duck dive... how deep?

[mdeknudt]

I'm almost getting the hang of duckdiving, i think.... sometimes i think i did it correctly, but are you really supposed to not feel anything of the wave's force when you're diving underneath it?? or do you still get pushed away a bit?
And say an avarage 5-6ft wave that just crashed into white water, how deep should you be underneath it to avoid the force of the wave?
And one last thing... which do you prefer or think is best, pushing the back of the board down with your knee or your foot?

Cheers,
Mathieu

[CHarvey]

Pushing the back of your board down with your foot is easiest for me.
There really is no magik depth that everyone tries to get to. You duck dive as deep as you can. If it's a small day then you can get lazy about it but for the most part I try and go under the wave as smooth as possible. I always seem to feel at least a little of the waves force especially on bigger days if you get caught inside.

[allyoz]

I'm almost getting the hang of duckdiving, i think.... sometimes i think i did it correctly, but are you really supposed to not feel anything of the wave's force when you're diving underneath it?? or do you still get pushed away a bit?
And say an avarage 5-6ft wave that just crashed into white water, how deep should you be underneath it to avoid the force of the wave?
And one last thing... which do you prefer or think is best, pushing the back of the board down with your knee or your foot?

Cheers,
Mathieu

foot when it's bigger, knee when it's small.
on a bigger day once your under the wave as your pushing down with your foot kinda push your board a head a little then pull yourself towards the board and it'll propell you out the back further and faster but hey, everyone's got there own style and techniques!
as with the white water just dive early but not too early.
oh and yeah you always feel the power abit especially on a big day, gives you that 'better not wipeout' kinda buzz! keeps you on your toes!

[isaluteyou]

I use the knee a habbit i formed bodyboarding years ago. Doesnt seem to make much diff i can navigate my way through DOH so thats all that counts to me.

Actually one of the little tricks i have learnt is to watch as the wave breaks and try and spot a less dense section. If you find that then you can generally breeze under it without having much drag. Doesnt alays work as sometimes there isnt a less dence section.

However sometimes duckdiving isnt always the best option. Depending on the wave, size, and how it breaks particually how close you are to the impact zone its nearly impossible to make it through. Seen plenty of ocations where a sneaker set cleans every one up and no one has managed to make it under (all you see are boards flapping around) If such an ocation happens i may opt to ditch and dive and hope the leash takes it. ( NEVER EVER do this if someone is behind you - and to be honest most circumstances can be handled by duck diving)

[drowningbitbybit]

an avarage 5-6ft wave

...This isnt Bournemouth, Dorset, UK we're talking about then...?

[mdeknudt]

an avarage 5-6ft wave

...This isnt Bournemouth, Dorset, UK we're talking about then...?

Oh but it is... Southbourne to be precise.... after a nice storm the waves in soutbourne can be quite big! a lot bigger then they are at boscombe pier.

[The Fafanator]

Are you talking hawaiian scale or face of the wave scale, but you will (unless you are really good and have a very small board with the boyancy of a rock) feel it no mater what, but I must say if you have a longer board (like you are supposed to) do a turtel roll, there is an article on it on this site.

[The Fafanator]

I use the knee a habbit i formed bodyboarding years ago. Doesnt seem to make much diff i can navigate my way through DOH so thats all that counts to me.

Actually one of the little tricks i have learnt is to watch as the wave breaks and try and spot a less dense section. If you find that then you can generally breeze under it without having much drag. Doesnt alays work as sometimes there isnt a less dence section.

However sometimes duckdiving isnt always the best option. Depending on the wave, size, and how it breaks particually how close you are to the impact zone its nearly impossible to make it through. Seen plenty of ocations where a sneaker set cleans every one up and no one has managed to make it under (all you see are boards flapping around) If such an ocation happens i may opt to ditch and dive and hope the leash takes it. ( NEVER EVER do this if someone is behind you - and to be honest most circumstances can be handled by duck diving)

And in those where it cant turtel duck, it is WAY better than a ditch, even on 10 foot waves (esp on 10 foot waves)