If you’re ready to progress in the waves, have a solid takeoff, and can perform a decent bottom turn, the next step is aiming for the lip.
Some riders prefer to cruise along the wave, enjoying the speed and thrill, but that curling lip is just calling for your attention. Here are five ‘off the lip’ moves to try next time you’re out in the surf.
Grab your stand up paddle board and let’s get started!
Smack
One of the more straightforward SUP surfing moves is the smack. Position yourself in front of a pitching section or closeout, and hit the curl with full force. This move is incredibly fun and a fantastic way to end your ride.
As you refine your technique, you can position the entire underside of your sup board to the lip, resulting in a faster, more critical turn as the wave’s power propels you around.
Hack
The hack involves burying the entire length of your outside rail, throwing up a massive rooster tail, and generating enough force to challenge even a NASA astronaut. It’s a pure surfing move that impresses even the most critical spectators.
To perform a full-power arcing turn, you need a steep wave face, plenty of speed, flexible and compressed legs, and a lot of commitment.
Re-Entry
For many paddle surfers, the goal is to get vertical. While big carving turns are more technical, the re-entry move looks spectacular and will elevate your stand up paddle surfing status to a whole new level.
The re-entry involves driving your stand up paddle board as vertically as possible out of the top of the wave, then pivoting and redirecting back down to the trough.
If done with enough speed, you might even break the fins loose during the pivot, adding extra style points.
Cutback
Originally, cutbacks were a way for surfers to get back into the pocket (the most powerful part of the wave) if they drifted out onto a ‘fat’ section. Today, it’s a high-performance maneuver in its own right but still serves its original purpose.
Keep a high line as you project off the bottom, set your sup board on its outside rail, throw some spray, and use your back foot to bring the tail around, pointing the nose back towards the pocket. The key is maintaining enough speed to re-enter the powerful part of the wave and continue your ride.
Floater
Floaters are not only stylish but also practical for making it to the next section of the wave. Riding across the top of a throwing lip seems to defy physics and commands respect from fellow surfers.
Floaters can be challenging to master; the goal is to hop onto the pitching lip as it throws and ride across to the next open face.
Initially, floaters might feel unstable as you get little traction from your fins on the aerated lip. However, with practice, intermediate SUP surfers can achieve this move.
Create Your Own Style
There are countless ‘off the lip’ moves to add to your stand up paddle surfing skills. A wave is a blank canvas, and as the artist, you can draw any lines you wish. How you interpret these moves is up to you – that’s what stand up paddle boarding is all about.
There’s no right or wrong way, so get out there with your sup board, experiment, and most importantly, have fun!
