Avanti Who is surfingthem

[wsarah]

I am having a similar problem ... I hope I will be able to cope with them

[chowbabylu]

I'm 6'4" about & about 264lb I love my Avanti the best advice I got was from the Guy I purchased my board off & that was get a board you can paddle and have some fun on it. You'll spend more time in the surf & thats the best way to improve. The worst that can happen is you'll get so good you out grow the board - you can always sell it on. I've had plenty of people laugh at my big board on the beach but they're not so vocal out the back in the chop when they're swimming & I'm surfing.

[mauistyle]

Chowbabylu,

Doesn't matter what model/size, construction that you ride, just keep on stroking and enjoying the ride. Reading about your stoke and knowing you have a smile on your face, tells me your doing something right.

Aloha,

MauiStyle/Mike Cummings

[tsin65]

Hi, a fellow Avanti Christchurch resident. SUP has been an interesting journey, bought an Avanti and a Whopper Extra in a two for one deal off someone who had too many toys about April last year. 62 yrs old and 117Kg /257.4 lbs. Spent a lot of time just looking at them, the ocean, practicing out of sight etc. Both boards were really tippy in a chop, great in flat glass, but I am easily out paddled by smaller women on small boards, especially when I am on the Whopper Xtra. I put my 10" longboard fin on the Avanti, that reduced the tippyness, imho learners should buy a large hatchet fin that acts as a damper. I spent a lot of time on my knees in the surf, still do to get over shorebreak, but working on that one. I had trouble standing up from my knees until I started using the paddle to haul myself up from one knee, old man style but works.
Went through all the stages, sore feet, (not used to standing/gripping), your body learns to relax and muscle memory takes over, sore shoulders from 4-5 hour sessions, price you pay, loss of 6kg and holding in two months, the highest wave count ever and annoying all my mates, without being greedy. Going home on overhead days knowing that the three waves taken and the ten left for the pack is a great feeling, especially when you know you could have taken those ten but that would have gotten me run off the beach.
For me it has taken maybe twenty days to go from SUP novice,(surfed on and off for fifty years) to having 2-3ft wired, falling back a bit in 4ft plus, but knowing that I can not as easily be caught inside adds to my confidence, but doesn't remove my cautiousness.
There is so much to say, the Whopper Xtra with it's concave nose is a bit of a slug to paddle, but great to surf, nose rides easily, a lot lighter than the Avanti, therefore easier to carry and put on roof rack. Both boards probably surf the same, the Avanti gets into the pocket easily, especially if you paddle in to the wave already going left or right. They both give you speed for a bottom turn if you like to go straight down the face, with no chance of pearling. Keep thinking that a 34" might paddle faster, haven't tried one yet but the local guru/dealer reckons that there are significant improvements since the two to three year old Avantis and Whoppers were introduced. Maybe next year. Hopefully I can fit the Whopper into a plane to Bali, haven't checked it out yet.

[mauistyle]

Originally Posted by tsin65

Hi, a fellow Avanti Christchurch resident. SUP has been an interesting journey, bought an Avanti and a Whopper Extra in a two for one deal off someone who had too many toys about April last year. 62 yrs old and 117Kg /257.4 lbs. Spent a lot of time just looking at them, the ocean, practicing out of sight etc. Both boards were really tippy in a chop, great in flat glass, but I am easily out paddled by smaller women on small boards, especially when I am on the Whopper Xtra. I put my 10" longboard fin on the Avanti, that reduced the tippyness, imho learners should buy a large hatchet fin that acts as a damper. I spent a lot of time on my knees in the surf, still do to get over shorebreak, but working on that one. I had trouble standing up from my knees until I started using the paddle to haul myself up from one knee, old man style but works.
Went through all the stages, sore feet, (not used to standing/gripping), your body learns to relax and muscle memory takes over, sore shoulders from 4-5 hour sessions, price you pay, loss of 6kg and holding in two months, the highest wave count ever and annoying all my mates, without being greedy. Going home on overhead days knowing that the three waves taken and the ten left for the pack is a great feeling, especially when you know you could have taken those ten but that would have gotten me run off the beach.
For me it has taken maybe twenty days to go from SUP novice,(surfed on and off for fifty years) to having 2-3ft wired, falling back a bit in 4ft plus, but knowing that I can not as easily be caught inside adds to my confidence, but doesn't remove my cautiousness.
There is so much to say, the Whopper Xtra with it's concave nose is a bit of a slug to paddle, but great to surf, nose rides easily, a lot lighter than the Avanti, therefore easier to carry and put on roof rack. Both boards probably surf the same, the Avanti gets into the pocket easily, especially if you paddle in to the wave already going left or right. They both give you speed for a bottom turn if you like to go straight down the face, with no chance of pearling. Keep thinking that a 34" might paddle faster, haven't tried one yet but the local guru/dealer reckons that there are significant improvements since the two to three year old Avantis and Whoppers were introduced. Maybe next year. Hopefully I can fit the Whopper into a plane to Bali, haven't checked it out yet.

Good to hear your story my friend. Much Aloha to you and I wish you good sessions and a lot of stoke. Keep on gliding.

MauiStyle/Mike Cummings