Paddling out in Big Surf with Bodyboard? It seems impossible..
Hey guys i'm more into surfing now but I still bodyboard from time to time. New Jersey got about 12 foot waves with the Hurricane Bill swell and i tried to paddle out with my bodybaord.
Its sooo hard. How do you guys get out there with a bodyboard in like 15 foot waves? I had fins on too...
It seems to me that a bodyboard just isnt fast enough to get out there because by th etime i do im into the jetty.
15 foot waves! LOL! I have a hard enough time getting out in 5 foot. Some days I can barely get out at all, if it's too choppy, or if the waves are dumping over the sandbar at low tide.
Getting out there is the hardest thing about bodyboarding for me. You just have to have a lot of strength and stamina, I guess.
the difference between paddling on a bodyboard and a surfboard i huge.
A bodyboard just doesn't cut through the waves like the pointed nose of a shortboard.
But, the advantage bodyboarders have, is we can use both legs and arms. You end up relying heavily on the legs with the long paddle outs. Full body workout for sure.
It's really all about proper duck diving, so practice submerging your board as deep as possible (you can do this in a swimming pool), and also work on your paddling techniques, using your arms and legs to gain momentum as you approach your dives, etc. Once your board is submerged, kick with your swim fins to help dive deeper, and also kick throughout the dive to help penetrate the waves energy and stay low as the white water passes over you before you surface. Try to get yourself and the board as far underneath the wave as possible. Use those jetties to your advantage and time big sets, use rips, etc. Like anything else, practice! Best thing about bodyboarding is that its easy to get started, and you could spend a lifetime trying to master it. Good luck!
Timing of the sets is also a key thing. You have to be close to where the waves are breaking when the set is finishing. Sometimes it is very tough especially as the waves get bigger.
I complete agree with the full work out and trying to give an extra thrust while duckdiving.
This season allowed me to really push what I had learned in my long lasted 3 year bout at BBing (LOL!!). Well at least a few select times. Bill & Danny taught me I was truly trained and prepared to charge TS/Hurricanes....the paddle out was a cinch...not to brag but it was. The hard part was committing to the 12 foot close out that I really wanted to charge but didn't have the 'balls' to charge for a lack of better words. I'm new at this and proudly a women of 34 years...I'm not stopping though and plan to be the best I can be at this phenomenal sport. If I f-up and drown doing so, believe me it was meant to be. Enjoy the upcoming surf and winter (my favorite time to BB!).
[QUOTE=ferrari4756;45196]
Its sooo hard. How do you guys get out there with a bodyboard in like 15 foot waves? I had fins on too...
HAHA! I thought it was the other way around. I can't understand how surfers manage to make it out on big wave days. How do surfers do it? Especially longboarders!
This season allowed me to really push what I had learned in my long lasted 3 year bout at BBing (LOL!!). Well at least a few select times. Bill & Danny taught me I was truly trained and prepared to charge TS/Hurricanes....the paddle out was a cinch...not to brag but it was. The hard part was committing to the 12 foot close out that I really wanted to charge but didn't have the 'balls' to charge for a lack of better words. I'm new at this and proudly a women of 34 years...I'm not stopping though and plan to be the best I can be at this phenomenal sport. If I f-up and drown doing so, believe me it was meant to be. Enjoy the upcoming surf and winter (my favorite time to BB!).
Yoohooo! That is good to hear. I wish my mom would do that. You are awesome! And I understand how you felt out in Bill. Gighnormous close-outs but I charged them for like 3 seconds before total close-out. 'cus I did not want to paddle out again (it was difficult ).
It's really all about proper duck diving, so practice submerging your board as deep as possible (you can do this in a swimming pool), and also work on your paddling techniques, using your arms and legs to gain momentum as you approach your dives, etc. Once your board is submerged, kick with your swim fins to help dive deeper, and also kick throughout the dive to help penetrate the waves energy and stay low as the white water passes over you before you surface. Try to get yourself and the board as far underneath the wave as possible. Use those jetties to your advantage and time big sets, use rips, etc. Like anything else, practice! Best thing about bodyboarding is that its easy to get started, and you could spend a lifetime trying to master it. Good luck!
I could not agree more. Your one paragraph sums up a lot about what I think of bodyboarding.
Keep sponging y'all!
Enjoy the upcoming surf and winter (my favorite time to BB!).
Yoohooo! That is good to hear. I wish my mom would do that. You are awesome! And I understand how you felt out in Bill. Gighnormous close-outs but I charged them for like 3 seconds before total close-out. 'cus I did not want to paddle out again (it was difficult 
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