Surfing Waves

So I was surfing without a 5/3 mm wetsuit for only the second time last week, (I was away for a week last year and again last week).

Anyhoo, I was having the same two problems again.

1. Chaffing with the board shorts!!!!
Bloody hell!!! What the hells all that about!?! Inside of the top of the legs very close to the personal bits!!! Jeeze, I went through almost a tub of vasaline. While others were stretching their muscles on the beach I was hunched over rubbing vasaline on mine!!

2. The leash wrapping round my foot
This ruined my stance if the leash got tangled around my toes on the front foot. But could also hurt if it got caught round my ankle in a wipeout and the board is yanked away from me. This never normally hurts due to the thick wetsuit or booties that I usually wear.


Does this happen to anyone else, or am I just cementing myself as the forum woose?

Toe and leash has never happened before untill about a month ago.

Wave of the day shoulder high and looking good, could i move my front foot could i f00k, just pointed down and waited for the close out. Never ever happened before in 13yrs, must have weird toes eh.

Go nekked under ur suit... no rub.

Real Pol wrote:1. Chaffing with the board shorts!!!!
Bloody hell!!! What the hells all that about!?! Inside of the top of the legs very close to the personal bits!!! Jeeze, I went through almost a tub of vasaline. While others were stretching their muscles on the beach I was hunched over rubbing vasaline on mine!! :

I thought northerners were supposed to be hard?!?!

I dont like surfing in board shorts either so in New Zealand i just surfed in bikini bottoms - guess the guy equivalent is to wear speedos Beige ones preferably. Or where cycling shorts under you boardies. Cool no, comfortable yes.

Libby wrote: i just surfed in bikini bottoms - guess the guy equivalent is to wear speedos

No, no, noooooo
Girls surfing in bikinis - Good....
Boys surfing in speedos - Bad... Very bad....

I know i meant in terms of shape, fit, practicality! I am in no way advoctin speedos! Especially very tall old men at newgale wandering around in them in the freezing cold!

Libby wrote:I know i meant in terms of shape, fit, practicality!

Um, yes, I think its 'shape, fit' thats a problem there...

especially when they are white or beige

Libby wrote:especially when they are white or beige

The speedos or the man wearing them?

mmmmmm mmmmmmm tastty!

i tend to wear a pair of speedos under my boardshorts if im lucky enough to be able to surf without a wetsuit. not so much coz they chafe but coz im too damn skinny n i cant find boardshorts that dont feel like theyre going to fal down all the time. does prevent it though.

i don't under stand why more people just don;t wear anyhting... its waaaaaaaaaaaaay more comfortable!

Libby wrote: Or wear cycling shorts under you boardies. Cool no, comfortable yes.

You know I actually thought of this! I know a lot of mountain bikers that wear boardies over their cycling shorts. I tried boxer shorts but that didn't work.

I really don't get the opportunity to wear just boardies often enough to complain, I'll just have to remember put the vasaline on before the chaffing starts.

Stonefox we are hard but chaffing makes even the toughest bloke a bubbling boy!

when i was surfing in hawaii it was the first time ever that I'd surfed without a wetsuit.

I found that knee length board shorts got in the way and felt restrictive, but short board shorts were fine. i preferred to surf in a bikini, like libby.

I only wore a rash vest if I surfed midday so that I didn't burn... but there were occassions when i "fell out" of my bikini top quite a few times actually when I think of it and it spoilt my surfing because rather than trying to balance and turn I was holding things on! I don't know how women do it actually. I never see the pros falling out of theirs When I surfed without a rash vest my ribs started to hurt too and whenever I wiped out I got cut by coral.

As much as I hate wearing wetsuits I'm glad of that extra padding and protection!

Cortisone is best for those rashes.. If you have it from a prior day, before going out, put some on, as well.

I'm in board shorts most of the year and the occurrence I think depends mostly on the water quality and how churned up all the sand and salt is.

Haven't had a problem with the leash grabbing my front foot, though. Lease around the ankle of my back foot.. sometimes it'll kink up and grab a toe, but that's pretty rare.

@ thread starter

My leash has wrapped around my leg a few times. Once even around my neck. For some reason I think it has something to do with the habit of wrapping our leash around our boards after surfing. The leash sort of retains that shape and winds itself up when it dries. So the next time you use it, it doesn't remain straight and tends to curl up all the time.

PapaW wrote:Go nekked under ur suit... no rub.

You know he's talking about when he's not wearing a wetsuit?

Birthday suit is essential attire under a wetsuit.

Without, I hear that those those swimming trunks in the style of the those tight boxers (trunks) (erg, confusing... trunks in the style of trunks) are good, they do not give you wedgies but protect you from chaffage. The lad I know who wears 'em swears by 'em, prefers 'em to nothing under his wettie too. Oh, by the way Speedo sell this style of trunks I'm talking about.

Real Pol wrote:
2. The leash wrapping round my foot
This ruined my stance if the leash got tangled around my toes on the front foot. But could also hurt if it got caught round my ankle in a wipeout and the board is yanked away from me. This never normally hurts due to the thick wetsuit or booties that I usually wear.


Does this happen to anyone else, or am I just cementing myself as the forum woose?

I have the same thing happen to me no matter what im wearing! Popped up not so long ago then fell right off as I'd caught my leash betwen my toes causing me to slip off lol.

I'm thinking maybe i'll try a shorter leash! Take up some of that slack.

I always wear cycling shorts under my shorts/wetsuit(yes, I own a wetsuit!). Works a treat!