Surfing Waves

Hi folks,

I've been surfing now for about 2 years going at least 2-3 times per week when there is surf. I am 5'8", around 130lbs and started on a 7'2" mini-mal. I've gotten on quite well with it, it's not great for turns but I catch plenty of waves on the mini-mal and can ride in small and big surf.

I've now switched to a much shorter board recommended by someone at my local surf shop - 5'8" Surftech squashtail, 19" wide, 2.2" thick. Sometimes i get good waves and can get a turn or two in, i'm fine paddling and can catch waves fairly comfortably. My problem comes that in smaller surf the board just doesn't seem to gain any speed, even though i think i'm pretty quick at getting to my feet the majority of the time. What happens is as i start along the wave and try to get a top turn in I have absolutely no speed whatsoever and just fall of the back of the wave.

Is the board too small for my ability or just too small for me full stop? I've been riding it for about 6 months now with not a great deal of progress and getting a little disheartened. Any thoughts/hints?

I would say that you need to go up to at least a 6'. Especially on smaller waves you are going to need more float and less rocker to get any speed down the line. Keep the board for bigger days but I would say at least get a thicker board for the smaller days.

ya a bigger board needed maybe something to tune of a 6'2 - 6'4 with slightly more width and a touch more thickness towards the nose. A less exageratted rocker will also help with speed.

Best bet is to shoot off to a local shaper and seek advice. Never take a surf shops advice as golden - in fact a lot of guys in surf shops dont know bananas from apples but a shaper should know the whole science behind it. Going to a shaper is no guarantee you will get a magic board but the chances are very high you will end up with something that you will like. Just take your current board along explain the issues and your riding style/experience/waves you surf and the shaper should beable to work something that will be more suitable. Its your best bet cause when your shaper gets to know you and the boards you ride then you will get the desired results.

BoardatWork wrote:I am 5'8", around 130lbs and started on a 7'2" mini-mal. ... to a much shorter board recommended by someone at my local surf shop - 5'8" Surftech squashtail, 19" wide, 2.2" thick.

Good grief
Thats a hell of a jump. Dont go to that surf shop again

Well done for sticking with it, but time for a new board with more length and more float. Im sure you could surf the 5'8, but at 130lbs and with that tiny volume, it'll always be difficult.

The dimensions don't actually sound too small for your height and weight. The Surftech is an epoxy and although short it is pretty wide. Plus you aren't having difficulty paddling it or catching waves on it. Rule of thumb: a board is too small for you if you can't catch waves on it. The trouble seems to be more on smaller days, right?

Shortboards do require more technical surfing than funboards, minitanks, longboards, etc (unless of course you're shredding on your longboard like Bonga Perkins or those other longboarders that really rip into their turns). Riding a shortboard requires a completely different approach than riding a bigger board. A larger board has more buoyancy, drive, and forward speed. You can take off early and kind of just plow through waves and chop on a big board.

It sounds like your 5'8" might also have more tail rocker, which makes it a much more technical board. Having more tail rocker is actually beneficial to someone of our weight (I weight 5 lbs less than you), making the board easier to do quick slashing turns. A shortboard with a rockered out tail means that you need to surf in the pocket and you will need to do more turns and make more adjustments to stay on the wave. If you just take off and trim it'll feel like you're decelerating and you will end up losing the wave...unless of course you're surfing steep, fast, lined up waves. If you find that every time you attempt a top turn and you end up going over the back of the wave, the wave probably didn't have enough juice to catch your board and push it back down the face. Might just mean it isn't the right turn to do at that time.

Sorry, this post is getting pretty long and without seeing your surfing style or being familiar with the waves you're surfing, it's difficult to advise you on what to do differently. If all else fails and the board really isn't working out for you, perhaps look for a something in the 6' range...but hang on to this board. You might find the sweet spot on it later down the line.

Thanks for the comments and thoughts. I actually had a couple of decent sessions on the board this weekend, but i keep catching my boots on the edge of the board as i pop up - really annoying!

Anyway, I'll post a couple of the better wave pics so you can get an ideaof my riding style/waves. Theyt're at home and in raw format so need to be made web accessible so you guys can see them. Try and get some on later today!

I think one of my problems in riding style is i always tend to drag my right hand in the wave when surfing frontside (watched too many tube rides on tv/dvd!) and i nearly always seem to squat really low. The pics will probably help more than anything!

If I where you I would keep the board and get something atleast 5-6 inches longer, or 4 inches longer and a bit thicker and wider. I have a really small friend that surfs really fast type of stuff, but he is riding a board that is 3 inches longer than yours, and quite a bit thicker, the best thing is to ask a shaper, he would be able to tell you what is best for you (but I suggest asking him to see you surf, otherwise he might under- or overestimate your abilities.)

As promised, some pics showing me using the board. The first one is okay, although my feet are a bit out of position. The second and third show the problem i have with the front of the board sitting up a bit, which might be more to do with the way I surf rather than the board size.







Any pointers/thoughts gratefully received!

Thats the purpose of having a quiver, you can make a call on what board to take on that day. Thus maximizing your wave ability and preformance. I have my quiver down to a tea so i know exactly what boards are gonna work best.

one board is not gonna work for all waves. That said try to work on your footwork. Using a tail pad is a good indication of where your back foot should be. If you find you are missing it then leave a space in the wax leading to the tail pad so your back foot will slide into position

It loks like most of your weight is on your back foot!

Okay, I take it back - you seem to be doing okay!

Keep that board!
But get a smaller wave board too!

You surf like me lol... Maybe I have problems too?

Very nice bottom turn. Those waves look super fun. You're compressed over your board in the bottom turn, which is exactly how it should be done although you don't need to be stalling with your right hand. You should be leading with your left arm when going down the line and doing turns. If you watch any videos of pro surfers in slow motion you can see how they all lead with their arms. The last picture looks like you're breaking by putting too much weight on your rear foot. While surfing you should be constantly shifting your weight between your front and rear foot (whereas on a longboard you would be shuffling back and forth on the board). To turn you pivot on your rear foot but you can lead (or steer)your board with your front foot. The bottom turn would have transitioned nicely into a top turn if you compressed & "unweighted" while going up the face getting your board as vertical as possible. When you hit the top of the wave, you push down and re-weight on your board uncompress and re-compress as you're landing the turn. Remember to surf in the pocket. I can't tell if the wave is about to close out or if it backed off after the sequence. If it closes out you can hit the lip right before it closes. If it's backing off you need to cutback to the curl.

I think the board you have is an excellent small wave board, but you should get something in the 6'0" to 6'4" range x 18.25 x 2.25 for slightly bigger waves.

Hope that all made sense. I'm not very articulate so I have difficulty conveying what I'm trying to say in words. Taj Burrows has a really good book that breaks down all the basic and hot dog maneuvers. Getting photos and videos of yourself is extremely helpful in analyzing what you're doing and seeing what you can do differently. Good luck!

ps: where are you surfing?

Hi, thanks for the comments. they're really helpful and will give me plenty to think about next time I'm in the water. I think the key is getting the board/weighting in the right position for going up the face of the wave and not keeping too much weight on my back foot at other times.

The waves are in Guernsey (channel islands), the winter swells will be coming to an end shortly and it will be back to the longboarding for the summer, so just trying to use the swells we get now to get my style nailed down as much as possible.

looks like you're doing ok to me too. i would agree wih ANZAC though it does look like theres an awful lot of weight on your back foot which will cause the board to stall. just have a bit more faith that your rails will hold you in a bottom turn and you will fly on that board. have fun. i love small boards.