Surfing Waves

I've been riding a 7'5" minimal for a year and reached the point where I could catch unbroken waves consistently, do clean bottom turns and trim surf up to head high. Reckoned it was time to move on so I bought me a 6'4" x 20.5 x 2.5 custom shortboard which I figured would suit my size (10st /5'6" height) and my local beachbreak waves.

I've had 5 sessions so far of mixed success but find it a struggle to catch waves early so experiment positioning myself further inside but now find i'm going over the falls way too many times. Where an I going wrong? Its like being a kook all over again!

Chopping a foot off is going to give you some struggle, but you need to keep with it.

Remember all the basic principles, though. Start out on the shoulders and practice on your balance and positioning - you are probably trying to get too much of your body forward on the board because you're used to the bouyancy of the 7-5.

At a foot taller, and 20 1/2 inches wide, it'll still float you and pick up waves fairly easily.. but you will have to work a bit harder getting into the waves. You also might not be used to the rocker.

But I say don't worry about catching waves early. Go hit the inside shoulders for awhile to get your feel in test driving.

rich r wrote:Chopping a foot off is going to give you some struggle

Indeed, amputee surfing is notoriously difficult

shouldnt be to big a jump from a 7-5, you just need to tighten up your technique - those small errors your cushy minimal was letting you get away with, a shortboard will punish you for, but thats what you got it for right?

If you want to get into waves as early as you did before your gonna have to paddlle harder. Your shortboard has a lot more drag in the water than your minimal when it not moving or moving slow cos its sitting a lot lower in the water. Try starting to padlle earlier than you are used to and when the wave gets to you you really have to paddle like your life depends on it to get thew same amount of acceleration.

You can take off deeper and further inside than on a minimal but as the wave gets more critical everything happens quicker so you get less time to adjust if you take off a bit wonky or hit a bit of chop, it has to be instinctive cos theres not time to think about whats going on, that can only be achieved by practice and improving your takeoff. As you get used to the different foot placement on your new board youll get the hang of it.

Also be more selective about which waves you go for.Learn to recognise waves with a good "pocket" forming at the base. If you start paddling like crazy foe a few seconds in this part of the forming wave you'll catch the wave easily, if the wave doesn't pick you up after a few good hard deep strokes give up and wait for the next good one - be patient!

PS I don't mean waves which are curling over, these will just smash onto you!

Wave selection would have to be the most critical part of shortboard surfing because you can waste a lot of enrgy and emotion by either not being in the right spot or paddling for waves which have not enough power.
If you read the previous post you should be sweet! Enjoy.

If you watch other people out on shortboards, you'll see some that catch waves easily, get their share, and other people that paddle like crazy all the time and catch few waves to themselves. It's all about position. Find the peak, grasshopper. Position, selection.