Surfing Waves

Hey guys,

I have a 7foot board and I have been surfing for about 5 weeks. I can catch and stand up on waves fine but they last only for 5 seconds m,ax. I need to find a good beginner spot. I live in Brisbane so it takes me an hour to drive to Surfers Paradise, which is where I usually surf. Are there any Surfers in Queensland that know of good beginner locations? CHeers guys

Hi again Lachlan, from your post you are at the white water stand up stage!
Virtually any beach where the heavy break is outside will do, especially if the reforms are nice.

Main beach at Noosa even has little, but quality waves, I should tell you that bigger waves are not confined to any beach, nor are small waves, they are the conditions of the day. That is the problem or blessing for every surfer.

This is not an insult ,every beach has its own kiddies corner where learners can learn, learn to look at each beach to gain an understanding of its character, it will help your progress greatly.
Read through all the posts from learners here and then try them yourself.

A couple of question that may help us advise you, age height and weight?

The general opinion is longer boards with a larger volume help the learning in the early stages.
People can successfully learn on other sizes they just have to work harder at it.

Finally there are times when sharks come to any beach, there have only been about 300 attacks in Queensland since the 1890s = about 3 a year, what's the road toll per year in Queensland.

Just go surfing and improving!

Hey Jaffa,

Thanks for the reply! just to give you a better idea, I am 6 foot 2 and I weigh 75 kilos. From what I can gather it seems that the two excellent beginner beaches are at Currumbin Alley and the Spit. Any others you can think of? Thanks again for any comments

Hi and welcome.

I live in Surfers Paradise and I think this spot is good for beginners. I don't really know your surfing skills. If you don't ride white water (broken waves) anymore then you can surf nearly any spot on the Gold Coast. But if you still ride white water then you better stick to Surfers or anywhere closest to your place.

I've been surfing here in Surfers since September 2010. Since October 2011 until now I've been surfing nearly everyday (about 25+ days a month). I can say that this place is NOT bad at all if you know how to spot good waves (probably when you are intermediate or above). You also need to check the surf forecast and the tide time as well. I used to go to D'bah and Snapper Rocks ALOT because I thought Surfers Paradise wasn't good enough. Now I'm enjoying my uncrowded home break. You just need to know where be out there.

People say from Mermaid down to Currumbin are good and uncrowded, unlike Coolangatta but don't expect the same waves quality. I know a few friends who surf Palm beach that say the same. Have no idea about the Spit though.

Hey Jaktequila,

Thank you for your post. To give you a better idea of where my skill level is at, I have been surfing around eight times. I try to get down once every second week but uni work load can be quite intense. I am definitely still in the white water stage but with that said, I can stand up very easily and can ride the wave. What I have found is that the waves right outside Cavill Ave, which is where I surf, are not very conducive to beginner surfing as you have to go too far out to get a white water wave that will last long enough. Apparently, at Currumbin Alley and The Spit the white water waves are much more tame and roll along so that you can catch them for 10 or so seconds. My issue is that I can stand up on waves but my board (which is 7foot with mini mal nose) is too hard for me to get out far in the white wash.

That has to be in front of McDonald's. I can't remember last time I surf there. That's what people think of Surfers Paradise when they see the waves there. Try in front of Northcliffe SLSC. I mostly surf in front of the club and sometime more down the south, almost Broadbeach.

Like I said don't worry too much about spots if you surf white water. As long as there are waves, there are broken waves. Besides, you don't need to surf white water that long. When I started surfing I just grabbed a borrowed shortboard and got out there to the line up trying to catch real waves, although only wiped out. Took me about 3 weeks of everyday surfing to stand on my first wave. I probably surfed white water only twice because I felt embarrassed.

Keep going buddy!

Also, if you're having trouble getting out far enough in the white water for a good ride then it indicates to me that you need to work on your paddling fitness before heading outside to catch unbroken waves. Maybe just find the sheltered corner of wherever you go and pick up the smaller waves to get your skills and fitness up enough to paddle through the bigger waves.

Unfortunately white wash is tricky to get through with a big board, but it's also what makes you learn to duckdive or turtle-roll. Persistence is key!

@ jimi,

It seems to be a bit of a paradox to me in the sense that people have said you need at least 7 foot deep of water to duck dive a 7foot board, yet I can't swim out to 7 feet deep of water without knowing how to duck dive as the waves push me back :/ I went to Currumbin Alley last weekend and the surf was so beginner friendly. I guess I'll just work on it from there. Cheers for the post though

Lachlandudley33 wrote: people have said you need at least 7 foot deep of water to duck dive a 7foot board

Find some new people.

Lachlandudley33 wrote:@ jimi,

I went to Currumbin Alley last weekend and the surf was so beginner friendly. I guess I'll just work on it from there. Cheers for the post though

That is the sole answer to your questions and just doing it more and more It is also entirely possible that people who surf are most likely to be able to advise you more than people who don't.
If you are out duck diving in 7 foot deep water you would be duckdiving under bigger waves than the white water you are working on now.

We used to surf at currumbin in the river mouth when we were kids ( about 30 years ago ) .back then it was a great place for learners with a nice gentle break . The only danger was there was a bit of a rip from the creek mouth on the outgoing tide . I can't remember is currumbin alley the creek mouth or around the beach farther .
Last time I surfed at the Spit was about 10 years ago I would say it definitely was not beginner friendly . Crowded , pretty strong beach break on an open beach . I wouldn't let my kids surf there if it's still the same . Admittedly surf breaks do change a he'll of a lot over 10 - 30 years .

Hey Tassie,

Yeh Currumbin is alley is the creek mouth part. Apparently it has a really dangerous rip at times but I think I'll surf there from now on simply because the waves are so nice and easy. Still haven't checked out the spit my self yet. Might just stick with Currumbin. From now I guess its just practice and more practice!

Lachlandudley33 wrote:It seems to be a bit of a paradox to me in the sense that people have said you need at least 7 foot deep of water to duck dive a 7foot board

Unfortunately that's just plain out wrong. I don't think I've ever duckdived more than about 1ft beneath the surface depth. It's all about timing so you get under the majority of the wave.

In whitewater you just aim to get as deep and flat as possible (at best a foot or so) and minimise how far you get dragged back.

If the wave is pitching, then paddle like your life depends on it to gather enough momentum to hopefully spear the board beneath the wave as it jacks up. You then dive (remember it's a duckdive) and pull yourself beneath and behind the wave.

The board never needs to go vertically down, so you never need much more water than your arms are long.

Hope that clears it up.

Cheers for the reply,

I'll definitely give that a shot! Do you think I need to sink one edge of the board first like people do witha long board. My board is 7 ft but it is relatively light

The nose, the nose

Lachlandudley33 wrote:Do you think I need to sink one edge of the board first like people do witha long board. My board is 7 ft but it is relatively light

I'm not a longboarder, but you might find it helps to push one side down first a little before the other side. I know my fish benefits from this in a duckdive.

Also, if you're on a 7ft board it will be very tricky to get the board sufficiently deep for a good duckdive. It's possible, and big guys can do duckdives well on some boards 7ft+, but difficult.

You have 2 basic options for getting out back: Turtle-roll or attempted duckdive.
In bigger waves always turtle roll and keep a good hold on your board if there are others in the water. It will stop you getting washed back out of control in the whitewash/lip as much.

in smaller waves you can still turtle roll but there are other options.

If you're approaching a wave as it's about to break, have a good go at a duckdive, but make sure you get the nose under the face, or it won't work.

If you're getting through whitewash, you can do a pushup on your board and the wave will go above the board, but under your body (if all goes to plan )

Let us know how you get on.

You should turtle roll, OP. I wouldn't duck dive a 7ft mini-mal.

Hey all,

Thanks a bundle for all of your replies. I will give the turtle roll technique a go and let you know hwo it turns out