Beginner Tips
How do you communicate with the pilot?
First things first. Surfing with a winch in the river is not easy, that wants to be said. Good communication between the surfer and the pilot (the pilot is the person who operates the remote control) is crucial to making your river surfing experience a success. It must be communicated in advance exactly which hand signals are for what and whether to launch after the first hand signal or only after the second. Your friends at the bridge also need to know exactly if a problem arises and whether you need help or not. It is best to use one hand signal to stop the winch and one to start it. It is only important that you communicate well.
Tip: Use a clear hand signal for when you need help. This hand signal should be different from the others so that it can be recognized quickly. Quick action in the river can be essential for survival. Optionally, you can also use a waterproof headset, so you can communicate even more accurately.
What you have to pay attention to when surfing with a winch
Never leave the winch rope unattended in the water and always retract it when not in use. This way you don't always have to check if someone is reaching for the handle. Also, turn off the remote control when no one is surfing. This saves the battery and the rope can not be pulled in. It is also important to remember that there must never be anyone else on the river between you and the winch. If there is someone in between, the rope must not be tightened under any circumstances. If something is not clearly visible, it is better to let go of the handle and swim to shore. Surfing with a winch has a lot to do with practice.
How do I get up and start Surfing?
Dieses Kapitel ist gedacht für Surfer die mit einem Surfboard im Fluss Surfen wollen. Für Wakeboarder gilt hier »Ass to heel». Was soviel bedeutet wie ,,Mach dich so klein wie du nur kannst, um deinen Schwerpunkt so nahe ans Wakeboard zu bringen wie nur möglich, also deinen Hintern so nah zu deinen Fersen wie nur möglich. Sobald du Geschwindigkeit aufnimmst, kannst du dann aufstehen und anfangen zu Surfen. Jedoch sollte nie mehr als 3-6 km/h beim Aufstehen gesurft werden bis der Surfer aus dem Wasser ist und Geschwindigkeit hat. Sollte der Surfer nicht aus dem Wasser kommen so muss dieser eine bessere Technik lernen oder eine Seilwinde mit mehr Zugkraft muss her. Wenn du mehr Geschwindigkeit beim Aufstehen benützt, zieht es dem Surfer, sobald er surft, zwangsweise das Handle aus der Hand oder das Seil wird reissen. Deshalb nie zuviel Tempo geben solange der Wakeboarder nicht am Surfen ist.
Tip: You can also try to get out of the water with pumps, but even then only at low speed until the wakeboarder is out of the water.
To stand up and surf with a winch and a surfboard, there are many different ways. But the important thing is that it fits for you and you have no problems. Sometimes this is not so easy when surfing in the river and even more so when surfing with a winch. Below we present you 2 options, how you can get on your surfboard without problems.
Option 1 is probably the easiest method to stand on your surfboard. Before you give the hand signal to stop the winch, turn in the direction you want to surf and place the surfboard across in front of you. Now lean back with your upper body and place both heels on the surfboard. Once you have placed your feet well, give the hand signal to stop or start directly. As soon as you feel the pull on the rope. Make yourself as small as possible (press your butt against your heels to shift your center of gravity) and turn the tip of the surfboard towards the attachment point of the winch. Once you have enough speed, you can stand up and start surfing.
Optionally, in Option 2. You can also paddle to the edge of the river, where the water flows very slowly or even back (Usually only 1-1.5 meters from the edge of the bank). Once you have reached your starting point and have a firm grip with your feet, you can give the hand signal to stop the winch. Now, as in bungee surfing, place your feet on the board and let yourself drift with the taut rope to the middle of the river. As soon as you are ready, give the hand signal to start and you are ready to surf. When launching, again, press your butt against your heel to shift your center of gravity. For this variant, however, the pilot must be practiced because he must not pull the rope, but also not let go. Fingertip feeling is required here.
Tip: You can also combine both variations or start kneeling or lying down first and then try to stand up. The main thing is that it fits for you.
Advanced tips
How do you drive without getting slag?
Slag means that if you take a curve very tightly, you will be faster than the speed of the winch for a short time. However, after 1-2 seconds, the winch will start pulling on the rope again and you will feel a small jerk that will pull you forward again. This short moment without tension on the rope is called slag. There are 2 ways to avoid this. Either you surf your turns very wide and not too tight, so the winch always has time to pull you and there will be no slag. The second option is that you surf a pretty straight line towards the winch, but you can still make very tight turns. By pulling smaller turns you will never pick up too much speed and therefore have no chance to overtake the winch. Due to the steady flow of water, you will always tend to be a little faster when surfing the river, but with a little practice you will be able to control this as well.
This is how you make a rotation!
To make a rotation, we recommend you to take a small softtop board. In contrast to a hardboard, you have much more buoyancy and a much shorter board can be surfed, which in turn simplifies the rotation. The best board is between 5'6 and 4'6, depending on your weight and height. We also recommend surfing without fins. This way you can try a rotation without any problems and in peace. Since you are surfing without fins, your body should never leave the squat position. As soon as you stand up, your center of gravity shifts and it becomes unstable. As an aid, you can also use the hand that is not on the handle to support yourself in the water until you find your balance. Now you can slowly start to turn in a squat position. The only important thing is that you always lean away from the rope, no matter if you are going forward or backward. Practice makes perfect.
Tip: Once you have made a few turns, you can also mount two small wakeboard fins for surfboards and have a little more grip. Turns are still possible but require additional skills.
We hope we could give you some helpful tips so that you can have even more fun on the river and if you have any questions contact us at www.seporsurf.ch.
