Surfing Waves

I am begginer and have been surfing for about a month now, last week it was very choppy and no matter how hard i tried i couldnt get past the impact zone and to the surfline, i looked for access all along the beach but it was very choppy no matter where i went, i spent 40 minutes paddling against the waves, duck diving ( Im not the best duckdiver), turtle rolling but after i passed one, another wave came and dragged me back, its gotten really frustrating since my last to sessions have been that! Help!

Did anyone else make it out those days?

behindThePeak wrote:Did anyone else make it out those days?

@behindthepeak Yeah a couple of people did

Ok, some days or spots just arent meant to be, but if others made it you could too. Maybe spend some time with a cup of coffee on the beach watching how the locals approach it. There's always a rip or a channel somewhere. All that watter comming in must get out. Some times the rip zigzags, sometimes waves actually break right over it, but it's there. Look for where the waves don't break as violently or maybe they mound up before they crumble.

Everyone gets beat back to the beach once in a while. Just take a seat, rest, and watch the waves for a better path.

Thanks !

behindThePeak wrote:Ok, some days or spots just arent meant to be, but if others made it you could too. Maybe spend some time with a cup of coffee on the beach watching how the locals approach it. There's always a rip or a channel somewhere. All that watter comming in must get out. Some times the rip zigzags, sometimes waves actually break right over it, but it's there. Look for where the waves don't break as violently or maybe they mound up before they crumble.

Everyone gets beat back to the beach once in a while. Just take a seat, rest, and watch the waves for a better path.

Agreed. At some beaches, there are times when it's nearly impossible to get out back. If anyone here surfs El Porto during the winter you know what I mean. On some days I'll simply stand/float in the white water chest high for upwards of 5 minutes until I see a lull then I'll paddle out, all the while looking for channels and ways to zig around waves. Sometimes it's more effective to head straight out, other times it may make more sense to head lateral to a breaking face. If you find yourself still padding out after several minutes, that might be the time to put on the brakes and save your energy for a good lull rather than fighting through wave after wave. There's nothing worse than seeing a close out set coming at you when you've just spend 10 minutes fighting to get out and are completely spent, that's just not safe.