Big sea paddling

Today?s paddling conditions reminded me just how grateful I am for the new breed of skis ? and it?s all about stability.

Here in Cape Town we?ve had massive 5m swells coming in from the southwest and paddling buddy Dale & I went out from Hout Bay 4km out into the Atlantic around Vulcan Rock and back.

A feature of Hout Bay is that there are sheer rock faces everywhere from which the swells reflect ? so you get completely confused chop running in all directions. I remember a few years ago disliking Hout Bay for this reason ? I could barely stay on my ski. But now, paddling our stable skis (Dale paddles a V10, I paddle a Mako 6) ? and admittedly with a few more years experience, the chop is no longer an enemy. We spend all our time watching the waves just in front of the ski, looking for waves going our way ? as soon as the nose dips, a couple of hard strokes and you?re on a run, but what a run! The waves coming at you from ahead and from the sides make it a bouncing, spray filled, roller coaster run, totally unlike a smooth downwind surf. And such fun!

Once we were out of the bay and into the open sea, we encountered the monster swells ? when you?re on top of a 5m swell looking down at the guy below you it?s a strange feeling.

We took Vulcan Rock very wide ? the swells seem to flow over the rock and it gives the illusion of moving up and down as waves pass by ? but just behind the rock, the waves turn violent? there?s obviously a shallow area there and the waves jack up and explode ? and breaking wavelets rebound in all directions. We even considered just turning around and going back the way we?d come, on the seaward side of the rock, but there?s a wide channel between Vulcan and the notorious Dungeons Reef on the landward side and so we went for it ? it was great, hectic little runs, again in the midst of chaotic side and front seas.

Going back, Dungeons Reef (where the annual Big Wave Africa surfing competition is held) was on our left hand side. As we got closer, sets of enormous waves started to rear up on our right. When one started to feather as it went under us we decided that perhaps we should angle slightly out to sea for a bit!

But the sheer enjoyment of it all really got to me ? those old WWII fighter pilots used to talk of ?strapping the airplane on? and that?s how I feel about my ski ? it is just such joy to get out there and burn through the sea.

What a wonderful sport we have!
;D

Sounds a lot like our Makapuu run. If you come out to do Molokai, the Makapuu is a great place to train, with wild conditions similar to those you described. And there is no question a more stable ski definitely helps in those conditions.

Fantastic image you paint Rob. I can't wait to get to a stage where I am even close to handling those conditions. I read these stories to motivate me to get into the bigger Seas on our North coast.

I crashed and burned on the Kayak stage of our cross island race last year due to Seas I just couldn't handle (on top of two days of trail running and biking), this year I plan to nail them and enjoy it!

Thanks