best conditions for nice longboard waves.. help!

[lachyd333]

Hey all,

I've been surfing for a few years now, so you would think I would know the answer to this but I seem not to. I have an 8ft mal and am interested in riding easy to ride waves. I don't care about size. I'm more interested in waves that are easy to get onto. I surf ont eh Gold Coast in Australia and it seems that the waves are often steeper and break onto shallow sandbanks. Should I just be hitting the points (as opposed to the open beachies) if I want those fatter waves that take longer to break and sit up for a long time and which break onto a bit deeper water? Is 2ft enough to longboard on? I usually only bother going down if its 3 ft plus and I think this may be contributing to the fact that I am often faced with steeper waves on more shallow sandbanks as there is just more water moving around in general

Best,

Lachy dizzley

[drowningbitbybit]

Yup, the beachies in this neck of the woods are fast!
Seems particularly true at the moment - there seems to be a bank 30 ft out from the shore that it just closes out on at almost all the beaches. It doesn't help that it's been much too straight-on for the beachies either
Now that we're heading towards winter, hopefully the swell will be a bit more southerly, and so the beachies will be a bit slower and with longer rides.

But yes, the points will be a lot easier in that respect (although I wouldn't exactly call them "fat"), but depends on how you deal with crowds
Personally, I love the points but hate the crowds, so usually end up on the beachies. However, when it's a little smaller (2–3ft), I find that the points can be manageable and they're certainly worth surfing.



Not sure I'd describe anywhere on the Goldie as "easy to ride"
Where do you surf at the moment?

[drowningbitbybit]

Hey Lachy... are you on the Brissy surf facebook page? Think we might have had a chat just a couple of days ago

[lachyd333]

Hey Drowning!

yeah mate, my names lachlan Dudley. I ussually surf like Greenmount area, so Kirra, Rainbow, etc. I just seem to keep gravitating towards the beachies and findign my self pissed off. Im not looking to be the best surfer, I just want nice, easy rides haha

[lachyd333]

So, people say the points are better on low tide. If I want easier to rdie waves then maybe surfing them on high tide would be a better option because they won't be as big and break as fast? Or am I getting that totally wrong!

[lachyd333]

I think what I should have said is that what conditions make gentle rolling waves, rather than fat. I mean waves that take a long time to break but are catchable with a longboard during that period.

[dtc]

Keep in mind that at high tide sometimes the waves just don't break. Obviously you can learn whether this happens at a spot or not, and at what tide level, fairly quickly with a bit of observation. The bigger the wave the more likely it will break.

[drowningbitbybit]

I ussually surf like Greenmount area, so Kirra, Rainbow, etc.

Well, those are about the longest and most gentle rides on the Goldie so at least you're on the right beachie!

So, people say the points are better on low tide. If I want easier to rdie waves then maybe surfing them on high tide would be a better option because they won't be as big and break as fast? Or am I getting that totally wrong!

You're right about the points. They are "better" - meaning faster and hollower - at low tide, but a bit fatter and more forgiving at high tide, but that does mean that sometimes they don't break until they hit the sandbar and then it's not much better than the beach

Some of the points (Currumbin, Kirra) often have a bank a little bit out (ie north, further along the beach) from the point, and these tend to be more forgiving than the points themselves (although they're an absolute b@#$@d to stay in position when the sweep is on).


I think it's particularly bad (or good, depending on your point of view) at the moment - the sandbar is very noticeable throughout the south goldie, and the banks are running very fast. I feel your pain as right now I have some injury and fitness issues, so even on a shortboard I'm struggling to get in fast enough and have been aching for some softer waves. Fingers crossed that the current big swell will wash away that sandbar and will make some easier banks over the next couple of weeks!

[drowningbitbybit]

I think what I should have said is that what conditions make gentle rolling waves, rather than fat. I mean waves that take a long time to break but are catchable with a longboard during that period.

At a more basic level (and very much subject to where the banks and bars are)...

The points will be more forgiving at high tide, while the beachies will be easier at low tide.

The waves at both the points and the beachies will get steeper and faster the more offshore the breeze. If you're looking for gentle and rolling, then zero wind or even slightly onshore will give a more crumbly wave.

There'll be a longer ride on the points than the beachies during an E or NE swell. Both will improve on a SE swell.

If you've got the paddle power to get out back, stay in position, and to catch the wave early enough, larger waves breaking out back may be slightly slower breaking than the smaller waves that jack up in shallow water.



That's the theory anyway!