Puerto Rico Advice - First Timer

[123456]

greetings all, new to the forum here and looking for some advice for a possible trip to PR in February, was hoping you all could help with questions

1. spot advice in San Juan or Aguadilla - I'm an intermediate beginner from the EC USA, grew up surfing waist high crap in the midatlantic plus hurricane swells in VA/NC. surfed waves up to 10ft in Costa Rica but never a point/reef break, only beachies. comfortable in head high plus a little more, but DOH would be a stretch for me. any spots I should target? any I should avoid?

2. board advice - main board is similar to the JS 107 but a thumbtail (https://us.jsindustries.com/107-model), wondering what other shape I should get for this trip. thinking round nose fish, but want your advice

3. reef advice - like I said, never surfed a reef so any safety tips are appreciated. what happens if I hit the reef? do I need to immediately disinfect a cut or can I just treat it when the session's done? should I get reef booties or is that too kookish?

4. localism - I realize PR will be crowded when I'm trying to go, so any advice about the vibe in the water is appreciated. I speak a little spanish but boriqua spanish is different than castellano.

Thanks in advance!

[123456]

Hey everyone, wanted to come back and post my thoughts since I ended up doing this trip and scoring. spent most of my time at Maria's and indicators with one session at Sandy Beach

first thing's first - the reef. if you've never surfed reef before (I hadn't), walk very slowly into the water, there's tabletop lava rock that's smooth but sometimes slippery, when that ends the coral begins so dive on the back of a breaker and immediately start paddling. you can easily slice your hand on the coral if it's shallow so just be careful but the good news is locals will know what's going on so you can follow them. getting back in is equally tricky, but again, follow locals, exercise some patience, and don't panic. I beached myself on a reef once but since the waves aren't crazy that far inside, it wasn't a negative. also, if you find yourself on shallow reef because you had to straighten out, just paddle parallel to shore until you get to deeper water and get back out, do not try to go straight back out. made this mistake at indicators and after wearing an 8 foot set on the head on shallow reef, I figured it out.

next, the water. if you're used to east coast like I am, the water just feels different in PR. the waves have backs to them, and while the drops aren't even close to the craziest I've ever experienced (had way crazier ones in OBX), the power is deceiving. what looks gentle can be menacing. I experienced my first actual holddown after a 15 foot set came through and I got caught inside. ended with minor incident (couple dings in the board), but serious stuff. I say this because I brought my normal shortboard (equal to my height, ride it from waist high to overhead hurricane waves), I would've been better off with a step up 4-6" longer than my everyday board.

the locals and the crowd. one day I was out there it was legit packed, more packed than I've seen any beach really, and the gamut of semi pro surfers all the way down to people who probably shouldn't have been out there. get used to waiting for waves, paddling outside the main breaks, and getting hassled. when in doubt, just sit it out, if there's swell in the water the crowds will thin and if you just wait until right after lunch there's hardly anyone out. I did this one day and caught maria's clean at head high-2 ft overhead with maybe 6 other people. collisions can be dangerous particularly with a live and unforgiving reef, so don't get cocky.

finally, the reports. I came thinking maria's would be what surfline advertised - 3-5 feet the whole time. PR surf heights are like hawaiian scale or worse, the size was triple what they said. what they reported as 3-5ft+ was more like 6-8 feet with 15ft+ sets. know your limits, pack a step up, and work on your paddle power, they're not the easiest waves to get into even at size.

but most of all, have fun! there are so many good beaches there with a break for everyone but the beginner (I can't in good conscience recommend a reef to a beginner). highly recommend, and will be going back

[jaffa1949]

Great post on your experiences, well shared!
Cheers Jaffa

[TeeBee89]

"finally, the reports. I came thinking maria's would be what surfline advertised - 3-5 feet the whole time. PR surf heights are like hawaiian scale or worse, the size was triple what they said. what they reported as 3-5ft+ was more like 6-8 feet with 15ft+ sets. know your limits, pack a step up, and work on your paddle power, they're not the easiest waves to get into even at size."

I feel this is accurate for so many other places as well. Thanks for sharing this!!