Lessons Learned: Surf launch and landing mistakes - Weekly Kayaking Tips - Kayak Hipster

On my recent trip out west with Matt Kane of Prime Paddlesports, before we made our way to Mendocino, we joined a fantastic group of paddlers on the water for a morning paddle in San Francisco. I messed up both my surf launch and landing, and here's a look back on lessons learned from it.
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[@cougarmeat8803]

Tips:When that wave broke over you it appeared that you held your paddle kind of perpendicular to the boat. That’s sort of a perfect position to get a dislocated shoulder. I was taught, if you are going to take a crashing wave that you bend low on the front deck and “spear” the water as in an aggressive forward stroke. When landing, especially if your instructor is on the beach, be sure to look over your shoulder before popping the spray skirt - making sure another wave isn’t about to crash into your now open cockpit. After getting out of the boat, throw your paddle WAY UP on shore so there is no chance that the incoming waves will grab it, and try to take it out to sea while you are busy dumping water from your kayak cockpit. Be sure, be sure, be sure NOT to get between your broached kayak and the shore. Be on the water side. Say your kayak with gear (and some water in the cockpit) weighs about 80 lbs - even a small wave can pick that 80 lbs up and ram it into your legs.

[@Phool66]

Thank you so much. I have not done much ocean paddling yet and I am learning so much from you. Things I would not have thought of.

[@tommycheshire5508]

You have great information and a very pleasant presentation. Thank you for your efforts.

[@opwave79]

Thanks for the tips! I’m not at the skill level to launch in waves as big as what you showed, but I will take your advice and take enough time to watch and time the sets before I get in position to launch or land.

[@insaynbcr]

Good information on timing the sets. Off the Oregon and Washington coast where we kayak fish out of SOT kayaks, we get pretty wet on some launches and damn near every landing. I don't have much problem with going out as I can wade out waist deep and watch sets. Then jump on, and paddle out. Up and over each incoming wave. Coming back in, I suck at coming in facing the beach. I haven't taken the time to practice surfing sideways, and probably should. However, I have moved to coming in backwards and have been 100% successful at staying on the kayak all the way to the beach. It's actually fun and a lot less stressful for me than coming in forward where I nearly always get dumped. Coming in backwards is very much the same as launching, but as you go over a wave (or it goes under you), paddle like crazy in reverse. If another wave is coming for you, stop paddling backwards and power up and over (or through) the wave and immediately start paddling backwards towards the beach again.

[@BorntoWalk007]

Great tips thanks for sharing.

[@BarryWalstead]

Great tips as always.

[@Dongato632010]

Thank you for the video, from Peru.

[@bernardoevo]

Thanks, very informative

[@rwdtk000000]

Excellent. Thanks man

[@chrislavigne1212]

Great video as always, i taught myself depending on the wave i ride the wave in closer to the beach and as the next set approaches i turn toward the wave and back in to the beach with the last wave in the set it gives me enough time to get out of the kayak before more waves approach and saves the boat from hard impact on the beach. Not sure if thats the correct way but seems to work for me. Thanks for the videos. Helps a lot!

[@jlfelber1]

I remember in one training session we practiced backwards landings. It seemed to me that it might be _easier_ then going forward under some conditions. I haven't yet had a chance to try it much, though.

[@KayakLife]

Luke, you are awesome! Keep it up! My only tip... there is time for observing and time to be in action. If you are in the action zone then its on like donkey kong :) Time to level up! haha. Hope all is well. I had some 4-5 foot surf launch this past weekend. Was a lot of fun.

[@jhermosom]

Your channels is Rally interesting. Thank por hasta the info. And one thing I have lerned is , I, We are safe in the kayak, if de have oir dare equipment....bit fue most that use yo be hurt is our Ego...there is not safe equipment por that..gracias por tu esfuerzo..muy buenos tus post..lo mismo en instagram. Nos da una buena idea del panorama del kayak de mar...saludos desde la Isla de Margarita

[@JLT1003]

Hi Luke, First of all, kudos for being willing to help others learn from your mistakes. Obviously everyone makes mistakes, but some aren't willing to admit it :). This posting was very helpful; I just have 2 questions. On the launch, how would you avoid the opposite problem? It seems to me that if you had hung further back to avoid getting pulled in *before* you were ready, you may have found yourself high and dry when it was time to launch and then missed the window. On the landing, I'm not sure if I'm clear what the solution should have been. Was it simply that you weren't staying close enough behind the wave you were chasing? (I have found that I can't always paddle fast enough to stay in the ideal spot.) Or are you saying you should have picked a different wave? (If there was no water under it, is that because it was too big a wave -- or there was a big wave right behind it -- that was sucking all the water out?) Thanks! Jonathan

[@KayakHipster]

JLT1003 mistakes are always going to be made. Always helpful in learning what not to do next time... For the launch here, if I had been paying closer attention, I would have noticed that the wave that hit me was part of a set. Looking back at the full recording I can see that these bigger waves were getting water further up the shore, so if I had just waited a bit higher up, once this one broke, I would have had enough water to get myself going. And since it was the last one of the set, I would have had plenty of time to get out past the impact zone. On the one going back, several things could have been different, but I can't tell you with certainty because once again I wasn't keeping track of the sets close enough. If I picked a different wave to chase to the shore I certainly wouldn't have had any other big waves coming up behind it. It's my guess that I picked incorrectly, and it was maybe one of the smaller ones within a set. I think my timing was also wrong, maybe I hesitated in waiting after the wave went by me rather than follow it super close to make sure I would get far enough up the beach before it started pulling me back in. I think overall the main mistake is not taking my time to watch closely. I wanted to keep up with the group, instead of taking my time and making sure I was doing the right thing.

[@barryroberts2474]

Something I noticed as you were waiting to paddle out. I know a lot of kayakers hold their paddle above their head when they can't avoid an oncoming wave. Better in my experience to place your blade in line with the boat pointing toward the bow of your boat ie pointing into the wave. You then present a smaller area to the force of the wave and if you successfully punch through you can swing straight into a forward stroke and get away quickly. The second thing and I think you already got the lesson; is to be more positive in attacking the oncoming waves. Get in first and don't let the water determine your fate. As we learn skills and experience it becomes intuative and we become morre in control. A mantra might be "get in first." Not always possible. As you get more confident in landing you can switch to using the front of the wave. Practice side surfing as if you come in on the front you may get turned sideways and need a high or low brace and then bongo in side on. Useful skill on a steeper beach as you won't be left dangling.

[@KayakHipster]

Barry Roberts I gotta disagree a bit here. I think the angle of the camera throws it off here, but when you see me lift the paddle, it's deliberate. Not to avoid the wave, but to attempt to time it so I can stick my blade directly past the wave right before it hits my body. That way regardless of the power of the wave, you've got an engaged blade in the water past the wave, and then can pull through the wave. If I just held up the paddle in the air (which you're right, paddlers often do - it's sometimes just a reflex) the wave can start back surfing you. But, if you manage to get a blade in behind the wave, you will then be in control and the wave will be forced to simply get past you. It's all about timing. On your other point, side surfing is a TON of fun, but you have to be very careful when you do it. It should only be done on a beach you know well or if you're playing. If you're approaching a landing you've never seen before, you should always land using the following/behind the wave method. Rocks and obstacles can very easily hide on our way into the shore - and depending on the tide, they might be completely hidden. Remaining behind the wave allows you to control your landing completely - while side surfing will leave it up to the wave to push you in. Sometimes in bigger surf it's impossible to see obstacles while being on the water, or to gage exactly the size of the breaking wave. Taking your time and then selecting the right calm moment to land will help in avoiding obstacles. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE side surfing. But for beginners, it could be dangerous to do so in unknown locations. Always land safely on the shore. Analyze the beach, find all obstacles, and then find an area to safely surf and have fun. Thanks for the input! Cheers!

[@frankblangeard8865]

This is good advice which could be easily edited down to half the time (or less).

[@jlfelber1]

You stated (and people have told me before, more than once) that when landing to wait until a wave goes by and then chase it as much as possible to shore. I realize that doing this minimizes the time in front of a wave, but why don't you instead use the opportunity to surf the wave in as much as possible? Sometimes the wave behind is already breaking, so why is it better to attempt to stay up while it crashes through you instead of passing up what may be a fine opportunity to surf?

[@KayakHipster]

Joseph Felber there are times to do that - surf a wave all the way in. It's fun, and a nice way to get out. But there's many instances where it's not a good idea. If you're landing in a new location and you don't know how the waves behave. Or you might not know if there's obstacles hidden near the shore. The idea is to be in control, and not leave it up to the wave pushing you into possible danger. When we go play in waves, we'll ride waves back to shore anytime we're getting out. But the wave I launched into in this video would not have been good for surfing. It did not have any water under it, and the impact zone was very rough. That's why it sucked me back in and knocked me out. So, it's always better to play it safe, and only surf waves in that you know are good to surf on.

[@NickSchade]

Surfing into a beach is fun if you have nice spilling waves all the way to the beach. But often the waves dump as they approach the shore. Controlling a long sea kayak in dumping surf is hard. One of two things are likely to happen: You stuff the bow into the sand, which either sends you up and over the top, crashing headfirst into the sand, or you get stopped cold then flip sideways; alternately you broach and are forced to side surf if you are lucky or get window shaded if you are less lucky. As Kayak Hipster said, being in control is the point. If you can control yourself during a surf, that may be a fine way to go, but much of the time racing in behind the break allows the most control and you can place yourself up near the top of the wave surge giving yourself the maximum time to exit your kayak with dignity.

[@KayakHipster]

Nick Schade extremely well put. Thank you. And yes, I lost all dignity both in my launch and landing - but messing up is the only way to learn!

[@jlfelber1]

Thank you both. I remember once stuffing my bow in the sand. The next thing I remember is the sea *pulling* me out the kayak. It was not my intention or conscious effort to wet exit. It just happened with extreme force. I then remember standing up and someone else had already brought my kayak to shore. I was reminded that waves have a very large amount of power.

[@NickSchade]

Doesn't sound very dignified. It is easy to underestimate the power of the ocean and almost impossible to overestimate it. No matter how prepared you may feel for dealing with the power of the ocean, the ocean always has the ability to one-up you and teach you another lesson.

[@leatherindian]

Im convinced the most interesting time to have video on is launching and landing. I'm surprised you had problems given the beard you're sporting.

[@owlstead]

I really don't get why you would have to wait at that pebble beach. That was a very short, steep and dangerous surf: you just want to get in your boat and out as fast as possible. Unless you want to sand down your kayak of course.

[@KayakHipster]

Maarten Bodewes with each set, there was plenty of water to be gently brought down through the break zone. The key would have been to wait for the right time. My main area of emphasis on this video is that if you don’t know an area, especially like this beach in SF, you need to wait for the bigger sets to understand the cycle and spot openings. Our entire group launched flawlessly before me in between sets, no damage to boats or any issues with waves. I was focused on filming and did not pay as much attention as I should have. Then the water decided for me my timing. If I had spent a bit more time studying my surroundings I would have had an easier time getting out. Cheers!

[@owlstead]

I do completely agree that. Yeah, I get tricked into focusing on my camera equipment as well, which is why I don't take too many photos / videos anymore; let the instructors handle that. I don't know how the others got in, but just getting your ass in the kayak and paddling out of the surf should do it. Don't bother with the stuff such as the spray deck or even getting your feet inside. With the rather gentile waters after the steep waves you should be able to keep your balance. You're mentioning doing a roll in the video, but doing a roll in that surf is madness. And a roll doesn't seem needed out of the surf. Sorry, I cannot help myself here; I'm always thinking on how I should have handled it - or rather, how my instructors would be handling it :)

[@KayakHipster]

Maarten Bodewes no worries. But the main reason I was there on that trip was to capture it on video - so my #1 priority was actually working with the equipment. In any case, this was a launch that absolutely mandated having a skirt on in case of a wave crashing. If you notice, here I time it so the moment the wave comes at me, I simply take a stroke into it and easily break through. It was one of the bigger waves and was not that big a deal. Other than a hurt ego, no worries. Now, if I had my cockpit open or was not sitting ready for it, could have been really bad. If the wave had been bigger, I would have gone into a tuck with the paddle on the side of the kayak like a roll setup to punch through the wave. If you’re perpendicular to the wave and offer the least amount of surface area, it’ll usually wash over you. Wasn’t necessary here since it wasn’t really that big. In terms of rolling before a wave, it’s a very useful technique. But can only be used if there’s plenty of water below you. You’d be surprised how peaceful it is to be upside down and let a big wave pass by. If you look through my west coast videos, you’ll see me do it several times for fun.

[@qaannat]

Dumping surf sucks... literally.