Surfing Waves

Alright I know this has probably been addressed somewhere but I didn't feel like it was the same vibe. It doesn't matter how steep or really even how bug the wave is, Im transitioning down to a shortboard but it seems as if Everytime I paddle into a wave I feel like I have NO time to stand up. I feel like the wave is already beginning to break and I'll just get tossed. But then I go out with a little bigger board and I can catch them no problem. I don't get it. I figured it's probably cause I can catch the wave earlier with the bigger board but how do I start catching waves earlier on the smaller one? I'm 6'3 175 riding a 6'2 HELP

It is as you are feeling it. The shorter the board the steeper and more dynamic part of the wave is needed for take off speed and power.
This is why we advise beginners to go longer to start.
Like you've found earlier catching less critical an mor time to organise those things you need to do.
Later and more skilled a lot of things you need to put together are fast and unconsciously competent

One of the advantages of a bigger board is the ability to catch waves earlier. With a shorter board you have to catch them later. The only way to improve this is to improve paddle fitness and positioning and practice popping up quicker. So basically you need to get used to later drops and you need to be more carefully in the right position in the lineup to takeoff. Having a friend who knows how to surf might help or you just have to figure it out yourself

I've been riding my shorter board lately (7'4") and I think the most helpful advice I've gotten on the shortboard takeoff is actually in the following longboarding video.


At the 18:21 mark, Wingnut describes a quasi no-paddle takeoff. I think of that as a shortboard takeoff. On a shortboard, in my experience, I have to let the wave get up close and personal before I take off. I have to do that so I can use the slope of the wave to get the speed I need to get moving down the line. I also think you can learn a lot by watching how the pros take off at Pipeline. I learned a lot watching the side view drone videos of the various heats. You'll see that a lot of the pros don't really paddle all that vigorously. It's all about slotting yourself into the slope of the wave as far as I can tell.

https://www.youtube.com/user/ASPWorldTo ... _polymer=1

Reasons why, you gonna fall off a cliff:
1) you're going too straight. ( and maybe too far back on your shortboard )
2) you're in the same mind set of taking off on a long(er) board. On a shortboard, you NEED to take off AS it breaks. You or any of us can not take off earlier, it comes down to physics.
3) you're looking down. Where you look is where you go.
but the main reason is..............
4) your paddle is not up to par for riding that length of board.

Questions:
1) are you kicking as you paddle ?
2) what size board is okay for you to get on early ? 6'6" ? 7'6" ?
3) why you want to ride a board an inch shorter than you are ?

If at the batting cage, you can easily hit the Softball and Slow pitch but strike out when the setting is on Fast Pitch, then you are just not ready to be at that level setting. You need to improve your Speed and Timing ( same for SURFING, but add to that Positioning, because the "pitch" doesn't come from the same place each time )

As rinky hinted at, catching a wave is about putting yourself at a spot on the wave that allows you to use gravity to go down the face. That is mostly what allows you to catch a wave

On a longer board you have more volume and hull line etc and can get to that spot when the wave is not as steep.

Paddling is to get you to that spot. Paddling needs to overcome the water going up the face. So if you aren’t at the right spot and/or not paddling fast enough - you end up too high and over the back, or you end up in the lip

So you said “I feel like I have NO time to stand up. I feel like the wave is already beginning to break and I'll just get tossed”

Do you go for it anyway to find out?

I learnt on a longboard catching waves out on the shoulder, when I went a little shorter and therefore on steeper sections I felt the same as you , but when I got the mindset to just jump up anyway I often found it was fine and I made the drop... also got loads wrong and had a few wipeouts of course

I never feel like there is no time to stand up however I often feel like the wave is going to break and I might get tossed. How I react to this depends on the wave and it isn't anything I actually think about because there is no time to think. Basically on steep waves I abort usually unless I feel like there is a chance I can make it down the face and this is a real thin line. I am not really sure how I distinguish between being almost able to make it and almost not being able to make it. Undoubtedly there are times when I could have made it that I don't go because there are not very many times where I try and can't make it. Consequently I force myself to go on questionable waves that aren't scary to me. Also sometimes I know the wave has broken below me but it isn't tubing or steep and I have forward motion from paddling and the wave seems to be catching my board then I paddle a bit more and get over the edge of the smooth water/lip then popup and drop down the whitewater and this is no longer a questionable choice as I usually make it. Of course these reflexes comes from experience and a lot of wipeouts.

Good point - I’m not very experienced and don’t go out in conditions I’m not comfortable with or particularly big, probably why I just go for it to learn by mistakes etc...

OMS is right that you need to know how and when to abort on something more serious (not that I would know )

Get your head up, paddle strong and learn to arch up before getting up.....will give you all the time you need. You WANT to be on a cliff, nose sticking out of the face in the air.

RinkyDink wrote: the most helpful advice I've gotten on the shortboard takeoff is actually in the following longboarding video.

At the 18:21 mark, Wingnut describes a quasi no-paddle takeoff. I think of that as a shortboard takeoff. On a shortboard, in my experience, I have to let the wave get up close and personal before I take off. I have to do that so I can use the slope of the wave to get the speed I need to get moving down the line.

100%!!! I just figured this out this past week at a surf camp I attended. My instructor was on a long board and wouldn't even need to paddle at all. I watched him get up and it was super fast. I also watched this Wingnut instructional video a couple of weeks ago and found it incredibly helpful! I tried the no paddle takeoff a couple of times and felt the difference for sure - I am definitely not ready to ride anything shorter than an 8 at this point!

kookRachelle wrote:100%!!! I just figured this out this past week at a surf camp I attended. My instructor was on a long board and wouldn't even need to paddle at all. I watched him get up and it was super fast. I also watched this Wingnut instructional video a couple of weeks ago and found it incredibly helpful! I tried the no paddle takeoff a couple of times and felt the difference for sure - I am definitely not ready to ride anything shorter than an 8 at this point!

Cool. I hope it helps you improve your skills. Have fun.

I love that the title of this post is "Feel like I'm gonna fall off a cliff when I'm catching a wav..."

I’ve made a transition to a 6’8” board recently so I sort of get what you are going through. I think wkkkchan has nailed it. I had a tendency to take off too late oh my longboard so my shorter board is working better when the waves have more juice. I can sometimes catch a wave with only a few paddles. But I need to be a tad more forward on the board and arch my back just right so I won’t pearl. Also you want to angle your take off, maybe with more weight on the inside rail, and make sure to look where you want to go... like the face of the wave you are heading to. My issue right now is that my body has a sort of delayed response and there is a lag time between catching a wave and starting to pop up. So faster pop up is what I’m working on right now. I’m not sure if you have the exact problem as me, but transitioning to a board too short all at once can make things more difficult.