Surfing Waves

I'm starting to get really eff-ed off at my attempts at duck-diving. My board just seems to veer off at an angle when I try, and that's when I even manage to get it anywhere close to underwater!

I'm on a 6'4" bic funboard/mini-mal, and weigh 140 lbs.. am I just not going to be able to ever achieve a good duck-dive on this board (and in which case should I start trying to turtle-roll instead) or am I still doing it wrong?

It's totally frustrating me right now, I'm bloody knackered by the time I even get out to start catching waves, and my arms end up feeling like noodles!

Just a beginner myself so take this for what it's worth.... But maybe moving up on the board a little when paddling out would help. Not enough to plow the front but just enough for you to be able to get a good push under....

bic mini mal + learner is gonna make for a hard duck dive, practice on a smaller board if you can,,,get the feel for it
if you can get the front under then{sometimes tilting the board slightly to the side}
when you think you are at optimum depth use the ball of your foot to kick the tail down instead of your knee.thus forcing the front to pop up..good for deeper duck dives.....but its really all down to practice at the end of the day...good luck

So I'm going to have a hard time learning it, but it's not impossible? Good Guess I'm just going to have to face getting battered around for a bit longer then.. Oh well! Nobody said learning to surf was easy!

Cheers!

boomchancre wrote: practice on a smaller board if you can,,,get the feel for it

I reckon that's the right way too. Even very buoyant boards are duckdive-able but if you don't have the technique it's going to be harder. I would also say borrow a small board purely to learn to duckdive on, even if you can't ride it, just so you know the technique.

I'll tell you what to do in a few months time after you get surf fit proper.

I have the same question but for a bigger board. I'm just coming down from a mini mal to a 7 2 big boy flyer/ funboard. I'm a 5ft 4 9 stone female and have had mixed advice on whether Ill ever be able to duck dive this board. Im pretty strong from surfing a lot but at the moment can barely get the thing under water.
Should I just give up and turtle my way thru everything. If so, what shape/ size do people recommend as a first shortboard? something with bouyancy but that I will be able to duck dive with practice

get a 5.10 fish..... or retro twinny,short plenty of float,way more fun for you,especially if you have already learnt to stand up.
easier to sink,turn.carry ...way more fun!!!!