Upwind paddling and remounting tips?

After a month of regular practice I am feeling almost comfortable paddling the v12 in flat water. However, I still find it extremely challenging in rough water.

Today I practiced going upwind and downwind on the Gulf of Mexico with about 15 knots of wind and half-meter chop. I actually had fun on the downwind bits, and only capsized on one of four 500 m downwind intervals. In comparison, I capsized multiple times on most of the upwind segments.

When remounting after a fall on the upwinds I struggled keep / get the boat pointed into the wind again. Are there any tips or techniques for that? Is it best to just start paddling at whatever angle the boat is pointed, even if it's totally broadsides to the wind & waves, and then steer up into the wind once underway? Or is it best to position the boat from the water before you hop on?

Another thing I wondered is if there are some paddle technique adjustments that help with stability when going upwind. Going downwind it was easy enough to use the brace stroke, but going upwind I didn't have much speed to work with, and bracing sometimes seemed counterproductive by slowing me down and making me even more unstable and subject to being bullied by the waves.

Thanks!

When remounting after a fall on the upwinds I struggled keep / get the boat pointed into the wind again. Are there any tips or techniques for that? Is it best to just start paddling at whatever angle the boat is pointed, even if it's totally broadsides to the wind & waves, and then steer up into the wind once underway?

Presumably you're doing a bum-first remount as shown here:



(There are many similar videos - just search for "surfski remount" on YouTube).

As the wind strength increases, it becomes more and more difficult to position the surfski to point either upwind or downwind and you really shouldn't bother trying. Just let it assume its natural position broadside to the wind and waves. That way, when you get your bum in the boat, you can leave both legs out the windward side and you find yourself in a stable situation where you can draw breath before starting to paddle again.

Don't bother to point the boat, just get in, and start paddling from broadside to wind and waves. As you become more stable, you'll find it easier. Let the boat speed build up before attempting to turn upwind. If you slam rudder on immediately, you'll find it very difficult to turn upwind.

Another thing I wondered is if there are some paddle technique adjustments that help with stability when going upwind. Going downwind it was easy enough to use the brace stroke, but going upwind I didn't have much speed to work with, and bracing sometimes seemed counterproductive by slowing me down and making me even more unstable and subject to being bullied by the waves.

My opinion on this one is simply that you're currently overwhelmed by the boat's tippiness; once you become a little more stable, this won't be an issue. The normal condition is that you should be stable enough that you can simply power into swell and you shouldn't have to take any braces. Cure = time in the boat (and/or a more stable boat!)

Work on upping your cadence. Honestly I would say just stay on flat water until you have a pretty near perfect stroke.

I'll typically shorten my stroke and up the cadence going upwind. You might also want to try shortening your paddle length.

As for remounting, just practice. When you get more comfortable with the balance it won't be any problem.

Hey Douglass There's a nice ski for the waves not far from you.

tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/boa/d/epic-v7-surf-ski/6576064677.html

Thanks LakeMan. I'm sure I'd be much better off in the waves with the v7 than the v12.

However, I'm starting to get hooked on the speed of the v12 for flat water (I did 10.8 kph over 6.5 km yesterday - yay me!) and I think I'd have a hard time giving that up for a slower plastic surfski. If I was rich and had more storage space I'd get them both and use the v7 in the ocean and the v12 in the flat.

"Dream" boat now would be something in the 18-19' range like my buddy's Nelo 550 or the v8 pro.

-J

I've had a very light and lively new Evo for half a season now after an SR and extensive sea and whitewater kayak experience, and I still get slowed down and bucked off sometimes in multi-chop chaos (Sydney's outer harbour has a lot of multi- sea cliff action). Some combination of the high up position (70kgs here) and almost no rolling resistance between stability points makes for some surprises that only a strong brace on either side can counter (though it's always on my right--count the sides and maybe something else to work on). It's easy to hop back on though, just drop in from the upwind side and start paddling, repeating as necessary. A flooded cockpit seems to dampen the twitch a bit until motion can be regained. This hull also seems to stabilise a bit if I pay attention to staying on top of the beam maximum which is a bit behind the seat, and/or speed. People are right though we just need to keep getting out there on an appropriate ski (safely, of course)