Once you catch a wave the easiest thing to do is to surf straight down the wave and try and keep the boat straight with steering strokes that are towards the stern. If you feel a wobble it is relatively easy to turn your steering stroke into a low brace. If the boat veers off course by more than a few degrees it will be impossible to correct and it will carve off the wave. Rather than straining yourself trying to correct it, once it starts to go it is best just to let it. The best waves tend to be towards the top of a race, you need to be there to catch the waves and if you drop too far back you may find you can’t catch any. If this happens paddle out of the flow and use the eddies to get back to the top, rather than wasting energy paddling against the flow.