Need some tips on how to maintain speed through a cutback in weak short period waves. When the waves are stacked up and short period (think the Gorge) I find that I finish the turn in the trough and often need to throw a couple pumps out of the bottom of the turn to get back onto the power. Maybe the nature of a cutback in these conditions but I’d like to carry more speed out of it and keep it more fluid.
I’m winging but not sure that matters here.
This is super confusing to me. If i’m having a weak low power session cutback is the moment i’m most juiced on a wave. Its the time i’m most likely to blow up for too much speed! Are you running out into the flats so far your bumping into the back of the next wave? If this is the case its just a matter of turning faster or initiating that turn higher (farther back) on the wave so your not ending up so far in front.
I’m really agressive on the counter turn before the cutback which i think helps with this. Throw a little bottom to top to get high in the powered zone on that wave face and get that cutback queued up with the top turn so your already banked into it when your on the top, resulting in getting through the turn before your banging into the one in front.
Id say if your winging a super small HA and covering more ground with the higher speed range your much more likely to end up in a bad place with the wave in front. I mostly wing a slow mid aspect to keep that speed in check and keep me in the power!
Yea I was getting towards the back of the next wave. I don’t have this problem in other spots and maybe it’s unique to the way the waves stack up in the gorge.
I think you are right though - I needed to set up the turn earlier than I do in more powered conditions. I was watching some of @Erik and @mikepedigo videos in small conditions and they are almost setting up their cutback behind the peak so that they use more of the face to build speed out of it and before they get too low on the wave. I think timing is crucial in these conditions and I am just setting everything up too late. I also need to look for more powered pockets/ peaks and time my turn on those pockets so that I can carry more speed out of it.
Thanks
I just got home from a week in the gorge and the lines are a bit different. I’ll second everything @TooMuchEpoxy said: Starting really high on the wave and a little off the peak can help to control speed and give you enough room to pull the turn past the trough and back up the bump that you are on. If you turn right in the peak/steepest part of the wave, you need to try and get it around before you accelerate down the face and up the back of the next one. Bottom turning up into the wave first will slow you down and give a bit more space/time to bring it all the way around, also extra style points…
Last monday was pretty epic Jonah Lepak on Instagram: "Big day on the river yesterday"
Thank you! That all makes sense to me. Wish I had another week out there to keep fine tuning.
That Monday video looks incredible. Scored a few great days but nothing that big - no problem carrying speed with that power. What a spot!
That was my first thought too. You’re stopping the turn too soon maybe.
I was on the 850. I watched some video and I think these suggestions are spot on. I had some good ones and some bad ones on video and on the bad ones I was trying to do too much on the face of the wave and didn’t have enough time to get around before I found myself in the dead zone. In the good ones I was initiating the turn much earlier so that I could get part of the turn in closer to the peak then build more speed down the face (rather than using the face for the turn). Im used to a longer and more powered face with more time to draw the turn out, but I needed to adjust my technique to suit the conditions more. All seems pretty obvious in hindsight, but articulating it in these comments and looking at video is helpful. Thanks for the tips - now I just need another trip out there…
I’ve had good success thinking about the turn exactly the same as a pumping motion. Make the turn as the down pressure part of the pump (which is where you build speed) and you’ll exit the turn with a lot of speed. This also means you need to unweight and enter the turn high on the mast to be ready to generate speed through the turn.
Then combine that with something you noted - on really small swell, you have to be almost out the back of the wave as you start the turn (mast is just behind the peak), so you can race down the tiny face in the middle of the turn. Its a delicate balance because if you get too far out the back you get stuck. But probably try to get a little more out the back - which doesn’t feel natural until you practice it a bunch.
Been practicing this a bunch in shorter period waves than the gorge where these tips are very necessary. It also depends on if your turning toeside or heelside. With toeside, you can do a counter turn while shifting your hips back and letting your board rise and get away from you a bit, then quickly yaw toeside direction and let the board come under you with upward pitch along with turning. Kind of lets you cheat the turn initiation so you can really dive into it and come out cooking without needing to wait for the board to roll over. This works extra well with my ~1150 high aspect even at low speed with a period around 1meter.
Guessing this is the yaw snap? I haven’t managed to get it tightened up as well on a heelside cutback though. Any tips for that? Thinking maybe I need a bit more countersteer. Also feel that having offset stance makes it a bit harder to dive into the heelside while pitching the noise back up.