How long did it take you?

[DLOC]

How long did it take some of you veterans to feel the waves and know which one to paddle into? I'm pretty new to surfing out here on south shore oahu, mostly surf the breaks in Waikiki like queens or canoes. Usually like 1-3 feet this past month but I get so frustrated sometimes because I pick shitty waves. I have no trouble standing up cuz they're slow rollers but sometimes I get up and instantly I'm behind the wave or already sinking. I started paddling a little more into the wave and that helped a bit, but still like 80% of the time I'm not getting a good ride. Any advice would be appreciated. I'm mostly attributing this to my skill level, but it also feels like the wave is just too small or slow maybe. Then again, I'll check my right and see a little grom riding straight to shore on his longboard. Talk about perspective haha. Thanks guys

D

[drowningbitbybit]

It takes a while. A long while sometimes.
I still have days where I regularly pick the wrong wave

Commitment is the thing. Pick the wave nice and early, not right as it approaches you. Start your paddle nice and early to get some momentum (so maybe sit an extra few meters out back so you're in the right place when the wave gets to you) and really commit. Paddle hard, don't spend the whole time looking at the wave coming (it'll get to you anyway), and then when it does, take two more strokes than you think you need and really catch it before you pop up.

Do it that way (and the better you get, the more efficient it becomes) and its amazing what you can catch


P.S. 25kg groms riding little ankle slappers are always a bit dispiriting to compare yourself against!

[dtc]

If you are getting up but then falling behind the wave, you may be getting up too early. When you think you have caught the wave, take one extra big stroke then stand. If they have slow rollers then there is no hurry to stand.

Another 'trick' is to keep your head right down as you are paddling just before you catch the wave. So back arched to start paddling, checking out who is around you etc. Then as you get to the critical part just as the wave arrives, move your head down, then arch back up just before you pop up to set the tail.

So both the above are potential causes of not getting enough speed when paddling.

Another possibility is that you are paddling with enough speed but messing up the pop up. If you are standing up but sinking, then chances are you have too much weight on the tail of the board. This is actually a common 'error'. When you stand up, you want to be leaning slightly forward and heading down the wave (like you are skiing or skateboarding down a hill). But your mind says 'no, the board should be level, not heading downhill' so - without conscious thought - you put weight on the tail to level the board out and bog the board (putting weight on the tail slows the board right down) and the wave goes right past you. Speed is essential for surfing, if you slow down then you will sink. So when you pop up, put more weight on your front foot and actively seek the feeling of heading down hill - lean with the slope, not against it. You then do a bottom turn and away you go.

Finally, if the wave is small or not powerful, you need a pretty big board otherwise you will sink or miss the wave. This is why longboards are good for small waves. So I am assuming the board size is fine for your weight but if you let us know your weight and board size, we can 'pass judgment' on you!

But as DBB says, sometimes you just miss waves. Grommets are so light, they can catch anything at any time and it doesnt matter. Its very frustrating for the rest of us.

[DLOC]

Thanks guys, yea I'm riding an 8'0x23x3 epoxy superfish x2. I have it set up as a quad right now. I'm about 190lbs 6'2". I think you hit it though dtc. I originally started popping up by bringing my front foot up first then finding the tail with my rear foot. I ride goofy btw if that matters. I had a friend tell me to pop up the opposite way, by putting my rear foot back on the trac pad first and then front foot. I think I'm just putting to much weight on the tail and its sinking. I will try to keep more weight on the front and see how it goes. Got a little swell coming tomorrow and Wednesday so ill hit you guys bac and let you know how it goes. Thanks guys stay stoked

[pmcaero]

Another 'trick' is to keep your head right down as you are paddling just before you catch the wave. So back arched to start paddling, checking out who is around you etc. Then as you get to the critical part just as the wave arrives, move your head down, then arch back up just before you pop up to set the tail.

Yes! Started doing that fairly recently, and it definitely gives you more control, so that you can slide down the face without pearling.

[DLOC]

Haven't had a chance to try out the tips and tricks yet....I might be being overly cautious but almost 300,000 gallons of molasses (yup you read that right) spilled near me on the island and it killed just about every fish and crab etc for quite a ways. They cautioned that predators may come in and clean up so havent been surfing since it happened. Anyone else live on south shore and heard about this? Am I being a dumb dumb by not surfing?

[gd6]

I read about that molasses spill in the news...sounded like a huge mess. I would be worried about predators with all those dead fish, but I'm kinda paranoid about that to begin with.

The having your head down part makes a big difference. You can easily miss a wave just by shifting your weight too far back on the board. You can't really see what is going on well with your head down, so you gotta feel yourself start catching the wave before popping up. I'm still a beginner but an instructor gave me some free advice last time I was out for catching waves and it helped. Basically he moved me farther forward on my 8' board, reminded me to have my head down, and also wanted me to keep my feet close together, and those things did seem to help and I do feel I am getting much better at catching waves.

[pandarturo]

No you're right don't go out lol

[dtc]

Wow, that molasses stuff can be deadly (as Bostonians will tell you!).

When you are paddling for the wave its natural - particularly if you have been perling - to go back a bit on the board and keep the nose up. The problem is that this slows your board down and you miss the wave, or makes you go too slow and perl anyway (perling is usually cured by going faster).

So you should paddle at all times - going out, coming in etc - with the nose just above the level of the water (although going out sometimes against windy bumpy water you can sacrifice efficiency for comfort and raise the nose a bit). By 'just above' I'm talking an inch or so, basically the board should be flat. This probably means you need to move forward on your board! If your board has a lot of nose rocker (curve) then you cant do this because of the curve of the board, but for a normal longboard or mini mal, about an inch or so.

After you surf on your board for a while you will get a feel as to how the board reacts when you arch your back and change your weighting and how to do it and when and how much - its really useful to stay with one board for quite a while just to get this feeling of knowing how your board will react. Of course, on a longboard the effect of your change of weight on the board is far less than on a shortboard, but it still can be done - and needs to be done.

You shouldnt look back at the wave during the last 2-3 or so seconds before catching the wave. Pick the wave, start paddling slowly, check where it is if you need to well before you expect it to be picking you up, and then - if the wave is in the right place - look forward and paddle with head down. As you feel the wave catch you and you arch your back just before popping up then look in the direction you are going to go (which probably will be to the left or the right rather than straight at the beach).

Catching a wave is by 'feel', not vision. You will know when the wave has caught you, you need to be looking where you are going not at what is behind you. (and, of course, lifting your head to look behind will (a) put weight on your tail so slow you down and (b) is a very hard position to paddle from)

If you are having trouble 'feeling' the wave or arent used to waves, I highly recommend body boarding (much easier to catch waves body boarding than surfing), just for a few sessions. Catch a bunch of unbroken waves and you will appreciate what you need to feel. You can also try body surfing if you dont have a body board, but this can be a bit dangerous (head first into the sand) if you dont know what you are doing, so read up on safety tips here (essentially - keep your body straight and keep one arm out in front of you). Interestingly, body surfing also requires you to head 'down the wave' rather than keep your body parallel - your body is basically the surfboard.