A Guide to Duck diving.

There comes a time in every surfer’s progress when their ability outgrows the shorebreak and they realise that their future lies further from shore. While much of their attention and excitement will no doubt focus on the improved wave quality that such progression brings, there is one skill—a less glamorous skill—that they must learn, and learn quickly, if they are to succeed in making this move: duckdiving. Duckdiving is the process of avoiding oncoming waves by pushing your surfboard underneath them. It gets its name from the technique it employs—head down, tail up, just like a duck. Without a strong grasp of this skill a surfer is limited in the waves they can catch; if the waves are big or even consistent, they will struggle to progress further than the shorebreak. Below is a simple guide to duckdiving, one that will help you attack the best waves in no time!

1. Know your strengths. Before you attempt to paddle out, make sure you can push your surfboard underwater. To test yourself, stand in shallow water and hold your surfboard where you normally would to stand up, then place all your weight down onto the surfboard. If the surfboard submerges easily, then you will have no issue duckdiving. If you surfboard doesn’t submerge easily—or doesn’t submerge at all, then you will have trouble duckdiving. This may point toward another issue: either you are riding the wrong type of surfboard for your ability, or you are riding the wrong type of surfboard for those particular conditions (for example, riding a longboard when the waves are big). Regardless of whether or not your technique is sound, if you are riding the wrong board your time paddling back out will be tough.
2. Stay centred. When you are approaching an oncoming wave, you might the urge to shift your body further up the board in preparation for duckdiving. Resist this urge. Stay centred over your surfboard. Staying centred over your surfboard—as touched on in the first point—allows you to exert the most pressure on the widest—and most buoyant—part of your surfboard. Just as you use this part of the surfboard to help you stand up, so must you use it to duckdive (think of the motion as similar to a push up).
3. Knee or foot? The second part of the duckdiving process uses the lower half of body; in particular, either the knee or foot. The reason you require either of these is to help you push the lower half of your surfboard underwater. If you only push the middle of your surfboard underwater then you risk the tail of the board being exposed to the wave you are trying to avoid, which could lead to you to being washed back toward the shore. You must decide, though, whether to use your knee or your foot to perform this motion. Choosing which part to use depends on personal preference and which feels most natural; however, it is worth keeping in mind a few things when deciding: if you decide to use your knee, it is best to have a tail pad on your surfboard, as the constant pressure from your knee will eventually dent the surfboard deck. If you don’t use a tail pad, then it might be best to use your foot, as your foot will likely do less damage to the surfboard deck as your knee.
4. Down then up. Once you have pushed your surfboard under the oncoming wave, the next step is to pull your body down to the board’s level. When you do this you will feel the wave pass over you. Next, you must pull the board up, so that the board’s natural buoyancy causes it to rise to the surface. When you decide to do this depends on the conditions; some waves allow you to rise up quickly, others require you to stay under longer. If you rise too quickly you risk being sucked back by the wave you are trying to avoid. If you rise too slowly you risk surfacing just as the next wave is about to pass you. Don’t worry though, this step you will figure out the more you surf.

Happy surfing!