Pop Up / Paddle timing

[waikikikichan]

I am basically finding the peak and getting about 10 or 15 ft further out than that. So I wonder if I need to be further out so I can get more speed up and be catching the wave before it peaks.

How many strokes are you taking ? Not that you should be counting, but like 5, 10, 20 strokes ?

Where are the other good surfers positioning themselves compared to the peak ?

[dtc]

when you say 'perling', are you being caught in the lip and being thrown over, or are you nose diving at the bottom of the wave

caught in lip

surfingwipeoutpearl.jpg (21.06 KiB) Viewed 772 times

nose dive (yes its a SUP ..)

[oldmansurfer]

Yeah dtc that is the confusing thing. The top one I hear is common in beginners but I never had much problems with that type of pearling. The bottom one is more like what I used to experience pearling. But notice he is angled and turned yet there is water coming up on the outside edge of his rail. If not for the water on the outside edge of his rail I would say he made it very likely. I think what happened there is he was trying to high line and lost the edge (rail pushed out of the wave) and the nose dropped down the wave due to weight of the board. The fat rails pushed the board out of the wall and the front of the board was so heavy he couldn't keep it going in a higher line. I used to have that happen with my longboard but still didn't pearl soo....? I don't know but wish I could see what happens next. But still should save this as a demonstration of the two beginners types of pearling.

[dtc]

The top one is what I think of as 'perling'; its almost always due to slow paddling for the speed of the wave. Rarer on rolling waves (bad paddle and you just roll over the back instead) and more common on steep or plunging waves. If you ever watch a beginner class, you can tell 5 seconds in advance who is going to perl and who isnt. The ones that give 4 or 5 really weak paddles and think they are doing something are the most obvious. For any beginners reading this, go and watch a beginner class from the beach - its a really useful lesson in what not to do...

The other not uncommon cause of perling I see with beginners (yes, where i surf runs surf lessons all the time...) is paddling for a wave and then freezing when the wave catches them and then they just stop paddling (this is effectively the same as slow paddling really). The wave catches the tail and pitches them A over T. The standard 'if you go for a wave then commit and stay committed' aphorism applies.

[oldmansurfer]

The problem I had was I popped up and dropped down the wave and where the wave went from vertical to horizontal I would drive the nose under. I realized it was about moving the board underneath you as you get to the bottom. I am amazed that people learn to surf without recognizing this but then maybe they learn on longboards where this isn't such an issue. I still pearl in this situation when I am nearly free falling and the wave has an abrupt change at the bottom and I can't manipulate the board because I am only barely touching it.

[steveylang]

OP- is it possible to have someone take video of you on some of your waves? Then it would be very easy to point out what went wrong when you do perl. Otherwise, as you say there are a lot of variables and we're all guessing at what might be going wrong. The perling is a symptom of some sort of user error, but even that error may be caused by something you're doing prior to that.

For me (I ride a 6'8" board), I perl when I do exactly what dtc says above me- not paddling enough to match the speed of the wave. I don't know if that's your problem, but I think it's an easy mistake for a beginner because our senses can fool us- we feel the water rushing under us getting sucked up the wave face, and we think we're going faster than we really are. Or you think you need to pop up early because you feel rushed, when an extra strong paddle or 2 is exactly what is needed to 'make' that extra time so you don't perl.

I find the way to avoid this is to make sure you are looking down the line when you are paddling, you can better judge your speed vs. the wave speed and you can also see where you're going to go.

I went out this morning and perled my 1st 2 waves, I was puzzled because I thought I had that solved. But I had slipped back to old habits, and after I realized that I was able to 'reset' and start making waves, and drop in successfully into steeper waves because I paddled hard to make the wave.

[TeleOpenG]

All,

Thanks for such great advice. Next time I go out (hopefully this weekend) I will see if I can get some video. In my history of learning sports this is always valuable because what you think you are doing is not always what you are doing.

The type of pearling I am having is at the lip while paddling for the wave. It could be that I am too far forward but I doubt it because in some pool time I seem to be where I should be (will try photos of this too) I think it is either paddling speed or wave steepness. I can haul butt on this board paddling so I really think it is down to "when" I start paddling. I could also be stopping too soon. On fatter days (waves not me ) it doesn't happen. I either catch it or miss it. But on more hollow days it is like the picture where the tail jams the nose. Which I think is paddle. I think it is where I start so I am not up to speed or that perhaps I stop too soon.

Anyway thanks for all the advice I will try to post some video (should be good for a laugh).

John

[Ratfinksurfer]

I can't believe it is just my paddle I realize I am older but still in good shape and a very strong swimmer (competitive in the distant pass). I am working out to paddle harder and more efficiently. After my last session I thought that it may not so much be paddle speed capability, but where I am trying to get into the wave.

I also spent a great deal of time focusing on my paddling abilities when I was starting out. (I'm a later in life beginner as well.) I think the paddling skills will come with the surfing practice, it's not the issue. As everyone else has emphasized, it's really more about getting familiar with the feel of the wave and gaining experience with riding a chunk of Styrofoam on the ocean. The dancing analogy is good, DON'T LOOK AT YOUR FEET follows as Don't look at the nose of your board!

LOOK where you are going. That's the best advice I've had. What happens when you look down the line is your eyes begin to sync up your body with the wave. Suddenly you're not a person floating on a surfboard in the ocean, you're becoming attune to the wave! Once you start conforming to the actual wave you'll realize wherever you look your body will follow. This leads to the angled take off. Once your eyes begin focusing on riding down the green open faced wave, your board will begin to dig it's rail while you pop up and before you know it, you're riding down the line with the wave breaking behind you!

[Big H]

That's it in a nutshell......the second pic the guy is leaning over and looking at the nose.....guess what? He's snowplowing the nose into the wave....head up, body relaxed, look where you want to go.......easy (LOL)

[oldmansurfer]

There is no connection between your eyes and your board. The whole thing is that people get off balance looking. If you stay in balance you can look anywhere. The guy in the bottom photo is an SUPer and he is leaning on his paddle trying to turn the board. People pearl all the time and fall down all the time without looking down or at the nose of their boards. Why didn't they go where they were looking? It is something to help beginners who lack balance not some magical law.

[Big H]

I disagree......same as riding a motorcycle.....if you stare into the apex your body will follow your eyes and adjust itself to the right angles needed for a smooth turn......can you then look over your shoulder whilst maintaining all the same angles? Sure you can......but it feels awkward and wrong as all heck.

[oldmansurfer]

Ahh well I look where ever I want to, you can look where you want to go. I look at the nose and don't pearl or fall down I look at the board and my feet and don't fall down. Sometimes I look at the beach but I am not magically transported there and I don't fall down. Nothing awkward or wrong with that. However when I am in a critical section I am focused on where I am going most of the time.

[RinkyDink]

The nice thing about the second picture is that you can imagine, if you had a magic wand, how much nose rocker you'd add to the board to prevent it from doing its submarine dive.

[RinkyDink]

The nice thing about the second picture is that you can imagine, if you had a magic wand, how much nose rocker you'd add to the board to prevent it from doing its submarine dive.

Or imagine how much worse the pearling would be if he had taken off straight instead of angling his takeoff.

[oldmansurfer]

The SUp guy may or may not have pearled right there. It is possible that the SUP has a boat nose which is designed to come back out of the water after going under. It's foiled to push up if it goes under.