Laybacks - Chuck some spray with a Layback Slash

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17. Laybacks

layback kelly

Laybacks are a pretty radical and impressive turn and by far the best way to chuck up massive amounts of spray especially on smaller waves!
So what is a layback. Well in a nutshell they are generally done on the face of the wave, off the lip or at an oncoming closeout section of white water. They are done by doing a turn but then at the last minute throwing your board out in front of you so that your back leg is completely extended and you are lying on the wave flat on your back but still with both your feet planted on your board. Because you end up in this laying position you need a certain degree of flexibleness about your body as well as strength, If you do this turn in the sweet spot however the wave can do a lot of the work for you during the recovery stages where you stand back up on your board. Because of the crazy position you put yourself in during the middle part of the turn it makes for some amazing photos where you would think it was impossible to stand back up after doing it.

To do a layback generate speed as you go down the line, the best place on the wave to learn them is at an oncoming section of white water, the softer the section is the better to learn them, the more critical and powerful the section is the harder is to stay in control of your board and stand back up after the turn!
Bottom turn towards the section at about a 45 degree angle as if you were going to do a slash as you get about ¾ of the way up the face start to do your turn, it’s a completely different technique than any other turn so do this, put a large amount of pressure on your back foot and push your board towards the section whilst leaning backwards away from your board. This will generate your board to hit the section a lot harder and throw up a massive amount of spray, because you are leaning backwards it means you are going to fall flat on your back but this is good for this type of turn! You should be hitting the section with your board before you fall on your back so timing is key. Just before you hit the section keep turning your board using your back foot so that when your board hits the section it’s completely side on with the nose pointing straight down the wave and towards the beach. As you make contact with the lip keep pushing the board round until it is completely sideways so that your toe side rail is now facing down the wave and towards the beach. Because you have made the board slide completely sideways you should now feel it start to come back underneath you.

surf layback

This will put you in the following position, you will be higher on the wave than your board almost as if you are lying flat on your back with you feet pointing towards the bottom of the wave and the board still under your feet sideways. Now that you are in this position here comes the tricky bit. You need to get from lying on the wave flat on your back to standing back up. It is worth mentioning that your back leg should only be full extended as you hit the lip, as soon as you have hit it both your legs should be bent, if they are not you will not have a chance in standing back up. You will be lying in the foam/white water, which is moving in all directions but acts as a cushion under you. This bit is all about feeling out the right time for when you should use the strength in your abs and legs to stand back up. The motion is like doing a sit up using the strength in your legs and feet on your board as your leverage. There will hopefully be a moment when you are lying in the white water that it gives you a little push, when you feel this that’s the time to use your strength and flexibility to pull yourself to a standing position. As you start to stand your board should start to sort itself out and go from a side on position to facing straight back towards the beach. When you do get back to your feet and you have landed it you will feel a sense of achievement that not many other moves in surfing can offer.