"Set up first, back-paddling while you observe how the breakers are crashing on the beach," says Contributing Editor Jon Bowermaster, who paddled among the Aleutian Islands for Adventure (Winter 1999) [see his dispatches and photos]. "Then, start paddling early and ride the front of the wave. Keep your body weight forward, just ahead of the break, because if you slip back into the trough, the next wave will break on top of you." Once you hit the beach, exit the boat quickly.