Hey! Do a Kickflip! Pushing the limits with Nick Butterfield
In 1952 Oliver Cock made a short sea kayak surfing film titled “Surfing at Polzeath”. It’s one of my all time favorites because it shows just how little has changed around the culture of this fringe adventure sport. They're a group of keen friends looking to find some fun waves, challenge themselves and the kayak designs of the time. After a day in the waves they meet up in the evenings for a dinner and drink to celebrate the good times, camaraderie, and as I imagine, pursuing a whole new way to enjoy sea kayaking. Simple day trips that didn’t involve a ton of gear or planning for multi-way routes with the tides and weather. When the surf was down or during low tide, they would seek out picturesque tide pools to practice rolling. Nearly 70 years later, it’s staggering in the similarities of today’s trends in sea kayaking. They perform maneuvers and tricks that are still considered the pinnacle of “freestyle” sea kayaking in 2024, and it makes me think that what we’re doing in the surf with pirouettes, top turns, and round houses is nothing new.
That was until I saw Nick’s video of him performing a complete “kickflip” in his P&H Virgo while paddling out through the breaking surf, something we’ve yet to see before on film.
If you’ve ever paddled out in a sea kayak through a surf zone you’ve likely experienced the feeling of going airborne. Time your forward paddle strokes and build up enough speed, it’s easy to use the face of a wave as if it were a ramp and launch yourself and kayak through the air right off the breaking wave crest. In a blend of luck, timing and speed the bow will lift over at the last moment, with you and your kayak projected through the air and the stern releasing from the crest, landing on back side of the wave in a satisfying thud. It’s definitely one of the most fun activities to do while out in the surf zone, and easiest to perform with an opportunity after every ride and needing to paddle back out through the waves to catch another ride.
Nick Butterfield celebrates after landing his first kickflip.
Ever thought about how to take things up a notch and do a kick flip off this wave ramp? It’s something that I’ve seen attempted before in a video from The Hurricane Riders (I can’t recall which one) that shows Marty Perry almost making it all the way around, but still not fully landing it. When discussing this with Paige May and Jamiah Mahoney, the topic generally is focused on having just the right sea and surf conditions, sort of a Goldilocks day out in the surf zone. Minimal offshore wind and a wave that’s large and steap enough to gain the airtime needed, but at the same time nothing too large so that the consequences inevitably botching it, you’re not in the middle of an unforgiving set of waves. With thoughts of attempting this move myself, I dedicated quite a lot of time in the pool to working on backdeck rolls as it seemed to be the closest movement that could mimic what would happen while on flatwater. To my surprise after telling this to Nick, he explained that it’s not quite as simple as just doing “a backdeck roll through the air”. It’s somewhat similar, but rather than using the powerface of your paddle, it’s all about using the backface and pushing off the crest of the wave and gaining a leverage point for rotating the kayak around. It could be one of those tricks that just need to be learned the hard way, which is why Nick spent around a year making attempts and tweaks after every wipeout.
Now that he’s completed one, Nick believes that it’s something he’ll be able to incorporate into his routine of paddling back out after a good surf ride back to the beach. This has led both of us to question what else could be done in a long pointy sea kayak. What else is out there in the world of sea kayak surf tricks? And while this is a known whitewater kayaking trick, Nick brought up that there are some slight differences in what happens in a sea kayak. Most notably in how the kayak doesn’t skew off axis as much as the name sake, as how a skateboard flips through the air, but more of a barrel roll. For the time being and sake of confusion, it’ll remain a Kickflip.
Interview with Nick Butterfield
What sparked the idea?
“Got the idea for a kickflip from playing around with whitewater boats in the surf with Alex Szecsey. The Full Slice (whitewater kayak) didn’t have the speed to clear the wave and kept plugging at the crest. After getting some big air paddling out in a sea kayak I started to wonder if it would be possible.”
“The idea came up again talking to some other paddlers like Paige May and I kept thinking about it through the winter and the guiding season. Seeing some of the major independent North American sea kayak brands either go out of business or consolidate really put some fire under me to do something new in sea kayaking and set the tone for the possibilities in a changing industry.”
How many tries would you say it took before dialing it in?
“Lots of half-hearted attempts before I really understood the mechanics of it. It wasn’t until late spring that I first got something that felt like it had the “snap” to make it happen. Wipeouts weren’t mostly bad, but so many times landing on my head - the worst wipeouts were on the ones where I got the closest then fell right down onto the thigh brace. Surprisingly no bruises. Then there’s always the worry that I take a second too long to roll up and get the next set right on my dome.”
What was the surf forecast for that day?
“When I finally got it I was at Short Sand beach in Oregon, where I had never been before. Forecast was for 6-8’ swell, but it ended up being much smaller with super clean, beautiful waves. The wave that I landed it on was probably a 5-6’ face.”
Could it be done on smaller waves?
“I hope I can get it on smaller waves, but with a long boat there is a bit of a limitation because of just how long it takes to get all 14’ of that kayak over the crest.”
How did you train for the move, did you practice anything on flatwater first?
“Before first trying it? No, just went for the send without any plan. Eventually I watched some tutorials from Aniol that really helped me dial in the move. From there it was less flatwater practice and more visualization, just imagining myself on that wave and where each component has to be to make it all happen. Even just sitting down and going through the whole motion until I felt like it was part of my body and all that needed to happen was to put the kayak in the air.”
What was the most challenging part?
“The biggest challenge turned out to be timing and wave selection. Too soft of a crest and you won’t clear enough air, but too steep and you’ll lose all your speed punching through the top. It was really interesting watching the beater reel from my bow mount and seeing in full slo-mo how the placement of the takeoff stroke and timing of the edge plays out. Mostly I planted and started the rotation too early, which just faceplants into the wave. When I took a late stroke I got a really good take off, but didn’t have enough time to finish the rotation.”
About the Paddler
Nick Butterfield is currently a guide and instructor at Kayak Trinidad in Humboldt County. He started his paddling career in the Salish Sea before moving south for easier access to rugged coastal water. His favorite part of kayaking is learning new ways to use the dynamic nature of ocean paddling for surf and rock gardening, and loves teaching paddlers how to safely “play the sea”. Kayak Trinidad is a dedicated paddlesports shop located in Northern California, stop by to meet Nick and the rest of the crew of dedicated sea paddlers.
About the Author
B. Fontenot: Editor in Chief
A passionate sea paddler with over a decades worth of rough water paddling experiences that range across the East and West Coast as well as The Great Lakes.