Surfing Waves

Over the past few days, I have mostly been surfing close-outs. I pop up, enjoy a second or two as I ride down the line and as the wave continues to jack up and then it crashes down on me, which can be quite painful...

So far I have tried just turning towards the beach at the last moment, which sometimes works. Other times you still get hammered and either way, it feels a bit lame. Another option is to just take it, which mostly happens when I'm surfing backhand. I find it much harder to tell when the wave will crash in these cases, so I usually end up getting smacked in the back. A final option is to try and jump off the board and over the wave. This feels good when it works, but often the wave gets too high and I just end up getting dragged back down as it crashes.

Around me I see shortboarders (I'm on a minimal) do other things. Some actually manage to jump back over the wave, board and all. I on the other hand cannot make it back up the face once it gets too steep. Others kind of punch through the wave and come out fairly unharmed. I can't even begin to push my board's rounded nose into and through a wave face.

My question is (sorry it took me a while to get there), what is the best exit strategy for a minimal rider?

my bad.

Did you by any chance only read the last sentence?

Seriously though, thanks for the reply, but I would really like to hear what people think about the 'not getting the close-out in the back' part. Should it matter, we're talking about 2-3 ft waves here.

My bad, not carefully reading.
Are you asking what to do when the waves are about to close and you're at the near end of your ride? What are you supposed to do except for wipe out? :O

Correct! Sorry if it wasn't entirely clear, I guess I may be lacking some vocabulary...

kick out when you know its gona close out turn up towards the top of the wave and just ride over the top

It totally depends on the break and your wave selection.

Is every wave a close out? Is it just some days? Are some waves you pick a close out, and some don't?

In the end, it's a matter of learning to read the wave. If you see it is starting close out, you should kick out over the top.

If it's just the section behind you catching up to you, then you're not generating enough speed to keep ahead of the wave (you should be moving the board up and down the face to generate forward momentum. Just standing there going straight, the wave will catch up to you and take you out, even on a longboard)

If the ave is consistent, then you should be able to read when it is getting ready to close out and go out the back (over the top of the face) before it does start to peel over.

like twas said it sounds like you need to read the wave and anticipate its movements. If The waves are bg and its gonna close i usually will try to rise to the lip and do a superman dive off the back - sorta like launching an air except with out holding on to the board

If possible though i will attempt to raise up to the lip and do somekind of a floater these can be really fun in closeouts.

If the surf dont have much power and is hollow enough i might just grab rail and go for a green room closeout. You get thrashed but its still fun anyway for a few micro seconds not to be attempted in bigger surf

Keep in mind though just because one section is closing down doesnt mean you cant reconnect on to the face somewhere down the line. A more experienced surfer will know if they can make it round the foam ball. So anticipating a waves movement is one of the most valuable tools in your arsenal

isaluteyou wrote:If The waves are bg and its gonna close i usually will try to rise to the lip and do a superman dive off the back - sorta like launching an air except with out holding on to the board

Lol I love doing this, probably my highlight of the day when I do it.

Thanks for the advice guys, sounds like advanced stuff.

If the surf don't have much power and is hollow enough i might just grab rail and go for a green room closeout.

Just how badly does this hurt? I have thought about it, but I have this nightmare of being smashed face-first into the deck.

Thibb wrote:Thanks for the advice guys, sounds like advanced stuff.

If the surf don't have much power and is hollow enough i might just grab rail and go for a green room closeout.

Just how badly does this hurt? I have thought about it, but I have this nightmare of being smashed face-first into the deck.

Like i said if the waves are gutless but hollow then theres not much of a force crashing on you. I have done this then stood up through the ceiling without falling. It all depends on how fierce the waves are. Its also very good practise for learning how to get. Its just a fun thing to do in small closeout waves.

You fears are not without merit though i have attemtped this on biggish days only to be driven down to the reef and bounced around Still it does give you some experience when waves are tubing and you dont make it rhough the keyhole cause thats what its gonna feel like

learn to read the wave and that will dictate how you pull out.

easiest way is just to pull out and surf towards the beach as you mentioned. If you commit to a close out the easiest way to pull out is to...duck in under the lip with your head, turning sharpliy towards the wave, grabbing the board as you do, forcing yourself through the back of the wave...only attempt this on smaller, less powerful waves at first.