Surfing Waves

Today I went out and it was 4-6 feet with bigger sets at overhead. I've noticed this in my local break where it is usually 80% longboards. When the wave gets above 4 feet, there is less than 10% longboards. Everyone is on a smaller board. I was going to use my 7'4 funboard but glad I didn't because the paddle out was brutal and there was no way I'm going to be able to even get out or paddle for the steeper drops.

I'm thinking maybe I'm not using the right board? There must be a reason people stop bringing out the longboards? The wave was steep but it was still catchable with a longboard. Is it because most surfers prefer a smaller board or once it gets too big, you shouldn't be using a longboard? The board manufacturer for my board says the wave size is up to 6 feet. I felt it was okay when I angle the board on paddle + takeoff. I had plenty of rocker and didn't have any issue, probably only issue was my brain telling me not to go for it. Also it was breaking really cleanly and slow that I didn't have problems nor did I feel my board was slow.

I also had an issue today where I was really tired after my 2nd wave. Honestly I was scared for awhile I was the only longboarder and I sat at least 15 feet further out than the lineup. It was nerve wrecking seeing the giant sets rolling in. My stamina usually last me 1-2 hours of surf but today I was exhausted fast.

Videos was taken after the wind started picking up and the wave started closing out.

Surf for about 1.5 hour before getting out the water.

Is that the crowd on a normal day? I was surfing in crowds like that this weekend, but in Australia the period from Christmas to New Year is the busiest of the year so it’s sort of expected and it’s only that crowded for a few weeks (and only if the waves are small as well)

dtc wrote:Is that the crowd on a normal day? I was surfing in crowds like that this weekend, but in Australia the period from Christmas to New Year is the busiest of the year so it’s sort of expected and it’s only that crowded for a few weeks (and only if the waves are small as well)

I only moved here 4 months ago so I'm not sure. From what I was told by other surfers, it usually isn't this crowded pre pandemic. Lots of unemployed people now and the lockdown means people have nothing to do and nowhere to go.

Anytime when the forecast is 4-5 feet, it is crowded like this. It goes from predominantly longboards to mostly shortboards. People fight over parking spots and I've seen cop called 3 times in the past few months.

Most surfers are still pretty chill in the water though.

Gee Cormac, surf coach speaks eloquently of trying not to compare to others in the line up, and work on your own surfing. Great interview with her on the Surf Mastery podcast.

I love being on a longboard in 4-7 foot conditions, for the glide, the ease of paddle out and the vantage point. But I love it more when I am with friends...because they seem to keep the fear in check, (that adrenaline-cortisol cocktail burns energy and can turn your muscles to spaghetti) help you spot good take off spots, and encourage you to punch through or get up and over when the rogue sets come through. Plus when you get worked, you can come up and make eye contact with a witness!!

Thanks for the videos, they were helpful to understand the conditions. Yesterday there were 12 at our local break and that seemed like a lot...but of course it wasn't. 8 degrees in the sea, 4 degrees in the air. Sunshine. small waves, 2-4 feet. Nice way to spend the afternoon.

delphin wrote:I love being on a longboard in 4-7 foot conditions, for the glide, the ease of paddle out and the vantage point. But I love it more when I am with friends...because they seem to keep the fear in check, (that adrenaline-cortisol cocktail burns energy and can turn your muscles to spaghetti) help you spot good take off spots, and encourage you to punch through or get up and over when the rogue sets come through. Plus when you get worked, you can come up and make eye contact with a witness!!

Nice post! I had a similar experience with friends on a 7 foot day. Longboards definitely work well at my break because the outer sandbars come alive and they are more forgiving than the inside.

I think a lot of people have a misconception that longboards can't be ridden in larger surf. Perhaps when we're talking about serious size that might be true, but they can be ridden in pretty much anything a 'regular' surfer is likely to encounter.

I actually really enjoy the ability to glide in nice and early on a longer board and really get long fantastic rides in those larger conditions. However, I tend to avoid super crowded breaks like your video, and in that scenario might go for a shorter board simply because it can be a lot safer in a hectic crowd, ie. if a cleanup set arrives sometimes you can have people scrambing all over the place, and errant longboards flailing around add to the danger. Similary, I don't like to see SUPs in thick crowds and solid conditions, because inevitably at some point there's going to be 20kg of SUP flying towards people out of control. However, if you are confident that you can control your longboard, then go for it.

To all the late comers,, once upon a time there were no short boards, there were no leashes, no duck diving, there were no rules 1/3 of surfers out on a big day were riding, 1/3 were swimming after their board and the rest were paddling back out.
You could dodge loose boards , you could turtle roll with a death grip and get through most waves,
The bigger the surf the bigger the boards, rhino chasers or Elephant guns, the very big zone was for very capable surfers and often the non capable were told to go in and it was enforced. Often on the shore before they entered the surf.
Kooks that were rescued were often smacked in the head. for their troubles.

Don‘t believe that big boards cannot do big surf, but they need the capable riders, view a couple of the Eddie guys‘ videos


This picture above is of a noted big wave location in Sydney Australia , Fairy Bower , this was an early sixties crowd at medium size witha Surf Boat on the wave, think super SUPS with flailing oars and sweep oars and


But nobody has even ridden an eleven foot wave, 10 or 12 yes, but 11 not spoken about!


BTW this is not an 11ft wave but with the range of a 70 year old and safe for other water users!

Well said Jaffa!

I've always ridden a shortboard, but those conditions on the video looks like they are well suited for longboards as well. Not sure the angle gives that impression, but it looks like it isn't hollow enough to make the drop so radical and catching it closer to the shoulder seems to give you a ride that doesn't close too fast, good conditions for a longboard! And even if it was hollower, I've seen longboarders on barreling waves. It'll be harder for sure, but if you want to ride it on a longboard why not? As Lebowski said, as long as you can control your board so you don't endanger others, just go for it!

If you want to surf big waves with a longboard, do it! And if you want to surf small waves with a shortboard, do it too!



That surfer is from the town I lived before here, never seen someone rip small waves like him.

IanCaio wrote:That surfer is from the town I lived before here, never seen someone rip small waves like him.

I love how much energy this guy has and how hard he worked for those waves.

IanCaio wrote:That surfer is from the town I lived before here, never seen someone rip small waves like him.

He reminds me of the "Ultimate Warrior".

jaffa1949 wrote:To all the late comers,, once upon a time there were no short boards, there were no leashes, no duck diving, there were no rules 1/3 of surfers out on a big day were riding, 1/3 were swimming after their board and the rest were paddling back out.
You could dodge loose boards , you could turtle roll with a death grip and get through most waves,
The bigger the surf the bigger the boards, rhino chasers or Elephant guns, the very big zone was for very capable surfers and often the non capable were told to go in and it was enforced. Often on the shore before they entered the surf.
Kooks that were rescued were often smacked in the head. for their troubles.

Don‘t believe that big boards cannot do big surf, but they need the capable riders, view a couple of the Eddie guys‘ videos

The attachment $matches[2] is no longer available

This picture above is of a noted big wave location in Sydney Australia , Fairy Bower , this was an early sixties crowd at medium size witha Surf Boat on the wave, think super SUPS with flailing oars and sweep oars and


But nobody has even ridden an eleven foot wave, 10 or 12 yes, but 11 not spoken about!

The attachment $matches[2] is no longer available

BTW this is not an 11ft wave but with the range of a 70 year old and safe for other water users!

Very big oops here, this is not Fairy Bower at all,this is the very beach where uncle Jaffa learnt to surf, DeeWhy , this is Dee Why Point in 1962 medium day, I was out there, we often had the clubbier surf their boat through the crowd of surmise as there was a lot of
[acrimony. between the clubbies and the renegade surfies, we couldn’t enter the water from the beach so we jumped off the rocks,

Jump offrock.

no leash meant wipe outs washed boards tomshore they were confiscated and impounded for 10 days or retrieved by paying a fine.
We had to have registration stickers cost 10 shillings, or you were definitely fined.
We used to break into the surf club and steal our boards back. We had an insider who would leave the lock up room unlocked!

Timing was important the waiting pole, a photo from,1962 by BobWeeks

The original Nat Young and Bob Pike waiting to get out

BaNZ wrote:I love how much energy this guy has and how hard he worked for those waves.

I've noticed on better surfers that they surf more actively, pumping hard until the right section comes so they have enough speed to make use of it. Seems to be crucial on surfing small waves. I still don't do very well on those tbh

waikikikichan wrote:He reminds me of the "Ultimate Warrior".

I can see the resemblance
Him being ripped probably helps with the power on the pumping and the carves.

jaffa1949 wrote:no leash meant wipe outs washed boards tomshore they were confiscated and impounded for 10 days or retrieved by paying a fine.
We had to have registration stickers cost 10 shillings, or you were definitely fined.
We used to break into the surf club and steal our boards back. We had an insider who would leave the lock up room unlocked!

That kind of story shows what I think is the true spirit of surfing, the adventure and putting yourselves on those situations where things weren't easy, just shows how much you loved doing it! You weren't doing it for the hype, or surf brands marketing with bikinis and tropical paradises, just genuine love. Thanks for sharing Jaffa!

Those medium days are already big, looks a bit over DO, so cool you were out there!

Happy to, really don‘t want the history to disappear !

jaffa1949 wrote:Very big oops here, this is not Fairy Bower at all,this is the very beach where uncle Jaffa learnt to surf, DeeWhy , this is Dee Why Point in 1962 medium day, I was out there, we often had the clubbier surf their boat through the crowd of surmise as there was a lot of
[acrimony. between the clubbies and the renegade surfies, we couldn’t enter the water from the beach so we jumped off the rocks,
Jump offrock.

no leash meant wipe outs washed boards tomshore they were confiscated and impounded for 10 days or retrieved by paying a fine.
We had to have registration stickers cost 10 shillings, or you were definitely fined.
We used to break into the surf club and steal our boards back. We had an insider who would leave the lock up room unlocked!
Timing was important the waiting pole, a photo from,1962 by BobWeeks

The original Nat Young and Bob Pike waiting to get out

That sounds heavy Jaffa. Thanks for sharing the stories.
Trying to imagine those old lifeguard boats barreling through the surf zone is really gnarly. Riding a modern lifeguard boat through those conditions would be really treacherous.. we had enough injuries trying that in head high surf. I can't imagine trying to pull that off, in the boat they're in. Or sitting in the lineup with something like that flying down the peak

Had everyone switched to Malibu boards by that time? I didnt notice any of the older timber boards from the 50's in the picture but wasn't sure if that was more to do with the heavier surf that day? Just curious how quick that transition was.

The malibu came to Australia in 1956 as part of a demonstration of Californian lifeguards with the Malibu Chip.
Greg Noll and Tommy Zahn were two of them.
The Lifesavers ( as we called them) sneered at these short funny things, Aussie were riding 16ft paddle skis or racing paddle boards and the scoffing soon stopped when at various beaches waves were ridden with great ability to,abruptly turn and ride all over the wave.
The sound of hand saws reshaping plywood and wooden frames began almost immediately.
Balsa suddenly a precious wood, the old Navy liferaft were stolen off boars waiting to be scrapped because underneath their metal casing was a goldmine of balsa planking:

The basic D fin was also discovered on the Balsa chip and quickly adapted. Early ply hollow shapes were made with fins and a whiskey bottle cork in a drainhole, often there was a stainless steel handle at the tail to push the board through an oncoming wave hopefully before it broke.
Eskimo or turtle roll were almost impossible and surfing was the playground of superb watermen !
Bodysurfing had been brought to Australia around 1906 by Tommy Tanna a native from Vanuatu island of Tanna, an board surfing by Duke Kahanamoku just before WWI .

I‘ll do a post soon on a rough history of Aussie surfing , but recommended reading would be a book “ Stoked” by Bob McTavish.

Thanks Jaffa That sounds like a fascinating time in Surfing history. Thats wild about the steel handle. I can't imagine what cleanup sets would be like, with something like that. Looking forward to the Aussie History post when you have a chance.