Hi,
looking for some tips on surfing prone downwinding from catching a wave and pumping out to the windswell (no jetski, paddle or wingding)
What sort of swell size & wind speed do you find is needed?
I'm hoping a Naish 1800HA will do the job (I'm 87kg weight) but wondering if something bigger & not high aspect is needed? Any tips greatly appreciated
Wing is the easiest by far and you will need to learn reading the swells and where to ride, and when you fall off it's easy to start again.Otherwise prone if you breach or touchdown for a second too long you will be cactus and have to paddle in. If you want to have a crack though, a long point or a bombie where you can catch a wave to get a start and pump out into the ocean runners to begin with ,also a strong downwind breeze behind you will help. If not a Long Beach with the wind swell running at a good angle to the beach so you can work your way out along the waves to sea.Good luck cause you've picked the most difficult thing to do.
Ps as a guide to you would need to be able to pump up to 100m at a time consistently without falling off once, to have any chance of success, as well as knowing how and where to ride on a wind swell .
There is a video around of Kalama doing this. I seem to recall big hand mitts and knee paddling.
There are guys here in Perth who do several kms on 4'something prone boards. They catch actual breaking waves inshore and then head out and get on the lump train. It's doable. I've done several hundred metres but I wing now. I'll try again this season I think.
Catching windswell out to sea.... it's doable too but it will probably have to be nuking...some days when it's in the 25knots plus ramgr it looks like it would be easy. Don't forget, if it's all crossshore like it often is here, all that wind really helps propel you downwind.
www.instagram.com/p/B8fqm0tnucc/?igshid=jn8xkt3kzhuv
Edit:
Sorry I re read and realised I didn't answer much for you.
Swell/waves needed: depends a bit on your local setup but here we have places where you can scratch into 5 second windswell with a gutter to let you out off the back of the bank. If there is swell our beaches become no go and you have to find a burger somewhere within reach of the DW line.
As for wind I've witnessed the dude in the above insta hit it at 15 but looks like more fun at 20.
Wings needed:
HA is vital really, because it's so much more efficient. The fella above used to do some stuff on the old LA GF and Axis stuff but HA is really where it's at and that's what he uses.
You can do this. It won't be easy but you have to start somewhere...and it's the most pure way to downwind. No paddle, no wing, no jetski just your board and you.
Update- i had a crack and did a 2.5km stretch twice. (Can't seem to upload dawnpatrol photo so its in my Avatar)
Took me 5 waves each run. Conditions were roughly 20kmh+ N winds. Short period NE swell 1+ft
Wind was running parallel to the beach but found i was mainly catching the waves rather than swell. Occasionally would just be riding nothing but motoring along which could have been the back of the wave coming off and cutting back out.
Was hard to work out any windswell if I attempted to pump out too far, so found cutting in on a wave helped more than the wind. Found id pump back out a bit to get the next incoming wave.
maybe when the wind is 30kmh+ I'd have more of a chance? Or try a opposite stronger S swell.. with same winds?
I'm not getting into winging, tried it and didn't get a spark like foiling. See more appeal with prone foilin downwind
