Comments on: Duckdiving 101

By: Stephen

Stephen — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:30:06 +0000

Regarding turteling (rolling the board upside-down, It works very well with long or short boards. But most people make the mistake of gripping the board too tight and pulling it down flat on the water surface. This just makes the rip-jolt worse. Actually you want to roll over and point the nose of the board straight into the whitewater and do not hold your body close. The dynamics of the board will allow the water to channel right through to board and the thrust to pass between your board and body. If you do it just right, you will barely feel any force on the board itself. Secondly, while you grip the board tight with your hands only, let your body completely relax. Since your body is 97% water the kinetic energy will pass right through your body; the more relaxed the better. Think Karate and don’t fight it, let the force reasonate right through your body, be very limp, but grip tight with hands only. ONE WORD OF CAUTION: on big days, 8+, never be directly behind a paddler as they and thier board will come directly toward you. get and angle off to either side.

By: Whale

Whale — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:33:29 +0000

I duck dive my 10’4 longboard. That said, I am 290 lbs.

By: Brother from OZ

Brother from OZ — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:18:26 +0000

Look at this Website below if you want some info on how or what to do to duck dive
‘BIG WAVES’; it also has 3 other links at the bottom of the website for you to check out. I think I remember reading something about ‘duck diving’ (or whatever you want to call it) longboards as well.

http://www.surfline.com/community/whoknows/whoknows.cfm?id=1052

Generally the better you are at duck diving the more enjoyable surfing becomes.

By: Nacho

Nacho — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 12:27:18 +0000

Hi guys, just wanted to know if you could give me some advice to be a pro surfer. I am 12 years old and I’ve been surfing since I was 10.

Thanks XD

By: tyler

tyler — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:17:33 +0000

seriously, get good at surfing and shortboard. There’s no need on an typical day 3-6,7,8 ft to have a board over 7ft. In a lot of spots, there’s no waves for longboards like SFOB, its just dangerous to yourself and everyone else, isn’t there enough to worry about?

By: Aidan

Aidan — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 05:05:10 +0000

Having problems duck diving in 4 to 6 ft surf i surf a 5″11×18 3/16 x 2 3/16 and weigh 62kgs.would you reccomend in losing LxWxB or go for a shorter board

By: Gideon

Gideon — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:39:56 +0000

@Billy- It sounds like either of 2 things to me. The first is that you’re forgetting to kick the tail with your back foot- as mentioned above, this stabilizes the board and propels you through the wave. Second, it sounds like you’re riding a board that’s way too big for you. If you’re 5’6″ you should be riding a 6′ board tops. If the board is too big there’s no way you’re gonna be able to get all that foam underwater. If you’re able to stand up on your 6’8″ I would suggest just going for the shortboard. It’s a lot easier to get out to the line-up and if you keep on trying you’ll get the hang of it eventually.

By: stokesy

stokesy — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:00:27 +0000

I agree with Anthony Gill, if you’re not dealing with bigger surf, technique counts more than depth. One thing that i found really helps is to not puff yourself out when getting out, even if it is wave after wave on the head. Stay relaxed so you feel comfortable when you hold your breath. Timing is important, you’ve got to work that out for yourself. Also, when you push the board under with your arms and leg(on the tail) your body will rise up a little, at this point push of your tail and literally dive with your board. head first obviously, still holding the rails. Difficult to explain but if you can put your weight into the dive it helps.

By: vedgiee

vedgiee — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:46:28 +0000

nice tips everyone ty

By: Anthony Gill

Anthony Gill — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 05:33:19 +0000

I’ve always struggled with Duckdiving, and as I usually small beach breaks I’ve never bothered with it. Recently i surfed a reef break and got hammered as I didn’t have the technique. The local I was surfing with gave me one tip which has totally transformed my ability to duck dive. It has to do with the angle of the board, and simple physics. I can’t get my 6″8 fish very far under water, but he pointed out to me that it doesn’t really matter, as long as you can have the nose of the board facing up just after impact, the board will project you through to the other side of the wave. If the nose of the board is still facing downwards as you aim for depth when the wave is breaking, you will be pushed back by the wave unless you have executed a really perfect deep dive. However, if you are struggling to get depth, and the waves are small enough, just think about getting the nose down, under the water, then getting the nose facing up just after impact. Don’t be afraid as you begin to really lean on the back of your board to get the nose facing upwards. The board wants to get back to the surface and you steer it to exit the back of the wave. On the small beach breaks that I surf this simple rule has saved me ample time getting out through the breaks. The hardest thing is remaining balanced in the early attemptes, and having the courage to confront the wave even though you are diving quite shallow. Also, if you do come up to early in the wave, the nose will actually will be caught by the hydraulics and be projected back over your head.