Had an idea of paddling upwind with a short canoe paddle (or 3-piece SUP paddle without the middle-piece) kneeling and coming downwind with the sup paddle, normally standing. Even taking some eva-foam under knees to make the upwind more comfortable? This way I might make it upwind against winds that create strong enough downwinding conditions to really catch some bumps. Has anyone tried this kind of an approach?

Against strong wind, 5-15 knots, I prefer sitting for it's lower, out of the wind position. I use an offset hold on the SUP paddle to get almost even power.
15+, I'm windfoiling or windsurfing.

I just prone paddle.

If I could prone paddle, I'd still be surfing a 6'8" x 19" mini gun.....
Lost my paddling by age 60, now stuck needing a paddle, sail, or wing to move around.

Just to be clear, I realize some of us cannot prone paddle anymore.

But prone paddling on a long SUP is very different than on a sinking shortboard. I could not prone paddle more than 10mn at a time a 7'2" prone surfboard, but once I had to get back from an outer reef prone paddling my 10' longboard SUP with some wind after breaking my paddle, and I could paddle 30mn without stopping by using some paddeboarding techniques that I had read about or seen, even though I never paddleboarded myself.

Since the 10' SUP board glides between strokes I was able to rest one arm and my chin on the board while paddling 3 to 5 times with the other arm. At the end of the 30mn, I felt like I could have continued for hours this way. I guess other paddleboarding techniques could be useful, such as knee paddling (with knee protections?), or hand paddles like Dave Kalama uses?

Kneepaddle till it hurts....20 minutes.
Prone until back of neck cramps..10 minutes.
Sit, feet up paddle or barehand...1 hour.
Stand until arches ache..1/2 hour.
2 hour sessions max

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colas said..
I just prone paddle.

Some older flat deck race sup boards have pretty good ergonomics for prone paddling. My current board with a deep dugout would need some modding to allow prone paddling.

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Thanksfortheride said..
Had an idea of paddling upwind with a short canoe paddle (or 3-piece SUP paddle without the middle-piece) kneeling and coming downwind with the sup paddle, normally standing. Even taking some eva-foam under knees to make the upwind more comfortable? This way I might make it upwind against winds that create strong enough downwinding conditions to really catch some bumps. Has anyone tried this kind of an approach?

Just choke up on your paddle when knee paddling.
I often do it paddling back when I'm surf supping if the wind is strong.

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LeeD said..
Prone until back of neck cramps..10 minutes.

This is why you must not lift the head for prone paddling. Resting the head on the board (maybe with extra padding) do not tire the neck and shoulders.

E.g:



suppronepaddlerdotcom.wordpress.com/2016/10/27/prone-paddling-chinrest-or-headrest/

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LeeD said..
If I could prone paddle, I'd still be surfing a 6'8" x 19" mini gun.....
Lost my paddling by age 60, now stuck needing a paddle, sail, or wing to move around.

yep - I hear you Lee & I reckon that explains why many of us SUP exclusively now.

Colas-; it's not a simple change of technique for some.

Eg; I've had both shoulders reco'd & am in constant pain from a number of herniated lumbar discs. I can't lie flat on my stomach on a mattress for more than 30 seconds, and couldn't raise my arms to above shoulder height to paddle while prone if my life depended on it.

the joys of middle age!

Thank **** for SUP, it allows me to surf despite loss of mobility.

Paddle a 34" wide? Its not quite as easy.

Colas - is 30mn "minutes" - or a typo for nm

I wanna believe you did 30 nautical miles...

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Mark _australia said..
Colas - is 30mn "minutes" - or a typo for nm

Minutes, the distance was less than a Nautical Mile, about 1.5km.

I was unable to paddle more than 100 meters "shortboard style" at the time (with the head lifted), as I tried at first when my paddle broke (after a 4 hour SUP session...), before trying the paddleboarding technique.

PS: Note that I started my post with "Just to be clear, I realize some of us cannot prone paddle anymore.". I just want to say that even if you cannot prone-paddle more than 100m, you should try resting your head, it may surprise a lot of people (but not all).

Well, I do see a few prone paddleboards with chin/face blocks of foam.....