Beginner Surfing Tips?

[undergroundthry]

Here's the situation:
For starters, I'm 5'10, 170 lbs., been riding for about 2-3 days a week for ~2-3 hours per session for about 3 weeks.

I'm new to surfing. My friend gave me his old 6'6" Anacapa Tri-Fish for free, but it's got a couple of dings in it so I haven't been able to ride it. In the mean time, I'm borrowing a 7' Surface foamie. I surf in Southern California. I can ride 1-2' waves on the foamie and pop up 100% of the time and turn both ways. However, I accidentally bit off more than I could chew and headed out into 3-4 foot waves and got rocked a couple of times. The winter swell brings a lot of bigger and more powerful waves (with days of 6 feet @ 17s) and I'm wondering how I can improve when the conditions aren't ideal for my skill level? I went to my local shop to get a price quote on ding repair and he said that a foamie is terrible to learn on if I want to eventually ride the 6'6" my friend gave me. Comments and suggestions?

[esonscar]

Surf, surf and more surf.

With dings or without dings, surf, surf and surf.

Then surf !

[undergroundthry]

Surf, surf and more surf.

With dings or without dings, surf, surf and surf.

Then surf !

Should I sell the foamie, fix the dings, and ride the fish instead?

Another thing is that I learned on nice rolling waves and here the waves are pitched not to mention that they're huge (at least from my perspective). I've been over the falls on said waves and also unfortunately was caught inside the impact zone a couple of times, so part of me is scared to go out and get pummeled again. I'm very persistent but the beatings of mother nature are somewhat demoralizing and terrifying.

[captain mainwaring]

foamies are very hard to ride in heavy surf, to floaty, buy i ding repair kit and fix it yourself ( its easy) (really is) then ride the 6/6. there will be a period of adjustment, but it will get easier. you have to enjoy the trashings, its better than sitting on the sofa.

[Beachbum]

Follow the advice of Esconsar, and I would ditch the foamie. You're able to pop up (which is the only use of a foamie anyway), and you're able to ride in each direction. Try out the 6'6" and tell us how that goes.

[esonscar]

Follow the advice of Esconsar, and I would ditch the foamie. You're able to pop up (which is the only use of a foamie anyway), and you're able to ride in each direction. Try out the 6'6" and tell us how that goes.

Hey thanks for the vote of confidence !

undergroundthry - Yeah, sell the foamie now.
Then …
Waterproof the hard board (pretty don't matter in the surf so just chuck the repair stuff on) - How? - wash the ding areas down with a couple of kettles of boiling water - pour it on, don’t scrub just flush the shite off, don't touch it either.
Now rough sand the ding and go out onto the board proper a couple of inches all-around the ding - avoid sanding through into the foam on the surround.
Pour more boiling water over the sanded area and leave to dry or heat it out with a hairdryer (heat gun is a bit too much unless you are reeeeally careful).
Mix the ding stuff and apply as instructed.
When dry ensure there are no sharp bits that might cut you if you should get a wipe out which spins the board around you under water (highly unlikely).
Don't bother sanding flush, ride ([edit : I didn;t write wise !wise, I wrote with ......]) with the repair bump will only be 'feelable' under enormous speed and turning forces - you ain't all that just yet !

Good luck with it and let us know how it goes !

::: Hwyl i'Chi :::

[captain mainwaring]

dont poor water on dings, not ever..... just remove any wax around the area with methylated spirits, thats easy, then fix with repair kit. if you seal any water inside the repair the board may delaminate, resulting in it disintegrating.

[undergroundthry]

Fixed the ding but I don't know what the deal is... maybe less volume, maybe different centering on the board, but it's a lot tougher to work the 6'6". I find myself paddling twice as hard and exerting energy twice as fast with it; went over the falls a couple of times and get clipped in the head with it, but is that due to positioning for the wave or not getting the board to match the wave speed? It's kind of squirrely, but maybe that's due to the swallow tail? I'm going to head back out when conditions are good again for me.

Also, another question... I'm sort of determined to ride this thing so I go out in all conditions... I'll go out if the waves are within my comfort zone, but if the waves are shoulder high plus, I tend to just go out and surf in the soup, practicing paddling and pop ups. Should I continue to do this or head to the outside on bigger days?

[captain mainwaring]

undergroundthry, at your level of surfing the tail finish has little or no influence on catching waves. it will take you maybe 6 months to get anywhere near catching waves with control. you would learn faster on a slightly longer board, but not a foamy. you've got to just settle into enjoying the whole experience, walking to the beach, paddling out, getting trashed, paddling back out, getting trashed, riding a wave, falling off, coming in, chilling out and reliving the experience in your head, then looking forward to the next session. just keep launching yourself over the falls whilst jumping to your feet, as time goes by your feet will start connecting to the board more and more often.

[undergroundthry]

What should I do when the waves are too big for me?

[esonscar]

What should I do when the waves are too big for me?

Don't go out - a rip may suck to the lineup and you'd be fooked !

[Supafly]

What should I do when the waves are too big for me?

What i did when i was learning on my 6'6" (which was also too small for me to learn on) but i would just paddle out and see if i could make it out the back, worst case scenario was i actually did make it out the back and try to catch one of the smaller waves and would get pumbled but it was invaluable paddling and duckdiving practice even if you only last 30mins. So when the waves were more to my level i could stay out there longer and even manage to push myself. As in my head these wipeouts couldnt be as bad as the ones from the bigger days I will say this though, i only started doing this when i could stand and occasionally ride along the comfortable mellow waves 80% of the time.

Beware as well white wash on these bigger days is vicious, but if you can take this it will give you ooodles of confidence to push yourself as nothing will be as bad as the beatings you will get from doing this. But chances are you wont be able to make it out the back

[undergroundthry]

What should I do when the waves are too big for me?

Don't go out - a rip may suck to the lineup and you'd be fooked !

unfortunately that did happen to me. I got shot out to the line up and waves were overhead plus. Needless to say, I got thrashed out there and was scared for my life. Luckily I made it back in but only by going over the falls on a head high wave. When I surfaced, another wave came straight for me and I was in the impact zone. Paddled as hard as I could and the wave broke just feet behind me shooting me to the beach in the soup head over heels. Made it to the beach and went to see the lifeguard because I was so exhausted. I definitely learned how to identify rip currents but that experience also diminished my confidence in going over the falls in general. Suggestions on overcoming this? I usually just hang out underwater when that happens but I did that last time and when I surfaced, got pummeled again with no air, I.e near drowning experience.

And supafly... Thanks for the advice!

[captain mainwaring]

the trashings really were part of the fun from the beginning for me, if they are not, you are probably not going to get to a really proficient level. the thing is, no matter what level of surfing you get to, you are always going to seek heavier waves in order to get the thrill and to push your limits, so if you do not enjoy the testing nature of the ocean, then it may not be for you. i have been living next to a consistent beach and surfing for 16 years, i now travel to find testing waves, i still have that adrenalin rush when i paddle out in heavy surf, i dont see it a bad fear, i see it as a connection and respect for the conditions the sea has offered me on that day.

[undergroundthry]

the trashings really were part of the fun from the beginning for me, if they are not, you are probably not going to get to a really proficient level. the thing is, no matter what level of surfing you get to, you are always going to seek heavier waves in order to get the thrill and to push your limits, so if you do not enjoy the testing nature of the ocean, then it may not be for you. i have been living next to a consistent beach and surfing for 16 years, i now travel to find testing waves, i still have that adrenalin rush when i paddle out in heavy surf, i dont see it a bad fear, i see it as a connection and respect for the conditions the sea has offered me on that day.

That's a great way to look at it... thanks for the insight. I come from a background of 12 years of snowboarding and everything's so predictable and "safe" because it's all man-made and you have control over everything. I also have that school of thought where I'll push myself to the limit and take the beatings, but once I'm through, I can just park myself on the side of the run and recuperate... surfing is totally different where it's a lot more physically demanding and if you get rocked, you have to get back up immediately and make a quick decision to prevent from getting winded again. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not completely comfortable with the ocean yet, but I'm sure over time I will be.

PS - Somehow a wall of water hurling towards you is a lot more intimidating than you hurling yourself at a giant ass ramps haha

Again, really appreciate all the advice!

[esonscar]

Geez guys and gals, in the 'Surf riders Guide To Europe', my local break is written as the longest and toughest paddle out in Europe when it's working !

I was sucked out by a rip hundreds of yards off shore and then spiraled into 8 to 10ft (16ft to 20ft face) closeouts!

I only nipped in to get wet for a quick session on the inside !

(grommets reading - this is like going to the shop for a sandwich but ending up being involved in a nuclear war armed with only your underpants !)

So……. I really struggled to get back in - really, really struggled - and I was at that time seriously fit and proficient in the water.

My message here - if it's bigger than you usually can handle - PLEASE consider what it might be like outside and think of the worst case scenario you could end up in. If you might not handle that worst case - go to a lesser break.

Surfing is meant to be fun and expressional unless you are competing for glory !

No surf heroes please guys and gals – Just get wet, get fit and have fun – Safe surfing is the best thing I have ever done.

[edit is sig ....]

::: Hwyl i'chi :::