Surfing Waves

Hi All,

I'm learning to surf right now, and I'm a bit later on in life (31). I was just curious, is it harder to surf when you're older?

Like, if I learn how to surf somewhat alright now, will I still be able to surf when I'm 50? Not sure if it's like riding a bike, or if it gets tougher the older you get. I know there's dudes surfing who are 50, but don't know if it's tougher.

just curious...
George

NUH when you're older the surfing's not tougher !
We are!
having dealt with that , I'll now come on board with pensioner surf talk.
The learning part is harder to take on as you get older
The fun is more fun because you are allowed to go surfing whenever you like
the physical stuff can be harder but surfing often keeps you fitter than you would expect
Surfing gives you better than average reflexes than guys who don't at any age
Older age surfing gives you a real reason to talk about how good you used to be .
There are no old rugby/ football/ wrestlers skaters or boxers, there are old and very old surfers!
you can choose the level of wave you want to smash you!
You can do your surfing with women!
Life is better when you surf. In fact a bad day surfing is better than any day in an office !
Surfers are eternal optimists, "it's going to be epic tomorrow"

Don't worry go surfing.
Age one year at a time.
I've been 31 for 31 years the only thing that harasses me is the fire permit for my candles on my cake !
Something about "i can't have my cake and heat it too!

Hello gkellop,
Hope you are doing well! 31 is not old! You are just now in your prime. Surfing is fun even while you are learning, so don't worry about how young you are. If you can learn to surf now you should be able to still surf when you are 50. Go down to the beach and look at all the older guys still ripping. When I got married I was down in Malibu California and talked my wife into letting me catch a few waves. There was an older guy prob about 90 years old who could barely walk and was dragging his board up the beach. He could still surf...wow! I hoped I could still surf if I lived as long as him. Anyway he was prob triple your age. Anyway let us know how it goes after you give it a try, and start on a longboard to make it easy on yourself. Good Luck!

jaffa1949 wrote:NUH when you're older the surfing's not tougher !
We are!
having dealt with that , I'll now come on board with pensioner surf talk.
The learning part is harder to take on as you get older
The fun is more fun because you are allowed to go surfing whenever you like
the physical stuff can be harder but surfing often keeps you fitter than you would expect
Surfing gives you better than average reflexes than guys who don't at any age
Older age surfing gives you a real reason to talk about how good you used to be .
There are no old rugby/ football/ wrestlers skaters or boxers, there are old and very old surfers!
you can choose the level of wave you want to smash you!
You can do your surfing with women!
Life is better when you surf. In fact a bad day surfing is better than any day in an office !
Surfers are eternal optimists, "it's going to be epic tomorrow"
Says the Aussie

Don't worry go surfing.
Age one year at a time.
I've been 31 for 31 years the only thing that harasses me is the fire permit for my candles on my cake !
Something about "i can't have my cake and heat it too!

Sorry couldn't resist!

As Jaffa says, surfing will keep you fitter and healthier; that is reason enough to keep enjoying it.

Yes it's harder but well worth it. As a youngster I had less tolarence to frustration, so when I took up surfing at age 32 (I boogieboarded since a little kid) I had fun falling off and jsut being out there. I'm now 47 and I mostly shortboard, my boards a slightly thicker than they used to be, but my current shorty is 6'2" at 200lbs, though I have a sweet longboard that I love too.

Go for it, have a great time, enjoy falling, and smile big when you don't. Enjoy the stoke

Rickyroughneck wrote:

jaffa1949 wrote: "it's going to be epic tomorrow"[/b]
Says the Aussie

Sorry couldn't resist!

As Jaffa says, surfing will keep you fitter and healthier; that is reason enough to keep enjoying it.

Jaffa says this after a 3 week and continuing double underhead flat spell___________________________________________________________nix

I started when I turned 39, am 41 now. Still quite terrible at surfing, but don't care in the slightest. Such a blast to be out on (or under) the waves.

My advise is, if you want to learn, learn. Don't worry about what anyone else thinks, or whether you should have started 10 years ago. You can't change that stuff. Just do it, and enjoy.

Jaffa produced a gut busting laff from me.

Perfect time to start...... and still time for you to win a World Title.

There's an old guy called Kelly Slater knocking around who'll testify to this who's 40

It's like anything IMHO. It's all in your head, your brain as you get older over analyses things therefore making it seem harder. The beauty of surfing is that most people tend to surf best when they don't listen to their brain and just soul surf. I'm 28 and one of the best surfers I know at our local spot is 50 something, he rocks and shows me up every time.

JohnyOhio wrote:
There's an old guy called Kelly Slater knocking around who'll testify to this who's 40

LOL

LJSurfa wrote:The beauty of surfing is that most people tend to surf best when they don't listen to their brain and just soul surf.

I look forward to improving my surfing as senility sets in. It's true about the beauty behind it all, is when you are in the Zen no mind state and you are in the beauty!