Turtle Rolling

Hi everybody,

I checked the similar topics for turtle rolling on this forum but I didn't find what I had questions on.

1) When is the right moment to turtle roll? Today I had a bad incident in Hermosa. The waves were coming fast and really steep. I turtle rolled and the wave actually lifted me and threw me down with me rolling everywhere . I think I might've turtle rolled too late. I wanted to ask when is the exact moment to turtle roll?

2) Do you turtle roll in white water? I had some incidents where the wave broke 10 feet from me. I tried doing the push up move but ended up getting wiped out . Should I be doing the turtle roll there also?

I've only been longboarding for a couple of years now (shortboarded most of my life) and I always found avoiding waves to be the biggest pain in the ass with a longboard. Granted, with a shortboard you can flick the nose with your pinky and your pretty much submerged.

Generally, I don't try to go under whitewash. Try lifting your upper body up with your arms (like a lazy push up) and let the whitewash come under the nose of your board. Of course, if it's huge out and you're looking at a wall of whitewash, might not work so good.

As far as turtling, I suck at it so I won't even bother to comment. I experience pretty much what you describe.

I do want to describe something my friends (who are longboard maestros) do and blew my mind when I saw it. They paddle hard for the impact zone to get momentum. Just before they meet the incoming crash, they get off (yes, GET OFF) their board, put their arm around the nose, and dive under the wave. Midway through, they find themselves back on their board and come out the other side paddling away. Conceptually I get it, but I'd imagine getting back on the board so fast without skipping a beat requires some practice.

disclaimer... i've had longboards in the past but really never rode them regularly like i do shortboards...

for turtling, my best experiences have been getting more of a grip towards the nose and pulling firmly towards the ocean floor just before whitewash impact. like an upside down duckdive but pulling the nose down with me vs pushing it down like a proper duckdive. in shoulder high plus, i generally do what your friends do -- get off and grab the nose and bury it the best i can.

the last few days recently on a longboard, others may laugh, but i would paddle sprint towards the breaking wave and as soon as i was close enough to the whitewash or breaker i'd get up towards the tail and kick/launch the board over. though not as successful with this method when its shoulder high plus.

in my opinion you just need to be able to use all methods and suck it up and hold on. once i dislocated my shoulder trying to hold on in 6-8' conds. now i know a little better and know my threshhold for fun.

Longboard 0'-2', Shortboard the rest. Go turtle at Seaworld.

I ride a 9'0'' all the time and they can be a big pain in really big surf . I try to surf whare there is a channel out.
I tend to try to push threw the wave and hop to make it threw or Ill turttle roll and wrap legs and arms around board and hang on.. youe best bet is just do what works for you....

I spent the last spring and summer learning to surf in anything from 1ft to overhead surf, on a 9'6". You can take the smaller stuff head-on, but in a solid short period windswell getting out back is a matter of survival.

Turtle Rolling

• Don't wrap your legs around. You can catch waves like this, upside down, and it's not fun. Let your legs hang down toward the bottom and death grip the board with your hands. The idea is to be as non-hydrodynamic as possible. The power of the wave is at the top, if you can get parts of you below the power it won't push you back toward shore. You can kick to propel yourself through the wave as well.
  
• I've been flipped forward like you said. It happens when it's big. You can minimize this by getting good momentum toward the wave or wall of whitewater. With momentum, when you flip over the natural curve of the nose rocker will start to pull the board down. Help the nose under with you and try pushing it back through the wave to make it dig in more. I know I turtled properly in the last 6' swell when I felt the board pressing against my front and the sandy bottom on my back - the wave went right over.
  
• Because I let my legs free I can't normally flip right back over and start paddling. I push the board right side up, surface, and check around for other surfers or waves coming my way. Then I hop back on and start paddling again.

Whitewater and impact zone management

• Just go under. I used to take on whitewater and waves head first while walking out in the shallows. I took on the wrong wave linebacker style and tweaked my neck for a week. Now, even when walking out, I push the nose under and duck my head or lunge forward below the breaking/broken wave. Surprising how favorable this is as opposed to getting smacked in the chest or face by even the small waves.
• When you push up into a wave topside, keep a foot on the tail to grip and guide it. I've had my board spun in unexpected directions without doing this.
• Sometimes you're just going to have to take one on the head, in the face, or go for a tumble ride in the washing machine. It's all part of the fun.

That one should be published

In my experience, (I longboard about 95% of the time) you can ride right through the 1-2' swell by paddling towards the wave and pressing the board down (think push-ups) through the wave.

Anything bigger, I will turtle roll the board and hang on to the nose with my feet hanging down, like what was said in an earlier post. I will also do the roll with my legs wrapped around the board. Just focus on mounting yourself on the front of the board and pulling the nose downwards as this will keep you in place through the swell.

It really just takes a lot of practice and finding out what works best for you.

Im with SC. Ditch the aircraft carrier and get a short board.

Longboarding takes a certain sophistication and style that most shortboarders don't possess!