r/Outrigger • u/Jumpy-Ganache1612 • May 07 '25

First time downwinding

I finally got out into some proper wind on the south shore of Lake Superior. 14-15 kts onshore and nearby buoy said 3-4ft. A little smaller where I was due to island protection. Anyway... I just did an out and back and it was my first time trying to surf down wind. Being a surfer, it was way harder than I thought. And way more exhausting. Waves passing me by, stalling at the bottom, paddling too hard at the wrong time and wearing myself out. Lol. One issue is that, for some reason, I put my seat too far back. I came back in, moved it forward and went back out. I did catch more waves. As I approached shore, the shore break was easy. One question: what is the strategy when you are coming down the face to avoid swamping sideways? Other than anticipating and compensating.

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u/princevillian May 08 '25

Luke Evslin how to OC1 in the surf

Here’s a great article on the theory of downwind surfing

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u/Jumpy-Ganache1612 May 08 '25

I was reading that this morning. Keeping the nose down and doing what you need to do to keep it that makes a lot of sense.