Surfing Waves

So I've been trying to figure out whether the outflowing water of a rip current will push against the incoming water of a set wave and create a peak that will plunge in the rip current channel. I think I see this at times when I'm surfing at a beach break, but I'm never sure if my eyes are just playing tricks on me. Part of the problem, I think, is that the rip current and the incoming wave are in a war. If the set wave is powerful enough and the bottom contour is right, then the wave will overpower the outflow of the rip, jack up, and break. If the set wave is not powerful enough to overpower the rip, then the wave just kind of dies out or creates a shoulder wave. It seems like I can surf on the side of a rip current channel at times and wait for those rip channel peaks to form when bigger set waves come through. Anyway, in the process of seeking more information on this I came across this site http://www.cityoforangebeach.com/pages/ ... int.htm#25. It has some good information, but you might have to wikipedia your way through some technical jargon (think of it as brain vitamins).

A rip can stand waves up but is a b_tch to paddle into the wave....not to mention the difficulty of holding position waiting on the wave.....

Big H wrote:A rip can stand waves up but is a b_tch to paddle into the wave....not to mention the difficulty of holding position waiting on the wave.....

Yeah, that's true. Probably not a good idea on bigger waves where you might end up getting hung up in the ledge of the wave. Depending on the conditions though, say shoulder high waves, you can paddle into the rip and it's like a conveyor belt out to a peak you may be able to get into. I don't know. I guess I'll have to test it one of these days.

The force of water coming in is usually much greater than a rip so where you see rips are usually where the waves are not so powerful except maybe when there is no other way for water to get back out. The rips develop because water goes where there is the least resistance.

One of the breaks I surf is a rivermouth and if the river is flowing then there is a rip that goes right out through the waves. It can be challenging to surf there because even though it has smallish waves there can be a strong current that sweeps you out and to the side and You have to paddle against it to take off

oldmansurfer wrote:One of the breaks I surf is a rivermouth and if the river is flowing then there is a rip that goes right out through the waves. It can be challenging to surf there because even though it has smallish waves there can be a strong current that sweeps you out and to the side and You have to paddle against it to take off

Paddling against the rip is a problem, but my idea is that you can sit on the edge of the rip and catch the shoulders of the peak that forms in the rip channel. I'm surfing at a reef break right now, but I'm thinking of switching back to a beach break to avoid the crowds. The reef break has amazing waves, but I miss being able to surf without having to maneuver around people.

Well when the waves are good at my beach break then there will be crowds ....but also multiple peaks to hunt down so usually can find some unridden waves in the vicinity.