Hi Paul,
I've been wanting to pass on some ways I
use to roll waves. They're alternatives to duck diving, which I've
never really figured out on a mat. I'm sure lots of your readers might
know them, but mat
gremmies
might appreciate the info. Getting out the back is extra challenging on a
mat, so I hope these tips help (I made the usual dorky drawings).
The
first is for rolling bigger whitewash (smaller ones you can duck dive
or if you're slick and savvy, ride up like a ramp). I think of it as the
mat version of turning turtle, and it works surprisingly well in quite
big surf.
As the white water approaches,
get off the mat. Turn your back to the wave, grasp the two back corners
of the mat. Just before it's about to hit, let your body shoot straight
down underwater, as far as you can go (you can do a little kick/arm pull
to rise up briefly to try to penetrate deeper). Body as deep as you can
go, facing the shore, arms extended to the surface, only the mat above
water.
The wave will bend the mat flat (turtle) on
the water's surface, and your straight body acts as an underwater
anchor. You lose surprisingly little "ground". Again, it works in pretty
big (whitewater) waves.
This image might better illustrate the described posture:
:)
The other technique is
probably totally obvious, but what the heck. This works well for punching
through a pitching wave, and I'll choose it over a duck dive every time.
It's just rolling off the side of the mat, grabbing one front corner
with one hand, and swimming through the lip, pulling the mat through, sharply, behind you.
I think you recounted
GG describing it in your "Inflatable Dreams" article, about ripping the corner off a
Hodgman
at Sunset Beach. This method just works well in a lot of
situations; possibly even better than punching through with a hard
surfboard. Plus you can enjoy the view of the curling lip.
Best wishes and happy rollings,
Jonathan
PS: Next time, I'll attempt to diagram alternate tonguing while blowing up your mat :)
