December 04th, 2018

Let me tell you about a very common question that I get asked quite regularly. There is no simple answer to this question, but I will try and be of some assistance now with this post. The question usually goes something like this: I’ve been SUP surfing now for a few months and I am doing really well, the board I have is just too big and heavy and I feel I need something a bit smaller as it is holding me back and a new smaller SUP will allow my surfing to improve out of sight! What board would you recommend?
Now, there is no real simple quick fix answer to this question, but my number one suggestion would be to stop picking on your poor old board and pay a bit more attention to the person riding it ha ha. Yes, you may be ready for a new board, but getting on a smaller board too soon may slow down your surfing progression if you are not quite ready for it. If you are serious about becoming a stylish, smooth SUP surfer, here are some suggestions that will help you along your way to figuring out the answer.

1. Work on your stroke technique. Go for some big long flat-water paddles and work on developing a nice smooth rhythm in your stroke. Focus your stroke on the forward section of your board, get the blade nice and deep in the water, engage your core and develop good upper body strength. Develop some stamina in all conditions, wind, strong tides etc. Momentum is the key to catching heaps of waves. This tip is essential, basically, poor stroke technique means no waves!
2. Practise moving your feet around on the board. Once again, get out on the flat water and walk around a bit on the board. Practice getting into your surf stance (goofy or natural). It is extremely important to be able to drive these big boards off the back foot to turn successfully on the waves. By getting your back foot back on the tail section of the board and applying your body weight to it you can lift the nose of the board allowing you to pivot it into the turns.
3. Use your paddle to assist in turning on the waves. A combination of using your back foot as mentioned in tip 2 and digging the paddle deep into the wave and leveraging yourself through the turns will increase your power on the wave.
4. If your centre fin is in a sliding fin box, move the fin slightly forward. You will be amazed at how moving the fin slightly forward will increase the manoeuvrability of your board.
5. Get yourself a bit more fit. Fitness helps everything improve when it comes to SUP. Firstly, by dropping a few kgs (if you need to that is) everything will become a little easier. By strengthening your legs and upper body, now its starting to happen. Finally, Sup surfing is hard work. By increasing your fitness, you can enjoy longer sessions, enjoy a clearer mind and ultimately get more waves!

 
If you can tick off each of these points, yes, I think you may be ready to upgrade your board. Otherwise, if you spend a bit of time working on the above-mentioned points, I can guarantee you will start to notice some impressive improvement in your SUP surfing. Just think about it, if you spend a bit more time perfecting your big old heavy board and start to really throw it around, just imagine the damage you will do when you step on a smaller, lighter board! Yeeeeow now we’re talking! Summer’s on its way, you’ve got some work to do. Get into it and remember nothing comes easy. Have fun.