Ask Carroll

[Hatchnam]

Thanks Legion for ur input also. Ill first take on Nicks advise, and see if the required finessing will be achievable with weighting alone. I'll give that a solid shot. Though Failing that, I'll try ur way of freaking the funk and twiddle with back foot positioning, though as per Rockin Ron, that just spells donuts from past experience.

[steve shearer]

Here Boo, look at Kelly at Cloudbreak.

That backfoot is anchored.

Maybe marginally slightly more forwards than on a thruster.....but I think that is one of the advantages of four fins...a slightly further forwards and wider sweet spot compared to a thruster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X82sNHJ_tuY

[Beanpole]

Yes I usually use Slater as a benchmark for my backhand surfing
Also the arms up and spread barrel riding in huge reef breaks on tiny quads is something I need to practice.

[Cuttlefish]

Umm shit I don't know, I have a 5'10" supa Metro that's the fastest board I've ever ridden, definitely faster than the Nano we tested in Telo but there's a lot of variables, I'm sure there's faster hulls out there waiting to be cut.

Thanks.
Actually I failed miserably on specifics.
I meant which one has a higher top end in wave size range?
I assume the Nano will handle smaller (weaker/fuller) waves better?

[marauding mullet]

On the weighting discussion, I wouldn't think there's much call to shift the feet much, if at all on todays mostly sub 6' boards?
I'll probably never own a board shorter than 6' 4", but even on that board I didn't realise how often I was shifting my feet without thinking about it until I wore booties. All of a sudden I became aware I was constantly moving my feet in those moments when balance was neutral, if only inching back and forth a tiny amount.
So is it mostly a matter of weight transfer with the small boards?

[Nick Carroll]

Steve again it's less about foot position and more about weighting. KS is a master of weighting from a square stance, he's often keeping his weight a bit more forward than his stance would indicate. Something he learned very early from growing up on a twinnie. If you put weight on the fin cluster when it connects with the foam ball, the board will go sideways.

Driving off the mid rail in barrel goes back further than Shaun, look at MP's little shuffle forwards at Kirra.

[Nick Carroll]

Umm shit I don't know, I have a 5'10" supa Metro that's the fastest board I've ever ridden, definitely faster than the Nano we tested in Telo but there's a lot of variables, I'm sure there's faster hulls out there waiting to be cut.

Thanks.
Actually I failed miserably on specifics.
I meant which one has a higher top end in wave size range?
I assume the Nano will handle smaller (weaker/fuller) waves better?

Yeah I think that is also hard to tell. I am sure the 5'10" will handle bigger waves better. It felt to me like the Nano I rode would be super fun in sluggish waves, it'd just jump to it. I'm waiting for Dan T to get back from CA so he'll make me something custom, ie non FW. Will have some feedback on that thing I'm sure.

[Nick Carroll]

On the weighting discussion, I wouldn't think there's much call to shift the feet much, if at all on todays mostly sub 6' boards?
I'll probably never own a board shorter than 6' 4", but even on that board I didn't realise how often I was shifting my feet without thinking about it until I wore booties. All of a sudden I became aware I was constantly moving my feet in those moments when balance was neutral, if only inching back and forth a tiny amount.
So is it mostly a matter of weight transfer with the small boards?

Yeah. It's mostly a matter of weight transfer on any board.

[steve shearer]

Agreed...but when Boo said this : Following on, it seems like the really good barrel riders are a lot further forward on their boards in the last few years.

That seems to pretty clearly imply people standing further forwards when it's far more a case of skilled riders being able to weight and unweight various points of the boards balance lines from a moreorless neutral stance.

[alakaboo]

Ah, I'm not explaining myself well either.
I didn't mean in comparison to 70s/80s, just to a couple of years ago.

It is something you see in mid-good sized waves when people are trying to maximise their time in the barrel.
Slater doesn't do it, John John only rarely, JOB occasionally, Seabass does it.
It seems to only be those on thrusters and I think only on the forehand.

When they come out they sometimes have their front foot in front or at the very front of the tailpad, and they are fairly upright and look neutral in their weighting.
This is the best I can dig up quickly, though not quite what I mean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns3hrNlyid4

[Davros]

Nick, I was having a look at Larry Bertleman and the size of his boards compared to him, he threw those babies around like no tomorrow, they looked huge and it made me wonder why that shape isn't popular for the average surfer today, same with Dane K Town and Country for bigger guys who are above average ability and weight. Do those shapes have a place today fdo you think?

[Nick Carroll]

Well it seems to me that they kind of are pretty popular these days, or boards a lot like them. Big chunky flat to vee semi fish boards are all over the shop. I am kinda surprised that Larry and T&C haven't done a mod model, I'd have thought it would be a big hit, Coca Cola spray and all. I guess it's not a hipster thing though - the South Shore boys of the 1970s weren't cool, they were hot, and their style of perpetual motion surfing isn't something that suits that Moderne Recreational thing, not to mention the Day Glow aesthetic. The floaty chunky genre is being filled instead with dim sim big guy boards and 7S style craft which do the same sorta job re paddling, catching waves, skimming along etc.

[ajohnsen]

Nick, I've whinged about it enough that you probably know that I don't get into the water much these days due to a few factors. I'm aware of how much my skill level drops, but I also know that with a decent run I can get back pretty quickly. The thing that I struggle with, though, is my mind. The thing that usually goes pear-shaped first is the take-off which invariably means the rest of the wave. After the first time I blow a take-off, I start getting anxious and over-thinking every subsequent one.

How do you deal with meta-psychological warfare?

[Nick Carroll]

Ha ha, aj, that is a hall of fcuken mirrors isn't it.

Very hard to change up or fix on the fly, so to speak.

It'd be piss easy to say "surf more", since that's the default method of fixing anything to do with confidence in the surf zone – and this is a confidence issue as much as anything.

But let's put that aside for now and think of practical stuff. Here's a few things I think might help, given your current restricted surfing time:

- Rehearsal. By this I don't necessarily mean putting your board on a bed and jumping to your feet in an imaginary takeoff scenario, though I'll pretty much guarantee this would cause any small child in the near vicinity to roll around laughing helplessly.
What I do mean is finding way to imagine and rehearse surfing situations in your head. Surf videos, mags, pics of yourself surfing, anything can be fuel for this process. Pretty much every good surfer I've ever known has spent quite a bit of land time picturing stuff they want to do, or ways of perfecting moves, little corrections they want to make. Christ, I'll do it when walking along a footpath if there's a few bushes alongside, all they have to do is curl over at the top and I'm picturing getting barrelled and just the sort of turn I wanna do to put myself in the spot. There's been heaps of studies to show this sort of mental rehearsal, if done with a bit of focus and repeatedly over time, is not that far from being as effective as actually doing the deed. Different, for sure, but also valuable because it's outside the realm of wiping out, having to paddle out and wait for another wave etc. You can repeat a rehearsal 100 times in the same space.

- Strategy. If you find practice is making a difference for you, why not adjust your approach to each surf? They're clearly valuable times for you, so I suggest don't rush into the situation. Instead, spend a half hour or so first up catching waves you find easy to handle, creating in effect a "practice" zone, and let yourself build a rhythm naturally thereafter through the session. This sounds very "conscious" and it is, but the fact is that every surfer alive has a rhythm he or she puts into effect every time he or she goes for a surf -- it's just that for almost all of us, that rhythm is subconscious and we never bother to exert any control over it. You're allowed to develop that control and over time you'll find it to be one of the most valuable surfing skills, going well beyond your current predicament.

- Equipment. This is something I don't like to address in this context because many surfers consider gear changes to be a step backward, but I can't avoid it, since it may be of help. If you're not surfing very much, you may not be tuned enough physically and mentally for the kind of craft you'd be using were you surfing every day. This is enough of an edge to tip critical things like takeoffs into the too hard basket. Consider how your takeoffs are being blown -- would they be blown if your board had more volume and length and you were getting in earlier? Or maybe just getting in a bit more easily from your current spots in the lineup?

- Acceptance. I know this isn't of much practical help, but If you're not surfing all that much, don't expect so much from yourself when you do get a chance to surf.

[ajohnsen]

Really good, helpful stuff. Thanks, Nick.

I've done a few of these things, but not at a conscious level. For example, one night last year, I sat up watching vids of Mick Fanning. The next day, I surfed better than in quite a while. I didn't, however, have that in mind when I watched them.

I think your last point - acceptance - is particularly pertinent.

[Nick Carroll]

Good-o.

A bit off subject, braithy claims he has asked me in this thread about the Question Du Jour, between a Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster, who would win?

Some think the Yeti, on some pretty fcuken spurious pretexts I have to say.

Godsave has drawn into question the very existence of the Loch Ness Monster, without however similarly questioning the earthly presence of the goddam Yeti.

I am gonna go with the idea that the Loch Ness Monster is in fact some sort of incredible reptile, perhaps a plesiosaur who has survived up there in the chilly waters, coming and going from Loch Ness and other neighbouring Lochs as it fcuken pleases because let's face it, what idiot would try to mess with a plesiosaur.

The chances of some fabled hairy ape man from the Himalayas getting the better of a huge aquatic reptile with foot long teeth are I feel close to zero.

So Nessie it is.

[ajohnsen]

I've got a Scottish wife who has, naturally, extended Scottish family living throughout Scotland. I am certain that, in some small way, each and every one of them benefits from the income derived the business of Nessie. Therefore, it is in my interests to back Nessie.

[marauding mullet]

Hi aj, hope you and NC don't mind if I add to Nick's reply, as I've just been through the same thing.
Nick has addressed everything I went through spot on, I still fluff the occasional take-off but I'll just add the following hurdles I found.
Equipment, started in a steamer, as the weather warmed i used a s/s springy and that alone made a huge difference to the freedom of my legs it was a bit of a revelation.
The board was a problem too, very flat rocker and long, only good for very soft waves where you have all day to get up. Straight sided plan shape, wouldn't turn when I wanted it to and would just go straight ahead like a runaway bus.
The other problem was peer pressure. On crowded days, about to take off, 6 guys paddling out looking at you, fluffed it every time like a kook.
I just decided one day to commit to every wave I paddled for, no pulling out even if it turned out to be a straight hander, just get to your feet, phuck everything else and anyone watching.
Also did some pop=up practice on carpet at home and believe that helped too.