Brad and I paddled out CB inlet this morning for a downwinder. BAD IDEA!
The wind in our faces combined with the relentless swell coming in the inlet made it an endless nightmare of waves. It would have been way smarter to paddle out straight off the beach and be free of the waves quickly.
I turned around once we made it to the buoys and downwinded back down the inlet. I was able to catch swell and get rides pretty easy. The board is FAST and GLIDES. But it also pearls big time. It's definitely a better flat water racer. I need to make some design changes for the next one.
Kiting was great though!
4 comments:
Give it a chance DW. You've got a lot more board out front to dig in. You'll find you need to step lively on downwinders and use your paddle both to accelerate and to brake...at least thats what I was doing to keep from pearling and in the swell. Worked pretty well.
Your pad looks like it stops around the mid area. Where are you standing on that board?
I agree with Bob. Give the board a shot in a variety of conditions. I have been constantly perling the nose of my board but on the last downwinder I made a conscious effort to focus on my footwork and the board really responded. You really have to be light on your feet and quick with the paddle though
The angle the photo is taken at creates a wrong illusion of where the middle is. I'm standing on the pad at the mid point. Moving forward or back doesn't change my speed paddling flat water because the rocker is so flat. In flat water it glides like a much longer board. My finished rocker matches prone paddleboards.
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