Words:
Simon Hammond
Photos:
Keiran Hammond
www.rakker.co.uk
Simon Hammond bio
Simon is a sea and surf coach, a former World Surf Kayaking Champion, and author of ‘Surf Kayaking: The Essential Guide’. Simon and his wife Nicola run Shoreline Extreme Sports in Bude. Over the last 25 years, they have been coaching and providing a wide range of PaddleUK awards and qualifications. Simon is a highly qualified PaddleUK coach provider and National Trainer.
Simon Hammond
Big smiles… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… sometimes the easy way is the best!
In our world of paddlesports, there are plenty of challenges to overcome before the real fun begins. But it’s a long journey from beginner to expert; the trick is to have the maximum amount of fun along the way.
Kayakers are particularly up against it. From the original Inuit-designed boats to the majority of their modern-day variations, we have managed to sustain the anxiety of squeezing into and then needing to escape from an enclosed cockpit. Inducing, from day one, a fear of entrapment! OK, I know things are much better than when I first started in 1st Bude Scouts with our home-built fibreglass boats.
These cockpits were so tight that getting into your kayak was about as tricky as Olivia Newton-John getting into those famous skin-tight leggings! And getting out was even more challenging! But you get the point: cockpits and the exit from them still create fear.
I don’t want to put you off kayaking, but things don’t improve even after you have plucked up the courage to get into your craft! Capsizing is part of the game, but it’s not really the fun part. That is unless you’re the sort of person who loves a bit of a physical slog! From the moment you have an upturned boat, the work begins. It starts with getting everything: you, your craft and your paddles to shore. Finally, arriving in the shallows like the proverbial drowned rat.
The final and hardest stage
Next, you’ll need to find a way to get your kayak onto some dry, stable land only to begin the final and hardest stage. That is emptying all the water, sediment, fish and general detritus currently filling your kayak to the brim. At this point, you think there must be a trick to getting all this water out without needing to have the strength of an Olympic power lifter. Good luck!
OK, it’s not all doom and gloom (and there are a few tricks that can help). The fun of paddling soon washes all these negative moments out of your mind and drags you back onto the water, progressing your skills as you go. I know because I’ve been loving kayaking in all its forms for the last 30 years.
But, (and I have to say this as a whisper hidden behind the back of my hand)… there is an easier way!
If, like most kayakers, you haven’t got an infinitely reliable bombproof roll or the underwater breath-holding techniques of Wim Hof, then why not give yourself a break and have some fun on a sit-on-top? It’s almost heresy to say it, and even as I write this, I feel the need to defend this outrageous suggestion!
Sit-on-tops
I’ve been kayaking for a while and can sometimes be a proper kayak snob. Running a centre, my staff forced me to buy our first fleet of sit-on-tops (thanks, Joel). And wow! What an overnight change that was. But that’s not the point of this article. I hope, as paddlers, we can all see the value and ease of sit-on-tops as an early introductory kayaking craft, but using them later on in your paddling development really excites me.
Based in Bude, Cornwall, it’s fairly obvious that my playground is the sea and the surf. But that’s not so different for thousands of UK paddlers who live close to or within a short journey of the sea.
Incredible environment
Playing in the sea and the surf is incredible. One of my most enjoyable things is introducing others to this incredible environment. It can be challenging and hard work, but as soon as you’re surfing your first wave, you’ll be hooked! And that’s the point. No matter what your paddling background and ability are, surfing a wave will make you smile. And if you can surf that wave without any other distractions or anxieties or physical fatigue, then so much the better for you and so much the better for your progression and confidence.
But it still takes some bravery to get out of your tried-and-tested favourite kayak and try something different. Don’t worry; you’re not selling your soul. Give it a try, take what you’ve learnt, and build it back into your regular paddling. It’s a win-win.
Simple construction, manoeuvrable and steady
There are some pitfalls in the world of sit-on-tops to be aware of. Just like every other kayak class, not all sit-on-tops are the same! I’ve already admitted that I took far too long before buying my first sit-on-top, but part of that was my OCD need to buy the right one! I wanted a craft that was light enough to carry, simple construction, manoeuvrable and steady. That, it turned out, wasn’t as easy as I first thought.
Many sit-on-tops are heavy and overly complex with hull designs that work against paddler development. But I struggled on, fighting through the rows of fisherman-orientated craft with sonar, hatches, rod holders and satellite TV until I found the simple beast I have since fallen in love with.
There are other models out there with similar attributes, but the love of my sit-on-top world is the ‘Scooter,’ and one day, I hope to meet the person who designed it and give them a big hug!
No fear of entrapment
But it’s the overall concept that is the winner. A craft with no cockpit, therefore no fear of entrapment and a craft with no insides, so nothing to empty! Wow! That’s enough right away, and then if you have a craft with enough rocker to lift the bow over oncoming waves, enough edge forgiveness so that you can survive being sideways to a wave and a hull design that allows you to control your ride, then there is hardly anything better! And here’s the thing… when you fall off, wipe out or capsize as you often do in the surf… you just flip it over and get back on! I know…amazing!
So what have you got to lose?
Beginners and experts, short boaters and sea kayakers – I’ve seen the smiles on their faces. From getting to grips with being sideways to a wave, controlling your ride, and progressing to running diagonally across the face of a wave, turning, and even paddle-out take-offs, the sit-on-top is a great way to explore new techniques and maximise your surfing time as opposed to your capsize, swim, and emptying time!
Give it a try; it’ll put a big smile on your face!
The Paddle Out Take Off, as illustrated by the sit-on-top sequence above.
- Start by watching the surf for a while and noticing where and how the waves break. You want to focus on the point where a green wave suddenly breaks, creating a real whoomph of breaking white water. It doesn’t need to be a big wave, just a powerful break.
- As you paddle out, face the oncoming wave at an angle, something like 45 degrees, but you can play with this. Get ready for the wave to hit your bow. Have your wave-side paddle in position for a big wave-side sweep stroke.
- As the wave hits, you initiate your sweep stroke by twisting your body to look towards the shore.
- Get the right wave, angle of attack, and timing of the sweep stroke, and you’ll be surfing the wave back to shore after performing a paddle-out takeoff.
- Next, you can play with a beachward pry instead of the sweep and some pre-rotation!
