Surfing Waves

im just starting out surfing. i purchased a 9 foot bic and im surfing on long island, newyork. theres always a pretty bad shore break here and its giving me trouble with catching waves. i dont know how far to go out to catch a wave. i can catch the waves if i stay close to the shore, but the wave crashes on me before i can pop up and then i eat sh*t. but if i go farther out in the water to avoid this i can't catch the wave and it passes right under me. i know going out at low tide helps but are there any other tips. should i just be working on my paddling? thanks!

where on long island do you surf? I'm from long island too, usually head out to Lido West.


As for what you're saying, you really can't ride anything that breaks on shore. Yeah, it's fun when learning as the whitewater can push you inward, but if you're really trying to surf, you need to go out back past the shore break. It's something that takes time to learn where to go, and a lot of "studying" the water and what the waves are doing. If I were you, I would head out one day and watch other surfers, where they are, and what position they are in in the water. There is a special spot at the break where you want to be when the wave begins to lift you (spot x; by the way this video is incredibly useful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HbhKSMSkOo)

The surf we get isn't usually big, although there usually is a couple of spots on the beach where you can be out back and comfortably catch some good waves. For me, my problem with learning how to catch was timing. You need to know when to move your weight forward, as well as when to start paddling really hard to make sure you stay on the wave and begin falling down it. That, combined with correct positioning (making sure you're at spot x) is how you consistently catch waves. (And with a 9 foot board, you definitely can grab a lot of the small stuff we get).

thanks for the response. i mainly surf at smithpoint and sometimes shinnecock. me and my friend are trying to take the train to long beach more and more too. i've made friends with some local surfers at smith point and they said that they would show me some of the good spots and im looking for some of my own. that video cleared up a ton of stuff. thanks alot!