How to Catch A Wave With Angled Take Off Surfing
The angled take-off in surfing is a crucial maneuver that allows surfers to catch waves at a more optimal angle, helping you avoid dropping down to the bottom of the wave as well as allowing to surf the wave to the direction that it is breaking. The reasons for angling your takeoff will differ depending on whether you are a beginner, intermediate or an advanced surfer. In this article we’ll discuss how to angle take off surfing to help you surf better.
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What is an Angled Take-off in Surfing?
An angled take-off is a fundamental surfing technique that involves positioning your body and your surfboard at an angle to the wave’s breaking point. This angle will depend on the waves direction and the intensity of the angle will depend on your ability and intent. By angling you will be able to make faster sections of the wave and as a beginner, avoid dropping down to the trough of the wave where you will inevitable lose a ton of speed.
Why Should I Angle Take Off While Surfing?
There are many reasons to angle your take off in surfing. These reasons will differ depending on your ability, your intentions and the waves structure. Let’s take a deeper look at why you should angle your take off surfing.
Your Ability
Why Beginner Surfers Should Have an Angled Take Off
As mentioned, the reasons for angling your take off will differ depending on a variety of factors. As a beginner surfer, you want to angle your take off to give you more time to stand up on the board and help avoid dropping down to the bottom of the wave too quickly. You tend to lose too much speed at the bottom of the wave and thus, if you don’t turn your board left or right before you get there, it may be too late. Angling your take off will help you turn the board before you get to the bottom of the wave.
Why Intermediate and Advanced Surfers Should Have an Angled Take Off
The reasons for angling your take off as an intermediate and advanced surfer is slightly different compared to beginner surfers. You will angle your take off due to a variety of different reasons. Let’s take a look at those reasons below:
Wave Height
When the wave height is in the 1 to 3 foot range, you want to almost always have a slight angle in your take-off. You don’t necessarily always have to but you want to surf the wave in the top half and angling your take off can help you carry speed across the wave face and allow you to surf faster than if you dropped down towards the bottom of the wave. This might be confusing, but I’ll explain why in a moment.
So, the speed you get from a wave is not only created by the waves energy, but by accelerating down the wave face as gravity pulls you down. Acceleration happens over time, the longer you go down the waves face, the faster you will go. Small waves have very little wave face, therefor, dropping down the wave face doesn’t offer you a lot of speed. That’s why it’s better to avoid the bottom of the wave on small waves and surf the wave laterally, using the top half of the wave.
Wave Structure
You can be more selective about the direction you want to go when waves are bigger and more powerful. The reason for angling your take-off now depends on the waves structure and your intentions rather than using it as a utility to get more speed. The need to angle your take off will depend on two reasons
Your Relative Position
If you are relatively deep on the wave you will need to angle your take off to make it around the section. Additionally, you have to angle your take off if you are behind the highest point of the wave or, the highest point of the wave is between you and the direction that you want to go on the wave. Very good surfers will purposefully place themselves behind the section of the wave to utilize the best parts of the wave to do their maneuvers.
Another reason for angling your take off, is being really close to the breaking part of the wave. Angling your take off when catching the wave at the most critical part of the wave can help you handle the curve, or steepness of that wave. Making it possible for you to drop in without rushing straight to the bottom, or diving your nose under the water.
The Lip Line Gradient
Some waves break slowly in a specific direction, while others break very quickly in a specific direction. No matter where your relative position is to a wave, if that wave is breaking very quickly in a specific direction, you’ll have to angle your take off to keep up with the speed of the wave.
You are looking for the gradient between the highest and lowest points of a wave. A wave where there is not much difference between the high point and the low point or little gradient, indicates that it is going to break quickly in that specific direction. Meaning, you need to angle your take off. Versus, a wave that has a strong gradient between high point and low point, or a big difference in height means you won’t need to angle your take off.
How To Angle Take Off Surfing?
Knowing when to angle your take off is much harder than knowing how to do it. But, knowing how to angle your take off is half the battle. Honestly, knowing how to angle your take off is very easy, so let’s break it down below.
Step 1: Start Straight
This sounds counter intuitive but, in order to angle your take off in surfing you need to start out relatively straight, especially if your paddling technique is not so great. Then as you are gaining momentum, you can change your angle towards the direction you intend to catch the wave. However, once you are at an advanced level of surfing, you do not necessarily have to start straight, you may be able to angle your board right from the beginning.
Step 2: Begin Your Angle
Once you have moment while paddling the surfboard, you can start angling relative to the wave, in the direction you want to go. Changing the boards direction is very easy, just apply more weight to the rail of your surfboard in the direction you want to go. This uneven weight distribution will cause your board to turn in the direction that you are applying the weight. For example, apply more weight to your right rail to go right and more weight to your left rail to go left.
Step 3: Hold Weight on Rail
This step is probably the most important. Once you start applying weight to the rail to turn the board, you need to hold that same amount of weight through the rest of the movement to keep the same angle. Applying more or less weight overtime will cause your board to change direction and either under or over angle, which will probably cause you to fail.
Secondly, taking weight of the rail of the intended direction and applying that weight to the opposite rail will cause you to either change direction all together or, cause your board to flip over, especially once you have already started catching that wave. So, be very mindful about how you apply weight to the rail when angling your take off.
Step 4: Mindfully Pop up
Mindfully pop up while holding the same amount of weight as you originally started with. As mentioned above, even subtle weight changes can have an adverse affect on how the board behaves. So, take your time and be methodical about this step in the process.
