Surfing Waves

Hey so I was curious about this. I am not sure what I should have as my first board. I want a shortboard and have surfed before when I Was younger but has been a hella long time. So I was curious as to what kind of board I should get.

ALSO! I live in FLorida Near Anna Maria Island and the waves here aren't huge they are rather small but I have seen people riding waves.

Thanks!

How old are you and how much do you weigh? Will make a difference.

Big H wrote:How old are you and how much do you weigh? Will make a difference.

Yeah bro, So I am 15 turning 16 hella soon. I weigh about 157

NathanSmith wrote: the waves here aren't huge they are rather small but I have seen people riding waves.

And WHAT SIZE boards were the ones being ridden ? Long, Short, Fun, Fish boards ? Probably need to get bigger than what the "regulars" are riding until you get your paddling and wave knowledge up to par.

Right! I feel almost as if it's where you are in florida though cause there are some good spots where the waves are bigger than usual and that's where we would be going. While you are out there, we see a good amount of shortboards and fun boards.

You are on the gulf coast of Florida, check the surf report:

https://www.swellinfo.com/surf-forecast ... rg-florida

Ankle high waves to choppy waist high waves at best this week.

I would recommend a 9' all-rounder longboard with a 2+1 fin setup. If you don't want to commit a lot of cash to a board type you are not fond of, buy a used wavestorm for under $100 and sell it for the same price when you are ready to move on. I imagine that as a teenager you desire to surf more like Gabe Medina rather than Joel Tudor and you will want to get a short fat grovellor, don't do it.

Anything smaller than a longboard you will struggle to catch waves unless there is a tropical storm nearby. Getting a shortboard or funboard means you might only only have surfable waves once or twice a month depending on the season, vs double or triple surfable days on a longboard. Its hard to learn to surf if you are bobbing in the water not catching waves.

You weigh 150lbs now but at your age you can gain more than 10lbs per year. Go too small now and you might get too heavy to surf it.

Florida.
Longboards.
Not much to say other than that, unless you're an atheletic surfer that can generate his own speed and catch tiny waves on a shortboard, stick to a longboard, especially in surf that small.