First bottom turn!

[surf doc]

This probably sounds silly to you guys, but I'm super stoked as I executed my first bottom turn today on a neat little left (I'm goofy). I had been surfing on a 7'3" funboard for about 9 or 10months. I got to the point where I was catching waves well and trimming nicely along the face, but couldn't do a whole lot else. I thought that in some ways the board may be holding me back for some time now but I took everyone's advice here and put in my time on that thing. The float it provided was great for a beginner but pretty hard to turn, and impossible to duck dive (ugh). I'm 5'10" and 170ibs, so I got a used flyer 2 at 6'3, 18 5/8, 2 5/16 off craigslist a few months ago and after eyeing it sitting against the wall I finally decided it was time.

I started vacation 2 wks ago and decided to surf only the flyer. First session was a bit dodgy, but really got a feel for paddling it in trim by the end. After 2 wks of daily surf my paddle has really come along and I feel like I can get around faster on this board than my 7'3 funboard. I now realize just how FUN shortboarding is! You really come screaming down the face of the wave with such speed, it's actually not that hard to catch waves once you've learned a bit about the ocean.

So today I came tearing down the face of a 3ft lefty, just loving the ride the whole way, got to the bottom and said what the hell let me try a bottom turn and threw out my board and dug the left rail into the bottom of the wave. I was so surprised I came shooting up the face of the wave and off the back. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, but man that felt good! Going to keep at it, I really appreciate all the knowledge and tips I've gotten from reading old posts on this forum. I'm nearly a year into surfing and still love it as much as the day I started (actually much more). I have so much to learn, just super stoked about it all and wanted to share the feeling.

Thanks for reading!

[PredationSA]

congrats mate! you'll have a lot of those moments throughout your surfing career. I still remember my first ever clean face, my first kinda snap (was like a week ago ) and even though it's technically just a bail, i managed to do one of those kick-outs when you hit the lip and launch your body

[Surf Hound]

Dude, you are hooked like probably most of us on this forum. Welcome to surfing, its a life long addiction. I know... I moved 5000 miles just to be back here in Hawaii so I could surf again on a regular basis. Leaving an X wife from hell makes it all the more sweeter.

[Melisagrom]

woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop congratulations!!
may there be many more to follow
the adrenaline rush makes all the time and effort well worth it hey??
hope you enjoyed one of these afterwards:

[surf doc]

woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooop congratulations!!
may there be many more to follow
the adrenaline rush makes all the time and effort well worth it hey??
hope you enjoyed one of these afterwards:

For sure!
Thanks for the encouraging words

[esonscar]

Hey surf doc - welcome

[billie_morini]

surf doc,
this is great news! Thanks for sharing.
billie

[Kaaimans]

That is great news, and now that you have your bottom turn down, your top turns are going to follow very soon. Just do a bottom turn on a nice steep section, and as you get halfway up, angle back down the wave. Get a longboard skateboard and practice. You can also try this out to get fit to get into the bigger swells next winter:

www.twohundredsquats.com
www.twohundredsitups.com
www.hundredpushups.com

It is three progressive training programs that will help you go from scratch to 100 pushups, two hundred squats, and two hundred situps in 6-8 weeks. Do this especially in the summer months, when the waves are small. Then, next winter, you will be able to charge some overhead waves, the squats will help you turn harder, the situps will help your balance and will help you handle wipeouts, and the pushups will help with paddling. The best part is, since you are doing this as a beginner, your progression will be far above the norm, and by the time you have surfer long enough, and saved up enough money, when you go to indo, you'll be able to take on all those gaping barrels.

[esonscar]

I used to swim loads and mountaineer too - quickest paddling and most hardy power bloke in the water I used to be !

[surf doc]

I have no delusions of ever taking on gaping barrels at indo.
That being said, I do agree that fitness has helped my surfing. I focus a lot on shoulders and back when I'm at the gym and this keeps me fit between sessions. Also can't say enough about the importance of cardio, even for an activity like surfing where you spend a lot of time sitting around. It's important to be able to sustain your paddle when headed back out to the lineup.

[jaffa1949]

I have no delusions of ever taking on gaping barrels at indo.
That being said, I do agree that fitness has helped my surfing. I focus a lot on shoulders and back when I'm at the gym and this keeps me fit between sessions. Also can't say enough about the importance of cardio, even for an activity like surfing where you spend a lot of time sitting around. It's important to be able to sustain your paddle when headed back out to the lineup.

It is no delusion just a destination that may in your surfing journey, there are lots of barrels of all sizes waiting, keep your knees supple and you can hunt the smaller ones, fun with head dips and stalls to slow you back into the barrel part of the wave.
Tuck and duck will give you your first barrel, put a little time ducking into small closeouts and don't bail just go until you are knocked off your board.
Teaches you positioning, overcomes fear of wipeout and one fine day you will pop out

[Rickyroughneck]

That sounds amazing, keep the stoke!

Thanks for sharing!

[nflsurfing1]

Congrats! Love the stoke!

[garbarrage]

One really small step away from smacking the lip. Good on ya!!!!