going along a wave?

[cokecanman]

hey, i bought a board off a mate about 2 years ago now and can get up and surf waves pretty much every time i catch a wave. but i only ever really go surfing 3 or 4 times a year when i go on holiday down to the croyde area. on these week long trips it takes me most of the week to remeber how to surf again (lol) and now i have access to a car i can surf more regularly in at my local beaches (boscombe and higcliffe).
but my main question is how do you surf along a wave? i can never work out how to do this and i normally just end up going a bit diagonal?
what do i have to do please?

[tree4]

Slight angle (5-10 degrees) when catch the wave, pop up and turn board along wave by looking where you want to go and aligning your shoulders which should bring the rest of your body into line. Be wary about trying to rock the board with your feet as this tends to dig the rails in and cause a wipe out.
Practice, practice, practice.

[garbarrage]

surf more.. practice turning, and work on your positioning. find somewhere with good banks (ie. wave breaks in the same spot consistently) paddle about 8 to 10 feet beyond where its breaking. patience is the key here when you are starting off. wait for a wave that is going to break just inside where you are sitting. give yourself as much time as possible to start paddling for it.
as the wave approaches give one or two light paddles to get you moving (wave is about 20 ft away). glance back every so often, when the wave is about 10 feet away paddle hard, everything you've got.

as you feel the wave pick you up and the nose is about to drop down the face, arch your back and pop-up. you should get the board turned before you reach the bottom of the wave.. this should get you on the face.

the last bit takes lots of practice as there are so many things that you need to do right at exactly the right time, or you lose the wave but it is worth the effort.
best advice really would be to stop surfing now before it ruins your life.. right now you are just weeks away from spending all your time praying for swell, and then praying for the wind to be right when the swell arrives. your girlfriend will leave you, work will start thinking about replacing you with someone who gives a flesh about the job, and your family will start to think you are on drugs....
welcome to surfing!

[Aloha]

best advice really would be to stop surfing now before it ruins your life.. right now you are just weeks away from spending all your time praying for swell, and then praying for the wind to be right when the swell arrives. your girlfriend will leave you, work will start thinking about replacing you with someone who gives a flesh about the job, and your family will start to think you are on drugs....
welcome to surfing!

Classic!