K A y A K t e C h N i Q u e
Class in session.
Photo PAul villecourt
surF
sChool
fAce uP AnD Be A BIg WAve BIg KAhunA
fROnT SuRfIng is something that most paddlers can do quite quickly, thanks kayak, and with your elbows down and your front hand held between shoulder
in large part to great boat designs. In particular, short boat lengths and consid- and eye level. Keeping this front hand high buries your active blade deeply in
erable rocker let you surf on any part of all but the steepest waves without having the water. having your paddle parallel to the kayak ensures that your rudder is
to worry about your upstream end pearling. But the design characteristics of not acting as a brake pulling you off the wave. your upper body should also be
your boat will only get you so far. Then you need to develop sound surfing skills rotated to face your paddle when it’s in this position, because it gives your rud-
that allow you take advantage of the steeper and trickier waves. der the most power and helps keep your shoulders safe.
first of all, most of your surf time should be spent on the face of a wave—
where you can move about and set up other play moves. On mellow waves, you
t h e B o at
can often surf on the face without any effort whatsoever. In these cases, all you
need to do is maintain control of your boat with rudders. On steeper, or breaking
your boat will be in one of two positions when front surfing. It will either face
waves, you need to get more aggressive with your surfing in order to stay on the
directly upstream, or it will be on a ferry angle to one side or the other. When
face. This involves carving back and forth from one ferry angle to the next. The
pointed to 12 o’clock, your kayak will want to shoot down into the trough of a
steeper the wave is, the more aggressively you have to carve. let’s look at how
wave, so unless you’re on a fairly flat wave, you’re going to want to be alternating
the body, paddle and boat are involved in making this happen.
from one ferry angle to the other.
B o d y P o s i t i o N
C a r V i N g W a V e s
first and foremost, you need to keep your weight centred as much as possible
The next big question is always, how do I edge my kayak? Most paddlers’ in-
when you’re surfing. Sitting upright puts you in the most stable position and af-
stincts tell them that they should tilt their boats into each turn when they plant
fords you the most control over your boat. This doesn’t mean that you can’t lean
their rudders. On flatter, smooth waves this works quite well, and you can carve
back if you need to. feel free to be active with your forward and backward leans.
some great turns like this, just like board surfers. however, on steeper waves
Just return to a centred body position as quickly as possible.
that are breaking, it is more important to keep your kayak tilted downstream to
prevent your upstream edge from getting caught. In these cases you’ll hold a
downstream tilt on your boat as you pry your bow around from one ferry angle
t h e P a d d l e
to the next. As your boat passes 12 o’clock, you’ll need to tilt your boat onto its
your paddle should be acting as a rudder at all possible times, because it’s the other edge and switch the side on which you’re ruddering.
steering wheel for your kayak. you’ll use it to hold your ferry angle as you carve
across the face of the wave and then you’ll pry with it to cut back and ferry in the
kEN WHitiNG has just released the second edition of The Ultimate Guide to Whitewater Kayaking. the updated
and full-colour book is available from
rapidmedia.com/store.
other direction. The ideal rudder gets planted with your paddle parallel to your
RAPID
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