Being in a hurry vs. going fast downwind?
Have you ever seen a driver erratically changing lanes left and right in slow traffic, hitting the brakes and suddenly accelerating?
The driver passes you hastily gesturing impatiently with frustration.
In a couple of minutes a traffic light turns red and you slowly approach the stopped vehicles in front.
To your delight you see the erratic driver stuck behind a car on the lane next to yours and you effortlessly pass by as it turns out your lane was the better choice at that particular moment.
I have seen that many times and I also have to admit, at times I have been that driver.
Being in a hurry doesn’t always mean going faster and this is especially valid when it comes to downwind paddling.
I remember my first downwind and if I had to use one word to describe it, that would be - FRUSTRATION!
I was in such a hurry to beat my friends and I don’t remember catching a single wave that day.
It felt like the more I pushed the slower I went. The more I tried to catch up the further my friends went away. And to rub salt on top of my wounded ego it seemed like they were just chilling and bracing most of the time and still moving much faster than me.
Have you had that experience with your surfski?
If you said “Yes” read along and you will learn a simple strategy that changed my downwind experience from frustration to being able to surf waves effortlessly for minutes at a time. That same simple strategy would allow you to go fast downwind without being in a hurry.
But first let's get to the core of being in a hurry.
Why do people hurry?
A simple way to answer would be because they are late for something.
They are late and they anticipate some sort of a negative scenario resulting form that fact.
Angry boss, angry spouse, angry customers…the possibilities are endless.
Being in a hurry is a mental state, which usually brings a negative experience.
I am not just talking about the possibilities of damaging your car or causing a major accident on the road (check the video below).
Here is a dramatic example of being in a hurry where the end result is the exact opposite of moving fast. In this case not only for the impatient drivers but also all other people who were in the area.
The negativity related to being in a hurry is instant. It is the frustration, the anger the feeling that you are slipping out of control.
It is a mental state in which you are highly unlikely to achieve the highest possible result, whatever that may be - going faster downwind or being more productive at work etc.
What about going fast?
Doesn't going fast require being in a hurry?
On the surface it may look that way and maybe we need to put a definition on "going fast". This is your ability to go from point A to point B for the shortest time regardless of your mental state.
That of course implies that you can go fast while also being in a hurry but there is a far better way to go fast.
Think about your favourite sport (something that requires speed, chess would be a poor example for this). If you observe the top performers of this sport you will notice a visible contradiction - they seem to go really fast trough space but their composure, expression and movements look more like Leo form the movie Matrix, as if they are moving in a slow motion.
Many athletes describe that mental state as "being in the zone". Another word, which describes this state of maximum focus coupled with maximum efficiency is Flow. This is especially relevant to Downwind surfski where the energy of the ocean is continuously flowing from one wave to the next and your goal should be to become one with that flow.
How does that information help your flow in downwind?
If you think about what is needed to go faster downwind, it comes down to a short list of 3 main areas:
- Sufficient stroke technique and fitness - this is your downwind budget. You need certain minimum average paddling speed (something like 10 km/h) and approximately 14-15 km/h maximum sprinting speed to have fun in most conditions.
- A downwind strategy - this covers judging and estimating the conditions, selecting the most optimal route and also choosing to accelerate or letting go on a wave to wave basis.
- Specific downwind techniques related to surfing the waves - surfing direction, brace stroke (and its variations), using your body weight leaning side to side, back and forth etc.
Dissecting all that information in a single article would be impossible to achieve without turning it into a book so let's focus on one aspect from the downwind strategy and that is surfing the waves.
Your ability to remain on each waves as long as possible is the most underrated element in Downwind surfski paddling.
I remember years ago I posted a short video of me doing downwind in Tarifa. I think at that time I was already kind of obsessed with the idea of trying to achieve the longest possible time surfing a wave without taking any strokes. That meant that each wave I took I would surf left, right, strait trying to maintain optimal position on top of the wave crest and that also meant that I would ignore any "opportunity" to sprint to (or link) a different wave if I could just remain on my original wave without taking additional strokes.
One of the most rewarding feelings for me in downwind is to be able to flaw with the waves without taking strokes for 1-2 sometimes even 3-4 minutes. I am not sure how to describe the feeling but it is something like the flying effortlessly while having the sense of total freedom.
I was very surprised when I read the comment of a friend who said:
"I would never have the patience to do this."
I was surprised.
I was used to reading objections that effortless surfing like that was only possible in Tarifa, as if physics in the most southern point of Europe are somehow different to the rest of the planet.
"Patience"?
Patience for what? To experience one of the best feelings?
He elaborated:
"I would have chased the other waves I could see in front"
I thought that was an ironic contradiction. You don't have patience to stay and enjoy surfing the wave you just caught, because you thought it was much better to sprint for another wave in hope to get the same enjoyment you could have got from the previous one?
And when you get to the new wave you just manage to chase down you still wouldn't have patience to stay on because you would see another wave you would chase?
To me it did't make sense.
You did all the work and you didn't reap the rewards. Why?
Here is the logic:
- The waves are moving faster than you
- The more time you spend on the waves surfing the faster you will go
From here the conclusion is to focus on surfig the