First tube experience- share your tale!

[benjl]

So one of my surfing goals of 2015 was to experience a proper tube ride. While I didn't expect that to happen for quite a few months I came surprisingly close yesterday!
I begun wondering what everyone elses first tube experience was? How it came about? How long they'd been surfing etc?

Yesterday our west coast was still getting pounded from the after effects of the cyclone round Aus. While it was about 4-6ft+ out back and as messy as a washing machine, we found an area round this cove where the waves were breaking on shallow rocks and causing these awesome hollow 2-4ft mini re-formed tubes. I guess it was like a mini reef break of sorts while on an out-going tide.

After catching a few close-outs, I was sitting in the prime position when this very solid, steep and thick walled 4ft wave started coming my way. I started paddling and just before it got to me, it must've hitten the rocks or sand bar and peaked up hugely to the point I probably dropped about 1m vertically from the lip of the wave when making the drop.
I slid a little on the landing but managed to stay on the board and look over my right shoulder to see the wave wall well over my head height.
I probably then got about 2 solid little turns in before I started to see the wave wall beginning to curl infront of me. I thought this finally might've been my tube opportunity so I turned up the wave a little and then crouched down and held the board the wave begun to fold over the top of me.
It was an amazing couple of seconds before it fully closed on top of me and took me out. I know it wasn't a proper 'full stand up' tube but I can only imagine how cool that would be in person to do and to then surf out the other side of it!

What was your first experience?

[oldmansurfer]

Prior to surfing I had numerous tube rides body surfing and some spectacular huge tube rides paipo boarding and had just switched to knee boarding and was getting tubed knee boarding. I borrowed my brothers 5'10" wide potato chip shortboard and caught a few waves at the inside break of Horners a reef break near my home. The first wave I caught I stood up actually just crouching completely and got completely covered and came out. When I started surfing regularly it took me a few months before I got tubed.

[oldmansurfer]

I don't actually remember when I got a board and seriously started surfing and got tubed but I do remember it was anticlimactic. I had been in some really awesome tubes paipo boarding and it was a couple years before I came up to that level. I remember the only time I got tubed backside switch stance because that was unexpected. Since I restarted surfing the only time I know I got tubed I have written about before. I could find that and copy and paste it hear if you want.

[oldmansurfer]

Well I can't find my previous post telling about my most recent tube ride which is about 3 or 4 years ago with my 9'6" longboard. It was a stormy day but there were some nice walls and tubes to be had among the usual onshore windy waves. The waves were about 6 foot Hawaiian which is 12 foot faces. There was debris in the water from the nearby river but it was being held in place by the waves and current and looked like some nice waves breaking away from the debris. No one was out but some kite surfers. I went out and caught a nice wave but the drop was really steep and I pushed the inside rail into the face to try to get turning as soon as possible and avoid pearling. It worked really well but I was also stepping way back on the tail which made the nose of the board bounce up and down as I hit some chop at the bottom of the wave. This caused me to go straight back up the wave so I turned off the lip and got hung up there temporarily so I pushed the inside rail into the wave again and made the drop easily without pearling once again. I could see the wave was walling up and it looked like a tube ride was going to happen so I completed my bottom turn by just turning back up to the wall right where it started to get steeper. I didn't try to generate speed or take speed off and just let everything happen as it would without me doing anything special. The lip came down at approximately the back one third of the board but never completely covered me. I could see down the wave the tube was getting narrower and was going to close but right at the end there was a notch in the lip coming over and somehow I ducked right through that gap right as the wave collapsed and I finished the wave untouched by the lip. I paddled back out and decided to catch a wave in because while I could have probably surf some more I was tired and satisfied and out of shape so I didn't want to push it. The kite surfers told me I was crazy to go out that day. Ok I was crazy but it remains the best tube I have had since I restarted surfing.

[waikikikichan]

"I begun wondering what everyone elses first tube experience was?" - I don't remember exactly when it happened

"How it came about?" - the waves starts to throw over and you duck your head down and grab your rail.

"How long they'd been surfing etc?" - In 20 years, i'd say twice. But you have to realize it is more up to the wave than the rider. Even a beginner can get "tubed" if he/she happens to be in the right spot at the right time ( by accident ).

I think you need to know the difference in being Tubed, Barreled or Covered up. Most surfers just get "covered". To get tubed, you have to be in the cylinder, with a eye like the exit of a tunnel. Stand up barrel touching the ceiling with your hand......... not unless your playing video games.

anyone want to guess where this is ?

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[oldmansurfer]

I guess there are differences in what someone says is a tube ride. Watching the pro surfers for some of them it doesn't include coming out of the tube but I had always thought it doesn't count if you don't make it out. You might get tubed but a tube ride means you made it out. Since I restarted surfing I have had a lot of waves that tubed but I did not come out mostly because it was a closeout tube. I don't call those tube rides. I have been on waves where I can feel the shadow of the lip over my head but never saw it to the side of me. I guess theoretically on some of those waves I might have been tubed but I never noticed since I was busy trying to figure out what to do next. Often I just made a steep drop and there is whitewater falling around me but the lip is still just overhead and not coming back down where I notice it anyway. I don't call those tube rides. I have caught a lot of small waves where it tubed and the end of my board got in the tube but my head is above the wave. I have even had a few where the lip threw over my shoulder but my head is still above the wave. I don't call those tube rides. I don't know the distinction between tubed and barreled and covered up. If I think of covered up I think the tube completely covers the surfer and board and that is what I want to experience but haven't since I restarted surfing. So really the wave I described above it the only tube ride I had since I restarted surfing. But Waikikichan I would be interested to hear how you distiguish those terms.

[waikikikichan]

Covered - like some one threw a bucket off water over you. Doesn't last long, but you were under the throwing lip
Tubed - the lip forms a circle ( actually its more upside down tear shaped ) over you and your board
Shaked - like being in a tiny cabin
Barrel - like popping open a shotgun and looking thru the barrel. or driving thru a tunnel. there's a exit

most people considered a tube and barrel the same. But I say Barreled is deeper.

"Pulling In" into a closeout, you get covered but thats not a barrel ride.

[oldmansurfer]

Thanks Waikikichan, I can understand them all. I don't think I have heard covered used like that but it makes sense. So would you differentiate that from a tube where it chandeliers or collapses on you? Oh and I guess Waikiki? Oh yeah and so barreled is what I want to get but shacked would be ok too.

[waikikikichan]

yeah, for us normal surfers, "chandeliers" is just getting sprinkled by the breaking lip over your shoulder. I am not talking chandeliers like on the end of a Backdoor tube like at the Volcom pipeline contest. Those are when the rider is in the tube and the exit door starts to get water drops falling down. That's the difference when they say " he came out dry out of the barrel " or not.

Having the tube collapse, probably happens because of the beach break or the wave curling back in. How many waves you seen at the Pipe contest where they say the rider almost made it out, but the wave PINCHed him ( or collapsed ) at the very end of the his ride . Coming out of the Doggy Door is another thing.

[oldmansurfer]

In my experience some tubes have areas where the tube is not clean and water falls down from the top like a chandelier. Sometimes it is just because another surfer was paddling for a wave in that area but some waves are just wet tubes. At least that's what I call a wet tube ride. Often you can't tell from the outside if it was like that or not. Anyway I am going to guess that you would call my very first surfing tube ride gettting covered. I wasn't sure if I got compeltely tubed because there was water in my eyes and had to ask others and they said I was completely covered but it was wet with chandeliers dropping all over the place (but we didn't call them that back then) and it was quick as that inside break is a very short ride.

[oldmansurfer]

I wish some others would post here as this is a topic that would be interesting to everyone I think. I know Kelly Slater got a tube ride at teahupoo which he said was the best tube ride of his life and he didn't make it out of that one. I guess he said that because of the way it felt. I wonder if most surfers just can't remember it since they have had waves that eclipsed that. Maybe if you don't remember or never got tubed then that would be interesting to everyone too. I know I have had such different experiences from many of you but don't let that stop you.

[benjl]

Thanks OMS- yeah would be good to hear some other tales.

I'm hoping to plan a surfing week or two in either Samoa, tonga or Fiji this year so hoping to get some proper tube experiences there! I'm sure after another 6 months I'll be ready!

[oldmansurfer]

The main thing about tube riding is to position yourself deep enough and make the drop quick enough to get back onto the face before it throws over. The wave does the rest. When I started surfing (as in regular surfing), I was afraid of waves in a way, not the size but getting closed out on by them. I hit the speed imediately from takeoff and kept it going. The only way I could get tubed is to take off deeper. Eventually I learned to slow down to get tubed but being able to take off deeper has real advantages and the tubes are more likely to be the deepest and longest ones you get.