Thanks for sharing, that's a great video showing what less experienced paddlers struggle with when doing remounts under a bit more demanding conditions. 👍
The worst feeling is falling off then struggling to get back on then finally getting on and then falling off again with your feet not even inside the boat. Honorable mention: getting back in the boat and your paddle drifting away and you having to get back in the water to retrieve it. The joys of the surf ski!
i used to have issues being off centre when putting my butt in the seat. Realised if you drop butt in further forward up the hump it self centres when sliding back into seat Yep the old skinny boat balance rule, something has to be in contact with the water or you have no balance weather it be feet or paddle. Good heads up too, its fine practicing on nice flat warm water next to the beach but if its cold, bumpy and in the middle of nowhere its a different matter and a couple of failed attempts doesnt do much for your anxiety levels, which increases the odds of falling out again
Takes guts to post what we all go through when new to the sport. Good on ya! From what I can tell you need to focus on your footwork to get more leverage at the catch and improve connection to the ski; it’s the first thing to disappear when a paddler gets rattled by conditions.
Hey, appreciate you taking the time to comment and share your wisdom (BTW love your Lake Chelan vid). My paddling has been in rapid evolution these past six months. Most of the fails in the vid were in the first few weeks of having my new ski. And yes you are totally correct - when it gets challenging form and technique goes out the window with a price to pay! This has been some of my recent focus and happy to say getting better each time. Here is a recent one second half had heaps of cool runs. th-cam.com/video/PknTooGc0lE/w-d-xo.html
Great job. I almost never fell out of my Epic v8pro until I raced it in North Carolina in the ocean on a rough day. I fell out so many times I lost count. Towards the end I wasn't sure I could survive another remount. Now I'm starting all over in a V10. Bigger and badder conditions each time and lots of remount practice. It always gets easier with time and practice. Thanks for sharing.
enjoyed the video, as of yesterday l took out my ski for the first time and was going ok until fell in then l forgot all that l had learnt about remount . l'm saving this video and will practice more in flat water before going out into the rough stuff. l also liked the comments of other people on this page , some good advice.
Thanks for watching Keith! Definitely recommend practicing the remount. Also good to practice at the end of a paddle when you are tired and fatigued - which is when you are more likely to fall. And yes lots of great comments here.
Good on you for posting this. We all need to keep practicing our remounts. The fall at 6:08 suggests that you need to practice your bracing strokes as well. You can save yourself a lot of swims when you can brace confidently and reliably.
I've always been successful mounting the ski like a surfboard. Scooch across deck and throw leg over boat and sit up with feet in the water on either side. Stabilize and bring feet in. Easy! Maybe if one had the deck loaded with stuff behind the seat my way might be a problem getting the leg over, but otherwise it seems easier and more natural to this old surfer.
David, Thanks for the great demo video and congratulations on all of your remount practice in challenging conditions. I believe the value of starting to paddle early before getting your feet completely in your surfski is not just the added stabilization that you get from applying force with your paddle - it also gets your hands off of your ski. Once the ski is again supporting your weight, you do not want to be holding on to it with your hands - holding on automatically makes your ski less stable. There are several different standards for what surfskiers do with their paddle during the initial phase of their remount. You seem to go back and forth - have you decided on what is most comfortable to do with the paddle before you are seated again in your ski? I was taught to keep my paddle in my back hand (parallel to the ski) that goes on the far side of the ski and I am quite comfortable with that. Hayley Nixon, in her remount demo video, keeps her paddle in her front, near side hand perpendicular to her ski and I have seen other variations of each style.
Hi Paul, still not decided on which is best for me (paddle in front hand or rear hand). Plan to do a lot of remount practice over the summer to try and decide!
I'm a beginner myself, have had a few awkward remounts. Key points that I have to remind myself to do: Take my time in water. Get leash untangled (I much prefer a paddle leash), Ensure paddle is the right way round so that when I remount I can use it immediately. Get paddle right over the other side of the boat, parallel to the side. Get across boat - pause, feel the stability. Choose my moment to drop into the bucket. Once bum is in bucket, start taking little paddling strokes to improve stability. Avoiding swims: Commit or don't. Don't half-commit to catching a wave. If I sense that I'm not going to get it, immediately let it go, brace as the peak passes and prepare for the next one. If I'm not quite getting the wave, the boat starts to broach as the wave pushes past the rudder. Straighten up with a hard shove on the rudder. If conditions are really making me nervous and I keep nearly going in, I change focus from wave catching to just paddling. If I do that, I can put my efforts into supportive strokes rather than just speed.
And certainly agree about committing. Once I changed my mindset to really drive hard to catch waves my downwind enjoyment increased significantly. Been nearly a year since I have fallen out unexpectedly…
Thanks Glenn, not sue I go to that stage! Been nearly a year now since this video and no unintended swims in that time as my technique (and enjoyment) have grown over the winter. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for watching Michael and great to hear the video was helpful. Been 2 years since I made the video and I very rarely take an unplanned swim these days.
My best advice (as a non expert), start in a stable surf ski, not a skinny tippy one. From there you can master your paddling stroke which is core to maintaining your balance. As you skil grows then move to less stable skis if you wish
Couple of things I do differently. After getting my balance in the seat with both feet on the same side, I like to put one foot over the boat into the water on the other side while balancing with the paddle, then take a few strokes with feet out and pick a smooth spot to put one in at a time while paddling. I've been working on converting a paddle stroke to a low brace. That has helped me stay in the boat. Here's what I do - bracing same side as the stroke 1. brace just after the catch 2. brace during the power phase 3. brace during the exit 4. brace just after the exit 5. brace during the recovery also practice 1 - 5 on the other side - i.e. catch right side, brace left side, etc. Noticed your boat is sometimes perpendicular to the waves before you remount - I try to get it parallel with the wind/waves at my back.
Hi David, thanks for taking the time to watch and share your thoughts. Really like your bracing practice. Something to give a nudge next time I am out.
I paddle a Think Uno- I find it hard to remount [I only fell in twice over 1000km- precisely because of remounting difficulty makes me stay focused :)] but practiced a lot of remounting. You mention you noticed David's boat being perpendicular to the waves rather than wind at the back. I learned the 'wind at the back' rule from one of Oscar's remounting video but found that wind at my back is not the point- wind either in my face or at my back, it matters less; what is rather important is the boat being perpendicular to the waves because I am more stable this way than getting the waves sideways while still not fully in the boat- it took me a few failed remounts to figure that out... I noticed that David had the same problem a couple of times.
David - I won't criticize your remounts because I think you've critiqued yourself adequately on that. But perhaps the decision to take on that route in the first place should be questioned. Paddling with better paddlers is fine, but they don't make you a better paddler just because you're with them. The tentativeness of your stroke suggests you shouldn't have been out there in those conditions in the first place, regardless of your competency in remounting. I applaud you posting for sure and hope you have a long and happy surfski career. I've paddled the Boost and it's a great boat.
Thanks Paul for taking the time to watch my video. Putting videos up certainly opens one to critique. Part of the reason for putting this video up was to show that we all start somewhere. The purpose of paddling with others was not to make me a better paddler but for us to keep an eye out for each other and as a newbie (now over a year ago) it allowed me to experience new conditions with a bit of a safety net. The larger conditions made me tentative but after almost weekly downwinds I am a lot more comfortable out there. And there are conditions I still know I am not ready for yet which my more experienced buddies do. We paddle with safety and fun in mind and respect the conditions. Here is me a year later . Have not had a swim now unintentionally in over 9 months. Thank again for sharing your thoughts. th-cam.com/video/tjbiDSQDd44/w-d-xo.html
@@DavidMorrison they say 'when in doubt, legs out'- i.e., when seated you can take your time by placing the rotating leg not into the boat but on the other side in the water, until you are ready for the first stroke to get legs in, one at a time. I also discovered the straddling remount, which I will need to try too [I am a few months behind you as I just got my new Think Uno and practicing remount in flat water first. The Evo I still have is zero challenge compared with the new boat...
Thanks for sharing, that's a great video showing what less experienced paddlers struggle with when doing remounts under a bit more demanding conditions. 👍
Thanks for the vid. I'm riding a Boost XL right now. Haven't stepped up to any decent downwind yet but your vid will help for sure
Thanks for watching. Practice those remounts and you can feel a lot more confident out there. Enjoy!
The worst feeling is falling off then struggling to get back on then finally getting on and then falling off again with your feet not even inside the boat. Honorable mention: getting back in the boat and your paddle drifting away and you having to get back in the water to retrieve it. The joys of the surf ski!
i used to have issues being off centre when putting my butt in the seat. Realised if you drop butt in further forward up the hump it self centres when sliding back into seat
Yep the old skinny boat balance rule, something has to be in contact with the water or you have no balance weather it be feet or paddle.
Good heads up too, its fine practicing on nice flat warm water next to the beach but if its cold, bumpy and in the middle of nowhere its a different matter and a couple of failed attempts doesnt do much for your anxiety levels, which increases the odds of falling out again
Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts!
Takes guts to post what we all go through when new to the sport. Good on ya! From what I can tell you need to focus on your footwork to get more leverage at the catch and improve connection to the ski; it’s the first thing to disappear when a paddler gets rattled by conditions.
Hey, appreciate you taking the time to comment and share your wisdom (BTW love your Lake Chelan vid). My paddling has been in rapid evolution these past six months. Most of the fails in the vid were in the first few weeks of having my new ski. And yes you are totally correct - when it gets challenging form and technique goes out the window with a price to pay! This has been some of my recent focus and happy to say getting better each time. Here is a recent one second half had heaps of cool runs. th-cam.com/video/PknTooGc0lE/w-d-xo.html
Great job. I almost never fell out of my Epic v8pro until I raced it in North Carolina in the ocean on a rough day. I fell out so many times I lost count. Towards the end I wasn't sure I could survive another remount. Now I'm starting all over in a V10. Bigger and badder conditions each time and lots of remount practice. It always gets easier with time and practice. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for taking the time to watch! It's all a journey!! :-D
enjoyed the video, as of yesterday l took out my ski for the first time and was going ok until fell in then l forgot all that l had learnt about remount . l'm saving this video and will practice more in flat water before going out into the rough stuff. l also liked the comments of other people on this page , some good advice.
Thanks for watching Keith! Definitely recommend practicing the remount. Also good to practice at the end of a paddle when you are tired and fatigued - which is when you are more likely to fall. And yes lots of great comments here.
Good on you for posting this. We all need to keep practicing our remounts. The fall at 6:08 suggests that you need to practice your bracing strokes as well. You can save yourself a lot of swims when you can brace confidently and reliably.
Yeah, that one was a silly fall. Generally pretty confident with my brace strokes now. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
I've always been successful mounting the ski like a surfboard. Scooch across deck and throw leg over boat and sit up with feet in the water on either side. Stabilize and bring feet in. Easy! Maybe if one had the deck loaded with stuff behind the seat my way might be a problem getting the leg over, but otherwise it seems easier and more natural to this old surfer.
David,
Thanks for the great demo video and congratulations on all of your remount practice in challenging conditions.
I believe the value of starting to paddle early before getting your feet completely in your surfski is not just the added stabilization that you get from applying force with your paddle - it also gets your hands off of your ski. Once the ski is again supporting your weight, you do not want to be holding on to it with your hands - holding on automatically makes your ski less stable.
There are several different standards for what surfskiers do with their paddle during the initial phase of their remount. You seem to go back and forth - have you decided on what is most comfortable to do with the paddle before you are seated again in your ski? I was taught to keep my paddle in my back hand (parallel to the ski) that goes on the far side of the ski and I am quite comfortable with that. Hayley Nixon, in her remount demo video, keeps her paddle in her front, near side hand perpendicular to her ski and I have seen other variations of each style.
Hi Paul, still not decided on which is best for me (paddle in front hand or rear hand). Plan to do a lot of remount practice over the summer to try and decide!
@@DavidMorrison 👍👍👍
I'm a beginner myself, have had a few awkward remounts.
Key points that I have to remind myself to do:
Take my time in water. Get leash untangled (I much prefer a paddle leash), Ensure paddle is the right way round so that when I remount I can use it immediately.
Get paddle right over the other side of the boat, parallel to the side.
Get across boat - pause, feel the stability. Choose my moment to drop into the bucket.
Once bum is in bucket, start taking little paddling strokes to improve stability.
Avoiding swims:
Commit or don't. Don't half-commit to catching a wave. If I sense that I'm not going to get it, immediately let it go, brace as the peak passes and prepare for the next one. If I'm not quite getting the wave, the boat starts to broach as the wave pushes past the rudder. Straighten up with a hard shove on the rudder.
If conditions are really making me nervous and I keep nearly going in, I change focus from wave catching to just paddling. If I do that, I can put my efforts into supportive strokes rather than just speed.
All great tips Alastair! Thanks for watching :-)
And certainly agree about committing. Once I changed my mindset to really drive hard to catch waves my downwind enjoyment increased significantly. Been nearly a year since I have fallen out unexpectedly…
I feel for you - we've all been there. Just keep saying "I'm not gonna die.... I'm not gonna die...."
Thanks Glenn, not sue I go to that stage! Been nearly a year now since this video and no unintended swims in that time as my technique (and enjoyment) have grown over the winter. Thanks for watching!
Very helpful thanks
Thanks for watching Michael and great to hear the video was helpful. Been 2 years since I made the video and I very rarely take an unplanned swim these days.
Great job. Totally been there falling lots when learning Surfski. Great workout isn’t it?
Thanks for watching Barry. Always something to learn and improve on. Been a while since I had a swim and yes a great workout.
Thanks for sharing this valuable video. A question different from remounting, what is your advice on maintaining balance while you are paddling?
My best advice (as a non expert), start in a stable surf ski, not a skinny tippy one. From there you can master your paddling stroke which is core to maintaining your balance. As you skil grows then move to less stable skis if you wish
Couple of things I do differently. After getting my balance in the seat with both feet on the same side, I like to put one foot over the boat into the water on the other side while balancing with the paddle, then take a few strokes with feet out and pick a smooth spot to put one in at a time while paddling.
I've been working on converting a paddle stroke to a low brace. That has helped me stay in the boat. Here's what I do -
bracing same side as the stroke
1. brace just after the catch
2. brace during the power phase
3. brace during the exit
4. brace just after the exit
5. brace during the recovery
also practice 1 - 5 on the other side - i.e. catch right side, brace left side, etc.
Noticed your boat is sometimes perpendicular to the waves before you remount - I try to get it parallel with the wind/waves at my back.
Hi David, thanks for taking the time to watch and share your thoughts. Really like your bracing practice. Something to give a nudge next time I am out.
I paddle a Think Uno- I find it hard to remount [I only fell in twice over 1000km- precisely because of remounting difficulty makes me stay focused :)] but practiced a lot of remounting. You mention you noticed David's boat being perpendicular to the waves rather than wind at the back. I learned the 'wind at the back' rule from one of Oscar's remounting video but found that wind at my back is not the point- wind either in my face or at my back, it matters less; what is rather important is the boat being perpendicular to the waves because I am more stable this way than getting the waves sideways while still not fully in the boat- it took me a few failed remounts to figure that out... I noticed that David had the same problem a couple of times.
David - I won't criticize your remounts because I think you've critiqued yourself adequately on that. But perhaps the decision to take on that route in the first place should be questioned. Paddling with better paddlers is fine, but they don't make you a better paddler just because you're with them. The tentativeness of your stroke suggests you shouldn't have been out there in those conditions in the first place, regardless of your competency in remounting. I applaud you posting for sure and hope you have a long and happy surfski career. I've paddled the Boost and it's a great boat.
Thanks Paul for taking the time to watch my video. Putting videos up certainly opens one to critique. Part of the reason for putting this video up was to show that we all start somewhere. The purpose of paddling with others was not to make me a better paddler but for us to keep an eye out for each other and as a newbie (now over a year ago) it allowed me to experience new conditions with a bit of a safety net. The larger conditions made me tentative but after almost weekly downwinds I am a lot more comfortable out there. And there are conditions I still know I am not ready for yet which my more experienced buddies do. We paddle with safety and fun in mind and respect the conditions. Here is me a year later . Have not had a swim now unintentionally in over 9 months. Thank again for sharing your thoughts. th-cam.com/video/tjbiDSQDd44/w-d-xo.html
basic rule, paddle in position before feet in.
Thanks for the comment John, yup totally agree. My fails have been when I have moved feet before paddle.
@@DavidMorrison they say 'when in doubt, legs out'- i.e., when seated you can take your time by placing the rotating leg not into the boat but on the other side in the water, until you are ready for the first stroke to get legs in, one at a time. I also discovered the straddling remount, which I will need to try too [I am a few months behind you as I just got my new Think Uno and practicing remount in flat water first. The Evo I still have is zero challenge compared with the new boat...