Sea Gods Carta Marina

“ocean paddler here. i started in a marina practicing the basics until I felt confident enough to do open ocean. my first forays into open ocean were similar to how you describe, it was incredibly hard to stand. if i managed to stand, i might need to go back into a kneeling position often. one part of that experience was i was on the completely wrong board for open ocean. i was on a 10'6" all arounder irocker nautilus and i'm 6ft tall. it was fine to learn in a flatwater environment but once you add the ocean dynamics it was much less stable of a board and had a higher learning curve. i ended up switching to a 12ft touring shape isup (sea gods carta marina) and it was a near instant game changer. it was so much faster and more stable than the all arounder it was ridicilous lol. also keep in mind, i don't know if you are on a hard board or an isup, but with an isup, even if you inflate it to max psi it will still bend/wobble when waves go under you, you will feel this and it's just one additional dynamic you have to get used to. i used to overcorrect quite a bit and it would lead to needing to go to the knees or a splash, of me going in the water lol. this isn't to say you have to go to a marina or have to get a new board, it just means the learning curve will be steeper, so don't get frustrated and keep at it. you should definitely take some safety precautions when in open ocean. wear a pfd (i use the astral ytv), you can either obtain a *floating* marine radio and lash it to your pfd or your board. or you can put your cell phone in a waterproof pouch and lash it to you. i do the cell phone and i keep the nearest harbor patrol phone # on a contact so i can find it asap. i have signal to at least 3 miles out so i feel pretty confident. and i have a buddy i go with who has the marine radio so no matter what happens we're set. open ocean is really fun, i love the feeling when waves go under you now. it's like a roller coaster. if a motorboat speeds by and sends a 2-3ft wake at me, i line up perpendicular and paddle at it and enjoy the ride. occasionally you get curious ocean visitors, sea lions, dolphins, and more. i love it and i am sure you will too! here are some vids of my ocean adventures near redondo beach, ca if interested [https://www.youtube.com/@EarthVibrations](https://www.youtube.com/@EarthVibrations)”