pren wrote:"Many waves are "closeouts" till you figure out how to ride them.' I really like this.
By watching the good/intermediate local surfers, seems they do have a way of ridding the short, fast Jersey waves. Most of them paddle with an angle, sometimes 45% or more (at least to me). Occasionally, I see people paddle TOWARDS the beach, then turn the board at the top halve the faces, not very often (Jersey youtuber "longboard sessions" does a lot of that). To me, turning the board on the top half is more advanced than angeling my takeoff. Happy to be told it is not the case.
The two things you pointed out are both true,
1. I take off too late. The timing is tricky for fast waves. I guess I need to be willing to miss some waves to pop up earlier.
2. I take off on the back of the board. I did that to turn. It is just not what the wave calls for.
1. For popup timing i would suggest trying to get a good feel for when the wave starts to independently propel you forward, if you dont have that wired yet. It can be a quick and subtle change when the wave energy takes over, so a lot of it comes from experience of when that transition happens. Once i feel the wave start to pick me up.. i usually give one last quick hard paddle and then pop. Even if some waves are missed, being mindful of that aspect of the takeoff should help build it into muscle memory and be less reliant on the other variables later on.
2. I agree with OMS, moving forward on the board can help a lot with speed/momentum. Unfortunately positioning on the board can be kinda tricky around here like you were saying. The waves can stand up or fade pretty quick. I usually decide where to position my feet based on the waves energy and looking down the line during the popup.. use the rail for bottom turn and then make adjustments. Its kinda similar to learning how to feel the waves out.. like above.
Good observation about the short fast Jersey waves. Sometimes the only way to make those sections is to angle the takeoff, bottom turn mid face and then surf rail to rail while building speed between the mid and upper parts of wave. Better for shortboarding imo.. but trying to stay on the wave face as much as possible (even the lower half) should help either way. It can make for a steep learning curve but it sounds like you're on a good path.
Watching the waves from shore can help a lot too. There were some spots that were working a few weeks ago but now theyre totally skunked after the last storm changed things around again. And vice versa with other spots getting better. Sometimes it can save lots of frustration by mentally surfing a few sets before deciding where to paddle out.. or even moving on to a different surf spot.
