Jay Race 2012 - POV

Saturday June 23, 2012 - I tried to capture the feel and the spirit of the 2012 Jay Race in the video. The Jay Race is more than a competition, it is a celebration and is inspired and informed by love, passion and commitment. Yes, there are a lot of big names, well known names that plan, implement and compete in and for the Jay. In my mind there is no one bigger, nor more inspirational than Kim Moriarty, Jay's wife and widow. She is front and center for all the months of planning that go into this event and without her inspiration, love and passion the Jay would be fun, but not an experience that moves into and infiltrates the heart and soul with so much goodness and completion. I hope you can join us next year, you won't regret it, you'll be inspired.

  

4-Mile to Mitchells Downwinder with the GoPro Headband

Thursday June 28, 2012 - In an effort to re-create some of the nearly perfect POV downwind videos that Jeremy Riggs is creating, I purchased a GoPro headband and used it for the first time today on the 4-Mile to Mitchells run. The run was fun in good wind with a lot of small short duration runners, many of which linked up for longer rides on multiple bumps. The weather was drop dead perfect. And we have a solid group of people in our nascent and growing downwind paddlers community. We are all blessed to be in this place, at this time, with each other.

The video results with the GoPro set at N (for "Narrow" field of vision (FOV) were mixed. I don't think I captured the reality of catching and riding the runners from the riders perspective. The FOV was too narrow and the viewer just can't see enough. Next time I'll set the FOV to "Medium" which should provide a better look. The narrow setting on the camera was good though for looking at others.

But if I'm going to get good shots of other folks riding it will have to be a coordinated effort. Rider and photographer will have to stay together and work together to maintain position and camera angle and distance to subject. Two cameras would be better, with one mounted on the tail of the photographers board. I don't have two cameras but John just won a GP Hero2 at the Jay so I might be able to use his. Tail mounted camera FOV and angle will need to be explored, as will changing FOV settings on the fly and then remounting the headband so that it's secure and isn't pointing askew.

Any new venture needs pre-event research and in-water application to get it right. The adventure begins.

   

Downwind Videos by Jeremy Riggs

Jeremy Riggs is producing what I think are the best downwind videos out there, from an instructional point of view, as well as entertainment. What I've found in learning this new SUP niche, is that the look and feel of a downwind run are very unique, especially when it comes to hooking into a glide or wave. In conventional surfing and wave riding, the rider always looks back at the wave when paddling for, and catching the wave. In downwinding, it doesn't help to look back. That's not how you catch the glides. You feel your way in and watch what's going on in front of you and to your right and left side...but mostly in front. You feel the tail lift under a bump and you watch as the nose drops down into the wave face and trough. Paddle to catch the wave. Ride it, watching the nose do it's thing either staying clear of the water in front or plowing into the next little bump in front of you, or turning your board to go left or right. Feel the loss of momentum as you lose the glide and wallow in the trough. Regain your forward motion by paddling a little and then getting into the next glide. Ironically I've had my best runs when I am most relaxed and not paddling like a mad man to catch the bumps.

Of course my comments are those of a neophyte downwinder so all I can say it get out there and do it! You'll be glad you did.

Paddle With Riggs

On the Stand Up Zone

   

Downwind Four Mile to Mitchells Cove

Saturday June 9, 2012 - I thought today's dw-er was going to get canceled like Thursdays until at the last moment Jean-Michel said he was "in" and we were good to go. I met he and his lovely wife Isabel at Mitchells to load the boards when all of a sudden who shows up? Another Frenchie. Only in Santa Cruz could I go from an almost "no go", to downwinding with a small part of the French world in America. Gotta love it.

Olivier had his F-One with him again, and Jean-Michel was on his brand new (we just picked it up from Covewater) Naish Glide 14 and he was super stoked. I was on the Covewater rental Glide as my new Angulo Shaka won't be here until July now.

It was an incredibly beautiful day with a moderate northwest wind which would later turn offshore as the high pressure system moved in to stay for a few days. Already the air temp was hinting at warm days to come. A decent northwest wind swell was in the water to top things off and all this in combination was the makings for a fun downwinder.

Since it was the weekend Four Mile beach was being put to good use by sun worshipers and surfers. Waist/shoulder high surf was pushing through the surf zone but the channel was calm and the paddle out into the wind line looked routine. This was Jean-Michel's first "real" downwind run so he was excited to try out his new board and get into the game. We had a short safety meeting and route orientation, agreeing to stay together and wait if anyone got too far ahead.

Jean Michel and I elected to take a line that necessitated a hard paddle straight out from the beach, skirting the surfers and the kelp bed upwind of us, hoping to make as much progress out towards the open ocean as possible. Olivier took a more angled track which put him into the kelp beds downwind of the channel sooner, but as he said you've got to paddle through the kelp anyway.

The more experience you rack up doing downwinders the better you get. That is just the axiomatic truth of the matter. I felt pretty comfortable in the wind today, and put together quite a few bumps, even hooking into a number of multiple bumps aka "railroading". You can talk about how to paddle downwind all you want, and it's probably not a bad idea to know what you're getting into, but when it comes to learning how to do it, you just have to go do it. But it is so much fun it is definitley addictive. It also adds another event into the SUP surfing/paddling/downwinding quiver. I suppose the only downside to downwinding is that you need two people to do it because of the shuttle aspect. It's also safer and more prudent to have a buddy with you out in the water.

At 27 3/4 inches wide, the Glide is tippier than the Shaka which has 30" of width. But the real problem I have with the Glide is the tall rails and hard edges. The board just seems to want to flip over more easily, especially in a side chop which is where I took my first of four falls. The other three came because the board wants to "rail-up" and turn sideways in the trough when pushed around by several swells at once. The Shaka just doesn't want to do this and the Shaka also wants to run on the bumps. I felt like the Glide needed to be paddled into the wave more than the Shaka. But Jean-Michel was having no problems and although he may have fallen, I didn't see him fall once during the paddle. As a matter of fact, he took to downwinding naturally. Between JM and Olivier I had my work cut out trying to keep up, but I did and this was a way to measure my own personal progress.

In the end we were all stoked and fired up to do more runs in the future. And the comparison between the Glide and the Shaka may just be personal preference. Jean-Michel loves the Glide, I love the Shaka. Vive la difference!