How to Turtle Roll
21 commentsThe duck diving lesson is all well and good for surfers who ride shortboards, but what about those longboard lads and ladies out there? Hopefully you've found your way here before trying to duck dive your 12-foot board in 6-foot surf and taking a battering.
Duck diving relies on sinking the board nose first and going underneath the wave. Longboards are too buoyant to get away with this. The turtle roll (also know as an Eskimo roll) is the best way to get out to the lineup on a longboard.
Longboards in the Lineup
The guys over on the longboard forum were kind enough to put a few tips together on how to roll with style. Here's how you do it:
As the wave comes towards you
- Flip the board over with the board on top of you, fins facing upwards.
- Pull the board down towards you, grabbing hold of the board near the middle or even a little further back.
- Try to keep your body vertical in the water with the board overhead, letting your body act as a sea anchor.
- Hold on tightly to your rails as the force of the wave can easily yank the board out of your grip. (It's worthwhile waxing your rails where you usually hold on.)
- EITHER extend your arms above your head (You achieve maximum sea anchor effect but lose a little grip; better in smaller to medium waves.)
- OR pull the board down on to the head and keep pulling the board down hard. This gives a tremendously strong grip but is best done with a helmet as slight bruising can occur. There's often a slight jolt but not as bad as one might expect. This method also tends to lose a bit more distance.
- As the wave breaks over you, thrust the board forward ahead of you, punching it through the wave, the board pulling you after it.
- Once the wave has passed, flip the board back over and climb aboard, smiling to yourself after having pulled a perfect turtle roll.
As with surfing in general, it's not good form to let go of your board when faced with breaking waves; it may injure other water users. Also remember that you have to keep clear of surfers who are riding in on waves. It's your responsibility to keep out of the way, even if it means paddling into a wall of whitewater.
NEVER hold the board near the nose when rolling under; it's dangerous. Grabbing near the nose in this situation will almost guarantee a backwards cartwheel as the entire board gets launched.
NEVER wrap your legs around the board. What can happen is that with the body laying horizontally, it doesn't act as a sea anchor. The board and rider then accelerate towards the beach, the tail of the board digs in, and the board and rider then cartwheel backwards.
It's not easy, and like duck diving, it is really all about practicing. It's a lot harder to get a longboard through a wave than it is a shortboard. The bonus with a longboard is that you can paddle it in-between waves faster. There's a whole world of technique happening down there when rolling under, and some effective decision making is also required.
Thanks, I just moved and have been trying to push through the lineup! Turtle Roll was the key to shorten my time beating through--by 1/2!
Good to hear it Matt. I'm not a longboarder and the guys over on the forum helped me put the article together. I'm glad it's been useful for you.
I think I get it from your description, but a diagram of turtle rolling would be really helpful in this article!
I would suggest in bigger surf you do in fact want to "hug" the board else the surf may actually rip the board out of your hands. Sometimes in bigger surf it is very difficult to just hold the rails alone, even when the top is pointed down. So, from my experience, in bigger surf, hug the board and turn your face to the side (so you don't get your nose broke).
By holding the board in the back, are you tilting the board so that the nose is above the white wash or is the nose supposed to go under the white wash?
The nose should be pointing down under the white water. If you have the nose up, it will get ripped from your hands. Tilt the nose down under the water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k4B661Hvb0
@John G - here's a reply from Jaffa on the forum.
possibly a smack in the head.
Uncle jaffa is on the job the eskimo/turtle roll.
On all counts if you can choose a way to get out the back without duckdiving or rolling , use a rip a channel or a rock jump, but it is not always possible.
You are paddling out on your longboard and are confronted by of white water coming towards you.
Duck diving is not an option, if it is small or weak or not quite down the face of the wave you can try method push up
Paddle hard at the white water making sure you are facing straight at it. KNOW WHERE THE OTHER SURFERS ARE AROUND YOU they could wear your mistake if you don't factor this in.
The second before you meet the white water you do a full push up toes on board hands gripping the rails firmly, push the nose down slightly ( if you push the nose down too much you will end up popping the board out behind you like a champagne cork) get it right and the white water will pass between you and the board, and you are past the wave.
If not you might as well attempt your first fin first takeoff or just accept being washed back
OK now for the meat in the turtle roll.
Bigger surf bigger and better skills needed, KNOW WHERE THE OTHER SURFERS ARE AROUND YOU, BIG white water paddle hard straight at it, at the last moment with speed turn upside down gripping the rails at a sweet spot towards the front of the board, some where about 3/4 of the way forward. Let your body hang straight down like a sea anchor pull the nose down a little if done correctly you will be pushed a little deeper by the white water's force, and the white water will pass you by, a good roll and you will emerge behind the wave.
Do not grab to far forward or push the nose really deep or once again you will project your board back wards like a missile.
Contrary to what is said on site do not grip the board near the back this sticks the nose up towards the oncoming white water with the usual result of being flipped and be flung towards the beach or being forcefully separated from your board.
Next category paddling up a bigger wave that starts to break at the top, an old way that worked with surf skis and they even had a handle at their back for this. To do this get off the board and give it an almighty push to get over the wave, this doesn't work as well with leg ropes.
First off; every action has an equal and opposite reaction, you push the board over the wave but this succeeds in pushing you back over the falls, over you go, leg rope stretches twang board comes back over the falls after you
But if timed right this actually works.
More successful methods both involve speed and timing paddle straight hard at the approaching face,
method 1 try a short penetrating duck dive hopefully you will have enough momentum to penetrate and pop through.
method 2 again with speed turtle roll and hang hard again the momentum of your paddle will help as the wave is heading shore ward and you will pop out.
Other things you can do is if surf traffic permits head towards the shoulder ( ie; if there is somebody riding do not paddle towards the shoulder you cannot out paddle someone who is surfing, man up and take the white water on the head, failing to give way like this is a major cause of fights and abuse in the water)
If you are going to partially hit by the white water or can't straighten out come as close to straight on and let the wave hit your tail and blow it's energy swinging you around.
A good rule of thumb for a surf spot is if you can't control your board in getting out and getting through the waves, you are not ready for that spot
Hope this helps.
(any other clarifications - head to the longboard forum. The guys over there are really helpful, as you can see from this comment!)
I agree 100%, thank you for elucidating that in detail. Note I never stated that you should grab the board from the back. The only caveat I mentioned is the possibility of getting your board ripped from your hands from holding the rail alone in big surf. For example, see here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QZyhNP-jdU
This hold in the youtube example has worked in bigger surf. For most waves, holding the rails works just fine.
Here's the post, if you'd like to follow up with Jaffa
This sounds silly until you try it.while paddling into the wave as it just breaks turn your back on it, grab the front of the board(little bit of wax helps) and put your feet against the front where your hands are and submerge as much as you can, the water goes right over you, jump and paddle
I Tried turn turtle years ago when i first started longboarding, Because that is what all the old guru's where doing. I used to cop an absolute flogging attempting them. Now i just duck dive the thing. And laugh as i go past all the turtles.. The trick is just to put the board on the side as you dive. It is not possible to sink the nose directly as you would a short board
help me get to the ocean I am landlocked in Sparrows Point Maryland.does anyone need a worker at the ocean please save me.Sparrows Point
So besides being totally out of shape, I'm headed out today to a local spot, can be rough and big there but sometimes not so much! So hoping after work I can hit the ground running, and take all this info and apply! I'll let you know how asses and tits turtle up or if I float like a buoy ! Ha even if I get destroyed today, this girl (old) ain't giving up! Promise to stay out of the way! I've been schooled already on that by my kid! Wish me luck!
I have a stupid question. My dad says I'm supposed to wax my surfboard but it's foam so I don't know if it would work. Am I supposed to wax it?
Direct quote from the article; Pull the board down towards you, grabbing hold of the board near the middle or even a little further back. You most certainly did say grab it towards the back which would be a bad idea in my opinion.
How can you turtle roll when the water is deep and you can't touch the bottom?? Can you do this while floating?
It's the same technique when you are in deep water.
How big of surf can you
turtle roll in
This 71 yr old (been surfing since the 50s) got his first single fin log in more than fifty years and tried your method of rolling under a six foot wave. My 30 lb. board and I cartwheeled; the result was the board smashing me in the chin (4 stitches), a 3" split in the deck, and the board hitting my ankle putting a large pressure ding on the bottom of the board. I used to be able to duck dive my performance longboards, but I guess I'll just use the regular turtle roll, or maybe go back to riding a shorter, lighter longboard. I live in Brazil, where channels are few and far between and nearly every spot is a beachbreak; and it gets big and juicy in the winter.
Duckdiving vs Turtle Roll : loss of speed
When you have a mid-length board that sits in the verge of not been 100% duckdiveable, but still is with some effort (let's say a 7' Egg). Which one of the techniques do you think is more efficient, duckdiving or turtle roll ?