how long is your paddle out?

[benjl]

I went out for a surf at my local in the weekend and it started to exhibit the usual conditions of last winter..

massive and endless wall of whitewash and an impossibly long paddle out to catch anything clean.

How does this compare with your paddle out?? The only bonus is that 1.5hrs in these conditions is enough to give you a serious workout!

3-5ft+ of messy on-shore, tidal tows. My favourite!

[oldmansurfer]

I might go that far out but mostly for reef breaks that break along a chanel. For the sand break I may go close to that far out only when it's huge. (but I use the channel along the reef to paddle out). I wonder how can you tell where there are ridable waves?

[drowningbitbybit]

Usually around 3 metres
Walk to the end of the point, hop off the rock, mad (but short) paddle to get out before the next set, and you're in position

If I go to the beachie, about 50m, and that's plenty thanks.
I can't imagine what I'd be like if I went back to the UK these days and tried to a Llangennith level paddle out

[dtc]

benjl , that's an impressive paddle out! Don't you stand on the beach and just see white - like oldman says, how do you actually know where to go to catch a wave?

My beach breaks tend to be somewhere between 30 - 100m out; depends in part on the size and tide. Usually there is a shore break of some kind to get through (sometimes you can walk through this but not always) then through the proper break. But as is normal, if the wave is breaking across the beach, the peak will be 80m out but the end of the wave will only be 40m out - so you can paddle out there and then behind the waves across to the peak

Point/reef breaks are annoying for a beach person!

then again, DBB, how many times have you seen a mistimed jump off the rocks?

[benjl]

benjl , that's an impressive paddle out! Don't you stand on the beach and just see white - like oldman says, how do you actually know where to go to catch a wave?

It's hard! Drive an hour each to way to turn up at the beach and have it look like this! Up close the waves out back were overhead so every now and then you'll get re-form that is cleanish and 2-3ft but then you'll have to fight through another 20mins of whitewash trying to paddle back out again. It's frustrating to say the least. Often when its SW swell with SW wind the tides are so strong that while trying to paddle directly straight out, you'll end up 100m down the beach and just get nowhere. Alternatively if the tides are the other direction, it will just pin you agianst the rocks on the cliffs on the left of that photo which is probably more dangerous.

The worst thing is that this will probably be what it will be like at my local for 60%+ of the winter tides
It's mental how much the wave size impacts upon where the waves break at muriwai. A couple of weeks ago when it was 1-2ft I could literally walk past the break and it was only breaking about 20m away from the shore.
Once it starts getting bigger it just breaks further and further out. Imagine how it looks when it gets 6ft + and stronger onshore winds
Actually I will have to try and get a photo of that some time!

[Surf Hound]

Break doesn't look like tons of fun but it sure is pretty country..... No such thing as a bad day in the water though I have seen much better

[drowningbitbybit]

then again, DBB, how many times have you seen a mistimed jump off the rocks?

I've been that guy who screws it up several times

And I currently have cuts on both sides of my left foot from where a rock stack collapsed underneath me on Friday morning (this would be worth more of a mention if I hadn't almost ripped off the toes on my right foot while skateboarding in bare feet 10 minutes earlier...)

[Jester]

That looks scarily familiar up there!! I feel for you man!