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Soul
I stARteD PADDlInG at the beginning
of the playboat revolution: one year the
hot move was cartwheeling in a hole, the
next was flat spinning on a wave. Over
the years, planing hulls advanced at
dizzying speed, opening up moves that
could never have been imagined paddling
Acrobat 270s and RPMs. Flat spins led
to blunts and blunts led to donkey flips.
But a dark cloud of surf spot superiority
came with the new boats and new
moves. Maybe you remember sitting in
a crowded eddy when a hotshot yelled
impatiently at a newbie on the wave, “nO
FROnt suRFInG.”
We were easily seduced by the
promise of effortless spins and big air. We
fell into the trap believing that front surfing
was only a means for setting up for a real
move. Meanwhile our boats got slower
and lost their carving edge. surfing as we
knew it not only fell out of fashion, it isn’t
possible in today’s freestyle kayaks.
look around at our brethren surfers,
skiers and snowboarders. Pop in any
snow sport video and mixed among the
big-air 540s will be slow-mo footage of
boarders and skiers carving the pow
against a hypnotic soundtrack.
Why?
Because it looks cool. It feels good.
Carving is the Dr. John of wave and snow
sports. I believe it is time to reclaim our
soul surf; that irreplaceable melding of
a glassy wave, a grinning boater, and a
screaming carve.
One day this summer, say no to the
pressure to bounce, spin, or flip on every
ride. lift a knee, slide out onto a long
glassy face and surf until time stands still.
learn to shudder-rudder. Wave another
boater onto the wave and practice
crossovers. Dig out a long boat and
rediscover sharp edges and real speed.
And never, never apologize for just
front surfing when you carve back into
the eddy.—Thom Lambert
e
C
Northeas
t U.S. Sur
f Cham
pion
dvi
Mike W
ilson sa
ys: “To me a k
ayak
a
is not a v
ehicle t
o paddle out and
ride lik
e a sur
fer, it is a platf
orm
for a dif
ferent type of adv
enture.
But like t
he house in V
egas, the
ocean will alw
ays win—t
ake your
ound beatings and lear
n what y
our odds
s of enjo
yment ar
e from t
hem.”
RAPID
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