What makes good DW bumps

[yann]

What do you think are the key characteristics a spit must have to create good bumps?? how does depth affect the bumps?

[EmeryThrill]

Is the “key characteristics a spit must have” central to your question, or are you okay with more general principles? It looks like are wrestling with whether you can do the sport in your area, or with the gear you have etc… but there’s not a ton of context on what you have tried.

Donwind foil conditions

Hi Yann. In my experience and my spot, conditions are pretty cool cause the wind is cross-on but as you go out the coast it gets more like side to the coast, swell it’s more cross-on and it makes the crossed effect of the wind bumps going side of the coast and letting you correct your direction out the coast, and the swell lets you go in, I think that’s ideal so you can play with the directions you want to go with both energies. It’s better to explain it with a map thou

Dw conditions requirements

hi everyone, how is depth related to the size and quality of bumps for dw. I have been struggling to find conditions for sup dw. the last time I went, there were about 20 knots and 1.4m swell, I was about 300m out at sea and there were no bumps, just onshore swell. i have a friend who said it’s related to depth. he says it’s too deep. what are your thoughts?

Generally… you want a steep and powerful wave, that isn’t moving so fast that you can’t catch the wave. For learning, wind swell is going to be much easier because it’s generally slower. Conditions that can create this are…

Windswell high winds (e.g. 20kts+) in the ocean or on a lake that are side shore or side-onshore so you have runway to paddle up, or in the case of bays and rivers moderate winds (15kts+) with opposing currents (e.g. ebb bay tides, or a river flowing against the wind) - which will build up the wind swell. You need at least a few miles of ‘fetch’ for these to build.

Groundswell is also caused by wind and storms, but over. a much larger distance (think 1,000 miles+). Typically faster and harder to ride, requiring smaller foils and longer boards. They build into waves when they run up against shallower shores/reefs/etc that prop that energy upward
(an extreme example might be a tsunami). In most cases there will be a mix of wind swell even in a groundswell (ocean) environment, making this harder to learn in - so I would only go for these conditions if you have no Bay or River as an alternative.

Ground Swells: A Complete Breakdown For Beginners… – Surf Hub

As a beginner, I would follow the crowds — go to areas where other folks are already down-winding, rather than trying to open a new spot. Don’t stress on the factors that could create hypothetical conditions, just look at videos online of people down-winding, and compare it to your local spot - does it look similar? Do you have waves that are at least 1 or 2-feet high that you could imagine paddling onto? Or are they huge undulations out on the coast? Are there whitecaps and spray? or just texture? Focus on the outcome, not the theory.

Not everything will be as pristine as the Maliko or Hood River. Take a look at the guys posting videos downwinding in Los Angeles, or the Great Lakes USA. These are often smaller conditions, but still have some clear discernible waves/bumps mixed in with the texture that guys are paddling up in.