Surfing Waves

hi guys an gals

just started surfing last week on an epic trip to Cornwall....

i now wanna sell my business and move there so i can surf everyday...

i did not realise how spiritual and life changing sitting outback on a board can be, then catching a good wave and actually making the board do what you want it to (for a new boy that is, still got sooo much to learn!)

i now want to buy myself a board, i an 6' and weigh 17stone (rugby weight unfortunately) i was surfing last week on a soft hire board, that was 9' should i just buy one of them? or should i buy a 9' hard board? what makes should i go for?

i really am that new to this wicked sport/passion i aint got a clue what to buy

many thanks in advance

Welcome to the forum, welcome to the surf


Yeah, it gets you right there, doesnt it?


Dont buy a swell board - they're rubbish. They're only good for the first couple of times you go out in the water. After that they're useless.

Buy yourself a pop-out mini-mal - as you're a big fella, you'll need a lot of volume so you should be looking in the 8 - 9' range.
Something like the NSP 9'2" (£349.95 from the little pink shop. click here )

See you in the water

Say goodbye to the life that you used to know and sayhello to as life of surf, beach, sun and moaning about the sea on this forum when it's flat!

thanks guys

i guess i will need a very forgiving hardboard to start with. do the NSP 9'+ boards have one fin or three? is it going to effect my learning?

i had a one2one lesson whilst down there and the instructor said i need to avoid anything that it too flighty to start with, a glider would be best to allow me to learn to ride the wave properly before i start thinking off sharper turns etc.

to let you know where i am at; i am paddling outback, sitting and waiting for the right wave in the set, then paddling onto it and getting upright on clean waves, but struggling a bit to chose the right direction to traverse the wave. (Polzeath beach break, the waves kept closing from both ways)

then the swell dissapeared to 1' for the rest of the week, so really struggled to get speed up

The 9'2 NSP is a single-fin (I think). To get a three fin thruster set up, you'd need to go down to a 8' (or less) mini-mal, which at 17st you might struggle with.

You wont have a problem learning with a single fin

Gaff: I like that you're heading in the right direction. Starting on a 9' and not some 6'something; is going to increase your learning curve.

17st of rugby player on a 9ft board is gonna be a scary sight

That'll be me, just over there, paddling in the opposite direction

the size and weight only hurts when it hits you, well thats what i tell them when playing rugby!

at least surfing is a non contact sport

sorry for all the muppet like questions, i just really dont know where to start, and i dont want some kid on commission selling me a 6' ripper when i am only just getting stood up on a 9footer!

gaff wrote:at least surfing is a non contact sport

If only, i seem to contact my surfboard on a fairly regular basis!

If only, i seem to contact my surfboard on a fairly regular basis!

soz... i meant non contact between people not your board. i have been lucky so far, not been hit yet

Welcome to the forum Gaff. I think I've seen you about

17stone dont necessarily mean fat buddy!

The days of big fat rugby players are long gone! but i would put an a few chubby pounds to surf like that...

Just testing your sense of humour


Pleased to say you passed the test


But I'm still going to keeep away from any 17 stone rugby playing types, just in case

Welcome, friend!

pat42 wrote:Just testing your sense of humour


Pleased to say you passed the test


But I'm still going to keeep away from any 17 stone rugby playing types, just in case

Welcome, friend!

hahaha i guessed you were....i am so layed back i have been a surfer all my life, i just did not realise it until last week

Hellooo and welcome. Mmm a rugby player eh. Welcome. Very very welcome

Where in 'dry anglia' are you from?

A 17 stone rugby player and a hobbit! What an intriguing combination that would make!

Libby: Saffron Walden (between Cambridge and London)

Kitesurfer: not sure i understand the hobbit reference, but i laughed anyway

not quite sure where this thread is going but hey, got a good welcome so far!

Back on topic: i have been told about an NSP board, any others that would be good? would a quality longboard be too much for me to start with?

That's ok i'm sure libby will explain in good time being the keen tolkien buff that she is!
But in the meantime this is allways good for a laugh.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 1797982060

As you said not quite sure where this thread is going.

Cheers KS

Ha ha ha very funny Kitesurfer

Gaff, he was referring to the fact that i am 'vertically challenged', a hobbit minus the hairy toes.

You will find that many of your threads turn into conversations about scone wrestling, pavlova, black pudding, white pudding, people weeing (and worse) in taxi's, the correct grammatical usage of the terms 'flesh' and 'fleshin', having sex with snakes and possibly if your very lucky, what Jennie's burps smelt like after breakfast

Re the board, NSP boards, like all boards have there pluses and minuses, they tend to be heavy (which is only really an issue for people like moi) and not so responsive in the water but also have heaps of float (good for the likes of you) and dont ding (damage) easily. All of the above points are controversial. For a learner, and for someone of your stature (whether its muscle or not) an NSP is probably a very good idea. Some people argue that you will 'out grow' a pop out quickly but generally learning to surf takes a long time so it will be a fair way in the future that you would need something more responsive. Also if you do want to sell it at anytime, because they are popular beginners/intermediates boards and don't damage easily they usually sell second hand at a decent price. You could get a fibreglass board but at the moment you probably wouldnt be able to tell the difference between that and an NSP in terms of performance. I bought a glass board first time round and honestly i wish i'd gone with an NSP or similar, I dinged it first time in the water.

Just my 2 pence (or is it farthings in hobbit-speak, its a while since i've been back to the shire) worth. Hope it helps.

Kitesurfer I can't see the video, whats it of, or do i not want to know?