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. If I had to use one word to describe it, that would be - FRUSTRATION!
I was in such a hurry to beat my friends by paddling as hard as I could. 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 into my already wounded ego, it seemed like they were just chilling and bracing most of the time, yet still moving much faster than me. By the way, I don’t remember catching a single wave that day.

Have you had a similar experience with your surfski?

If you said “Yes,” read along, and you will learn a simple strategy, which tremendously improved my downwind. That same strategy would allow you to go faster 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 anticipate some sort of negative scenario resulting from 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'm not just talking about the possibilities of damaging your car or causing a major accident on the road. The negativity related to being in a hurry is instant. It's the frustration, the anger, the feeling that you're slipping out of control. It is a mental state in which you are highly unlikely to achieve the highest possible result you are capable of, 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, but maybe we need to put a definition on "going fast." This is your ability to go from point A to point B in 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's a far better way to do it.

Think about your favorite sport (something that requires speed; (chess would be a poor example for this). If you observe the top performers of that sport, you'll notice a visible contradiction - they seem to go really fast through space, but their composure, expression, and movements are more like those of Neo from the movie "The Matrix," as if they're moving in slow motion. Many athletes describe that state as "being in the zone." Another word that describes that 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 downwind flow?

If you think about what areas you need to look at to improve your downwind, it comes down to a short list of three main points:

• Sufficient stroke technique and fitness - this is your downwind budget. You need a 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 conditions, selecting the most optimal route, and choosing when to accelerate, surf the waves or let go on a wave-to-wave basis.
• Specific downwind techniques/ skills 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 without turning it into a book, so let's focus on one aspect from the downwind strategy - surfing the waves. Your ability to remain on each wave 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. 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 I would surf left or right each wave trying to maintain an optimal position on top of the wave crest, and that also meant ignoring any "opportunity" to sprint to a different wave if I could still remain on my original one without taking additional strokes.

One of the most rewarding feelings for me in downwind is to be able to flow with the waves without taking strokes for 1-2, sometimes even 3-4 minutes. I'm not sure how to describe the feeling, but it's something like flying effortlessly while having the sense of total freedom. That is the reason I was very surprised when I read a comment from a friend who said:

"I would never have the patience to do this."

I didn't expect this comment. I was used to reading objections that effortless surfing like that was only possible in Tarifa, as if physics at the most southern point of Europe were somehow different from the rest of the planet, but...

No patience?

No patience for what? To prolong the best feeling you get to experience in downwind?

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 the 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 of getting the same enjoyment you could have gotten from the previous one? And when you get to the new wave you just managed to chase down, you still wouldn't have the patience to stay on because you'd see another wave you would chase?

To me, that didn't make sense at all.

You did all the hard work and didn't reap the rewards. Why?

Here's the logic:

1. The waves are moving faster than you or else you wouldn't have to accelerate in order to catch them.
2. The more time you spend on top of the waves surfing, the faster you will go. 
3. From here, the most logical conclusion would be to focus on surfing the wave you caught and not on chasing another one. 

By staying longer on each wave, harnessing its energy, you naturally increase your speed and efficiency, transforming the act of paddling into an art of flow and being one with the ocean. This isn't about being in a hurry; it's about being in harmony with the ocean's rhythm, which ultimately leads to a faster, more enjoyable downwind experience.