Techniques to landing a kayak in the surf.

I keep on wiping out when I'm trying to land at the beach. I saw some more advanced videos that say one should purposefully go perpendicular to the wave and do a "bracing" technique. Does anyone actually do that? If so, it seems like thigh straps would be mandatory.

Or do most people just get close enough to the shore where they can jump out and stand (like knee to waist high water), and then direct the boat in while standing? I'm wipeing out at the end where I could be standing, so that seems like an easy adjustment to make.

But if people really do the bracing technique with thigh straps, I bet that would open up a lot more beaches to launch from. But...it seems pretty advanced / hectic for a fishing kayak.

Leaning into a wave is helpful. It definitely helped me from a yard sale . Sitting outside the surf before attempting to land and watching/reading size of sets coming in is  a patience learned.  Not sure of landing perpendicular to the shoreline as a first choice is wise.

I can tell you if you do come in perpendicular to a wave, always, always jump off your kayak on the ocean side. I have seen many folks who jumped off on shore side get severely hurt by the kayak.

Keeping good control of your yak in the surf is about more than losing gear. Especially on a sunny beach with surfers kids and pets romping in the surf

If the surf is up a good approach is to swim your yak in on the end of a good floating line. There’s a little bit of a method to it but it’s the safest approach

Keeping good control of your yak in the surf is about more than losing gear. Especially on a sunny beach with surfers kids and pets romping in the surf

If the surf is up a good approach is to swim your yak in on the end of a good floating line. There’s a little bit of a method to it but it’s the safest approach

I have never seen this done. Do you have any video of this being done? Honestly, attaching a line to yourself and a kayak about to hit a rough surf does not seem safe?

Plenty of videos on yotube on how to launch/land your kayak on the beach

I’ve noticed that in deeper water the swell can pass by my kayak without a problem. However as I get closer to shore when the swell passes under my kayak it tends to turn my kayak sideways so I hit the beach with the side of my kayak. If I can keep my speed up so I can keep up with the swell I can maintain my heading so my bow hits the beach first. So when I get in close I paddle like hell as the swell comes by.

I would recommend taking a surf launching and landing class offered by a kayak shop.  I took one from the HMB kayak shop.
One thing I would remind you is to not stand in front of the kayak when you land, always stand behind the kayak in rough surf.  Some people got major injuries from the kayak slamming into them.

As Paul mentioned a surf zone class is you best bet to learn the different techniques. I have taken 2 surf zone classes, and this is my report from about 5 years ago:

"On May 19, I participated in a Surf Zone Class with River and Ocean Paddle Sports. First off I can say that I have now turtled my Eddyline Caribbean 14' every conceivable way. In fact so many times that I stopped keeping track around 11am.

Anyone thinking of launching in the surf zone (surf above 1-2 feet) should not without some training and practice. The odds of success are low to nil.

This class is for students that have successfully passed sea kayaking 1 & 2 so we were expected to have the basics covered. We had four students in the class: a woman in her 30s, and two other guys in their mid 20s. The two guys were in excellent shape and one is an avid surfer. Two students had sit inside sea kayaks and two of us had sit on top style.

The class was held at Miramar Beach in Half Moon  Bay. The average surf was 2-3 feet with sets of 4-5 foot waves about every 10 minutes. The teacher started off the class explaining wave timing and then had us give it a try. One person asked about landing and the teacher said don't worry about that now we will cover that later. Just go out to the safe zone(beyond the breakers) and come back in anyway you want. Well, going out is fairly easy and all of us were able to on the first try. Coming back in is much more challenging---we all got dumped on the way in.   

Throughout the day we were taught and shown how to deal with different conditions, and then we would practice. We practiced going out forwards and backwards, coming in forwards and backwards, fast reverse brace, side bracing, and paddling parallel right at the breaking waves. Each time we would dump the teacher would explain why and then send us out to try again. Everyone in the class got dumped over and over throughout the day, only the teacher made it to the end without getting dumped.

One of the most important things I learned is that you cannot surf long kayaks in front of the wave perpendicular, either you surf on top of the wave or you do a bracing side surf in front. Many times I would look back and see a wave beginning to break and I couldn't decide what to do. In a split second you need to make a decision and go for it---if you don't it's turtle time. Some of the choices are: fast reverse brace to punch through backwards, try to out run it, or a bracing side surf. Although I was starting to get the hang of most of the techniques it is not to the level where I would go out in the surf with my fishing gear. I will need to get a lot more practice, or i will just launch from protected areas.   

The class was taught by Kelly Marie Henry and I can highly recommend her, she did a fantastic job.

My goal was to complete sea kayaking 1 & 2, and the surf zone class before fishing in the ocean(I did sneak out to TC on May 5) and now that those are completed and with trips out on the lakes and bay I feel quite confident about going out in the ocean (from protected launch sites)."   

Since then I have been out in the ocean many times bet still prefer protected launches.

The biggest concern when landing for me is being "taken" by a wave.  I don't want to surf it, I dont want to brace into it.  I want to time it to the best of my ability.  You should be able to get close to the breaking waves, but maintain your distance from them with backward paddling. From this position you can time the sets, and learn when the lull is between them.  When sets of waves come in, the last ones are bigger then the first, and then there is a lull.  Finding and timing the lull is the key when I'm landing.  When I find it, then basically follow the last wave in, paddling behind it trying to keep up with it, but not pass it. If a wave starts to over take you, back paddle, and let it pass, then forward paddle hard trying to keep up with it. Instruction makes this a lot easier, someone on the beach can time the sets for you and tell you when to go.

Thanks all - very helpful.

What do people do with their fish finder after capsizing and getting it totally wet? Do you wash it in fresh water? Same with the connectors to the transducer and battery? Do people put it in their dry bag before launching / landing?

Taking the fish finder off then leaves the connections exposed to the elements. I have rubber connection protectors from Berley Pro, but I'm assuming the connectors will still get wet. But I suppose that's better than the full fish finder getting dunked.

I would definitely rinse if the HU got dunked in saltwater.  You should also be using dialectic grease on your connectors and pins so that they do not degrade in salt water.  Trust me on this one, you need the grease, or your positive pin will disintegrate over time from electrolysis.  Slather the connectors with it, press in, wipe off the excess, and re-apply once in a while.

Hi All,
I would agree with others that you should take the surf class if you can.   It really helped me with my confidance in the surf zone.... I have surfed for 45 years which means almost nothing other than I am pretty good at recognizing sets and timing.... but even then I had many many yardsales especially at Bolinas at high tide... not big surf but even a 2' breaking wave would send me to the drink.... did not know about bracing or timing with a kayak.... first few time tried to surf the waves with my piggy old town pdl 120 now I use the try to time it as Al suggests and then liberal use of bracing to get to shore..... since taking the class I have not dumped it but also have not been back to bolinas as the salmon season has been closed since just after I took the class.... I took it at hmb kayak and for the money it was great.   Even got a cool picture of me punching though a 3 foot wave as it was breaking..... nearly soiled my wetsuit.

Troy

Fun in the surf.

I took a surf zone class back in the ‘90s in HMB using Necky Looksha Sport 14’ sit inside sea kayaks. Everything Mark said is correct. Getting kicked sideways was almost 100%, but with a paddle brace and lean into the wave you could ride sideways right up to the sand. This even worked for me when an overhead crashed right on me, knocking my spray skirt into the cockpit, half filling it with water.
But these wide flat sit on tops are a different animal. They have no secondary stability. They do not lean. I’ve been dumped a couple of times, surprised that my brace and lean did nothing to avoid a quick overturn. From watching a couple videos and with limited success, I believe if you do get caught sideways that you still need the brace and lean, but you have to reach way out into the wave horizontally with your whole body to counter it.

Great stuff all! I've been wanting to take a surf zone class and will put in on the "to do" list! I have lots to learn!

I would definitely rinse if the HU got dunked in saltwater.  You should also be using dialectic grease on your connectors and pins so that they do not degrade in salt water.  Trust me on this one, you need the grease, or your positive pin will disintegrate over time from electrolysis.  Slather the connectors with it, press in, wipe off the excess, and re-apply once in a while.

Thanks - I have some dialectic grease and will def put more on. Do you put it on after every session, or just after you think it got wet? Or just part of routine maintenance, like every couple of months?

Similarly, do you fresh water rinse your fish finder after every session, or just when it gets fairly wet with salt water?