How to Pan am!
A pan am is a super fun trick that is surprisingly easy to learn if you know already know how to air blunt! A pan am is a over vertical air blunt, the boat must be inverted and rotate 180 degrees while landing upright in a back surf or side surf. It is by far one of my best tricks as well as one of my all time favorites. Not to mention it looks awesome on the water! The steps to pan am are simple, yet they can become very complex if you make them.
- Practice doing the blunt motion in the flat water.
- Cycle to the top of the wave and charge down the wave on edge. Practice this step often so you make sure you can get good air.
- Once you charge down on the wave on a edge and can get air, do the blunt motion.
- As you air blunt, push on the paddle blade to turn the boat backwards, and flip your boat on top of you.
- Once you are upside down, crunch with all your might to pull the boat underneath you. As you crunch, rotate the paddle blades so the water can pass under them, but you can still power the boat under you.
- Add a recovery stroke if needed!
While those steps may seem hard, once you break them down they are surprisingly easy. Then all you have to do is put them all together on the wave and you are all set!
The secret to doing a pan am is get the best take off possible. The best take off’s consist of hard edging, a strong initiation stroke. Most importantly do a pan am you need the confidence to flip the boat over on the wave. The pan am is a instant hit once you do it, and will absolutely “wow” your friends. The Keener program is a awesome way to learn this trick and many others, while you get to paddle sweet waves! Hope to see you out on the water!
Jacob Walker
