Sorry to join late, but I was away on
vacation.
Jim,
Everybody swims in surf when they first start to paddle in it. The group that I paddle with even awards “kelp awards” to those who do when we go out.
Shoulder high waves in a kayak mean waves that are about 2 feet high. That’s considered very mild surf.
Wayne Horodowich has a technique for learning to side surf in calm water. It was written up in Sea Kayaker Magazine a couple of years ago and it can also be found on his web site (www.useakayak.org).
I would strongly suggest trying that method, taking some surf classes from a local outfitter, and also watching the surf video that Wayne produced.
Then you have to practice----eventually you will find that you usually land ok. All of us still dump occasionally.
Basically, you pays your money and you takes your chances.
mild surf
Mild surf it was. I had gone through the same kind of surf on several occaisions without incident but each time, paddling irregularly and nervously. I am enjoying warm water down here now and so will be practicing this stuff more often. Thanks for the input.