Surfing Waves

Hey, im 17 yrs old and lookin to purchase a shortboard sometime this weekend. im 145lbs and about 5'11 prolly gunna get something around 6'3" to 6'6" (let me know if i should go up or down in size). My main question is, where is a good spot in Santa Cruz/Bay Area to start to surf?

What type of surfing experience do you have?

isaluteyou wrote:What type of surfing experience do you have?

Got up on my freinds long board first try a year ago, other than that i Wake surf alot, and am a pretty good swimmer.

It is posible to learn on a shortboard but i wouldnt advise it at all. If you want to learn quicker with less frustratioin get yourself a mini mal around 7'4+

isaluteyou wrote:It is posible to learn on a shortboard but i wouldnt advise it at all. If you want to learn quicker with less frustratioin get yourself a mini mal around 7'4+

I feel ya, The reason I am aiming at a short board is because I dont got alot of cash and want somthing I can have for a while and improve on.

Rather do this

Buy a secondhander Mal surf tht for a while then just turn round and sell it. You will likely get back the same amount you bought it for so its not a waste.

Up to you but thats just my 2c

Thanks for the advice, will look into it this weekend. Got any good spots up in nor cal for begeinners?

as a beginner wouldn't bother, but you can always buy and sell as has already been said, but it will take you a long time to surf a shortboard

and i've never been to north california before so wouldn't know, but there must be a few

Guys, guys.. why do you lead newbies down the wrong path?

He's 17. Buy a board 8 inches to a foot bigger than you - still a short board.

Get it a bit wider, but if you have wakeboarding experience, you should have the balance to get on a shortboard. But, it'll take some patience to work out the kinks.

A slower learning curve than a longer board, for sure, but you should be fine.

rich r wrote:Guys, guys.. why do you lead newbies down the wrong path?

He's 17. Buy a board 8 inches to a foot bigger than you - still a short board.

Get it a bit wider, but if you have wakeboarding experience, you should have the balance to get on a shortboard. But, it'll take some patience to work out the kinks.

A slower learning curve than a longer board, for sure, but you should be fine.

I do somewhat agree with that but however being a realist it would be so much simpler to just buy a second mal. If he progressed well on it he could replace it within a month. That month would provide excellent grounding.

Why make things hard when they could be easier

Im 17 and 5ft 11... I got a 7ft6 safari Mini Mal and its a perfect intermidiate/beginner board.I started in june this year and it helped me progress brilliantly.I would say definately get a Mini Mal to start off with, I recently had a go on a 6ft2 shortboard and the going is much tougher. Get the Mini Mal,maybe sell it in 6 months to a year and move on to a shortboard.Thats my plan anyway !

the other good thing about minimals is they usually hold a good second hand value because there's such a good call for them, so many beginers want them, just take care of the board, repair any dings etc and you should get a good price back for it