Surfing Waves

Substandard conditions occur most of the time but waves may still be surfable.

Do you limit your sessions to when quality waves break or do you often go out to get what you can? Are there "deal breakers" that keep you on the beach? (Too crowded, polluted, small, mushy, sloppy, inconsistent, closed out)

As a longboarder who drives well over an hour to get to my break, once I'm there...I'm all in. I always learn something from riding junk that I can use when good conditions arrive. When it's closed out, I work on floaters. When it's sloppy, I practice crouching. And when it's crowded, I watch what people do right and wrong.

What do you think?

I surf whatever is there because I need the practice and I have fun anyway. However the beach I go to has numerous breaks and usually there is something. It's never too big and if it is absolutely too small I still paddle around and try

I can only surf on saterdays and thats with the boardriders club I don't exactly have a choice but I still give it alot.

Often the surf looks entirely chaotic when I surf but intermittently there are reasonable waves that come through. The trick is to figure out the lineup for those waves and then to recognize them out in the water. (also to handle the poundings) But sometimes there are lots of waves and no one out because it is windy and looks chaotic

Double underhead does nothing, allowing only flat water SUPing or swimming and there has been far too much of it lately. If a swell shows itself here it is a froth fest and absolutely no trade work get done in town they are all in the water. A kind swell may light up a number of beachs but if it hits only one beach NO HOLDS BARRED
Imperfect means there is something there to play with

I surf imperfect surf if it's small, if it's overhead and messy I don't paddle out, I'd rather not snap my board and also my local break is notorious for it's deadly currents when it's messy, over a dosen deaths a year happen here, so I'd rather not drown if I lose my board.

We can only surf during vacations (booked months in adcance) or weekends (>2h drive). As so far all of that is in Europe (French/Spanish Atlantic and German/Belgium/Netherlands North Sea), imperfect conditions galore and we have to take each opportunity as it presents itself.

So unless imperfect means dangerours, we go and try to have fun in even 2ft 6s wind swells (which is a good day at the North Sea )

I have a beater board (54 in soft top) but since I can't put a leash on it it's only practical when the surf is small .

I'm thinking about investing in a bodyboard and flippers, do you think bodyboarding would allow me more enjoyment of crappy surf?

I've been trying to figure out a way to streamline board picking for the conditions, since I have a limited quiver and even more limited skill haha.
So far, and I sometimes break my own rule cause I am stupid, it should be :
Bic Minimal when it's 1-2ft or slightly bigger with slight onshore/no winds.

Shortboard when it's 2-4 feet with some offshore wind, glassy...basically perfect conditions and not too big, otherwise I can't do anything with the shortboard. This holds true especially during winter with the thicker wetsuit.

Beater when it's very small, or up to 2-3ft but really blown out. If it's small I simply throw myself on the beater for extra speed and catch short rides, maybe stand up for a couple seconds.

I am not a strong paddler so everything over 4 ft, or really strong offshores, usually means a wasted session .
But I am thinking maybe a bodyboard with flippers would help me get out in these conditions and catch some more waves, maybe get better at wave reading and more used to such conditions. I think paddling with my feet might help me get out faster, and the smaller volume allow me to get under incoming waves easier. Therefore I would have more energy once finally out in the lineup.

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

pmcaero wrote:I've been trying to figure out a way to streamline board picking for the conditions, since I have a limited quiver and even more limited skill haha.
So far, and I sometimes break my own rule cause I am stupid, it should be :
Bic Minimal when it's 1-2ft or slightly bigger with slight onshore/no winds.

Shortboard when it's 2-4 feet with some offshore wind, glassy...basically perfect conditions and not too big, otherwise I can't do anything with the shortboard. This holds true especially during winter with the thicker wetsuit.

Beater when it's very small, or up to 2-3ft but really blown out. If it's small I simply throw myself on the beater for extra speed and catch short rides, maybe stand up for a couple seconds.

I am not a strong paddler so everything over 4 ft, or really strong offshores, usually means a wasted session .
But I am thinking maybe a bodyboard with flippers would help me get out in these conditions and catch some more waves, maybe get better at wave reading and more used to such conditions. I think paddling with my feet might help me get out faster, and the smaller volume allow me to get under incoming waves easier. Therefore I would have more energy once finally out in the lineup.

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

On bigger days try paddling out and resting 20 minutes in the lineup before trying to paddle for a big wave, go for the biggest one though when you have the power, it's lots of fun

pmcaero wrote:I am not a strong paddler so everything over 4 ft, or really strong offshores, usually means a wasted session .
But I am thinking maybe a bodyboard with flippers would help me get out in these conditions and catch some more waves, maybe get better at wave reading and more used to such conditions. I think paddling with my feet might help me get out faster, and the smaller volume allow me to get under incoming waves easier. Therefore I would have more energy once finally out in the lineup.

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

I tried bodyboarding on a closeout day a while back. The calves of my wetsuit kept filling up with water which made it a chore. I had the calves of the wetsuit over the tops of my booties. I guess I could have tucked the wetsuit calf inside the bootie, but that seemed stupid. Anyway, I don't really want to cut a drain hole in my wetsuit so I haven't really tried it again. I did find that my legs got a serious workout kicking with one gallon weights around my calves. I might try solving the wetsuit waterlogging problem one of these days and try again. As far as bodyboarding goes, if you have the right equipment, it's a ton of fun. As a kid, I spent a lot of time body boarding at the Wedge and getting thrown around. It was a blast. I never had wetsuit problems back then, though. I think bodyboarding is a great alternative to surfing on days when the surf is not cooperating. It keeps your legs fit as well.

Last time out I went with my newbie daughter and son-in-law in ankle to knee high surf. They rented Gnaraloo FATTY soft boards and had a blast. At 9'2,'' 24" wide, 4" thick and 109 ltr, these are LOGS that catch nearly everything with a couple of paddles and are stable as a SUP.

On one wave, my daughter, who is 5' and 100 pounds in the wetsuit, was paddling out when the white water carried her all the way into the beach. (often backwards and sideways) At the end of the day, they both stood up in the foam zone.

Sometimes imperfect can be perfect!

RinkyDink wrote:The calves of my wetsuit kept filling up with water which made it a chore. I had the calves of the wetsuit over the tops of my booties. I guess I could have tucked the wetsuit calf inside the bootie, but that seemed stupid.

I think you are supposed to tuck your booties in. I always do and , if the straps are tight enough, not much water gets in.
Could be different when paddling with your legs wearing fins. But they say to use different types of booties to go inside fins, not surf booties which are too rigid. I was thinking of getting some water socks off eBay , if I end up bodyboarding in colder water.

[quote="RinkyDink"]

I tried bodyboarding on a closeout day a while back. The calves of my wetsuit kept filling up with water which made it a chore. I had the calves of the wetsuit over the tops of my booties. I guess I could have tucked the wetsuit calf inside the bootie, but that seemed stupid. Anyway, I don't really want to cut a drain hole in my wetsuit so I haven't really tried it again. /quote]
I'm not sure what is going on here???????? Something is wrong.
Must be thick winter wetsuits or something but is most likely the fit was poor.
Boots go under wetsuit as they are the more likely to fill up but wetsuit should tight around the whole body and form a seal with the booties.
I can bodysurf in my wetsuit, and body boarded at pretty substantial reef waves while suited up no filling up.
Boot foot fill fails have happened though

jaffa1949 wrote:I'm not sure what is going on here???????? Something is wrong.
Must be thick winter wetsuits or something but is most likely the fit was poor.
Boots go under wetsuit as they are the more likely to fill up but wetsuit should tight around the whole body and form a seal with the booties.
I can bodysurf in my wetsuit, and body boarded at pretty substantial reef waves while suited up no filling up.
Boot foot fill fails have happened though

There's definitely something wrong, but I'm not sure how the water is getting in there. I have a custom fit wetsuit that works great when I'm surfing. It must be something about the boots. I always wear them under under the wetsuit. It's obviously got something to do with kicking the fins (Makapuus), but I can't figure out what is causing it. It's already bad enough body boarding as a middle aged geezer, but coming in with two gallons of water sloshing around the bottom of your wetsuit is way too kookalicious.
[Edit: Just figured it out. I used to have a hole in my wetsuit that I had to get repaired. That was where the water was coming in. Mystery solved.]

If the whole wave is closing out there is usually the end of the wave where you can take off and do a turn or two and most times there are sections that can be ridden for a short period before it gets past you.

RinkyDink wrote:[Edit: Just figured it out. I used to have a hole in my wetsuit that I had to get repaired. That was where the water was coming in. Mystery solved.]

I had a wetsuit that filled up like 1970s bell bottom and sloshing calve were to go , but open the cuff at the bottom of your leg and whooshka sandy foot wash.

BTW Trivia fact....... In the British Navy uniform bell bottoms were a life preserving garment , designed to be tied and inflated as a floaty!

pmcaero wrote:I've been trying to figure out a way to streamline board picking for the conditions, since I have a limited quiver and even more limited skill haha.
So far, and I sometimes break my own rule cause I am stupid, it should be :
Bic Minimal when it's 1-2ft or slightly bigger with slight onshore/no winds.

Shortboard when it's 2-4 feet with some offshore wind, glassy...basically perfect conditions and not too big, otherwise I can't do anything with the shortboard. This holds true especially during winter with the thicker wetsuit.

Beater when it's very small, or up to 2-3ft but really blown out. If it's small I simply throw myself on the beater for extra speed and catch short rides, maybe stand up for a couple seconds.

I am not a strong paddler so everything over 4 ft, or really strong offshores, usually means a wasted session .
But I am thinking maybe a bodyboard with flippers would help me get out in these conditions and catch some more waves, maybe get better at wave reading and more used to such conditions. I think paddling with my feet might help me get out faster, and the smaller volume allow me to get under incoming waves easier. Therefore I would have more energy once finally out in the lineup.

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

That's pretty similar to what I do. If it's too small or messy I'd grab my longboard. Now that I have a mini mini longboard (scored an used walden cd in pretty good cond. recently ) I've been trying that out when it's 2-4ft. But once it's bigger than that back onto the longboard. With my not so stellar paddling power I really need all the help I can get from the board. But gloves make my arms tire out sooner so depending on the current I'd just give up and stay in the whitewater zone.

Overall, even though I live near the coast I only have time to surf on Sundays for the most part so I can't afford to be picky about the condition. I usually try to make the best of whatever the ocean gives that day. Bad day surfing is still a lot better than good day our of the water

saltydog wrote:
That's pretty similar to what I do. If it's too small or messy I'd grab my longboard. Now that I have a mini mini longboard (scored an used walden cd in pretty good cond. recently ) I've been trying that out when it's 2-4ft. But once it's bigger than that back onto the longboard.

A longboard would help me, but I want to wait till I have a house with a garage for that, no point in getting one and dinging it getting into the apartment.

I have become fascinated by drop-knee bodyboarding, which is probably way harder than it looks, but I want to try it anyway.

I would work on my paddling and fitness. Once you get there a long board isn't going to help as long as you can read the waves relatively well. Plain old body boarding is a lot of fun and maybe can teach you some stuff about waves that can be transferred to surfing. Drop knee isn't so hard once you get plain old body boarding down. Much easier to get tubed body boarding compared to surfing. you can already popup on a surfboard the drop knee popup isn't so hard unless you are too stiff and inflexible.