SUP Downwind : An attempt to show how I choose the bumps

How to be fast downwind ?
“it’s easy, just surf the bumps, read the ocean” ! Yeah, cool. But what else ?
I’ve tried to make a video that is an attempt to show how I choose my lines in downwind. I say an attempt because it’s hard to show and explain everything that’s going on.

What I have been trying to do in this video is to show how I navigate in downwind.

– 1st there is the finish point. That is where I will finish my run. in other words the beach where I have parked the car. This is a decision I plan long time in advance. I can also decide beforehand if I will navigate closer to the shore or further out to the see. They are the long term decisions.
– Then on the medium term, I want to watch in front of me where are the bumps. I look in front and slighlty to the sides. I try to pay attention where I can see steep bumps, and this is where I want to go. This is all about watching and focus.
They are decisions that, without having too much time to think about it, are taking with full conciousness. I evaluate and calcultate several options and I try to take the best one.
– Then on the short term, the present, I need to surf and/or paddle to control my speed, stay on the bumps and connect them. This is a very intuitive part involving lot of feelings provided by the accelerations of the board and the way the board moves on the water.

It is very difficult to try to express with few words what’s going on in mind and body when downwinding. And it is a big challenge to try to put it on video.

I hope you enjoyed and I wish you the best fun in your next SUP session !

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