I've been trying to perfect my turtle roll lately with my 9' HPLB and was wondering at what point would it be a foolish move to do so in bigger waves (overhead). I don't want to get f'ed up doing this, so any of youse guys that have this technique dialed in during larger surf, please share your thoughts. I usually duck dive the LB if I can time it right but if that's a bad idea and nobody is around I will ditch and dive, but I'd rather keep my board if I can. I'm good at it in smaller surf but was curious how far I can push it before it's too dangerous, or is possible to pull it off regardless of wave size?
Wing nuts long boarding movie which is free on YouTube has a great part in getting out in big waves with a longboard!
I stuck at turtle rolls and i can't duck dive a LB. For the past few years iv been strictly SBing, but i used to ride the LB even in HH-OH stuff. Nothing super crazy but big enough that most would be on a SB. I always just timed things and was ok. Sure took one on the head a few times. But I'd wait on the inside and time it. Now....i can't even imagine paddling a LB out in bigger stuff. The biggest days iv had the LB out in....i think i got lucky looking back. I remember one day specifically. Got out. Surfed. Came in. It was big. I was in LB. People standing on the boardwalk just watching. As I'm crossing the boardwalk this guy stopped me asking how i got out so easily with the LB. I literally just jumped in and paddled out. I looked back at the ocean and quickly realized it should not of been that easy of a paddle out. Doesn't have much to do with this thread. But just thought I'd mention it. Timing.
Yeah I've seen those, good videos. Right on, today I took the LB out in chest - head waves but only needed to turtle roll once. It was easy navigating and paddling over sets. Forgiving conditions help.
Forgiving conditions definitely help. On smaller days on aLB i do this half duck dive. I'm way to small to sink a 9 foot board. So I'll paddle hard. Get way up on the nose and push the nose under. Then just extend my arms. White water passes in-between me and the board and pushes the tail down for me kind of. Getting just the nose under helps to not get pushed back. I have no idea how people can duck dive a LB. Know it can be done. Just can't even come close myself though
My buddy said to slice the nose through the wave, kind of sideways, not head on. It made sense when he demo it.
That's essentially what I do as well. Basically get a lot of momentum get close to the nose, slice it under the water in a side scooping motion and then drive it as deep as possible and hold on.
That slice duck thing works better than any T-roll on bigger surf. I do right nose corner down first then kick tail left corner down to right it under me to get the nose pointed back up like a real duck dive. Hard to do after a long session and sometimes still get creamed but often pull it off. Another thing that works to save a HPLB from creasing on the end of a leash in fun surf when faced w/ destruction in the pit is to reel in the board by the leash and grab it by the railsaver (at the leash plug) and swim the board through. That t-roll is a waste of time IMO. It's a free ride backwards to the beach sometimes so fast the fin catches and I end up facing the beach. Or maybe I just suck at it.
I appreciate the feedback. I mainly do the things you do but thought maybe a proper T Roll would be effective and efficient if done correctly. In small stuff it's not even necessary but I have been doing it here and there to get better at it. Where's that Captain Jack guy at? He rides a LB in big OBX stuff I believe.
The ditch and dive on bigger surf on the end of the leash will crease the HPLB. Places the board perfectly in the wave to taco it. If you have to do this make sure the board is not perpendicular to the wave and will roll. The leash will kill a skinny longboard, the reason why a lot of those nut jobs charging Puerto Escondido Mex don't use leashes -to save the board. I have fixed scores of narrow tailed skinny logs that middle aged/geezer dudes like to charge bombs with. They are never the same after the broken back (the boards I mean, not the geezer so much-they seem fairly resilient).
Yeah, I usually push it off to the site so that it's parallel with the wave but I have done it wrong before and could see how that might happen. I'll have to be more conscious of this. I've been lucky thus far.
If it's big and you turtle roll late, you're going to go up the lip and over the falls backwards... It only happened to me once, but that was enough. I usually do the modified duck dive.
Remember sisurfdog's turtle takeoff? lol Well, I could see that happening but instead getting scooped up and annihilated and smashed into the board on the type of day i'm referring to. Can you imagine getting impaled on that center fin? F0ck that would suck.
I got a 7'6" board that i turtle roll a good bit, for those slow rolling chest hi waves - in the right conditions for the LB, rather than a SB in other words. I too have a 9' and ya really just need to nail the timing. It's just heavier, and when done so it helps to have the whole board pushed underwater in the process. with the shorter 7'2", i didn't really care too much about the back end of the board when rolling. it helps IMO to use my feet to lower the back end of the 9' mamba jamba. i'll be sure to splice it tho and see how that works out next time
I still have no idea how I made it, and it has never presented itself to me to try again, and I'd probably snap the board or get nailed by the fin. I like the timing thing. Timing is everything. Especially on a longboard in big surf. Maybe a channel would be helpful. Once I took a longboard out southside of Juno Pier, thought it was chest plus, the conveyor belt took me right out, dry hair, then a set came in it was ten foot faces. I'd catch one - the last one of the set, and either kick out the back or take it to the beach and walk back to the pier. I don't think I've ever gone so fast on a board.
LOL That was a once in a lifetime type thing I believe (turtle takeoff). 10ft. faced on your LB, you musta been clocking some speed!
