Surfing Waves

Whilst this may be a common question, my situation is anything but... Surfing for 30 years (from the age of 7), quite accomplished, normally update my board each year. January of this year I suffered a neck injury which has left me with lack of strength and stamina in my left upper body... After plenty of rehab, I was hoping to be back in the water, but after a few attempts I've accepted that paddling a short board is simply beyond me, so I'm moving up to something bigger. I have a 9'9 Longboard that I shaped myself that was just for a bit of fun when the swell was down, but it won't cut it as a first choice board. Looking for something loose, not too chunky that I can throw around, and would love to get up and ride the nose. Suggestions?

Long is fun , you are in line for a new learning curve.
A couple of questions about the exact injury ( you can PM that to me if you wish) I' m a retired Chiropractor ) or you can keep it on the main forum. Your weight and height will help. Experience will win through!
There may be specific exercises on top of your rehab that can help!

Now boards here the weight and height will determine what you go for!
I would suggest not going a specific nose rider as they lose some of the other factors of performance in exchange.

If you go length you may be able to knee paddle which puts different muscle groups to work. That too depends on the injury and your knees and ankles.

A little more info and the other forumites will help too.
Welcome and good luck in the healing process.
Jaffa

There are good quality epoxy/eps longboards out there that will save on weight and be a little lighter underfoot....I have a Jimmy Lewis HP 9'1" and am pretty pleased with it as far as manuverablity over my last longboard.....I ride as a 2+1 vs. single fin which I used to do so now I can take different lines and feel like I'm more locked in.....

http://jimmylewis.com/shop/surfboards/hp/

What I like about it over the previous two longboards I had are that it is lighter, more narrow, more foiled in the rails, nose and tail, more rocker and shorter (9'3" and a 9'6" vs my current 9'1")......that also translates to being a fairly crappy paddler (glide is less for sure), but it rides great in good waves and because of the weight it accelerates well when going for a wave. It's all relative....crappy paddler for a longboard still beats the heck out of a good paddling shortboard.

Thanks for the responses! I'm not sure of the exact terminology, but I basically destroyed the disc between my C6 and C7. I was in some serious nerve pain due to pressure on the nerves in that area until a cortisone injection which has solved that issue. I'm 178cms and around 88kgs. Agree with not going for a specific noserider - the longboard I have is a log, so I definitely am happy to sacrifice some nose riding for performance, but don't want to lose it altogether. Don't need to knee paddle, my shortboards were always pretty high performance (26 - 28 liters), so I think the extra volume in anything bigger than 8' or so will be fine. Will check out the Jimmy Lewis! Thanks again.

Doesn't have to be a Jimmy Lewis....lots of boards that fall into the HP category....I like epoxy for the weight and durability....lots of those as well....

Have a look through these....
http://bennettsurfboards.com/product-ca ... ce-boards/

Jdse7en wrote:Thanks for the responses! I'm not sure of the exact terminology, but I basically destroyed the disc between my C6 and C7. I was in some serious nerve pain due to pressure on the nerves in that area until a cortisone injection which has solved that issue. I'm 178cms and around 88kgs. Agree with not going for a specific noserider - the longboard I have

Just some thoughts re the C6 C7 disc damage and nerve pressure, cortisone injections is a fairly long duration temporary fix . You may need another, especially if they were talking to you about fusion? Knee paddling can take the pressure off the neck and shoulders due to extension for sighting while paddling lying down.
If your injury was from a whiplash ( flexion/extension injury, then a little care and bodily investigation my be necessary. If your disc injury is from prolonged office work then full neck and posture rehab exercises would be good.
Talk to you doctor re the sorts of exercise that will support surfing and have the doctor consider the effects between lordosis and kyphosis from paddling in the different ways.
Going long is your best option but y you already know that
I think a 9ft all round longboard is a good choice of board beyond that.
New skills and a much bigger playground.

Although I'm not sure if I've ever said this before, what about a SUP?

(Or a 'cripple board'... Has yours turned up yet Jaffa?)

No my surfing wheelchair and Zimmer frame, is still in production! A long anticipation program.