Survival in the surf zone and an Aleutian paddle

Rough seas, perfect classroom for learning bracing and surfing skills

Eyal and I spent the morning practicing in the soup zone.

Launching through the waves

and bracing when broached are skills that have to be practiced over and over before they become instinctive

Mickey had been out there too

I had been trying out my new Aleut paddle, seen here on the deck of my beat up old Petrel together with my new storm paddle  inspired by pictures from Gnarlydog`s blogs   I have found the Aleutian paddle to be a great addition to my paddle collection. The larger blade has lots of resistance in the water, its still similar to the Greenland paddle and the paddling style is also similar. In rough water its great for bracing and has good acceleration for surfing. I`m still experimenting with it and as soon as the water warms up a bit will be rolling lots too. So far I`m pretty impressed.