Surfing Waves

Now it's my turn.

I'm 67, 5'7" and 135 pounds. My 90 liter longboard has extra nose rocker and a thruster with 6 inch fins. My popup is great for the first hour of a session and then gradually becomes a "slop up." So far the biggest wave I've ridden is about 6 feet. At that size I notice that despite my efforts to weight the tail my fins start to lose their grip with the water and I skip around a bit. I love to glide and don't do maneuvers except for the occasional foam climb.

I planning trips to Black Point in Sonoma County for waves like this....




What do you advise?

What do you mean by skip around a bit? Can you explain what happens better? And are you talking 6 foot faces? I have a wide tailed flat very low rockered board that gets squirrely on steep waves with 12 foot faces. It drops very fast due to the wide tail and floats across the water seeming like it would take miniscule effort to turn it in other words it wants to take off in any direction rapidly but I just keep going till it sinks back down into the water then I lean and turn it.

BoMan wrote: My 90 liter longboard has extra nose rocker and a thruster with 6 inch fins.

Just to clarify:
1) All three fins on your thruster set-up are 6 inches tall ?
2) Just the center fin on your 2+1 set-up is 6 inches ?

That size is a serious step up, but if these bigger waves are fat as in that photo, it is very doable.
If ur current finset slides out with 6ft faces I would bring something bigger. Maybe go 2+1 with an 7 or 8" center fin and small sidebites
And paddle as hard as possible for the wave, those bigger waves move a bit faster, that makes it harder to get in early. Getting in early is what u want, so u can *choose* how steep, how far up the face, u wanna ride these beasts

Since you haven't mentioned what your surfboard options are, I don't think you're asking about equipment advice for bigger waves. It you're looking for tips on surfing larger waves at a break you're somewhat unfamiliar with, then I'd recommend that you start by surfing smaller waves at that break. Get to know the spot a bit on its less intense days. Go out on its bigger days once you already know the place. I'd also consider the kind of 7-11 foot waves you're thinking about taking off on. Do you want an 11 foot pitching slab or an 11 foot roller with some heavy froth on top? I'd recommend going out on a day with bigger waves that roll through about every 12 minutes (ah, I love those days when the waves seem perfectly spaced without much chaos). Anyway, there's no substitute for just spending time watching a surf spot before taking the plunge. The more you watch the spot the less daunting it becomes, except for those spots that just have bad voodoo (don't surf those spots).

oldmansurfer wrote:What do you mean by skip around a bit? Can you explain what happens better? And are you talking 6 foot faces? I have a wide tailed flat very low rockered board that gets squirrely on steep waves with 12 foot faces. It drops very fast due to the wide tail and floats across the water seeming like it would take miniscule effort to turn it in other words it wants to take off in any direction rapidly but I just keep going till it sinks back down into the water then I lean and turn it.

Sure. This happens on head high waves when I'm riding much faster than usual, and it feels very similar to the squirrely situation you describe. As I drop down a wave the board occasionally side slips forcing me to turn into the flats or wipeout. In my excitement I'm probably not putting enough pressure on the fins!

What do you think?

waikikikichan wrote:

BoMan wrote: My 90 liter longboard has extra nose rocker and a thruster with 6 inch fins.

Just to clarify:
1) All three fins on your thruster set-up are 6 inches tall ?
2) Just the center fin on your 2+1 set-up is 6 inches ?

All three fins on the thruster are 6 inches tall.

Tudeo wrote:That size is a serious step up, but if these bigger waves are fat as in that photo, it is very doable.

They are fat on the incoming tide and that's what has me excited. That said, the 11 foot wave I'm thinking about riding has nearly four times the power as the 5-6 foot waves I'm used to.

Tudeo wrote:If ur current finset slides out with 6ft faces I would bring something bigger. Maybe go 2+1 with an 7 or 8" center fin and small sidebites And paddle as hard as possible for the wave, those bigger waves move a bit faster, that makes it harder to get in early. Getting in early is what u want, so u can *choose* how steep, how far up the face, u wanna ride these beasts

Excellent advice.

RinkyDink wrote:I'd recommend that you start by surfing smaller waves at that break. Get to know the spot a bit on its less intense days. Go out on its bigger days once you already know the place...Anyway, there's no substitute for just spending time watching a surf spot before taking the plunge. The more you watch the spot the less daunting it becomes, except for those spots that just have bad voodoo (don't surf those spots).

Well said. I've surfed Blackpoint on 5 foot days and had a lot of fun but I've never studied it on bigger days. It would be fun to take a weekend trip just to check it out. There's also the issue of its remoteness. As you can see in the photo there might only be one or two other surfers to help if I got into trouble.

BoMan wrote:

oldmansurfer wrote:What do you mean by skip around a bit? Can you explain what happens better? And are you talking 6 foot faces? I have a wide tailed flat very low rockered board that gets squirrely on steep waves with 12 foot faces. It drops very fast due to the wide tail and floats across the water seeming like it would take miniscule effort to turn it in other words it wants to take off in any direction rapidly but I just keep going till it sinks back down into the water then I lean and turn it.

Sure. This happens on head high waves when I'm riding much faster than usual, and it feels very similar to the squirrely situation you describe. As I drop down a wave the board occasionally side slips forcing me to turn into the flats or wipeout. In my excitement I'm probably not putting enough pressure on the fins!

What do you think?

In my case I can't turn the board or I would loose control. I have to let it settle down first because the board feels like it is entirely out of the water and skittering but I angled the board from the top so I am headed down the line and don't need to do an immediate turn and no side slips happening because I am trying to not turn the board until it settles back down into the water. I am not sure too because on head high waves this doesn't happen. Also on none of my other boards does this happen only the flat rockerless wide board with the wide tail does it. I have once turned at the top of a wave and sideslipped down the wave because it was vertical. I used to do this all the time on my single fin boards but thrusters and quads hold much better and usually I stay in the lip and get pitched but his one time I managed to sideslip down the wave face and make a bottom turn. I imagine that probably what you are experiencing and what I am experiencing are different dynamics with different causes.

A larger centre. Fin 8" would be good, if there is a single fin centre box , set the fin a little back in the box, play with that , forward makes the board loose back tightens up the turning.

Often too bigger waves turns some fear into taking too stronger an angle in angled takeoffs, which can set the tail to drop out, a squirrelly slideways take off or wipe out results!

You actually have to commit thoroughly with a couple of extra paddles to be engaged in the drop, you will have a lot more power to lay into a bottom turn, but it needs to be controlled by being over the fins.
Forward and doing a leannturn will only lift the fins free of the wave and losing control.
The more hesitation you have in taking the wave the steeper the face you are going have to handle.

Have fun in the next dimension

BoMan wrote:All three fins on the thruster are 6 inches tall.

Woah ! I think we've found the problem. But on the other hand, I don't know of a thruster set with 6 inch fins all around. The FCS MR.TX fins has 5 1/2" tall sides with a smaller trailer center. The Futures Fins T-1 is similar. 6 inches is way too big.

Blackpoint lefts on a good day are irresistable

Thanks for the feedback! I'm going to slow this down and take your advice...

1. Spend time studying the break when it's big. Entry and exit strategy. Impact of tide and different swell directions on the wave.
2. Paddle out when the surf is just a little bigger (6-7 feet) and try out your ideas...
3. Go 2+1 with an 7 or 8" center fin and small sidebites. I might as well get a stronger leash as well.
4. If/when my board side slips, don't turn until it settles back down into the water.
5. Keep in mind that I'm probably angling my takeoff too much in bigger waves.
6. Invite a buddy.

Anything else?

Bigger, steeper waves I pop up pushing back so I will be closer to the tail than usual when getting up....keeps the nose up and tail in the wave (should address the sliding out somewhat). I also look for a way to get in as early as possible and an accessible take off spot, one that won't pitch immediately since everything moves a little slower on a longer board until you're underway. Really it's just taking little steps beyond your comfort zone and expanding on that until you look at where you are and realise you're where you wanted to be.

BoMan wrote:

Blackpoint4.jpg

Blackpoint lefts on a good day are irresistable

Thanks for the feedback! I'm going to slow this down and take your advice...

1. Spend time studying the break when it's big. Entry and exit strategy. Impact of tide and different swell directions on the wave.
2. Paddle out when the surf is just a little bigger (6-7 feet) and try out your ideas...
3. Go 2+1 with an 7 or 8" center fin and small sidebites. I might as well get a stronger leash as well.
4. If/when my board side slips, don't turn until it settles back down into the water.
5. Keep in mind that I'm probably angling my takeoff too much in bigger waves.
6. Invite a buddy.

Anything else?

When you go to watch the regulars surf that spot on a big day, I would take a look at how much rocker the locals have in their boards. Compare your own board with theirs. It probably sounds silly, but look at the wave faces and imagine what kind of board shape would fit nicely into the wave (no pearling) going straight down the face at a good speed. I'd also take note of how the best surfers are taking off (angled, straight, air drop , etc.) on the waves.

Like waikikikichan, I was also surprised by the 6-inch thruster set. I could be wrong, but I don't think big wave surfers typically use anything over 5 inches even when surfing XXL waves.

Big wave surfers using longer boards (guns) will usually run pretty small fins (G3 size sometimes) because of the pin tail (smaller tail smaller fins) and length of rail (longer rail, more rail in water, smaller fins). Most big waves surfers today surf a quad set up

Twin fin short fish boards may well have the biggest fins (fat tail, short rail, 2 fins only)

https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/9017653-181/surfer-dies-another-rescued-in?sba=AAS

A grim reminder of the ocean's power and the consequences of surfing beyond your ability. My family vacations at Big River and it's fun in the right conditions.

Every time you surf you are taking a risk. The questions you should ask yourself is how well can you determine what the likely risks are? and How well are you suited for dealing with those risks? and Are you willing to accept those risks? I go out in the ocean without a second thought in conditions that would result in others drowning. I do this all the time. Now some day I may be wrong and I will be the one who drowns but what it all boils down to is there are risks that you cannot predict. Some people drown because they are not knowledgeable about the risks. Some people drown because they have an overblown ego and figure they can handle it when they can't. Some people drown because they get hit on the head by their board or have a heart attack or some other unpredictable event. Some risk is unavoidable. You have to be willing to accept it.

From the article: "Rex said it did not appear any of the Californians had extensive surfing experience, but their mission was to treat their visitor to the iconic West Coast pastime on a board they purchased for him Thursday."

I feel bad for the guy who died, but I feel worse for his friends who have to live with the fact that they basically killed their friend through their own ignorance/arrogance.

We've been seeing some pretty big swell this past week in NorCal. Mavericks has been working. Other spots are so big they're unsurfable. Some spots that are normally tame, would be challenging for expert surfers - definitely not the conditions for the inexperienced.