Starting Out

[dtc]

The Wavestorm will be perfectly fine for you - surf it for, say, 150 hours (including your initial learning time) and then think about what you want to do next. 150 hours might not seem like much, but its 6 months if you are surfing 3 times a week.

[Namu]

I use a soft rack that straps to the roof of the car. Block Surf makes racks that lets you transport boards side by side or stacked on top of each other. I use the rack in the link below. I have hauled a 9' longboard on my little hatchback at 70 miles per hour. Place the front strap as far forward as you can, the back strap as far to the rear. Fins forward, position the boards towards the rear, rather than centered on the straps to keep the boards out of the wind. It takes me less than 5 minutes to put the straps and boards on the car.

https://www.amazon.com/s?field-keywords ... surf+racks

Also here is my long ass reply to a skateboarder who wanted to start on a short board, he surfs in the North Sea of Europe which has worse waves than the mid-atlantic of USA, but the East Coast still has long periods of flat spells with crappy surf:

"If you are looking for advice from experienced surfers keep a few things in mind:

You seem confident that once you are up on your feet riding the wave that you will be able to rip and shred, based on your skateboarding experience you may have an edge in this area compared to most beginners. However in order to be up on your feet and riding the wave you need to accomplish several things first.

a.) Know when and where to paddle out to catch a suitable wave that you can catch and ride.
b.) Paddle out to that spot and stay in that spot as the wind and currents move you in the ocean.
c.) Know how to read the incoming waves to determine which waves to paddle for or pass.
d.) Know how to position yourself to put yourself in the best position to catch a particular wave.
e.) Paddle on your belly to catch a wave
f.) Pop-up to your feet without falling off the board, stalling and losing the wave, or nose-diving.
g.) Angling, trimming, or turning the board to ride along the open face of the wave.
h.) Adjusting to the wave as is steepens, flattens out, breaks ahead of or behind you.
i.) Trim, cruise, turn, nose-ride, rip, shred, bust airs, whatever you want to do, express yourself, the fun stuff.

Once you catch a wave and it finishes you have to repeat from step b. for each and every wave you catch or miss. This means most of your time in the water will be spent paddling and reading waves. If you can't paddle or read waves effectively you will not get the opportunity to even reach step f.

Since most of the physical aspect of surfing is comprised of paddling you should work on your paddle fitness, so work on your cardio, swimming freestyle, or practice paddling on your board if there are no waves. The mental aspect of surfing is reading waves, learn to read surf forecasts, understand the tides, winds, and currents. Watch the waves form and break, watch where they break, understand why they break. No two waves are the same, but understanding the wave patterns will help you on steps a thru d.

About your boards, enough has been said about them already... More thought should have been put into the waves you most likely will encounter in your area. It looks like the summers are flat and calm and generally un-surfable most days. In the fall, winter, spring you get bigger waves but with stormy, windy conditions. If you wanted to surf something short you should have gotten a fish or groveler, but those are for more advanced surfers and you don't need those yet. You should get a longboard to go along with your 7'6" fun-board then you would have the opportunity to surf more days each year. The more you surf the better you get, if you go a month or longer without surfing then you will not improve or get worse. By failing to obtain a board best suited to the conditions in your area you are holding back your own progress. If your goal is riding that 5'11" HPSB within a couple of years, then you need to get a longboard to practice and stay fit on weak small days.

You are going surfing on the 17th, here is the forecast from Magic Seaweed for a spot called Surfer's Paradise:

http://magicseaweed.com/Surfers-Paradis ... eport/142/

Use this guide to help interpret the forecast for that day:

http://magicseaweed.com/help/

Looking at the swell size, wave periord, wave direction, tide, and wind direction, what do you expect the conditions for that day to be? Would it be a good day to take out the shortboard or funboard? When would be the best time to go surfing? What would be the best spot in your area based on those conditions?

Watch all of these videos several times over:

http://surfsimply.com/surf-simply-tutorials/

I'm not trying crush your stoke, just giving you some helpful advice that I learned from others on the forum and from my personal experience.

Let us know how it goes after your first session. "

[Shimi]

Hey and what do You think of starting on inflatable 10'0 sup board? I dont live any close to sea and I need something that will fit into my car. I know that for bigger waves its not going to work but what about first time try? I have boght SUPAIR brand board.

[Penumbra]

@Namu

I appreciate all of that information! Great stuff, and I definitely took into account the surf report before giving it a go. The surf was around 5 feet when I went, making it phenomenally easy to catch the waves... just a little more unforgiving getting back out. Later on in the week (I did this over spring break) the waves became smaller and smaller, making it great conditions for learning. I used a 9 foot foam board throughout the process, and I do think I will continue renting such a board. However, I met a guy who is trying to sell his firewire Addvance 7'6 which is supposed to be a relatively beginner board. He's giving me a great price on it, and I do think I will snatch it up. It has like ~60L if I remember correctly, but people say it's a little more unstable than a longboard. Hopefully it will be easy enough to paddle though

I plan on purchasing the board, but renting the foam board the next few times I go out.

I am fairly disappointed that the Summers won't be as good as the Spring here... I was hoping the 4-6 footers were a norm around here. I may have to purchase a foam board as well.

[waikikikichan]

However, I met a guy who is trying to sell his firewire Addvance 7'6 which is supposed to be a relatively beginner board.

"Advance" vs. "Beginner" , you can see there's a contradiction. The addvance is NOT for beginners.

[Penumbra]

However, I met a guy who is trying to sell his firewire Addvance 7'6 which is supposed to be a relatively beginner board.

"Advance" vs. "Beginner" , you can see there's a contradiction. The addvance is NOT for beginners.

Hmm, much like you can't judge a book by the cover/title I don't think you can judge a board by its title. In this case, I don't think the Addvance is in relation to the difficulty of the board. Everything I can find on the board says that it's a fairly beginner friendly board. Much more so than anything else with a similar length. Of course, I will definitely try out the board to determine if it's feasible for me. I'm sure they will be alright with me trying out the board before purchasing it.

And even then, will rent the foam board until I am comfortable with it as my own skin.

[Oldie]

I don't think the Addvance is in relation to the difficulty of the board. Everything I can find on the board says that it's a fairly beginner friendly board.

Yes. But what is "fairly" and what is a "beginner"? Some people call themselves "beginner" after 10 years of regular surfing...Some differentiate between "beginner" and "novice".

The Addvance is designed for good surfers who need more help with paddling (i.e. older, but competent surfers).

If you do get it - look for delaminations and check the tail. The corners/edges of the swallow tail looked pretty beaten on the one I used.

[oldmansurfer]

When I first started relearning to surf I went on line and checked out Firewires board selection site and they were recommending a 7'6" board for a beginner of my size and age. Truth is maybe I could have learned on that board but I am pretty sure the construction of Firewire boards aren't meant for beginners, they are light and relatively fragile boards. I restarted instead on a 9'6" gun that was very thin and narrow. I could duck dive it easily. Then I switched ot a 9'6" longboard which allowed me to catch more waves due to it having more volume it allowed me to take off on waves I couldn't have with the 9'6" board. This was not immediately noticeable and I switched back and forth between the two boards but the gun was made for big waves and the longboard turned better on smaller waves and just as well on big waves. I guess the point is you sometimes need to try a board to see how it works for you on the waves you are surfing and number 2 point just because you can use it doesn't make it a good beginners board.

[waikikikichan]

Hmm, much like you can't judge a book by the cover/title I don't think you can judge a board by its title. In this case, I don't think the Addvance is in relation to the difficulty of the board. Everything I can find on the board says that it's a fairly beginner friendly board.

You are judging by reviews. I am judging by the outline and the Pointy nose. If the board has a pointed(er) nose, then it is NOT good for a beginner. If the board has a pulled in Swallow tail, it is NOT good for a beginner ( and you'll probably damage the tips and pay a lot for repair ) But if you got the funds go for it, it'll be a good board about 2 boards down the line from the 9' sponge.

[Penumbra]

Hmm, much like you can't judge a book by the cover/title I don't think you can judge a board by its title. In this case, I don't think the Addvance is in relation to the difficulty of the board. Everything I can find on the board says that it's a fairly beginner friendly board.

You are judging by reviews. I am judging by the outline and the Pointy nose. If the board has a pointed(er) nose, then it is NOT good for a beginner. If the board has a pulled in Swallow tail, it is NOT good for a beginner ( and you'll probably damage the tips and pay a lot for repair ) But if you got the funds go for it, it'll be a good board about 2 boards down the line from the 9' sponge.

Oh wow, this is some really good information! Will definitely look into what characteristics make for a good beginners board. Seems pretty silly, but I never even thought about that. Other than sheer size of course. It's pretty hard to do any research at all without getting size drilled into you haha.

I will still consider getting it, but definitely not until I try it out. And as you say, for later down the line. If it's too difficult to use now, but seems like a fun board "when" I can utilize it... will make that decision after I try it out I suppose.

[dtc]

I agree with wkk - an addvance shaped board is a great 3rd board, not so great second board. Volume is not everything (indeed, its one of about 10 things). But eventually you will probably want a third board, so trying it out now but with the understanding it might need to go back in the closet for 6-12 months is perfectly fine. Who knows, it might work out straight away

A beginner board really needs three things:

- ability to catch waves as easily as possible (which includes catching them early when less steep)
- stability
- big margin for error in terms of wave positioning and stability positioning (ie if you arent in quite the right place to catch the wave, can you still catch it. If you pop up a bit wrong, will you fall off or still have time to correct).

Probably add in ease of paddling is an advantage

Things like being able to turn on a dime, do airs, even do sharp top turns or cutbacks etc are not really things beginners need. And they definitely dont need boards that require pumping, exact foot placement, late takeoffs

This results in a board that is
- longer
- wider
- thicker
- rounder nose
- mid sized tail (not pin tail, not huge fat tail)
- low nose rocker
- generally softer rails
(and higher volume, which is a consequence of being longer and wider, of course - volume is not, of itself, a signifier of whether the board is suitable for beginners. There are 5ft10 boards that have 45L volume and would be appalling as a beginner board)

in other words - a longboard shape. That is why foam beginner boards are all this shape. That is why everyone recommends this shape. Whether you get a 7ft6 or a 9ft perhaps depends on your level of skill and persistence and weight and fitness and all those other factors; but the general principle of being a longboard shape remains.