Surfing Waves

Hi, I'm looking to learn how to standup surf. I just moved to San Francisco. I'm probably like everybody else and want to start at a short board, but the last thing I want to do is make it impossible to actually get to that short board riding level by starting with the wrong sized board.


I've been body boarding for like twenty years, and I lived on three of the Hawaiian islands for ten of those. I've bodyboarded some really challenging waves, and favor a 6-10 foot tubing beach real like ehukai, or a tubing point like honolua. Mostly I like to get tubed, but there aren't always tubing waves so I thought adding a stand up board would make a lot of days I imagine California has that aren't super fun on a bodyboard fun.

What board or boards should I get?

Catlingwyn wrote:I've been body boarding for like twenty years................
What board or boards should I get?

None. Just use the bodyboards you already own and stand up on them.



( Kalani is riding a 45 inch, which might be larger than what you own as most bodyboards are 42 inches. If yours is too small than even the BEATER at 54 inches should do. )

Do you use your arms to paddle into the waves or just your fins? When you body board bigger waves it requires paddling with your arms in which case popping up is what you aren’t doing compared to surfing. Have you tried drop knee riding? Or knee boarding? Those methods of riding body boards require a sort of pop up. In which case you may find a shortboard seems pretty big (I did).