Surfing Waves

After 18 months of almost daily surfing, my surf time is over for now. I have to move away from the beach and where I will live next there will be no ocean and no waves. I am guessing I could still surf a few days for holidays, but will it be worth it?

To what degree will I un-learn to surf? Is it like riding a bike (you never forget how to) or like playing the piano (lack of practice kills everything you learned). Anyone have any experience to share?

i 'learned' how to surf in middle/high school, during summer vacations. i could kind of stand, and that was it. i really started to progress once i moved to the beach for the summers. i would surf all summer long, progress, then move back to pittsburgh (or SIXburgh..WHOO!!) for school. now i live down here full time, and i haven't surfed since fall. between crap conditions and my intense hatred of cold water, i haven't gotten out much. i noticed when i started again during the summer after school, the first few waves of a session were a little shaky, but then after i got on a few waves, i was somewhat close to where i had left off

You'll be fine. I'm doing a stint away from the ocean at the moment, and where I live it's too bloody cold to surf in winter anyway, I went for my first surf in 8 months just before Christmas, was a bit worried about not being able to do it, paddled out, got a cover up on my second wave

The biggest hassle was trying to find a leggie, and some fins buried under all the crap in the garage. And there's nowhere for 300km near me that sells wax, so I had to scrape some off one board and apply it to the one I wanted to use.

I reckon you lose the right muscles a bit, so paddling is a bit harder, but it's all good. I've got a few days off next week, heading to the deepest south, about 2 hours away, where there's nobody around, it's cold, and dolphins to share a wave with. Can't wait, looking like a 2m swell @ 14 seconds and light offshore winds. Way excited, but still counting down the days till I finish up the job I'm on and can move back to the coast.

It's some comfort, if not much...

Wow, all this positivity - me? Two weeks out the water and I surf like even more of a twat than I usually do

you wont forget, you'll just be rusted... you gotta get back into shape and get the pop up and feet movement rhythms back

yeah..i guess the hardest thing for me is the paddling endurance. it takes a bit of time to get that back. but between kayaking and surfing everyday for a few weeks it comes back kind of quickly

I get rusty but sometimes a few weeks away seems to bring on some sort of spark and after a few waves feel more amped than before.
After a year away it wouldnt be good but if you were not bad before you should be still able after a surf or two.

For me the hardest part is that i ride short fishes a lot so after time away they feel too short.(not just the paddle power is gone but takeoffs are harder if steep) So a normal shortboard or even mal or single fin can help with paddling into waves as well as training my muscles a bit better in prep.

The longer away and less paddle fit i am, the more i use a mal to train.
This usually coincides with tiny surf i find suitable for a mal.

For you,. if there is a lake or something nearby try a kayak or something to keep those musles in shape.

chris forgets to surf every time he goes surfing

I actually find that short breaks from time to time improve my surfing. I don't know why but I'll try riskier stuff, and if you aren't wiping out then you aren't pushing your surfing.

Long breaks on the other hand screw with your fitness.

On shorter boards this can be quite a problem and if you are slightly tired when popping up you'll get your feet in the wrong position and screw up the ride. That's what happens to me if my fitness is down. The sweet spot on a very short board is tiny so if you get your feet wrong you'll waste time trying to correct or in the worst case, you'll wipe out.

I did have an almost 10 year break in surfing after high school and it was mainly fitness that I lost. 2 guys I went to Indo with last time didn't surf all year and only went to the pool a couple of times before the trip and they were absolutely ripping after a day or two again.