You don’t need a wave machine. Just a webbing sling can be used to make a fairly good simulation of taking a breaking wave broadside. Handling your kayak in the surf zone is dependent upon your ability to stay upright when hit by a wave while in a broached position because, sooner or later, you’ll end up broached with waves hitting you broadside.
If you do not learn this essential skill, you will never feel comfortable or be very successful in the surf zone. In addition to learning how to keep from getting capsized upon the initial impact, knowing how to side-surf to shore while balanced over your kayak will help you stay upright.
Most students are very anxious during their first encounter with the surf zone. The usual dry-land drills never seem to prepare them for the feeling of being hit by a wave while broached. A drill in calm water can simulate the force of the impact from a wave and give you the chance to try side surfing so that you’ll know what to expect before entering the real surf zone.
By practicing in calm water, you will experience less anxiety, you can quickly be righted if a capsize occurs, and you can gain immediate feedback from an instructor, who is right there, and not chasing you through the surf. A fairly good simulation can be done with the aid of a rescue sling, instead of a wave machine.
The keys to side surfing success are a combination of edging your kayak and bracing. You need to lean and brace into the wave to keep it from knocking you over.
The most important element to your success in staying upright is the edging of your kayak. If you do not edge your kayak with the deck leaned toward the wave, you will capsize when hit. Sitting straight up in the kayak with no edging is a guaranteed capsize. Edging the kayak in the wrong direction (deck leaning away from the wave) not only means a capsize, it means a very fast capsize.
After edging your kayak, you need a brace to keep yourself upright after impact, and to help get your upper body back over the balance point of your kayak while it is still edged and side surfing toward shore. In photo A, the kayaker is ready for the wave to impact the side of the kayak.
The kayak is edged correctly. Keep in mind that the larger the wave, the greater the edging that’s needed. Notice how her upper body is balanced over the boat. Upon impact of the wave (photo B), the kayak is knocked out from under the kayaker. She is ready to fall toward the water on the wave side with a brace ready to keep her from going under.
The brace gives her the opportunity to balance her upper body over her kayak again. The sooner she can re-balance over her kayak photo C the more control she will have while side-surfing toward shore. In big waves, edging alone isn’t enough. You may have to throw your body into powerful waves with your paddle in a brace position so you won’t capsize. After the impact of these large waves, you can regain your balance over your kayak, but still maintain the edging as you move quickly toward shore.
One of the great aspects of side surfing is the lift the water dynamics provides to your brace. The faster the side surf, the more powerful the lift on the paddle. As the power of the wave dissipates, the lifting power on the paddle also decreases. At this point, you must be balanced over your kayak or you will do a slow capsize toward the wave.
By quickly getting your balance point back over your kayak, you increase your options. You can side surf toward shore, leaning on the force of the wave. However, you are limited from moving your kayak in any other direction if you need your paddle for constant support. To avoid obstacles (rocks, swimmers, surfers, kayakers, etc.) that you may be approaching, if you are balanced over your kayak, you can initiate a forward or backward stroke while moving sidewards toward shore.
A word of caution regarding side surfing: It’s not uncommon for novices to capsize after successfully surviving the impact zone. While traveling sideways, it’s easy to regain your balance over the boat, but don’t forget to keep the kayak on edge.
Sitting straight up without holding the kayak on edge while side surfing will lead to a capsize. To simulate the feeling of side surfing in calm water, you will need an assistant to help by having him pull your kayak out from under you while you are balanced over your boat in the edged position. First, loosely loop a piece of sling webbing around your boat as seen in photo D. Place the webbing so your kayak will move sideways evenly. (I have found that point to be around the lap of the paddler.)
I use a 15-foot piece of one-inch tubular climbing webbing as my sling. Tie the ends together to create a seven-foot loop. The kayak must have the freedom to roll as needed within the sling. Next, prepare for the simulated wave by edging the boat in a ready-to-brace position.
The trainer then takes hold of the webbing and quickly pulls your boat sideways. Notice how, in photo E, the kayaker’s upper body is no longer balanced over her boat: Her brace keeps her from capsizing.
In order to stay upright, you will need to brace while side surfing (photo F). This is the same technique used in the surf in photo C. The longer and faster you keep the kayak moving sideways, the more lifting power there is to the paddle blade. This will allow you to practice the feeling of side surfing. It will also allow you time to recover to a balanced position over your kayak. Aside from simulating the feeling of side surfing in the ocean when hit by a wave, I have found this exercise to work well for bracing practice, as well.
Try putting the kayak on edge the wrong way when pulled by the sling. The resulting capsize is a lot less traumatic than a real wave, and it will give you the chance to practice how to tuck correctly to set up for a roll before the real thing.
This drill is not a substitute for learning in the surf zone, but you will have greater success during your first surf zone encounter if you practice first in a controlled environment. This drill is of particular value if you never have the chance to practice in a surf zone. When you find yourself in the situation of being hit by a wave or moving through a surf zone, if you have practiced side surfing in calm water, you’ll know what to expect and how to react.