What went wrong?

[Tudeo]

Mmm, I think I’m saying ‘each wave is different.

True, but each spot has his own characteristic at any given tide and swell size.

[oldmansurfer]

I don't know waves well enough to look at one and say that wave will be difficult to take off on the shoulder except for the extreme waves like the one in the video. In my usual surfing I don't try to take off on shoulders mostly because where's the thrill in that? but once in a while I am at a shoulder unintentionally and it looks like maybe something good down the line I will attempt to take off. I used to surf Hanalei and if you shoulder hop there it is very difficult mostly but sometimes easy smeazy no rhyme or rhythm to it that I can discern. I figure most likely it has to do with the underwater structure and the direction of the swell. I haven't ever surfed waves where there is a continental shelf which is a shallow water area that extends way out to sea (miles). Those waves are slower if they are generated from storms past the edge of the continental shelf because the shallow water slows the waves down. It makes sense to me that those waves would be easier to take off on the shoulder because of less water moving up the face due to speed. Although very likely a sudden change in the bottom causing the waves to rise suddenly will make it more difficult. There is a reason but I don't know it

[RinkyDink]

Yes there are waves that you can takeoff on the shoulder and perhaps slow moving point breaks such as in a recent video you posted might be easy and certainly using a longboard will help with that also but most likely it depends on the direction of the swell as to whether it will let you takeoff on the shoulder easily. A longboard might help ride the wave in the video above in the right hands but for most longboarders that wave would be a challenge. it has too much water moving up it's face. It would require paddling hard popping up fast and quickly angling and turning the board almost simultaneously.

I think we both definitely agree there's a lot of water moving against that surfer in the video. Even though he has a pretty half-hearted paddle, I don't think he's got a shot at that wave because he's surfing right next to a rip. I used to surf next to rips at Pismo. If you get too close to them, you end up paddling against the current and doing the same thing the guy in the video did. From my own experience, I remember paddling hard, but the water flowing up the face from the rip would just push me to the top of the wave where the lip would plunge and I would end up going over the falls with it. The rip current can act like an offshore wind and make the wave stand up and get peaky, but the rushing water flowing against the wave makes for a difficult takeoff. You kind of have to plunge down the face with the lip and hope to stay on your feet in the white wash if you're going to make it. Anyway, I agree that every wave is different so it's hard make general rules about the way waves behave.

[oldmansurfer]

that wave is hard to take off on because it is a lurching up shore dump type of wave with no current needed to make it difficult and I doubt there would be much current right in that area since there will be significant water moving in from the wave and that would alter the current. Now if there were really infrequent waves then maybe a current can form there but the type of wave that it is makes it already difficult to take off on anywhere on that wave. It may be the best bet is to go to the far side of the peak and take off on that shoulder and backdoor it. I can't look at a wave and know where would be the best place to catch it but given a few tries I can usually figure it out.

[RinkyDink]

that wave is hard to take off on because it is a lurching up shore dump type of wave with no current needed to make it difficult and I doubt there would be much current right in that area since there will be significant water moving in from the wave and that would alter the current. Now if there were really infrequent waves then maybe a current can form there but the type of wave that it is makes it already difficult to take off on anywhere on that wave. It may be the best bet is to go to the far side of the peak and take off on that shoulder and backdoor it. I can't look at a wave and know where would be the best place to catch it but given a few tries I can usually figure it out.

I hear you. It's hard to say what's going on in that clip because it's so short and not at a wide enough angle . Anyway, I agree with your analysis, but I see what I think is a rip current. It doesn't matter though because you're going to get current going back out to sea and cross currents any time you get that close to shore.

[RinkyDink]

It doesn't matter though because you're going to get current going back out to sea and cross currents any time you get that close to shore.

I remember when I was learning I would stand near the shore, wait for white water to roll through, hop on my board, and practice popping up in the whitewater. That was actually a good way to get to know the ocean. If you stand just off shore in, say, 2 feet of water you can feel the churn. You'll get pulled in certain directons. You can even follow the cross currents and they'll usually lead you to a rip. All that water getting pushed in toward the shore is going to eventually roll up the berm of sand at the shore and then it's going to roll back down to the water line. The bigger the sets that roll into the shore the greater the amount of water will be that rolls back down the sand berm. You'll notice that all that water has to go somewhere and the cross currents that lead to rips are the indicators of the direction of how that water is getting cycled back out to sea. You won't generally feel that kind of churn offshore in the lineup, but you will near the shore.