[Anton9]

Hi folks!

Mate and I are going to Portugal in September/October mostly for surfing. Since I'm really more into whitewater kayaking lately I want to take a kayak on the shore surf and have a bit of fun.

First of all, I know there are specific surf kayaks out there, I just dont have the money to spend on one.

I'm wondering if my eskimo xeno will be doing fine in the surf? It's not too edgy (which probably isnt perfect for the surf) but has a bit of a surf board-ish form.

I'm also considering to take a friends Pyranha sub7zero which is more edgy and a riverrunning playboat. I'm just a bit afraid of losing it in the surf (when getting scrumbled on the shore or something) because it isnt mine.

What are your opinions on kayaking the surf with my xeno? Will it work out alright?

Cheers
Anton

 

[flipper42]

any places that rent them?

 

[Anton9]

Yes, a place in portugal is renting them but its like 30-40 bucks a day + they require you to have visited one of their 5 day courses (which are 450 bucks)...

 

[kayapelli]

A boat with a very low volume Stern is perfect because then you can ride the foam pile after the wave crashes. Obviously a planning hall would be nice to have too.

 

[Elvez]

It's fun as hell in the right spot. If the surf spot has a rip current that you can use to paddle out, that's ideal. Fighting your way back out through the surf in a kayak can be both frustrating and exhausting.

Not sure how familiar you are with ocean surf, but if you're new to this, be very aware of your surroundings, keep track of your buddies and the other people around you, have eyes in the back of your head. If trouble happens, it happens fast.
Also, be ready for a day full of stink-eye from the board surfers.

 

[craven_morhead]

Also be careful of going over the falls in bigger surf. I was dumped over the falls in a playboat once and hyper-extended my back over my cockpit rim. Herniated a disc, and it's an injury I'll live with forever.

 

[Anton9]

Cheers for the replies guys!

@craven_morhead:
yeah Im kinda worried bout going over the falls too. Dont wont to get seriously injured eh.. Hope being careful is enough

 

[craven_morhead]

Yeah, wave size and shape both make a big difference. If the waves are mushy and not dumping you should be fine.

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Going over the falls or getting "stuck in the lip" is a timing thing. Ism a life long ocean surfer from Kauai and can tell you that it's being "Late" that gets you chucked. So seeing as how you have a paddle you can always be early! Shit you can catch the wave 20 meters before the line up most of the time. But know this catching waves early is cheating and will piss off the boys so be respectful and ask for your first few waves. I'd be more worried about duck diving a kayak lol!!! Thing is , is that nearly all waves have a channell so You can ride it in and go around right? I used to do it in an old school creek boat for grins and i could ride it to the beach upright or under water then paddle around and piss off the boys cherry picking the good waves. Good times. Ive surfed in portugal and it gets pretty good mostly rocky point breaks so youll have to drag your arse off the rocks but that's part of the fun right!! Just so you know surfers hate paddle boards and kayaks unless your a "clubbie wanker" around nsw you'll get a ear full out there. So ask for waves and make friends with the biggest local you can find. At least it's not a sup right lol! Waters cold too but that's that. I was surfing up there 20 years ago when I found myself in the middle of a bunch of orca whales. It was intense (I was not relaxed) cool trip and fun waves iam jealous. A big board for cold water would be a bonus if you have room. Maybe a 7 6 pin tail for when it's big. I've seen 20 foot faces there with no one out!

 

[Anton9]

Going over the falls or getting "stuck in the lip" is a timing thing. Ism a life long ocean surfer from Kauai and can tell you that it's being "Late" that gets you chucked. So seeing as how you have a paddle you can always be early! Shit you can catch the wave 20 meters before the line up most of the time. But know this catching waves early is cheating and will piss off the boys so be respectful and ask for your first few waves. I'd be more worried about duck diving a kayak lol!!! Thing is , is that nearly all waves have a channell so You can ride it in and go around right? I used to do it in an old school creek boat for grins and i could ride it to the beach upright or under water then paddle around and piss off the boys cherry picking the good waves. Good times. Ive surfed in portugal and it gets pretty good mostly rocky point breaks so youll have to drag your arse off the rocks but that's part of the fun right!! Just so you know surfers hate paddle boards and kayaks unless your a "clubbie wanker" around nsw you'll get a ear full out there. So ask for waves and make friends with the biggest local you can find. At least it's not a sup right lol! Waters cold too but that's that. I was surfing up there 20 years ago when I found myself in the middle of a bunch of orca whales. It was intense (I was not relaxed) cool trip and fun waves iam jealous. A big board for cold water would be a bonus if you have room. Maybe a 7 6 pin tail for when it's big. I've seen 20 foot faces there with no one out!

Whoa Im pretty stoked now haha!!!
Got any particular tips for me? What about duck diving without getting torn apart? any tips for that

 

[mattman]

In no way as experianced as some of the folks out there, but the one thing that got me while ocean surfing with my old Perception Shock, was if I got my nose down a bit coming in, and got augered, endo upside down into the bottom, god that sucks!!

Some of the most fun I've had was ocean surfing, have a great trip down there!

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Your gonna get worked in the surf no matter what your doing but you can't ditch your board and dive under in kayak can you lol! Thing is with surf spots there's a deep and late take off zone and there's a safer spot inside and on the shoulder. Iam old and broken now and when I go to a big spot now I'll hang on the shoulder for a few sets just watching the wave break and taking notes on the line up and the surfers in the water. Since I got no more balls when it's big and heavy I'll wait inside a bit and when I see one of the kids or hero's trying to go super deep or one of the guys trying hard moves, I'll paddle for that wave knowing that there's a good chance they aren't going to make it or their going to wipe out and that where iam at on the reef or break is less critical and I catch way more waves than i ever would fighting for a spot deep. In a kayak you don't want to be stuck inside that's for sure. So just find the shoulder and then find the channel and work your way from end to start. Make since? So most guys go deep and find out the hard way that the swell shifts on the reef or that the sets break farther out and now they get stuck in the impact zone and have to do alot of paddling to get back out. Like I said I'm old and tired so I start in the channel and work my way out until I know the spot and the sets and then I take chances lol. I surfed g-land last summer solid 5 times over head and after half an hour on the shoulder watching I realized that it was way safer going really deep where the wave was standing up longer and then driving through the center section and the hoping speedies didn't close out! So just gotta pay attention to what the waves doing and stay away from the nasty part till your ready. I do remeber side surfing the foam in my kayak kinda like a hole in the river just to get pushed out of the impact zone and then paddle paddle paddle! Don't think a guy can duck dive a kayak lol! I remember to a big wave landing square on my nose and kicking my ass but you can hold your breath and there's no entrapment hazzard so just buy the top of your boat and roll up and paddle. I'd actually love to see a guy get stuck 8n a lip in a whitewater boat and get chucked ! No fun to be in it but super fun to watch hehe! You'll be fine and my best advice would be to learn how to ride a board too! It's way easier to travel with and once you get barrelled.by a juicy one you'll never be the same! Have fun and post pictures or better yet put a go pro on your boat and post a video of you getting mopped!!!!

 

[Andreus]

Can anyone suggest a brand of reliable wetsuits? Since childhood, my wife and I have been surfing, but we have never owned or used a wetsuit. Of course, we understand that buying a wetsuit does not mean that we will have complete protection from water. But due to the neoprene, we will have insulation from cold water. After all, the thicker the wetsuit material, the warmer the suit will be, right? I'm not sure if we need to buy additional shoes, a dog life vest, gloves, and hoods, but we definitely want to buy the wetsuit itself. So we will be glad of any recommendation!

 

[Andy H.]

Can someone explain how to choose the right swimming suit? I want to go surfing in March, but my friends say it will be very cold without a swimming suit.

Welcome to MB.

You're responding to a 4+ year old post, BTW. And not only are there different kayaks for various whitewater genres (like playboats, creekboats, & river runners, etc.), but they even make highly specialized kayaks for (ocean) surf kayaking.

 

[Paco]

Can someone explain how to choose the right swimming suit? I want to go surfing in March, but my friends say it will be very cold without a swimming suit.

 

[Andreus]

Sorry, it seemed to me that asking an old question would be more reliable than creating a new one. Please don't insult me and my message! Although I've been on this forum for ten months now, I've mostly read the answers and haven't answered a single question. So probably there is nothing surprising in the fact that I was called spam. By the way, what do you mean by spam? Who wouldn't like canned meat?

 

[Pinchecharlie]

Locomoco brah!