Surfing Waves

I am a beginner, and I have obviously mastered the paddle for the most part and I am now beginning to popup and ride some waves. I have noticed that sometimes when I catch a wave the nose of my longboard drops off the front of the wave and I go head first over the front of the wave. I have been positioning myself farther back on the board and that still does not seem to correct the problem. I feel like I am too far out on the wave when it breaks. What can I do to correct this???

Also, I have rented different boards and I find I like 8'4"- 9' funboard/longboards the best...

I would like to purchase a board and I have been looking at the CI Waterhog...(8'6") Is there any opinions on this board? Good for my first new board? Too pricey???
Thanks for the help!

i think you might be standing up to late? not sure

vanfossenator wrote: I have obviously mastered the paddle

Um... doesnt sound like it to me.

Paddle harder, stand up earlier, stand up quicker, weight the tail.

pick one of these majour issues

1 -too far forward on board - all weight up on nose casues perling and subsequent face planting occurs

2 - taking off too late - taking off too late usually ends up with the nose of the board diving into the face and throwing you off with it.

3 - taking off too straight - if you have no angle on take off or dont correct it during drop chances are you just gonna plunge into the abyss.

4 - poor wave selection - picking a bad wave that closes down too quickly usually will take you well down with it

Sounds too me like your symptons are largely perling and the remidy is sorting out one of the above or a combination of the above. Enjoy!!

isaluteyou wrote:4 - poor wave selection - picking a bad wave that closes down too quickly usually will take you well down with it

I'm reallllllllly good at this one

Damn these southern hemisphere waves that dont act like proper northern ones!

Great advice, one more tip:

The biggest mistake by newbs is to charge the lineup when trying to learn. Start in the whitewash, about chest high at most. Wait for a nice wall of whitewater and throw yourself towards the shore and onto your board and pop up, ride it a little, not too shallow, then repeat repeat repeat. Don't plop on your board either.

Forget paddling, if you arent' poping up correctly you aren't catching waves, so concentrate on that in the beggining. Do 20 popups in the shallows every time you go out, then go to the lineup. You'll get better at standing up which will improve the rest...

vanfossenator wrote:I am a beginner, and I have obviously mastered the paddle for the most part and I am now beginning to popup and ride some waves. I have noticed that sometimes when I catch a wave the nose of my longboard drops off the front of the wave and I go head first over the front of the wave. I have been positioning myself farther back on the board and that still does not seem to correct the problem. I feel like I am too far out on the wave when it breaks. What can I do to correct this???

Also, I have rented different boards and I find I like 8'4"- 9' funboard/longboards the best...

I would like to purchase a board and I have been looking at the CI Waterhog...(8'6") Is there any opinions on this board? Good for my first new board? Too pricey???
Thanks for the help!

Don't think you have mastered the art of paddling yet. Paddling in a longboard is a different story compared to a shortboard.

Instead of going back and foward on the position of the board, try to stay a little bit foward and arch your back when trying to catch a wave. This will allow you to not nosedive and have enough speed with stability to drive down the face of the wave. \

God speed!

remember to keep doing deep strokes when the wave is approaching. Many people, me included do the mistake that when the wave is almost upon you, you start paddling even faster but when doing this, your arms are barely penetrating the water, so remember to make sure to do deep strokes to keep your speed up!

I know this is a little off topic - so sorry - but the name vanfossenator sounds awful familiar... just drop the van... hmmm

But in all seriousness, isaluteyou has pretty much summed it all up. And remember, it's all about position - too close to the break and you're in too steep.. too far out, and no amount of paddling will ever catch the wave. There's no substitute for practice to learn that spot in the water.

thanks everybody for the great help...
I do think I am not far enough ahead of the wave...and yes I know I havent mastered paddling...haha I still need to gain strength in all areas...As far as catching a bad wave, that may be true as well...I surf in St. Augustine FL and I'm sure everybody knows how the surf is in Florida, it is very unpredictable...I sometimes think I am in the white wash and then all of the sudden a wave will be crashing down on me...
How can I improve my wave selection(when I am ready for lineup waves)???
What do I need to look for???
These are very elementary questions, but I'm a newb so I know I can only get better, especially with great advice from yall...
Also, would a board like an 8'+ CI Waterhog be a good board to buy for my first official board???
I want something that I can keep for a long time even when I get better and using shortboards...I think it would be a good purchase, how bout yall???

HA HA sounds to me your doing just fine,,, all the noob mistakes. You just gotta practise, practise, practice and all said here ^ are the keys to doing it, nothing will beat real time in the water and as for a waterhog yes thier fine allot of cash but good boards I'd recomend a mini mal good stable platform and works allaround.
Where are you surfing at van ??

I have to agree with being late on the take off, If you are surfing where the shortboarders take off your not in the right place. My rule of thumb is where the wave first starts breaking, paddle 10 - 15 more strong strokes past that. When you see the wave you want get positioned and start paddling to get some speed. Right before the wave is getting to you take real strong paddles. As soon as you feel the board start gliding along the wave pop up. Also make sure your paddling is smooth as so your board is not going side to side. Also angle a little to shore.

As for what size board...........whats your weight and height. And as of where you surf. St. Aug, FL. Think about the usual size waves. I would guess a lot of knee to waist high.

oldgrom: Thanks for the help...We all gotta start somewhere I am surfing in St. Augustine FL...north of Daytona...

justloafin: I weigh 165 and am 6' tall... I like your advice and I will definitly try that...You're right...the waves average knee to waist high, the last time I went they were about chest high on occasion...
What is the surf like in Wilmington??? I have family up there and I was thinking about going up there to visit and try out the surf up there.

Anybody else got anything?
Thanks

another tip is when u actually manage to pop up, don't be looking down at your feet, instantly look ahead were u want to go. It's amazing what a difference this can make!

vanfossenator wrote:oldgrom: Thanks for the help...We all gotta start somewhere I am surfing in St. Augustine FL...north of Daytona...

justloafin: I weigh 165 and am 6' tall... I like your advice and I will definitly try that...You're right...the waves average knee to waist high, the last time I went they were about chest high on occasion...
What is the surf like in Wilmington??? I have family up there and I was thinking about going up there to visit and try out the surf up there.

Anybody else got anything?
Thanks

The waves here are probably close to what you have. Bigger in the fall and winter. If you ever get to Wilmington give me a shout here and we can paddle out. As far as the size of your board. It seems like just from what you are saying. Your not really wanting to longboard but I would consider starting off with something as close to 9'0" as possible.

Also as alimac2411 said. A big key

alimac2411 wrote:another tip is when u actually manage to pop up, don't be looking down at your feet, instantly look ahead were u want to go. It's amazing what a difference this can make!

Yes yes yes.. just stopped looking at the pretty droplets of water at my feet as I surf and concentrating on the wall of water to my left and right! Dipping in my hand looks just as pretty and its helping to sort all those turning issues and going for the drop worries.........

Glad to hear it's helped, i had managed to reach a decent level but once a friend gave me this simple tip it just changed everything. You can always sort your feet out after you've popped up anyway!

hey guys, I went out on saturday...waves probably only knee to waist high and pretty glassy...I followed alot of your advice and I feel I improved greatly from last week...Rode alot more than before...I caught myself watchin my feet, when I stopped it started to come together...haha...actually looked like I knew what I was doin...

I did find with the weaker waves I need to work on my paddle strength...Its coming along good though!!! Thanks everybody

vanfossenator wrote:hey guys, I went out on saturday...waves probably only knee to waist high and pretty glassy...I followed alot of your advice and I feel I improved greatly from last week...Rode alot more than before...I caught myself watchin my feet, when I stopped it started to come together...haha...actually looked like I knew what I was doin...

As my Hawaiian friend Rufus said when I described my identical session last Thursday, "That's how it starts. You're hooked now"

HA HA surfmom comment yep lil droplets sprayin out from under glub blub wipe toss scrub blurb glub once you stop lookin down it's magic ha ha and sykes knows ha ha yep your hooked noob all the way to the lead weight, ha ha . You'll be fine,,, keep in mind though those glassy soft fun days are far and few so be prepared to eat shizz allot more but with a few more tips when ya need em and continue with what your doing and you'll be rippin it in notime.