Surfing Waves

Hi,

I know there are alot of topics already made on this but I just wanted to see if I could get a little more information. I have read similar questions to mine and the standard response is buy a longboard etc.. which I agree as I tried my friends and it was super easy. But Christmas is coming up and I am interested in a local surfboard shapers shortboard that he has for $650. It is 6"4, 21 2 3/4. So quite high volume for a shortboard. I am 16, 6ft and about 75 kgs. I do have alot of determination and with holidays coming up I will be surfing about 4 days a week for 2 hours. So thats 8 hours of surfing a week for a solid 6 weeks. Is it doable? I really just want to cut straight to a shortboard, and I know it may sound ignorant but it's where I eventually want to be and I am willing to put in the effort.

Cheers.

I dont mean this to be a rude question, but I am always a little bit puzzled by people wanting to go straight to shortboards, so to assuage my curiosity - why do you want go straight to a shortboard? Is there something wrong with longer boards?

Otherwise:

- yes, its possible to learn on a shortboard, but it will probably take a lot longer and by longer I mean longer than 48 hours of surfing (it will probably take longer even with a long board). At 6ft/75kg you arent the smallest guy (I say that as a 6ft3/85kg person), so you will feel the effects of the shorter board more than many. For example, I'm not sure you could surf the whitewater even with the board you suggest and, as kooky as it might sound, surfing the white water/small shore break is the way just about everyone starts. Until you have the basics of popping up, trying to catch bigger waves is very very difficult (for most).

- why buy a new board? There are usually plenty of 2nd hand shortboards around. If you buy a 2nd hand one then later think you made a mistake (either in taking up surfing or in trying a shortboard), you arent out of pocket by as much. I presume you are in Australia or NZ (Christmas holidays arent surf time in the USA) and every surf shop has 2nd hand shortboards.

But you are young, you have the entire school holidays to give it a go and if it doesnt work, then you have next year to get a more suitable board. Time is on your side.

just curious but Is that a regular shortboard? does it look like a normal shortboard but just bigger is what i mean? Because those are some big dimensions. 21 is wide. and that is pretty hefty. Sounds like maybe a big guy shortboard?

I hate to say it but the quickest way to progress is to first find balance - no good until you have. A shortboard is pretty much rubbish in whitewater.

I Still think the fastest way to learn is on something reasonably big depending on your own skill/weight/height. Does not have to be a longboard but something that has volume and stability helps. And then to slim down to slightly bigger shortboard. I.e something a touch longer and wider than normal specs. That way it will last you for a good while allowing room to grow and finally get into the progressive arena.

I can only speak from personal experience, but i have only known one person that started out entirely on a shortboard. For the first couple weeks i was on a mall then jumped to a slighlty larger shortboard than needed. Thats pretty much what most the people i know did.

This paragraph from a surf help site pretty much sums up my concerns:


Teen: At this age you have a lot more variables to factor into a good beginner board. The beginner board ‘golden rule’ of the more stable the better applies, but at this age you have to factor in three things: 1) How aggressively is this teen going into it? 2) What do their friends ride? 3) How often will they really be able to surf? For a beginner in this age group that has friends who surf ‘short boards’ or ‘fish’ and who can get to the beach often the ‘right board’ will be totally different than for somebody who realistically will get to the beach once or twice a week in the summer and who’s friends are just beginners too.
For the teen who has friends that already surf and has daily access to the beach, the right board will likely be a short board or tri fin fish that is about 4 to 8 inches bigger than they are. As with pre teens, the more stable (wide & thick) the board is, the better. On the other hand, for the other category that isn’t so fortunate to be able to get to the beach as much, the answer for the right board would probably be a fun shape in the 6’8 to 7’6 range. A fun board is definitely easier to learn on but if the beginner is aggressive to learn and the people they surf with ride shorter boards, a fun board probably would get ‘old’ pretty quick.

How good are you at the moment - are you able to pop up on an unbroken wave (even if only once or twice per session)? Or are you still at white water level (no shame in it, its how everyone learns)? If the former, then the board you suggest might be feasible - although you will fall off a lot.

Surfing simply isnt a sport where you pick a board on day 1 and have it suit your purposes for the next 10 years, or when you are beginner it might not suit you even for the next 2 years.

I understand your issues, but there is no point spending the entire summer just falling off just so you have a board that you might be able to use in 12 months time if you persist and you somehow manage to figure out balance and popping up and paddling etc.

Essentially you have to accept that the type of board that is better for you now may not be the same as the board you will want and be capable of using in 6 months. People say things like 'the board will get old quick'' when, in reality, the board will never get old and can always be used, even if it becomes the small wave board (or the big wave board). Surfing 1ft waves on a 6ft4 board isnt going to happen; so having a small wave board (ie a larger board) is worthwhile even if you dont end up using it that much. Or you can sell it or trade it in on a new board. Its like learning to drive - you just have to accept that you will start off with a big yellow L on you and driving slowly and not being able to parallel park and finding 80km/h scary. But after a bit of practice that will all resolve itself - but you cant get to that level without the bit at the start.

My suggestion is that you get something around 7ft now, or even longer if you can bear it, and get it second hand. Then after you feel comfortable at reading waves and popping up and riding the waves, trade it in (or keep it as the small wave board) and get another 2nd hand board. This might be in 2 months or 6 months or 12 months, depending on how much you surf and how easy you find it. You will end up with two boards, but the total cost of two second hand boards will be less than the $650 you are proposing to spend.

It's better to be too good for your board than vice versa.