Martlet Kayak Club

On 10th April 2010, 16 of our members headed down to Skern Lodge in Appledore, Devon to complete a ‘Surf Safety and Rescue Training Course’ as part of Martlet’s Surf Academy. We were blessed with fun waves and lovely weather, and a great time was had by all. Many thanks to Glynn Brackenbury and his coaching team for a great weekend.

Here is a report from one of our junior members, Zack Stubbs;

Surf safety course by Zack Stubbs
My trip report for the surf safety course in Croyde.
On Friday the 9th April Rob, Chris, Jamie and I went to Saunton Sands beach for a surf before the weekend course. It was small but very clean and it gave us a chance to get used to the surf and for me to take out my head cam (video on my f.b). After the surf, Adrian and Nikki met us in the car park and followed us to Skern Lodge where we were met by Simon who showed us to our rooms. We chose the ones with showers. Most of the other people turned up and we all went to the pub and ordered food. The next day it was an extremely early start of 9:00 and after we had breakfast we then went for a brief about the course. We were then split in two groups. I was with Sian, Nat, Nikki, Chris.S and Kelly. We were in the 1 to 2 star group and the rest were in a more experienced group. My group was taken in a mini bus to the beach where we looked at the beach and got talked through the hazards and the way the beach works. We then went back to Skern Lodge to get into our surf kit and headed back down to the beach to surf. Simon sent us in to get used to the surf and the powers of the waves. He observed us and then called us in again to talk about how well we paddled. He then taught us how to get our kayaks in safely if we swim and what to do if our deck pops. He also told us how to paddle in with water in our kayaks (which involved getting quite wet!). We then went out for another surf and we were paired up with a buddy to look out for in the surf. He then came out on his wave ski and told me about needing to reach higher for my top and bottom turns. I found this very useful as I could feel the difference if you reach a bit higher with my paddle on the wave. We surfed some more, improving as Simon gave us advice. We then went back to Skern Lodge and hung our kit out. We then went to the pub (with no beer) and had dinner. On Sunday morning we went in to the pool to practise rolling. I worked on my hand roll with help from Luke then we all planned to go for a surf but the waves had gone down so we didn’t go in.

All in all it was a very good course which I learnt a lot from to help me in the surf. Thanks to Marc for organising a great trip!

Spring Surfkayak roadtrip in California……..

The club has a fleet of 8 surfkayaks for our members to use, mostly from Mega surfkayaks. Members are free to use the boats around the club or, with prior consent from a committee member, to take a surf kayak way on a surf trip or holiday. These are the surf specific craft we have for our members use;
2 * plastic Mega X-Ray. A smaller, ultra high performance craft. Ideal for juniors and smaller adults.
Plastic Mega Maverick. A large high performance kayak, suitable for the bigger paddlers. Not particularly user friendly for beginners, but very fast.
Plastic Mega Neutron. The most popular plastic surf kayak of the last 5 years, many club members own their own. Suitable for most sizes, and pretty good to learn in. Can be challenging to roll.
Composite Mega Bullit. 9ft long International Class kayak. Extremely fast and pretty easy to learn in, suitable for larger paddlers. Please only use at low tide in Brighton as it will break in the dump.
Composite Mega Bullit XS. Shorter High Performance version of the Bullit with fins. Extremely fast and manoueverable, pretty easy to learn in and forgiving. Again, low tide only in Brighton.
2 * plastic Riot Boogies *. The original plastic surf kayak. As close to paddling a playboat as you will get in a surf specific craft. Easy to learn in and a lot of fun.
If you’d like to learn more about the use of any of these craft, please speak with one of our coaches.

However, there is one thing that the club cannot guarantee to supply for its members - fins. Due to the nature of surf kayaking, particularly on stony beaches like Brighton, fins get damaged, broken and lost. Therefore, if you plan to use our surfkayaks then please consider acquiring a set of your own fins so that you know they will always be available when you want to go surf. In order to help you, the club has acquired some 3-fin sets from Mega to sell to our members at a discount price. The fins themselves are made of nylon impregnated fibreglass and are extremely strong, making them particularly suitable for stony beaches like Brighton and can be purchased at a discount price of £30 per set (in comparison to the RRP of £37.50 plus postage), with a small amount of profit going to club funds. So every purchase will insure you get a great surf when you want to, and help to support your club.

If you’d like to purchase some fins, please speak to a committee member or coach.

Thanks,
Marc

* Fins currently only for Mega boats, we are trying to source some fins for the Boogies now.
** Make you fins last? Always tighten them up fully, and never land on the beach sideways - always try to ride onto the shore straight.
*** Offer only available to club members.

As part of Martlet’s 2009-2010 Surf Academy we headed down to Bude back in September for training with former World Champion, Simon Hammond. The group was divided in two, with some being trained to BCU 4* level others to 3*. But the primary overall aim of the weekend was to learn how to be safe in the surfzone and to have FUN!

Luke Davies, who was in the 4* group, and Sarah Hampton, who stayed at Crooklets with the 3* crowd, each put together a report to tell the rest of the club about the weekend.

Lukes Story

As the climax to Marc’s surf academy, which ran through the summer, some us went down to Bude to participate in former world surf kayaking champion, Simon Hammond’s, 3* and 4* surf training courses. Luckily for us, the weather was on our side the whole weekend and the swell was ideal for learning (about 1-2 foot, clean).

After getting down to Bude on Friday and spending the night at the Backpackers Lodge (and most of the evening in the pub), Marc, Ben and me kicked off the surfing, early Saturday morning (which meant getting up at 7!) at Crooklets beach in central Bude. Marc was trying out a new, secret prototype boat and me and Ben got a chance to warm up (and wake up) before the course started.
At 10, Simon and the others met us in the car park where the 3* group and 4* group split up. On the 4* course, we proceeded to learn about leadership risk assessments on the headland above Summerleaze beach and choosing where to surf (in Simon’s garage).
Following the theory we ventured off to Sandy Mouth beach, where the 9 of us on the course quickly invaded the rather small break, initially practicing rescues but quickly progressing to learning about take-offs and identifying where to catch waves from, due to the surf quality. The first few hours were pretty chaotic with a fair amount of bad etiquette on the whole but very fun with everyone getting used to the conditions.
After lunch, the tide was out allowing a lot more space and more breaks for us to surf on, with Simon addressing the etiquette issues and teaching us about positioning on the wave and edge control. However, not all of us seemed to have got the idea of surf etiquette, with a non-Martlets member of our course being run-down by a well-known club surf kayaker!
At 4, Simon, who was being aided by fellow Shoreline instructor Paul Rudderford, concluded the day, rounding up what we had covered in the hot, afternoon sunshine, leaving us the uphill walk back up to the car park. Everyone then reconvened at the local pub for dinner and the evening, allowing everyone the chance to try Charlie’s tricks, which fortunately ended without injury!

On the Sunday, we all began at 10 (no one had the energy to get up any earlier after 6 hours surfing the previous day!), at Sandy Mouth. We began the day learning about bottom turns and top turns and just general practice but were interrupted by angry lifeguards who were worried due to the large number of kayakers in the swim zone…. However, this gave us time to cover the leadership aspects of the course and splitting up into two groups, actually having a go at dealing with made-up scenarios. These varied from straight capsizes to paddlers paddling off to other breaks and arguments with surfers, but all gave the leader a better idea of what to expect and gave us a chance to learn from each others leadership styles.

In the afternoon we had several hours to put into practice all that we had learned, with some us trying out the new club HP composite boats (the bright, glittery purple ones!), which gave Paul enough time to take a swim in Marc’s boat to many people surprise and amusement. We concluded surfing at 4 once again, being given our feedback by Simon and Paul and ending a very enjoyable weekend.

The course was a great experience and gave all the participants a much better understanding of surf kayaking with many thanks going to Marc on the organisation

Sarah’s Story

I was fortunate enough to partake in the 3* Surf Kayaking Course back in September when the weather was gorgeous and the sea a little warmer. Having not done much surf kayaking at all I found the course invaluable. It built my confidence so that I am now ready to ‘go and get a trashing’ (as Dai put it) on Brighton beach where the less frequent surf just isn’t as friendly!

The first exercise of the course was all about getting the feel for the waves. Well, there weren’t really any waves – it was too calm. So we had to ditch our paddles and practise bongo sliding in the gentle and shallow break. This really helped me get a feel for what was happening as well as allowing me to gain confidence. Next, we went out a little further where there were now some small waves and practised bongo sliding, surfing along the wave and the beginnings of bottom turns. It was fantastic fun – I don’t think I stopped smiling all weekend!

After lunch in the glorious sunshine the waves had increased a little in size and were perfect for practising our new learnt skills. We headed around the rocks to the next beach. After scaring off one lone surfer we had the place to ourselves. The waves were perfect. That beautiful aqua-marine face inviting us to surf. That is, all of us apart from Sanne, who, in her tank, decided it was preferable to swim. Our half-gorgeous instructors (guess which one of them that was ladies!) taught us or at least, attempted to teach us, how to top turn. I think I managed it once! Others were more successful, particularly Kelly in her snazzy surf boat.

The day finished with a Cornish ice cream and a visit to the nearby public house. It would have been rude not to. We all managed to survive Charlie’s evening entertainment – mainly by spectating rather than by participating! Therefore we were fit, ready and smiling in anticipation for our second day.

The morning started with a few beach explanations – one of our instructors drew diagrams in the sand and explained surf etiquette (that’s right – you can’t steal another person’s wave). He then made a huge mound of sand and put my kayak on it and we had to practise top turns, leaning down the wave. Then out to the sea to practise. It was again fantastic! I loved every moment of it!
Over lunch we were given a written test to complete. Some of the questions were general surf-kayak knowledge; like naming a few brands of boat. Others were more technical; reading/drawing a weather chart with high and low pressure and explaining it, knowing where the wave height is measured and what this means.

In the afternoon we had to demonstrate our rolling abilities – unfortunately I only managed half of one but everyone else was fine. Then we were meant to practise taking our boats and paddles back into shore in case you ever capsize and don’t roll. However, due to a significant rip tide taking one boat out to sea and one of the instructors having to chase after it this activity was cancelled!

Once changed and dry we headed up to the house for individual feedback from the instructors. Although I didn’t get my 3* on this occasion I was really pleased with everything I learnt and the brilliant time that I had. I have a few things to work on (top turns and my roll in particular) but I now have the confidence to give it a go and I can’t wait until the next Bude trip!

Thats the first two steps of the Academy now complete with some new 3 and 4* paddlers. Next, the group will be off to Skern Lodge for a weekend of surf safety and rescue in April!

Look at this new and exciting course run by a range of club experts in various disciplines of paddlesport.

Use the following link to sign up for the course

https://www.eventelephant.com/paddlesport

MKC Academy 2009 Web.key

The Santa Cruz Surfkayak festival is generally recognized as the top annual surfkayak event (its one of only 2 3* events in the Worldcup qualifying series, along with Mundaka). I've been lucky enough to head over these the last couple of years, generally co-ordinated with cunningly scheduled business trips and Caroline and I have got to know quite a few friends there…….like most kayak events, its often as much party as it is paddling. In previous years; I've managed to avoid coming last in the expert mens HP division, swimming, or drowning (which were my original goals when I started entering). Although, I've come to realize there is no shame in swimming, far better boaters than I have been known to. We got in early morning the Wednesday before the competition from Hawaii and headed straight down from SFO to Steamers Lane at Santa Cruz. As I hit the beach at Cowells I was met by one of the US East's top boaters, Eric Miller, who told me he'd got hit by a big wave and busted his ribs - he hadn't actually caught a wave when he got taken over the falls, and wouldn't paddle again or compete. It kind of set the tone for the next 5 days…. Following a brief session early Wednesday, which saw some of the worlds best surf kayakers (including our own Robyn, who was sat in the thick of things at transitions) out at double-overhead Middlepeak, it was a bunch of free-surfs and parties with the numerous friends we've made out there over the years. As everyone gathered leading up to the Friday morning heats, it was obviously a really strong field again with champions from across the world; England, Ireland, Channel Islands, Japan, Canada, in addition to the top guys from across the USA. I just realized, I mentioned a bunch of spots at Steamer Lane without explaining what I'm talking about. Basically, the Lane consists of a bunch of breaks - ranging from the beginners spot of Cowells just off the beach at the Boardwalk through to 3rd Reef which breaks up to 25 feet half a mile out to sea from the cliffs and way over a mile from the beach - the swell was such during the competition that 3rd reef and middlepeak were breaking, with the best waves carrying through into Indicators where the wave doubles in speed and gets real steep. The first 2 days consist of the qualifying rounds to reach the quarterfinals of the mens expert High performance (under 9ft boats only) division and the semifinals of each of the other divisions. I was entered in mens HP and IC expert divisions. With 2 second places in the my first two HP heats, I sneaked through to the last 16 - through to the Sunday for the first time! The surf was pretty large with 12-15 feet faces and clean conditions and I managed to beat some really good, big wave specialists. My wave selection was pretty good and I was really pleased with how it went. Robyn also qualified through to the HP Ladies Final in her first Santa Cruz, although the entrants were reduced massively this year - probably due to the size of the waves. Some video from the first 2 days is here . I appear 3 times in the video - at 01:36 (little ride), 02:15 (whupping), and 03:33 (narrowly avoiding a massive beating from a monster closeout). The Sunday morning broke with the swell having jumped from 12ft to 19ft overnight on the Monterey bouy, and we reached the Lane early to find the high tide pushing screaming barrels very close to the cliffs, not great and I was up second against World Champion Rusty Sage and last years 3rd placed competitor Andrew Nolan, so I reckoned that was it for me - at least an honorable place in the last 16! The heat was awesome, with stonking steep 12-15ft drops and throwing barrels near the cliff. For once, I surfed out of my skin in a contest - getting a 62 'score' (which turned out to be the 3rd highest of the last 16) and made it through to the semis with a second to Rusty!

On the Sunday, mens expert HP runs three sets of heats; Quarter (first thing), Semi-Final (late morning), and Finals (mid afternoon). The next trick for me was to escape the madness up on the cliff and get my head around being in the last 8, so Caroline and I disappeared onto the steps leading down to Indicators to quietly sit and calm down. As we sat there, the heaviness of the surf sunk in as elite competitor after elite competitor swam back in with varying remnants of their kit in tow or being towed back by their fellow competitors - we spent the next hour helping people up the steps and hearing various stories of carnage. As my heat got nearer I headed back up onto the cliff to grab my vest and get ready…where I ran into Kenny King and Dick Wold (2 of the absolute legends in the sport) looking at the scores, when they saw me they both approached me to congratulate me and shake my hand - a special moment, among many at this competition. Changed, said goodbye to Caroline, and got the shuttle down to Cowells and paddled out for my semi. As I made my way out there, it became obvious that the swell was still growing - but the sun was out and the offshore wind was making for classic conditions. As I got to the waiting area outside the lineup, I found Rusty and Dave Johnson waiting for my heat. The greeting I received (a combination of encouragement, support, and a little surprise) was another special moment - which got even better as I saw Robyn paddling out for the ladies final which was taking place after our semi-final. Here we were near the climax of the Santa Cruz festival, in front of a huge crowd, out in the lineup in incredible conditions, among the best in the world with another member of Martlet waiting for our heats! Throughout my heat, I could hear Robyn shouting encouragement from the waiting area, which was nice. Eventually the first semi-final finished and the horn went to signify the commencement of our 15 minutes. Rusty and Dave went paddling in deep, leaving Jared Licht and myself sitting outside waiting for the larger waves to swing in wide. The heat itself is a blur, although I wished I had followed the others deep to take more waves - in the event I got 3 rides, the least in the heat and only one that really matched my earlier performances.

As the clock wound down to 5 minutes, a huge set loomed on the horizon with only Jared and myself in position. We paddled like crazy to take priority and then something horrible happened; Jared was inside of me, but too deep, and as I got to the shoulder in perfect position the super-thick lip pitched straight onto him from over 15ft in the air. I was transfixed and not about to take off, making a bad situation worse, as he turned turtle to take the impact on his carbon kevlar hull. The force of the impact destroyed him; his hull and paddle were snapped in two and he required 30 stitches in his face - despite being upside down on impact. I didn't take another wave, and was really relieved when I saw him being carried off by the rescue team on the jetski. I got back to the cliff drained, and glad to hear Jared looked OK, although he'd gone to hospital. I also found I'd placed 3rd which ended my competition and placed me joint 5th overall! Pretty relieved and happy to be able to watch the final from the cliff. Robyn competed well in her final in really heavy conditions, and came fourth overall - although she was disappointed, its a pretty awesome achievement given it was her first Santa Cruz only one year after really taking up the sport!

Happy that I was in one piece, Caroline joined me to watch the final from atop the cliff. The final was basically a 'who's who' of the best male surfkayakers in the World; Chris Harvey from Guernsey, Matt Radis, Dave Johnson (in his 7th heat and 3rd final of the day!) and Rusty Sage from West Coast of US. It turned out to be one of the best heats ever seen, with each boater trying a slightly different tactic to take the final.

For most of the final, it looked to me like Radis was taking it. Superb old school surfing, beautiful style, with big end moves. And then Harvey pulled out something special - sitting really deep over by the cliffs, he pulled into a walling monster that presented him with a ramp to bust and land a huge air.

A roar went up from the cliffs and a perfect score of 30 was posted to take the title. No matter what the rest of the competitors did, they couldnt find a similar wave to repeat this move and the title was his.

We've been going to the Santa Cruz competition for 4 years now, and every year we have a great time with increasingly close friends. The competition is superb, waves generally great, people are friendly, and the partying is top. I'm not sure there is another sport in the world where a relative newcomer can show up and compete against the best, and be openly welcomed and helped to improve. While competition isn't for everyone, myself included, the Santa Cruz surfkayak festival is an amazing experience.

Links:- Results Santa Cruz surf kayak festival website Surfzone All pictures by Caroline Woolward

This might not seem particularly likely, but the heaviest and probably the best wave in Brighton exists just a few meters from the club. But its probably also the most dangerous and certainly the least frequent.

Very occasionally (like last Monday, 31st March) a clean swell from the south (at high tide) or east sweeps around the West of the Marina and jacks up on the concrete slab adjacent to the wall. When this happens, you get a super steep takeoff into very shallow water. This is really not recommended, as your pretty likely to hit the marina wall or the concrete slab - but it can be done.

For some reason, I only ever seem to get pictures on a cameraphone……

31st March - Marc is right at the lip, about to drop. You can see head, paddle and bow of the Neutron. Carnage followed.

The last time I surfed this spot, back in early 2005….from Tobin’s cameraphone.

Caroline and I were lucky enough to have a month in Hawaii. 2 weeks on the North Shore of Kuaui, followed by 2 weeks in Eastern Maui in a wonderful remote town called Hana. While this wasn’t a surf trip (there was also the minor detail of us getting married ), I took my surf kayak and managed to get on the water around an hour a day.

Hawaii has historically been seen as a rite of passage for the top board surfers in the world - everywhere I surfed deserved a large amount of respect and thought, particularly being a lone boater on the North Shore in the Winter.

* The surf is powerful and the standard of surfing the highest on the planet. You need to be really sure of your roll, the way you’ll get out of difficult situations (”what happens if I swim?”), and totally confident with your ability to be safe around others - you need to be totally in control, able to avoid collisions in heavy / crowded conditions, and know the rules. Absolutely no dropping in, although some of the locals might (nothing personal, they do it to everyone from time to time) and a smile and ‘hello’ always worked.
* Did I say the standard was high? I saw 2 of the Top 5 pro surfers in the world, Andy Irons (a Kauai local) and Joel Parkinson in the space of a week in Kauai. You wont paddle out straight to the peak and dazzle anyone with your moves, but you will get some nice comments and respect if you behave modestly and respectfully, show your safe, and then hit some big moves.
* Kuaui was paradise. The weather was a stable 23 degrees for two weeks with constant long-distance swell between about 6 and 14 feet. Kuaui is a genuine, friendly place with many surfers absolutely intrigued to see a kayak being thrown around like a shortboard. If you stay in Hanalei then there are a bunch of spots very close by dependent upon conditions; Hanalei Bay Point (one of the best waves in the world - you can ride hundreds of yards, with varying sections from super fast down-the line races, softer rippable shoulders, and pitching lips), Lumahai beachbreak (when the sandbars and swells are right, is likened to pipeline by the locals - even on a small swell this place barrels in really shallow water), Cannons, Rock Quarry, Kealia, Gas Chambers, Pine Trees all within 20 minute drive.
* Maui is also beautiful but less welcoming. On the North Shore, its really competitive and you need to be careful. When I finally got up the confidence to paddle out at Ho’okipa (just a mile or so from the world famous bigwave spot of Jaws), it was pretty intimidating and crowded - not a place to drop in or swim. We stayed in Hana, on the East Coast (a pretty hairy 2.5 hour drive from the waves on the North) which was pretty secluded and not so consistent for waves - in fact, we didn’t see any swell over a foot or two in ten days. Hana is a fantastically local, unspoilt place to escape and enjoy nature and time - and it can be classic for surf, just not this time.

Perfect, tiny, shorebreak barrels at Lumahai - also the scene of our wedding a few days later;

Heavy shorebreak at Pine Trees (Kauai). When the point is firing double-overhead at Hanalei, this place can be going off with heavy barrels. Standard of juniors surfing here is world class.

Hanalei Bay Point is one of the finest waves in Hawaii. Between 1 and 3.5 meters, you can ride shoulder to triple overhead walls for hundreds of yards (if your quick enough). On a single wave, you can run for your life to make a section, hit a couple of airs, get covered up a couple of times and annihilated in the bowl to finish. I don’t have many pictures of this finest wave because; 1) Its over quarter of a mile out to sea 2) I generally surfed at dawn when Caroline was in bed.

She got these couple of pictures when I paddled out alone (there was no-one else out there when I paddled out) with a 4 meter swell. The waves were breaking with 20 foot faces, and the spot was totally out of control. I caught one ride (the ride of my life - a 100 yard race across the reef, triple overhead), then got destroyed as I paddled back out.

I’m in the foam pile here, I was fortunate to get away with this and headed straight back to the beach.

Lumahai was out favorite spot. It has tiny little barrels right up against the beach. I broke my boat here but had a blast.



A little air off the backside…..

As heavy as it gets at 2ft

And sometimes you just have to pay the price

The bodysurfing was fun, too…..

Kayak storage, Kauai style

When the North shore of Kauai got out of control, we headed down to Kealia, on the east coast. A super-powerful little beachbreak which was always better than it looked!




Another bald, mammal breaching…..just off the beach

MAUI

Hana was beautiful; we stayed in a botanical garden, and I surfed at a historic spot called Ke’annini (the ‘Upright wave’). In ancient legend, a Polynesian king landed at this spot and called the gods to bring waves for him to ride. Apparently (many of the Hawaiian legends are pretty mysoginist) two maidens saw this great man, and attempted to turn his head by removing their clothes. For some reason, they were turned to stone - and those rocks represented the extent of the wave and one of them, Popalana, was actually the rock on which our apartment was located.

Unfortunately, the swell really didn’t reach the East Coast and I surfed these (extremely un-Hawaiian) peaks for 10 days straight.

“Beautiful spot, wheres the surf?”

We have the wheels, shame about the surf…..

Caroline enjoying the surroundings……

There were other passtimes, like jumping off 40 foot cliffs……

Hana has its own canoe club. Although the season hadn’t yet started, I did get talking to some of their competitive athletes - the outrigger canoe racers. They made matters worse by telling me that they couldn’t remember the last time they hadnt seen any waves for 10 days……….apparently, there is a reef a couple of hundred meters offshore from Ke’anini which would break from 10-30ft and was sometimes ridden by the 20ft long outriggers……

Caroline gets some bodysurfing in…..

On the way back to the mainland (and the Santa Cruz competition), we dropped by Ho’Okipa and finally I got some real waves on Maui……

This was one of the coolest moments of the entire trip. A turtle (bottom left) poked his head up to check me out on the inside….”Hey, get back to the river, bra!”

And then it was back to the airport and home via the Santa Cruz surf festival, which is a story for another day……….

On 17 February, Robyn Peacey won the British Womens surfkayak High Performance (HP) category, beating existing womens champion and one of the top competitors in the world, Tamsin Green.

The HP category is for boats under 9ft, which can be equipped with fins to improve performance. This is generally recognized as the ‘blue riband’ category for surf kayaking.

This is more remarkable by the fact that Robyn has only really been surf kayaking for around 10 months, culminating in her representing England at the World Championships in Mundaka last year (and getting her 3* BCU award through our 2007 surf academy). What really drove home her progress was paddling out at Steamers Lane in Santa Cruz this morning in pretty large conditions (double overhead, busy, and by all accounts heavy) to see her surfing Middle Peak among the best in the world on one of the most challenging waves.

Congratulations, Robyn!

Marc