Duck Dive Troubles

how big is ur board? i dont think 95 pounds is sinking much of anything haha. 1. paddle hard 2. push the nose under 3. push back foot but really try being heavy on the back foot

 

i had that problem for a long time, finally it clicked after ten years of going just a few inches under and being pushed back. (i'm 5'8 120 ride a 6') I practically do a handstand over the front of the board while kicking my back foot up way over my head, wing it way up there...way more than seems appropriate. you'll need all your 90 something pounds directed over the nose to sink it enough. i think being smaller things need to be more exaggerated. when you're under as far as it will go pull it in towards your chest hard with your hands while kicking the tail down and that'll scoop you in a long arc. hope that helps.

 

A smaller board would make it a lot easier but perhaps you will grow into this board

 

Get into the dive a little earlier then you normally do, and come up swinging.

 

Momentum, you need lots of it going into a duckdive if you want to come out the other end with any forward prorgress. Paddle really hard up until you get about 3-5 feet from the face, grip the rails of the nose, push down as hard as you can like doing a handstand / push up, time it so that you are fully under water before you get crushed by the whitewater. Foot on the bottom with some push from your leg as the wave is mowing you down will propel you out the back of the wave. If you start getting dragged back just start paddling ASAP without losing your board. Lastly, eat something and get some weight to push that board down better HAHA

 

Never seen it done lie that. Interesting.

 

Do you shuffle your body farther forward on the board just before you push one side down? Grab the rails farther forward? Or do you rise up from the paddling position?

I've seen this technique done rather smoothly in online videos but when I do it on my 9'2 x 22 x 3 entering whitewater I usually end up dunking the nose and lifting the tail into the oncoming foam. It sort-of works but I feel as though I never have enough leverage in my back foot to push the tail under. Doing this into the wave face is no problem.

I gotta hear more about your technique because during the Dog Days on the East Coast this log is frequently the only board that works, although I am scheming for a Mini Simmons-esque board this year. Not sure of the volume of the 9'2 but I'm 5'10 @170 so I should be able to force something better to happen.

 

Hey so I have had alot of problems trying to duck dive too in the past as I am 5'2" 116 lbs and honestly try a thinner board. I have a 5'11" thats 18 3/8 and I can get it under pretty easily. People forget volume (thickness) of the board can impact how it handles more so than the length. Good Luck, hope this helps.

 

I think stay salty had it right. Push the nose down and lift a leg way up while hooking the other foot on the trac pad. Do it right before the wave comes, otherwise you float back up just when the wave hits you and get pushed back, which is exactly what you were trying to avoid.

 

Yeah, but the more often you think about it and respond the better you become at communicating it. Hopefully.

That makes sense. You dip one side of the board, thrusting it downward and forward-ish at an angle, and as you bring your chest to the board under the water, you pull upwards (like raising your hands above your shoulders) and rise up completing the J.

I know what that feels like for shorter boards and have no issues there, but haven't felt it yet on the 9'2. I know nothing works better than time in the water, but I was sort of expecting you to tell me how that should feel for me on my longboard, and what I'm doing wrong. I feel a little let down.

 

That's some quality effort going into the explanation. I like your style.

I do the same thing with my longboard but I find it takes a lot more upper body strength. Maybe I need to move further up the board. I only do this when the waves are above waste high too.

 

Here's an eye opening video of a guy go-proing his longboard duckdive. I was pretty impressed. Not as easy as it looks but he is right, it's technique. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKfUQ_AsrO4

You gotta love those Go-Pros. Awesome.

 

Gimme a little longer, I've been in NY since nov 16 helping with hurricane sandy recovery. GOING HOME NEXT MONDAY!!!! Really pumped to get back home with the family.

 

A couple of other tips for ya

1. On medium sized waves, say chest-head high, letting the front edge of the whitewater hit your lower back/butt area as you duck under can push you a little deeper before you have to level the board out and float to the surface. Once it gets much bigger than that getting blasted by the whitewater is more likely to rip the board from you hands.

2. On long period swells try to stay under longer before surfacing by keeping the board flat for an extra second once you are at your max depth. This lets more of the whitewater flow over you before surfacing. On short period swells most of the energy is contained in a narrower band of whitewater so get to the top and start paddling quick to build up some momentum before the next wave gets to you.

 

Nice job Gaffer, you let the poor guy down. Even though you took the time to draw diagrams and explain thoroughly, you still let him down. Real nice.

 

I body board so duck diving is a little different for me than for stand up surfers. It's still extremely important on a big day to be able to paddle as hard as you can into that breaking wave and then get down under it as far as you can. Of course some times when it's really shallow and over head you can dive to the bottom and you aren't getting under the wave. Sometimes in that situation I will ditch my board, grab the leash as close to the board as I can and swim down on the sand upside down and paddle with my fins into the breaking wave while simultaneously snatching my leash to try and keep my board from getting sucked into the wave. You can break leashes this way but you will get out into some heavy surf as well. I've seen some guys on longboards use this strategy down in the obx as well.


I saw something I had never seen before during that nice swell we got at the end of December. I guess everyone from VA went north or south because the oceanfront was pretty vacant for such a gnarly day. Anyways I saw these three guys paddle out. They weren't bad at all, I wouldn't say they were exceptional but they made it out and were dropping in on waves. One of the guys was paddling out into the waves, jumping up onto his feet right before the wave broke and pushing the board down with his feet and then diving into the face of the wave. It seemed to be working out for him but it was the first time I've ever seen it.

Anyone do that or seen anyone else doing it?

 

Ditching is dangerous to you and others, but then again its a morey boogie. Still, you should duck dive it with your knees. As to the standing on the board, then diving into the face of the wave, I really can't imagine a more dangerous modus operandi. Buoyancy is a powerful force. A surfboard jumping out of the water hitting you in the undercarriage would prevent procreation or a host of other terrible things - like losing an eyeball.