Difficulty picking surf conditions for beginner

[Lachlandudley33]

Hello all,

I have been surfing for a total of fifteen or so sessions. At this point I have my own board and wetsuit, I feel confident going out into the deep water and my pop up is pretty good. Unfortunately, I live about one hour away from the beach so I don't get to go down often, so when I do go down I have to check the weather and conditions of the water and hope that it will be conducive to a beginner learner. I am definitely past the white water stage. I can catch an unbroken wave but I need them to be quite calm and non-dumping. My question is, what conditions on paper will allow for good beginner (but not white wash) waves. I know that offshore winds help to prevent the waves from breaking in a dumping like fashion and when swellnet says the waves are 1-1.5 feet that is ussually a good size for me. Yet some days the waves are very dumpy and not suited at all for a beginner and other days they are fine even though the weather conditions are basically identical. Any who, what type of waves create the easiest unbroken waves to catch? Thanks for the help in advance

[jaffa1949]

This is the beginning for you of the fine art of knowing your local break and the length of the beach.
1. Observe and record. what are the conditions of the good days , where does the wind come from how strong, what is the swell size, from what direction? What were condition like where you live on the same day?
Observe the bad days.Note exactly as above!
2 Overlay on your computer and /or in your minds eye and weather forecasts and swell predictions and surfcam views if any and then compile a sort of diagnosis of ideal things that combine and you have it.
learn the days that are acceptable what their signs are and what are the worst days.
Learn to know before you go.
So when the swallow flies south on a west wind at midday go go go.

I use Willy wagtails where I live

[Lachlandudley33]

I guess it's a process of getting to know how certain conditions affect the beach I surf at. Cheers for your help Jaffa. You answer a lot of peoples questions, mine included, so thank you. Much appreciated

[garbarrage]

As Jaffa said... there's more to it than swell size and wind direction. The period is as important, if not more important. Generally 9-10 sec is where it starts to get good. Swell direction... swell needs to be able to reach your beach. Tide... some breaks are better on high, some on low, usually as the tide is rising or "pushing" the waves will be a little stronger.

Also, at your stage, as big a pain as it is... something is better than nothing. Any time in the water is better than nothing, so even if conditions are not ideal, as long as you are confident you can handle them, you should get in anyway. Paddle fitness is everything. Do this and you will be able to cope with the good days a lot better.

I can't recommend this book enough:

https://surfing-waves.com/Item/AZsur ... urfing.htm

[Lachlandudley33]

Hey Garbage,,

You have also replied to a few of my posts so a big thanks to you for your help also I'll check the book out. I'm just thinking that compiling a workable data sheet of wave conditions that will suit my level will take me quite some time considering that I only get to go about 1-2 a month (more in summer). How did you guys go about it when you were first learning? It may be that this is the only way but I thought I'd ask. I have tried asking a few people at surf shops but have really only got the reply of " well, **** place is good for beginners or ***** place works well too". But I'm more interested in learning to read surf forecasts and being able to determine whether it will be ok fo rme or not

[RonG]

But I'm more interested in learning to read surf forecasts and being able to determine whether it will be ok fo rme or not

I'll allow the truly experienced guys to comment but here's my take. Some of it you seem to already have a handle on, hopefully some of it will be helpful:

- As a total beginner, you want a reasonably mellow beach break, waves breaking over sand. Not a place where the waves tend to jack up fast or get hollow. Not waves breaking over a reef or rocks if possible.

- When you look at the surf forecast/report for an area, you ideally want the wind to be more or less offshore (blowing off of the land, not the water). That means a wind direction opposite the way your break faces the sea. For instance my local break is a SE facer, which makes a NW wind ideal for it. It makes for clean, more predictable surf and longer face time.

- You don't want it too big. Under 4' is probably best if you're just starting. It will make it easier to get outside and the wipeouts will be less painful. But don't automatically be put off if it's a little bigger than what you normally like. As I'm sure you've already found out, a dumping 1.5 footer can be a much trickier wave to catch and surf than a clean, mellow 3 footer.

- If you're looking at reports, note the nearest buoy reading, and then compare to what it's actually doing when you get to the beach for future reference. Swell reading at the buoy can produce very different wave heights and shapes at different breaks along the shore.

- Maximize your chances for good surf by timing your trip to the beach with the ideal tide conditions. Some of the online surf report sites describe the ideal tide for a particular break (e.g mid-tide, incoming), or you can just ask the locals, or make your own observations. It sucks to get to the beach when there's decent swell, only to find it pounding on the shore because you got there at high tide and that location only works after low tide. Some places are very tide-dependent, others less so.

- Don't put all your faith in the surf report. Sometimes they "generalize" for a particular area, even though a particular break in that area may be behaving quite differently. Learn to balance the surf report against what you know about your favorite break. Sometimes your spot will be producing decent, surfable waves while everything around it is crap (and sometimes the reverse...)

[Lachlandudley33]

Thank you heaps for the lengthy and informative reply. Some really solid advice in that post! I'm only now starting to realise just how complex the sport or lifestyle of surfing is.

[RonG]

Thank you heaps for the lengthy and informative reply. Some really solid advice in that post! I'm only now starting to realise just how complex the sport or lifestyle of surfing is.

I myself haven't been surfing for very long, but have the good fortune to live 3 blocks away from a reasonably good beach break, so I've been able to log a lot of water hours in in a relatively short period of time. I've also been able to observe on a daily basis how much conditions can change, and how often they don't coincide with what the weather or surf report says

Don't be overwhelmed - you learn something every time you step into the water (whether you realize it or not). You don't have to absorb everything at once to have a great time. Take pleasure in each little milestone - that steep drop you've never made before, a good consistent bottom turn, getting comfortable going backside (I'm still working on this one). Even the guys I know who've been surfing all their lives still say they learn something new on a regular basis.

[dtc]

This might be too obvious to even mention, but don’t get too focused on just one break. Its easy to get comfortable on the break you surf the most, because you know it and know how to handle it, and its easy to go to that break and ignore everywhere else. Particularly as a beginner.

But if your favourite break isn’t working, just go explore. The north end of the beach will be different to the middle and to the southern end; the bay 2 minutes up the road may face a different direction or be better at high or low tide or be more sheltered or less sheltered. Paddling out into an unknown break can be a bit stressful, so spend some time on the beach checking things out; but at the end of the day it’s the same ocean. And after you have surfed that new break once, its now something you know and next time its much easier (although still spend time looking before you get in).

[dtc]

I just thought of another method that may be feasible. See if the area you surf has a 'surf cam' or a beach cam, or if there is one sort of close by. Then you can sit at home with the cam on and the weather/swell report open, and see how they compare. Obviously, unless the cam is on your exact spot, there will be a bit of guess work and it won't be exact. However, you could (for example) look at the nearest surf cam on your phone as you sit in front of 'your' break and see what the difference is, and then factor this in. As mentioned, things like wind, swell direction and tide can make two close breaks act very differently; but at least you will be able to get a rough idea. Over time you may be able to see how close the correlation is.

Finally, re-reading your original post - the difference between dumpy waves and good waves at the same beach during similar weather conditions is almost always due to tide.

For example, if you are surfing on a sand bar that is in semi deep water, at low tide the waves probably dump and break right on top of the sand bar; at high tide the swell may wash straight over the bar and crash on the beach. So mid-tide would be best. However, if the sand bar is in deeper water, the waves probably only break at low tide. So it is a matter of learning all of these things.

Have a google around about 'how waves form' eg www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVQwRCvI1HU

[Lachlandudley33]

@ DTC, thanks a bundle for the infromation. I will definitely give that a try. I'm stll having trouble finding ifnormation online about Surfers Paradise breach so I will have to just ask the locals when I'm down there and keep a record of the days when I do go.

[jaffa1949]

Lachlandudley, have a look at coastal watch they have an HD camera on Surfers Paradise and all other nearby beaches! The Coastal watch site is a subscribers site so you will need to pay to join.
Quite often cameras are also findable off sites.

There is also Swellnet but it doesn't have a specific camera on Surfers.

You need to see which sites are reliable, often they use the same data sets or they follow the lead of the others. Much is based on the outer banks, reefs and bomboras which can refract swell into different areas.
Stick to basics at this stage and develop your own set of understandings.

Phone a friend is not an option

[garbarrage]

Getting skanked is an unfortunate part of surfing, and an unavoidable one. You have to be in it to win it. The guys who grew up on my local break do tend to score more than most other people, but not nearly as often as they'd have you believe, and nobody knows this area better than they do. Exploring is sometimes the only way, the likelihood of failure is high, but the reward is often that you catch a break working that nobody else thought to check. That has the double bonus of, a wave to yourself (excellent if you are learning, because you can pick and choose without competing for waves), and the rights to gloat later about how "you should have seen ****** at the low tide!!! Was epic".

[jaffa1949]

Just to show ya!
Same 2-3 meter SE swell 12sec period SW winds different effects on different ends of the beach.
Please view this Lachlandudley33 and see what you learn from this, which end is which why is one end a better shape than the other
All other posters let LD33 pass his exam!

Pam's Peak

Meri's mess

[garbarrage]

Oooh.. ooh... I know, teacher, pick me.. pick me. *nearly dislocating arm, waving intensely*

[jaffa1949]

Oooh.. ooh... I know, teacher, pick me.. pick me. *nearly dislocating arm, waving intensely*

Don't dislocate your arm, pm me with your answer.

Double or nothing name the breaks

[Lachlandudley33]

I am going to assume that the top one is better because it is breaking smoothly in the same direction. Unfortuatnely, I cannot look at the pictures while I write this reply. The top photo the wave appears to be glassy possibly because the wind is offshore?

[jaffa1949]

I am going to assume that the top one is better because it is breaking smoothly in the same direction. Unfortuatnely, I cannot look at the pictures while I write this reply. The top photo the wave appears to be glassy possibly because the wind is offshore?

Good answer so far!
The beach is on the NSW east coast, so which is the north end and which is the south?
Refer back to the pictures and relate to your correct answer about the offshore wind.

This is how you figure out which of your local beaches is going to meet your needs.