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Need help crossing critical section of the impact zone
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manuel



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1158

PostPosted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 2:31 pm    Post subject: Need help crossing critical section of the impact zone Reply with quote

I was cruising along yesterday, when the wave in front of me cleared and I was left with what's in the picture below. I'm not sure you can see but it's breaking on the right and on the left and is steep in the middle. I cannot race it, I am too late to jump it before it closes out and if I go to the right I'll lose too much planing and will hit it with little momentum.

So which part is the best part to hit at this point?

EDIT: After some more experience sailing waves, I wanted to share a few tips. See post [url][/url]



I opted for the middle section, and went right through it without as much impact as I would have thought or as the picture below shows. I lost the plane but didn't fall and puttered away.



Now it's fine that the wave wasn't that big but on a big day, I'm always afraid to get in this same exact situation.

A possible answer to this would be to make note of where it's breaking the biggest and try to either go left or right of it before crossing over but sometimes I feel like trying my luck.

The more it's side, the wider it closes out and sometimes the less visibility we have over the waves.

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Last edited by manuel on Fri Jan 15, 2016 9:15 am; edited 2 times in total
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keycocker



Joined: 10 Jul 2005
Posts: 3598

PostPosted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 4:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cross any section downwind of you. If it is steep then cut across at a flat angle and turn back at the crest. Keep your speed up. You won't slam into the wave because your angle of attack need not be nearly as steep as the wave.
You may want to crouch down at the crest. It will help lift you over and makes you less likely to get unstable.
I see guys do this on double mast high like Peahi.
Most and a half high faces is my limit.
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jingebritsen



Joined: 21 Aug 2002
Posts: 3371

PostPosted: Thu Dec 25, 2014 7:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

wind angle?

how much juice?

wave duration?

my style of sailing in the waves is based on lots of onshore conditions. i have learned to keep and maintain my speed at virtually all other costs.

choose bigger, faster kits.

run from trouble.

avoid stalling jumps.

go upwind of critical peaks only with tons of power on tap, and a clear exit available from anything else bigger and/or more jagged behind your immediate encounter. like mountain biking technical sections: be calculating the next few obstacles with solutions for each already in place for the stuff directly underfoot.

i did mention running, right? that means running downwind of something you know may end badly. that's my default. run away. pick a course where your jumps have planing landings outside of any larger nasties that will work you and waste your time....

your camera makes it look like you were trying to pinch upwind. that may be your camera and mounting? pinching encounters, especially not super lit, have very high probabilities of stalls. especially when a wave pops up, extra steep, unexpectedly. in beach breaks, with shifting bottom contours and other variables this is common.

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keycocker



Joined: 10 Jul 2005
Posts: 3598

PostPosted: Thu Dec 25, 2014 3:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do you have your chicken jibe down cold? It is good to practice on perfect days.
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MalibuGuru



Joined: 11 Nov 1993
Posts: 9293

PostPosted: Thu Dec 25, 2014 3:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

On big days it is tempting to guess how many waves are in a set. Don't do this. Drop into the water and wait until the set is over for 20 seconds, then charge again. If you see another set wait again. Chicken jibe is a last resort for bad timing. On super big days, I go into the section that has already broken because it will have less energy. Obviously if you're powered up nicely this is a lot easier.

You'd be surprised at how many times you'll pass a large wave successfully,even when you feel hopeless if you charge it. Knowledge of the reef and tide are essential before you venture out. At Kanaha, pinching way upwind, into the channel is also helpful.
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nw30



Joined: 21 Dec 2008
Posts: 6485
Location: The eye of the universe, Cen. Cal. coast

PostPosted: Thu Dec 25, 2014 3:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Patience is a virtue, picking the right time to charge out after studying the timing of the sets is the best approach, as depicted below.
If no time between sets, then speed is your best friend, hit power with power, whatever it takes. Or chicken jibe if there is enough wind on the inside, which doesn't happen at our spot very often, also in the pic.



Sets 2007 4 10.JPG
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Sets 2007 4 10.JPG


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keycocker



Joined: 10 Jul 2005
Posts: 3598

PostPosted: Thu Dec 25, 2014 4:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Chicken won't work in NWs example because not enough room inside.
Believing you will cross through impossible seemingly situations is very helpful.
Another way to say you gotta commit.
I saw Naish buried to his eyes in white water and stalled and somehow emerges unscathed and sailed away.
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MalibuGuru



Joined: 11 Nov 1993
Posts: 9293

PostPosted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 2:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

NW, is that Arroyo? Where?
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manuel



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1158

PostPosted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 11:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks all for the feedback, here are the points I gathered:
- avoid getting in the situation to start with
- learn to read the break better
- the more speed the more options
- the more speed the more likely we are to punch across, so charge
- chicken jibe if something smells fishy

EDIT: I do have one question left, besides experience of hitting the wave at random spots, is it better to hit a wave that broke a couple of seconds ago, one that's just starting, or does it depend on white water power/wave size?

jingebritsen wrote:
wind angle?


Depends on wave, here it was closer to side than side-on. It only gets worse the more oneshore it is because of the lack of speed when turning to face the wave.

jingebritsen wrote:
how much juice?


With screaming speeds maybe I could have beaten that section to pass it downwind. On the picture, I'd say regular planing speeds.

jingebritsen wrote:
wave duration?


You mean period? Varies from 8 to 17s (exceptional and coming in the next few days), below 8 well it's usually pretty crappy and 17 quite easy to read!

jingebritsen wrote:
my style of sailing in the waves is based on lots of onshore conditions. i have learned to keep and maintain my speed at virtually all other costs.


The farther east the more onshore, so the longer we run along the waves and the less progress we make. Definitely not as a successful approach especially since the waves are even larger (they first hit the reef there).

jingebritsen wrote:
choose bigger, faster kits.


Yeah, the more onshore the more things like .2 or .3mē more sail, 1-2cm more fin, 1-2cm wider/5L more board, etc.

jingebritsen wrote:
your camera makes it look like you were trying to pinch upwind. that may be your camera and mounting? pinching encounters, especially not super lit, have very high probabilities of stalls. especially when a wave pops up, extra steep, unexpectedly. in beach breaks, with shifting bottom contours and other variables this is common.


It's both a combination of not being super lit and pinching upwind to face the wave at 90°.

keycocker wrote:
Do you have your chicken jibe down cold? It is good to practice on perfect days.


I have done one recently in side conditions, the wave was powerful and very wide, I had zero chance of making it through. Usually the bigger the wave, the more water they draw creating a nice glassy section right in front of them, however in side-on conditions, there may not be much wind in front of it, this is when we are happy to have a slightly more stable kit!

stevenbard wrote:
You'd be surprised at how many times you'll pass a large wave successfully,even when you feel hopeless if you charge it. Knowledge of the reef and tide are essential before you venture out.


Knowledge of the spot is key, but it can change slightly when unusually large, so knowledge of the spot on big days is even better!

nw30 wrote:
Patience is a virtue, picking the right time to charge out after studying the timing of the sets is the best approach, as depicted below.


Here the break is out passed a bay, so sometimes I wait out in the bay but get jealous of guys playing in the reef, while I struggle to find an opened section.

nw30 wrote:
If no time between sets, then speed is your best friend, hit power with power, whatever it takes. Or chicken jibe if there is enough wind on the inside, which doesn't happen at our spot very often, also in the pic.


I am definitely working on speed, driving the whole sail down through the board, minimizing parasite losses from the harness, using the water state to my advantage etc. It's amazing how some of the guys are much faster than me here which shows I still have a good margin to progress.

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nw30



Joined: 21 Dec 2008
Posts: 6485
Location: The eye of the universe, Cen. Cal. coast

PostPosted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 4:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

stevenbard wrote:
NW, is that Arroyo? Where?

Yep, during a south swell, those souths have a way of being pretty sketchy there, as they want to wall up. But not all of them, you have to be both patient and picky, or you can go just south about 100 yards to Castles where a big south can peak up a bit better.
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