Wave and board size... Is it kooky?

[jaegermiester]

ok.. So this is my first time on this site, And I have been surfing for a while now. I really enjoy taking my long board out on days that it seems too big. I was just wondering on people's opinion on surfing a long board in waves any where from 10-15 ft faces... kooky? cool? I just don't know. I feel like I should be on a short board when its that big.. or should I stick with it? I can make it happen, but i always feel weird when I get to the line up and I am the highest out of the water. Last winter I surfed Ho'okipa on maui around 13ft. and now I'm in costa rica and a swell is coming saying its going to be 15ft. I know back in the old days people rode long boards for everything.. But is it still cool today. Even when I'm the only one in the line up with one? you tell me...

[jaffa1949]

There is nothing wrong with riding the board of your choice for any conditions, choose the board for what will do the job for you . The only thing kooky is worrying about looking cool or kooky! Let your surfing do the talking

[jaegermiester]

thank! its true, but I feel like it should be take the board that will be suit the wave..

[dtc]

See if you can find a movie called 'riding giants' about early big wave surfing. They almost all surfed longboards. Non tow in surfers in big waves still surf longboards (well, guns, but they are all 9ft+). Lots of reasons to surf bigger boards in bigger conditions

[oldmansurfer]

When I restarted surfing I used a longboard and went in surf that size. I got the only standup tube ride I had since I restarted surfing on a longboard in waves that size. I wrote about it previously. Here is the story.....It was over a year ago while I was still surfing my 9'5" tri-fin longboard. It was a stormy day and I was the only one out in double over head waves (6 to 8 feet Hawaiian). I took off on a wave with a nice looking wall. It was quite a steep drop and I stepped back on the tail on the takeoff and angled my board slightly with my ankles hoping to not pearl. Worked perfect as I made a bottom turn the wave was so choppy my board was hopping up and down a bit and skittering chattering across the chop. Due to that I over turned and went straight back up the wave and hit the lip and stalled for another gut wrenching steep drop and I angled my board from the top. Didn't pearl again and looking down the wave it looked like a section that I might get tubed in so I just turned up on to the face of the wave and waited. I didn't try to get speed or to slow down I just made a turn letting my current speed and the wave determine how fast I went.

I got tubed with the lip coming down near the back of my board so not completely shacked but it's the best I had done so far. Up ahead I could see the tube was going to collapse and get smaller and there was a little break in the lip as it was throwing out. I don't know how but I just squeezed out of that gap before it all collapsed. I decided to go in since I was happy with that wave and the conditions were dangerous and I was getting tired.

[jaffa1949]

thank! its true, but I feel like it should be take the board that will be suit the wave..

Why do you even need to ask this, ride the wave on the board that suits the wave, don't carry a board to suit the people watching you. Except in Japan no one is interested in what you look like cool or otherwise, it is about your surfing

[IB_Surfer]

forget about what you should ride, just ride what you want to. My neighbor surfing 20 years, super slim and an awesome ripper. Lately his thing has been funboards, he says he wants to catch all wave so that is his thing now, and he rips. But at 34 yrs old and 140 lbs he should be riding a 5'10 board but nope, a 7ft funboard with performance specs for him, and he does catch circles around me