Surfing Waves

Before paddling out how much time do you spend looking at conditions? What do you look for?

I usually spend a couple minutes at least ...except for yesterday because I was pressed for time. I generally check out where the waves are breaking that I might like and what other surfers or other obstacles are present with some attention to looking at currents. The bigger it is the more time I spend

At my local break I just paddle out.

At a new break, I look for the best local rippers. Then I look for the worst in the way kook. Then I try to figure out where in between them that I'll fit in.

I look at cross currents, wind, rocks, peaks and how the sand bars shifted since my last sesh.

That said, Chan is right. Watching surfers is more revealing. Where do they sit to go left or right? Has anyone found an alternate peak? Are they taking off at an angle? What's the mix of shortboards, longboards, and SUPs? Is everyone cooperating...or not?

Depends........local breaks that I know well I won't spend any time at all on normal days.....sometimes the swell and currents are up and I'll spend a good 20 min checking first.....usually somewhere around 5 min while I do some quick stretches in the sand.

http://i.imgur.com/1U8kxig.gifv

What happens when you don't pay attention.

I am different from everyone else because I am usually checking out multiple peaks/breaks and quite often conditions that are dangerous and not regular even breaking waves but if it's small and not dangerous then I might spend more time checking out the beach for the best bet to get some waves. Sometimes I walk the whole length of the beach and back before I go out....if there's not much waves then at least I am getting some exercise walking

Forgot to mention that I look at sets...how many waves in each and which one tends to be larger. Knowing this helps save energy because I'll sea anchor as the waves pass through rather than trying to paddle through them. It also helps me get more rides as I'll watch the crowd take the first wave and jump on a later arriving one.

BoMan wrote:

Forgot to mention that I look at sets...how many waves in each and which one tends to be larger. Knowing this helps save energy because I'll sea anchor as the waves pass through rather than trying to paddle through them. It also helps me get more rides as I'll watch the crowd take the first wave and jump on a later arriving one.

So is it a party wave where everyone takes off on the same wave? I look for cleanup sets particularly if I want to surf Horners because it can be brutal in it's force should you get caught inside. There aren't usually any crowds to observe but if there are I look for a peak without a crowd.

Our weekend crowd is nothing like SoCal.

Because I drive a significant distance to surf, I stay all day and break my time into 2 sessions which are very different. For me, getting the spot wired means understanding how it changes throughout the day.

In the morning the tide is usually coming in and the air is still. The waves are fat, crumbly and glassy, and the rocks are buried under a cushion of incoming H2O. When I can get there early enough the reward is an incredibly long ride from the outermost sand bar to the beach. With a longboard it's not hard to keep the outer wave momentum going onto the reform . The a.m. crew has self employed folks, people in the trades and old guys like me. We have flexible schedules and vibe is mellow. When high tide arrives, the waves diminish with too much water in the mix.

My afternoon sesh begins 2 hours after high tide. The receding water causes the waves to pitch requiring steeper take offs. Cross shore winds create a choppy canvas and the rocks come into view. It's a tricky time because there is a greater risk of wiping out and a greater chance of landing on something hard. When falling I have to focus on grabbing my board on the way down. The p.m. crew is young – kids getting out of school and adults getting off work. Everyone still gets along but there are a few paddle battles and accidental drop-ins. As the tide retreats distant sandbars come back alive and you can drag a fin if you slide too far inside.

It all depends on the skill level and patience, beginners should look for the smallest softest wave peaks, intermediate surfers should look for the most common corners on the waves, and advanced surfers should also look for the best corners of the waves. I usually watch 2-4 sets go by then I decide which peak is best and head out there. If your at a point or reef break there’s not much to look at it breaks in one spot it’s just a matter of quality.

LegendaryKook wrote: If your at a point or reef break there’s not much to look at it breaks in one spot it’s just a matter of quality.

Not really true.....waves break differently even on a reef at different tide levels....swell direction can mean the difference between long walls or sections, wind can crumble a reliable peak and moon cycles mean differential changes which can affect tide change velocity and currents. My home break is a reef break and while I use the same lineups to get to the rough area, the best spot is always shifting, day to day and even during a sesh. Never a bad idea to take a minute out to check to see what is going on that day.

LegendaryKook wrote: Intermediate surfers should look for the most common corners on the waves, and advanced surfers should also look for the best corners of the waves.

Interesting. A wave corner is the "about to break" part, right? What's the difference between a common corner and a best corner? How do they help you pick a good ride?

Never heard of that term "corner" on a wave. I just read it is the shoulder on a closeout. So where you should be as a beginner on a closeout wave. Common corner or best corner?

My local break is a half mile out, so watching from the beach doesn’t do much good. I just go straight out.

Pitted wrote:My local break is a half mile out, so watching from the beach doesn’t do much good. I just go straight out.

I used to surf the break off the left side of Rabbit island which was a 0.75 mile paddle out but I checked out the surf pretty much before I committed to the paddle

oldmansurfer wrote:

Pitted wrote:My local break is a half mile out, so watching from the beach doesn’t do much good. I just go straight out.

I used to surf the break off the left side of Rabbit island which was a 0.75 mile paddle out but I checked out the surf pretty much before I committed to the paddle

I hear that’s a sick wave on the right swell. I surf threes almost every day. Always better than it looks from the beach.

Yeah it's probably not worth the effort to check out threes prior to paddling out. I used to surf threes but more often fours. Usually I walked from UH Manoa so I just went out but if threes was crowded I went to fours. Yeah I was in good shape back then and could do the walk in 20 to 30 minutes with surfboard under arm. It was actually faster to walk then to take the beach bus which they used to have back then that allowed surfboards on it. But some times I would go look elsewhere for surf if that area didn't look good.

BoMan wrote:When falling I have to focus on grabbing my board on the way down.

Why do you grab your board in a wipeout? My default is to get as far away from my board, particularly its fins, as possible when I go down. In fact, I will often shove my board away from me when it's apparent that things are not going my way (e.g. pearling in prone position on takeoff because I forgot to scoot back on the board). Is there a reason why you try to grab your board? This isn't a criticism; I'm just wondering if there's a good reason, other than perhaps surfing without a leash, to stay with the surfboard on a wipeout.