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ABOUT
Dan Gavere is a professional paddler, instructor and designer, also involved in sales and marketing. Sponsored by Starboard, FCS SUP, Kanahas, Level 6, Sup Skin, Smith, Astral, Outside Van, SUPreme, Pocket Fuel, Headhunter, Trident Sports, GoPro.
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In this column, professional SUP paddler and designer Dan Gavere gives us tips on how to punch through holes and waves on the river
Words: Dan Gavere / Photos: Zach Mahone
Whitewater SUP paddling introduces you to a plethora of different water features. In this article, I will explain how to face and successfully punch through waves and holes on the river. Having this skill mastered will be essential to minimizing your chances of falling and increasing your success and enjoyment on the river.
Punching through waves and holes on the river starts with recognizing the angle of your board to the wave or hole. In my opinion, this is the most important factor to successfully navigating these features. This concept is similar to how you would punch through a wave on the ocean.
Essentially, it is imperative that you paddle at the wave at a 90-degree angle so that you’re hitting the wave with the nose of the board and not the rails (sides of the board). Waves in the river are very rarely straight across the river and perpendicular to the low so it takes a lot of looking forward and preparing your paddle strokes to make sure your angle is perfect when you actually hit the wave.
As your nose hits the wave you will want some momentum to punch through, so getting some quality forward strokes in before you connect with the wave is important. As your board hits the wave and you start to punch through, reach with your paddle over the wave and try to imagine pulling the rest of your board towards the paddle through the backside of the wave.
Your stance is the next most important aspect to get dialed in. Taking a whitewater ninja stance early to prepare for the hit is the best bet (feet staggered at hip width, either goofy or regular). Frequent practice paddling in lat and easier whitewater in this stance will help you get comfy and ind the “sweet spot” on your board. Standing with feet parallel on the board will most likely result in a superman maneuver off the front of the board or into the front of your board, which is not a desirable effect.
Mastering some basic whitewater strokes like the high and low brace along with the bow/nose draw are going to be essential to your success. I recommend taking a basic whitewater SUP class to get an idea of what we are talking about; but these are basically the same strokes as kayakers use, so if you watch and see what some of the other river users are doing with their blade it will provide good lessons you don't have to pay for :).
There are a couple of very common mistakes I see when people try to punch waves and holes on the river. The irst is the tendency to stand too far back on the board. Stand up paddle boards act very differently on the river than on the ocean, and I see a lot of people thinking they need to stand farther back on the board to get the nose to ride over the wave when they hit it. This simply sinks the tail of the board while the wave is lifting it, causing the board’s tail to get caught in the shifting water just in front of the wave and making success nearly impossible. It is always better to simply stay in your whitewater stance in the middle or just aft of the middle of the board. Let the nose rocker and volume of the board bring the nose to the surface while you paddle and brace to successfully punch the wave. Another common mistake I see is paddlers switching sides with their paddle just at the same moment as they hit the wave. Master the nose draw and you will eliminate this natural tendency to switch paddle sides right before the wave, which usually ends badly.
With enough practice and attention to the techniques above, you will ind yourself seeking out more and bigger waves to paddle through, instead of looking for the easy line around them!
Sup World Mag