Accidental floater

[Tudeo]

I was racing the sections on a shoulder high right with the 8'2" Submoon. I saw I was not going to make the next section and steered up the wall to kick out. But in a more critical part I usualy do, closer to the breaking section.

The section broke just before I kicked out when I was at the top and it just felt natural to go with the flow, and to my surprise I was on top of the white water passing the section, and made a nice re-entry and could continue the wave. It all just happened, whitout any consious effort

Funny, I always wanted to do a floater but for some reason I never think about that when I enter the water, and as a result I always turn away from the breaking section, cos it's my natural responce. And think after I finish the wave, 'hey, that was a nice floater opportunity..'

[oldmansurfer]

Awesome I also did my first floater entirely by accident. I love the way it feels to do a floater, always makes me feel like I did something significant. Long ago I was working on speed and was going so fast that when I turned up the wave because the section in front threw over and I was going to cut out but I was going so fast I just kept going and dropped right back in front of the breaking section. I was like OMG what did I just do? I hadn't even heard of a floater yet much less seen one. Anyways CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

[Tudeo]

Thanks! Yes, I think it's all about speed, and timing of course. I was surprised how easy it felt, like it was the natural thing to do.
I guess with experience comes a growing set of manouvres to do in a 'natural' way.

[oldmansurfer]

I think timing is the key to doing a floater but then maybe I always try to surf with speed so that is why timing seems to be the key to me. Back when I longboarded I used to do a weird maneuver where I would stall on the lip of a wave with the board pointing lengthwise along the lip so pointing down the line with the middle of the board resting on the top of the lip. Eventually the wave would break below the board sucking the nose of the board over the falls and I would make a bottom turn and continue on. It seemed like the nose was always pointed in the right angle to make the maneuver like it was all automatic and I didn't need to do anything. It's not quite a floater or a foam climb and actually sometimes the board is below the foam or below the lip with the lip hitting me about at the knees. Just something I did naturally. I also on occasion do a sideways foam climb where I am at the bottom of a section that is crumbling trying to make it around but realizing that the whitewater is going to hit me so I lift the inside edge of the board that allows the whitewater to go under the board and then I kind of slip sideways a bit back down to the bottom of the wave and continue on (only did that one a couple times). Yeah I think you just need to free your mind from what your preconceived notions are and just surf.

[RinkyDink]

From what I gather from Martin Dunn, floaters are useful in making it past wave sections that you otherwise wouldn't be able to get around. It makes sense since floaters leave a surfer coming down from the top of the wave into the next section. Personally, I love the look of a really fast and fluid floater. Kelly Slater's floaters have always amazed me. I'd rather watch his floaters than your typical aerial. I think my taste is different though.

[jaffa1949]

Being helpful, double, dinky duplicates, deleted.

[oldmansurfer]

Floaters and foam climbs are ways to get past sections however I just enjoy doing them and don't care if they are functional. The majority of the ones I do are on shoredump closeout sections and recently I have made a conscious decision to not do them because I found that my fins were getting ground down because I would often land them in a few inches of water going really fast. So unfortunately even though I enjoy doing them as a end wave maneuver I quit due to thinking this can't be good for my board (or fins at least.) So mostly looking for outside areas to do them but haven't been finding them lately

[Tudeo]

I think timing is the key to doing a floater but then maybe I always try to surf with speed so that is why timing seems to be the key to me.

Yes, I think you're right. Maybe speed compensates for (bad) timing?

Yeah I think you just need to free your mind from what your preconceived notions are and just surf.

Absolutely!

[Tudeo]

From what I gather from Martin Dunn, floaters are useful in making it past wave sections that you otherwise wouldn't be able to get around.

Jup, it's fun and function.

[RinkyDink]

Being helpful, double, dinky duplicates, deleted.

Danke

[jaffa1949]

Delighted to deliver