Speed vs Turn

Location: Littlehampton, West Beach
Conditions: Mid to low neap tide, F4 cross onshore (ESE), 1ft swell.

The weather men couldn’t agree.  They all predicted the wind direction, but argued about the strength, and when the rain would come.  As we arrived at the beach car park, typically, so did the rain.  It didn’t last long though as we trudged down to the shoreline to check out the sea state.  It was windier than we had expected, gusty too, and the sea was roaring with a mass of waves.  Too much for Scarlet. We considered other options, that didn’t really appeal, and killed some time to see if the wind would drop.

It didn’t, but I decided to go in anyway.  By the time I reached the water with the my kayak, the tide had dropped and sadly (from my point of view) taken most of the waves with it!  However, further out there was still some swell to play on.  Only small, but powerful enough to ride.   Paddling out, into the wind, was an effort as it really was blowy when head on, but the rest of the time it was ok.

This was the first chance I had had to really surf with the Alchemy, and it was interesting to experience the differences between it and the Maverick.  Once out back, turning to prepare for a wave it was woefully slow, particularly when turning on the spot.  It’s almost easier to keep moving and turn in a semi-circle with a combination of sweep and rudder strokes.  Once aligned, acceleration was fast, catching the wave simple and coukd be done long before the wave was due to break.  Staying on the wave was a little more challenging and, technique-wise, completely at odds with that of a surf boat.  Due to its “V” shaped hull, the Alchemy needs to be edged hard to get it planing on its side, to release its grip and to turn against the wave’s turning action.  Caving with the wave (towards it) was much easier, but that ended the ride on this small swell.

Once locked in on a wave, with a beach side stern rudder, it gave a good run.  Fast and smooth, with a great view along the wave.  A totally different style of surfing, in conditions that would not work for a dedicated surf craft, and I guess that makes the pain of slow turning worthwhile.

-Mut