Surfing Waves

Hi all, I just discovered surfing after moving to central FL! The first time my friend took me in the water I was hooked! I have been bodyboarding up north around Maryland for about 10 years previously

Today there were some waves after last week's glassy lake, it was sloppy.

I am learning on a 9' softop and I can stand up everytime and it feels freakin natural! I can catch those smaller waves that break occasionaly and stand up very consistently. Today I started to learn to turn the board where I wanted to go ! I was so stoked lol

But I am having a hella hard time paddling out past all of the larger breaks, stuck in a certain spot taking smaller ones today. I would face the larger breaking waves and try to duckdive that foam board but I seem to can't get it under far enough and i keep getting stuck never getting past a certain spot.

I need old wisdom on how to get all the way out without getting knocked back on that 9 footer constantly and losing energy.the frequency of the waves was so short that I felt like I could never get there. All the guys on their shortboards where getting out there no problem.

Any tips? Or is this just something I will pick up from enough experience, building up better paddling technique? Thanks!

if you could duckdive that 9 footer, i'd give you $5000000000000000. best way to get out past bigger sets is to turtle/eskimo roll. as you see a wave come towards you, grab the rails, and roll it over, with you under the board underwater and the board upside down. try to kind of tilt the nose downwards, wait for the wave to go over you, roll it back over and keep on paddling. if it's just some small whitewash, just paddle hard into it, and you should plow right through the mush and keep on going

lol i think your $5000000000000000 is safe dude, i got the board only probably 4" under the break when i was trying. Some of the smaller junk i just powered through but those bigger ones were working me when i was trying to get past.

Well, next time i'm gonna practice them turtle rolls. and paddling conditioning in general. need that endurance you get from experience. I just want to be able to be all good on this longboard before i move to a shorter board.
Thanks!!

With a longboard its try the eskimo roll or just gun it at a rip and get your timing right + take a couple on the head.

A 9ft softtop wont paddle all that quick nor take a wave on the head well not be up to getting on the face of anything sizable when your out anyhow.