places in it less powerful than the others, aim for them.

Happens to me often. I don't have prone paddling skills but just wait for a lull then paddle hard. If you knee paddle you can get faster strokes going.

You guys haven't seen Middleton in South oz then? Heaps of white water with little to no rips, it's a beach with fine sand and the water is usually murky. Tends to have gutters parallel to the beach rather than channels running out with rips.
I've been the only SUP out just recently, on the small days they're everywhere coz it's a swine to get out when it gets head high.

Hi Chop, what you describe looks a lot like my homespot When it is smaller standing up and keep punching through seems the way to make it out, and when its bigger i,m really looking like Piros describe to the spot where the water is more confused but the waves are a little less frequent breaking and paddle out prone. With a strong sideways current this need some calculation as well to end on the right spot, and when there is a strong onshore wind as well....it is really really hard work indeed.

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Chopsup said..
You guys haven't seen Middleton in South oz then? Heaps of white water with little to no rips, it's a beach with fine sand and the water is usually murky. Tends to have gutters parallel to the beach rather than channels running out with rips.
I've been the only SUP out just recently, on the small days they're everywhere coz it's a swine to get out when it gets head high.

Yeah that's how it is here as well. There are sometimes 5kt rips either going parallel to shore or even pushing you back toward the beach (I have no idea how that works). Surely they go back out to sea somewhere but I very very rarely can find them.

Doing the SUP duck dive thing or jumping off the board works great for the first wave... the problem is that it's often back to back. And since the swell is mostly wind-driven, there aren't really any natural sets to wait for a lull to come through. You guys in .au are lucky you have groundswells :D

Dylan colas and piro are on the money and the wave energy needs to get back out even if its wind swell and ground swell is just unbroken wind swell anyway. But more to your question.

1. If you are uncomfortable getting out in the whitewash then its probably not the right place for you to go out, find another spot or wait another day. This is more prevelant in dirty or cloudy water.

2. If you are going out. Make sure you can swim back in the distance you are paddling out without your board.

3. The wind increases the difficulty.

Their are ways to get out in waves up to around 10 feet with two techniques and this depends on the size of your board. :If its 7 foot and under you are going to be able to duckdive it. Like DJ is showing with kai lenny. He is just duck diving standing up.
After around 100+ hours in the surf you will nail this technique and start doing it at the end of the wave or when the wave closes out to stop you being pushed into the breaking zone. Then Kai probably refined the technique to be able to duck dive while standing up.

The second technique is boards 7-13ft and above and that is the commando roll, just approach the wave in the prone position and as the white wash approaches roll the board onto its back. The concave of the board pushes it down and then the wave passes over it. The undertow will carry you and the board as well away from the shore. This skill will need a bit of practice, and it might work with a paddle holder on the underside of the board.
If you sit on the board, the water will eventually show you where the rips and gutters are going out.