Catching a Wave...First try...Success.

[DoorM4n]

You may or may not believe this but the first time I jumped on a surfboard, I rode a wave for 10 seconds or so. It was only a 3ft wave, but was some lucky experience. Stood up and everything...

Have you guys ever heard of success stories like this? I am just curious. I was so close to hanging ten, but neglecting to buy a $20 rash-guard soon was regretful.

Yesterday was the first time I have ever surfed in my life.

[Rico]

I stood up on my second whitewater wave and on my first green wave.

I learned in a camp, the others had to fight way more with the basics...

[gerk86]

took me 3 2hour sessions to stand up. Frustrating as hell. Standing is easy as pie now thank god.

[billie_morini]

DoorM,
you set lofty goals and told us you would achieve them. How can we question you? (Although you were asked for and promised photos).

Fun aside, it is possible to do what you did. However, we have to ask: Where you surfing in TX? If so, 10 seconds is about the maximum duration available other than tanker surfing. That would make one suspicious.

Anyway, welcome to the club.

[drowningbitbybit]

first time I jumped on a surfboard ... rode a wave for 10 seconds .. 3ft wave... Stood up and everything... success stories ... I was so close to hanging ten...

The Fafanator's longboarding older brother?

[Thibb]

I can actually tell an even taller tale! I was at Bondi some six weeks ago and there were hardly any waves and therefore hardly any surfers. Must have been about ten in the morning. Every 30 secs or so a one to two foot wave would come by and me and some older surfers were sitting out back when we see this totally disoriented woman come paddling out on her softboard.

She could hardly paddle, was sitting too far back and pushing the tail deep under water, and having trouble steering her board. At a certain point her board was faced almost parallel to the beach, so when a wave hit her, it looked like she would roll over.

Somehow the woman holds on for dear life as water washes over her and the board pulls itself straight (to minimize resistance). She then strangely enough finds herself staying afloat on the board, which is now heading for the beach. With admirable presence of mind she realizes the opportunity she has been given and starts to crawl to her feet. Meanwhile the ocean between her and the beach was totally flat, while the board stayed ahead of the wave.

And suddenly she stood up, shaky and crooked, but she was standing before the board hit the beach and lost all speed. She then paddled back out and for two hours tried to repeat the success, with no result whatsoever. It was a great start of her surfing career though: not only did she stand up on her first wave, but she actually caught the wave without trying or even realizing it!

[DoorM4n]

DoorM,
you set lofty goals and told us you would achieve them. How can we question you? (Although you were asked for and promised photos).

Fun aside, it is possible to do what you did. However, we have to ask: Where you surfing in TX? If so, 10 seconds is about the maximum duration available other than tanker surfing. That would make one suspicious.

Anyway, welcome to the club.

Yes, I was down at South Padre Island where you have a constant surge of waves. It is nearly impossible to paddle out, so we decided to take it simple and hit the smaller waves. I do have a few pictures and would not mind posting them, however, they are nothing special at all.

I can actually tell an even taller tale! I was at Bondi some six weeks ago and there were hardly any waves and therefore hardly any surfers. Must have been about ten in the morning. Every 30 secs or so a one to two foot wave would come by and me and some older surfers were sitting out back when we see this totally disoriented woman come paddling out on her softboard.

She could hardly paddle, was sitting too far back and pushing the tail deep under water, and having trouble steering her board. At a certain point her board was faced almost parallel to the beach, so when a wave hit her, it looked like she would roll over.

Somehow the woman holds on for dear life as water washes over her and the board pulls itself straight (to minimize resistance). She then strangely enough finds herself staying afloat on the board, which is now heading for the beach. With admirable presence of mind she realizes the opportunity she has been given and starts to crawl to her feet. Meanwhile the ocean between her and the beach was totally flat, while the board stayed ahead of the wave.

And suddenly she stood up, shaky and crooked, but she was standing before the board hit the beach and lost all speed. She then paddled back out and for two hours tried to repeat the success, with no result whatsoever. It was a great start of her surfing career though: not only did she stand up on her first wave, but she actually caught the wave without trying or even realizing it!

Now that is hilarious!

first time I jumped on a surfboard ... rode a wave for 10 seconds .. 3ft wave... Stood up and everything... success stories ... I was so close to hanging ten...

The Fafanator's longboarding older brother?

hahahahah

[alimac2411]

you're doing well if u managed to stand up on the 1st wave u attempted. 1st time i got on a board i found it tricky just to lie on it and paddle but i did stand up in crappy whitewater on the 1st day for a few seconds.

[LOLRuss]

Grrrr... 2 months and I still can't do this consistently.

[Jc]

I remember the first one i got up on went terriblely wrong ending with me finding out what wipeout meant, the hard way, I ended up on the beach half dead, but smiling because I knew i caught it xD

[Surfing-Innovation]

My first day at the beach - on a board borrowed off a mate. Got some tips as I was walking out into the white water. Stood next to the board and jumped onto it, launching myself into a crappy little ankle snapper. Climbed to my feet and rode it all the way to the beach.........

Some people perhaps just have that extra bit of balance.........but hanging ten?? I think you're pushing the bounds of believability on that one.........

[DoorM4n]

Actually, I didn't hang-ten. (I'm not sure if I clarified that or not) I was walking around on the board but couldn't stay on the nose. Next beach run I am going to accomplish it for sure

hahaha, lofty goals and confidence is the only thing that drives me as of now. So, for a brief second it would be appreciated if I could thrive on my arrogance as well as naivety of surfing

[surf-legend]

i actually did the same i rode a 2ft wave the first time i got on a board

[DoorM4n]

Awesome! Do you know what kind of board it was?

[RJD]

Grrrr... 2 months and I still can't do this consistently.

Remember DoorM4n is on a 10ft soft top barge, which board you start on makes a huge difference.

[Jimi]

good work on standing up 1st attempt! Don't get too carried away with how good you are, since the conditions you surf in play a huge role in how successful you are.

I've been surfing for a while now, and picked it up very quickly on a mini mal, and have progressed to smaller boards... However the thing I find is that the conditions dictate how well I surf.

Some days, the waves work in my favour, and I catch easily more than my fair share, yet on other days, I will struggle to paddle out back and struggle to take off on the face. It all depends on the wind chop, the wave period and how the banks have formed. If those all work in your favour, you're laughing, but otherwise it can be a bit of a struggle.

Don't get discouraged if in a few weeks you feel like you haven't progressed, since the waves will dictate the how well you surf for quite a long time.