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8/6/2019 A Unique Wave Riding Experience
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/a-unique-wave-riding-experience 1/6
A unique wave riding experience
All suited up and also sporting a cap and blue Gath helmet making me
look remarkably like Buzz Lightyear, I continue to keep an eye on the
conditions from the bench on the lookout as I sit down, raise my right
foot and apply 4 bandaids to a toe. It still seems to need a little extra
protection even though I also wear 2 pairs of 2mm fin socks to protect
my feet from the heavy but powerful UDT swim fins I am using. I am
resisting modifying the UDTs as I hope there will be no further need to
once the fins wear in, my feet toughen up and I become more
accustomed to using them. When I first started mat riding, I used a
pair of POD 2 bodyboarding fins which are much lighter and shorter
allowing high frequency kicking from the knee joint. I think that much
of the toe issue is caused whilst in the excitement of trying to get on
a wave and I still tend to kick like this using the UDTs. I am trying to
change to a lower frequency kick generated from the big muscles of
the thighs and I think that will alleviate the situation.
I pick up and pull on the low cut pair of fin socks and then the higher
cut ones wiggling my toes around to make sure I have not pulled them
on too tightly. I reach across to the UDTs and tugging strongly on the
side of each pull them on to my feet after which I pull the big thick
straps over my heels.
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I stand up, reach down with my right hand to pick up the cylindrical
object still on the bench, hobble awkwardly down the steps and slowly
make my way across the beach to where the rip is flowing out next to
the rocks. The waves are pretty straight and quick with a few bigger
sets coming through that seem to hold up a little longer creating a
right hand wave. These are not conditions I would normally consider
venturing out in but today I am not taking out a surfboard but a
unique and most capable wave riding craft.
As I lift my right hand I allow it's contents to unroll revealing a canvas
and nylon Roundtail Tracker surfmat produced by Paul Gross at 4th
Gear Flyer in the US. I raise the top of the canvas side of the mat,
place a valve between my lips and start blowing in to the mat and it
slowly springs to life against my body. After 20 or so breaths I stop,
place the stopper into the valve and bend the mat in half to form a 90
degree bend.
Satisifed, I turn around to face the land and start wading out
backwards feeling the strong cross current in the water increase as I
move gradually deeper in to the ocean.
As the water reaches my waist and I feel the current starting to pull
me backwards rather than sideways, I turn around to face the ocean
and, squeezing hard on the top two corners of the surfmat, fall
forward on to it and pull the now temporarily stiffer mat down and
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under my chest. I release my grip and I feel the mat immediately
come alive as it responds to the movement of the water beneath it. As
I start to bob and shimmy around crazily in the disturbed water of the
rip, I use my arms to paddle out and then across to where the waves
are breaking.
There are a few other hopefuls out the back and I get the usual
double look from some who have not had my company before. I notice
one guy turn to his mate and mutter something and they both break
out in a chuckle.
I present them with a huge grin as I paddle past to sit the furthest out
the back, move back off the mat and, with my legs hanging almost
vertically in the water as the rear of the softly inflated mat bends
under the weight of my body, wait for a set to arrive.
I am looking for a wave that sits up hard and is about head high from a
stand up surfers point of view. A set builds and I am immediately
searching for the focus of the energy within the wave to make sure
that I am well placed to use it to mount the beast. Although this wave
is a good size I can see that it is not going to sit up enough as the
energy of the wave slides too quickly away from where I am
positioned. As I slide over the top and down the back I can feel the
depth of the water reduce as the bigger wave behind sucks up the
water in front of it. I can see this waves energy focus heading straight
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for me but I can sense that I am too far in and, sliding my body half on
and half off the mat with my arms not quite fully extended, I kick
hard out towards it stopping at the point I judge will allow me to turn
and still have enough distance to use my flippers to create some
momentum forward. Reaching this point, I turn and, looking over my
shoulder to check my position, move steadily forward until the wave
and I will meet at exactly the point it starts to lift.
Perfectly positioned I feel the first thrust of movement of the wave
start to lift me and my left hand squeezes the front of the mat
stiffening it up a little as I take my right hand away to paddle hard to
help my legs which are now kicking powerfully.
As I feel the wave take the mat in it's grasp and I return my right hand
to the front of the mat and squeezing hard in concert with the left
pull myself on to it angling straight across and down to the right
where I can see the face building. Keeping my arms in and my body
low I release my grip and I feel the mat take off automatically finding
and holding a high line. Without quite understanding why I am doing
so, I find myself touching up the mats shape by squeezing and
releasing the corners, subtly shifting my body weight and dipping my
fins in and out of the face of the wave to enhance it's progress.
I can see the section is about to close out in front of me but that the
wave continues on beyond. I raise my fins from the water and
dive down the face of the wave and with a terrific burst of speed fly
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across in front of the whitewater and through to the next section
where the mat moves back up on to a high line I continue on my merry
way.
The wave is now about to close out completely but I sense that it is
reforming back in the other direction so I give the right corner a big
squeeze and shift my weight to the left and the mat immediately
carves around in the other direction and shoots across a face that is
now barely above my head.
Squeezing, releasing, shifting, dipping and kicking I maintain
momentum until the wave finally closes out and I turn towards the
beach and relinquish all control back to the mat and remarkably it
finds a means to continue forward in front of the whitewater until it
can go no further.
I stand up and move awkwardly back across to where the rip is
running, turn around and, squeezing hard on the top two corners of
the surfmat, fall forward on to it and pull the now temporarily stiffer
mat down and under my chest. I release my grip and ride the rip out
continuing the cycle again and again until I force myself to eventually
call it a day and come in.
Flopping off the mat in the shallow water I just have enough energy to
wrench the heavy straps of the fins off my feet, remove my fin socks
and pull the stopper out of the valve. With the rapidly deflating mat
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in my right hand and and fins with fin socks tucked inside in the left, I
wearily make my way out of the water as a grin splits my face and I
marvel at the adeptness of this seemingly inappropriate limp bag of
nylon to assist me to ride a wave. Any wave! Such a bag of Fun!
1447 words
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