Advanced surfer question: Catching barrels

[IB_Surfer]

So, today I managed to get into a cover up, might have been a 2 second barrel but like always I'm too much into the moment to look back or up to know for sure.

The problem is that I had three or four oportunities to get into a shack but my safety trigger made me bail out, usually shooting through the wave and out the back.

So, for those that get regular barrels all the time, is it luck or is there something special to knowing if you can make it out? Or do you go for it every time and thus get more barrels and I just need to stop being so chicken sh*t?

I get two or three short barrels a year, but usually those are the ones that I know I will make perfectly and go for, I tuck out of barreling waves all the time. Let me know if you have a special way of sniffing out those barrels or do you just charge them all and hope for the best?

[naniekso]

i dream for the day i can get barrelld haha. i know that you have a higher chance of a barrel when people don't drop in front of you cause of the tail of the surfboard messes it up or somthing.

[isaluteyou]

i have the same issues Teach. What i have been doing lately is looking for the end section barrels as they are a little more tame and stand more chance getting out of them, You can also judge it more easily. some days particually if its mixed in with close out sections i will spend almost the hole session just pulling in. 90% of the time i will get pinched. But my theory is eventually i will figure it out

[esonscar]

Not very good barreling conditins where I live - I just hang in there and get drilled when it goes tits up !

I surf beach breaks mostly - I have not gone for barrels over a reef !

[Manhattan Beach Grom]

I just go for it, and if I don't make it out, there is always the chance of popping out the top.

[raekwon chef]

If it helps: what have you got to lose. I surf bowls/kaiser bowls it's all about being confident and having the mindset that you have nothing to lose. I have to say at Kaisers you have quite a bit to lose though (ouch) .

[sean456]

i ideate for the day i can get barrelld haha. i copulate that you hump a higher adventure of a tubing when grouping don't change in slicker of you entity of the back of the surfboard messes it up or somthing.
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Sean Cruz
*url removed *

[garbarrage]

^^wtf?

[ChrisDallat]

i ideate for the day i can get barrelld haha. i copulate that you hump a higher adventure of a tubing when grouping don't change in slicker of you entity of the back of the surfboard messes it up or somthing.
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Sean Cruz
*url removed *

say what? english please

[essex sucks]

he was spaming i removed the link but could not understand the post at all

[db94]

if you go out to surf and the conditions are great to catch barrels...just keep trying every wave,at some point you will catch one.of course you have to have a bit of skill to drop fast and have a great positioning

[Beachbum]

How do you bail in a barrel? It seems whenever I'm position and actually in a barrel, I never make it out (except once ). I also suffer the worst beatings as I'm knocked down by the lip, go over the falls, and then I'm slammed into the sand/reef.

Pros making those deep cover-up sections seems impossible...

[deemun]

Hey themathteacher
Barrell tips?
a)for fast beachy barrells you will generally be pumping for speed before the curtain even comes over so step on that accelerator. Dont drift low in the fast barrell,maintain a high line(you might have to crouchto fit), this way you keep speed. As soon as you think its gunna throw over, be looking for the exit or you will keep getting in, but not getting out. Admire that special view from inside but dont look directly out of the 'hole', your eyes will tend to drift downward and your board will follow.When 'inside' watch the spot high at the exit where the wave is just about to throw over, youll be surprised at the diff this makes. Shuffle your feet forward a little for extra drive in the barrell, you can go back to ur regular stance when and if you get out
b) Slower and more perfect barells will usually require stalling or slowing down but since most of us dont get these just focus on making the quick ones as above, the slower more perfect bazzas will be a piece of piss if you can master the above.
c)believe you are going to make it on EVERY barrell you pull into, pretend youre neo from the matrix......'Hey dude, how did that fella make that barrell.....hes starting to belieeeeve'

[tano]

make sure a hand is going across the face of the wave so you have an idea of distance

[naniekso]

i ideate for the day i can get barrelld haha. i copulate that you hump a higher adventure of a tubing when grouping don't change in slicker of you entity of the back of the surfboard messes it up or somthing.
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Sean Cruz
*url removed *

say what? english please

lol he took my quote and put synonyms to change it. i never knew people could even be THAT lazy lol

[surfitch]

barrels are best or at least most consistent at reef or points. if the wind is light onshore and there's a nice groundswell there's a good chance it'll be barreling. after paddling out you can position yourself around the peak. for drop in barrels, paddle in from behind or at the peak, set up your rail as you drop and get slotted. or you can be ahead of the peak and drop in and stall or snap to bleed off speed. positioning is kinda tricky. first you gotta match the speed of the wave. usually, you're instinct is to go faster than the barrel, so you'll have to stall. frontside stalling is more intuitive as it's easier to control your frontside rail. you wanna balance it so that you're rail is catching and yet you don't want to bury you're rail or else you'll get pitched. also, pretty much everyone knows the "dig your arm into the face for drag" trick. backside stalling is a bit trickier since it's a lot easier to bury your rail when only your heels are adjusting. i like to point my nose a bit more to the beach than usual as it keeps me from burying it and slows me down just enough. and again, you can dig your arm into the face. the other part of positioning that might be hard is where you wanna be along the face. for almond barrels, you might have to ride up high on the face, which has the risk of getting pitched. for square barrels you can play around more in the trough/midface area. i guess it seems like there's a lot to think about but i think about this stuff while waiting for the sets or paddling back out- hopefully it turns intuitive when the time comes.