Steering - The Basics
Learning how to turn and steer...well your in luck! Here are some top tips on getting going.
Top Tip - More strokes on one side of the board will make you move in that direction. Experiment with weighting your feet in order to speed up the turn.
180 degree turn
This is a key maneuver as it's how you turn the board around to catch waves. There are various ways of doing this.
1) Stationary turn
This is the easiest and probably most stable of turns. You need to put in long forward or backward strokes on one side of the board. This will make the board turn and you will be in a position to catch a wave. This is though the slowest turn.
2) Motion turn
If you have some forward paddle speed you can turn the board a lot quicker. You have to be mobile on your feet though and don't be surprised if you fall in a few times!
When you are ready to turn take a couple of steps backwards on the board so the tail sinks. At the same time put in a strong backward paddle stroke on one side. As the board spins around, put in a strong forward paddle stroke in on the other side and step swiftly forward to stop the board from spinning. You may find it useful after this to rest your paddle blade flat on the water to give you some stability before stroking forward again and dropping into that glassy wave!
