Surfing Waves

I've been surfing for a year and I've never had a problem getting into the lineup. However, I do it in a very janky way. I often ditch my board a lot and swim underwater then pull my board back and continue paddling. This works but obviously puts others behind me in danger. I've never actually hit anyone but I have broke my leash one time and had a hard time swimming back to shore.

I really don't know what else to do, especially if I'm about to take a wave on the head. I definitely cannot duckdive this board and turtle rolling seems even more sketchy on waves that are 5ft+. Any tips? Also a side note, are there any tips for swimming back to shore after a broken leash?

teenageape wrote:I've been surfing for a year and I've never had a problem getting into the lineup. However, I do it in a very janky way. I often ditch my board a lot and swim underwater then pull my board back and continue paddling. This works but obviously puts others behind me in danger. I've never actually hit anyone but I have broke my leash one time and had a hard time swimming back to shore.

I really don't know what else to do, especially if I'm about to take a wave on the head. I definitely cannot duckdive this board and turtle rolling seems even more sketchy on waves that are 5ft+. Any tips? Also a side note, are there any tips for swimming back to shore after a broken leash?

OH Young Ape what to say
You will have to begin to get more skills in getting out! 7ft boards can be duckdived but the technique is a skill to be learned, as is turtle rolling, which will work most times, if you go smaller on a board the turtle is not as workable. read up on all the duckdiving tips here.
If you have to do you swim and tow technique to get out in 5ft + surf really I don't think you are ready for stuff of that size!
One thing positive, you can swim which means whenever your least breaks from the extra strain you are putting on it, your will be able to bodysurf a wave in.

OH several benefits of being able to paddle out, you will be less tired , so you catch more waves , the other is the rest of the surfers will not consider you a navigational hazard,( actually two, your body at one end of the leash and your board at the other).

I used to have difficulties getting out though mostly because we have short period as in 5 sec surf here and when it starts getting big, with not many rips or channels, you basically have to take a pounding to make it outside. I've gone out at some much cleaner places with longer period swell and had 0 problems. What really helped me is paddling when its flat or if you can't go surfing and using a watch to pace yourself, set goals for your paddle ability like paddle for 2 minutes straight intervels then next time use 2 and a half minute intervals and so on. This has helped tremendously with my paddling power and endurance. Infact I went out last weekend and felt like I was on a boat.

Another thing, even in short period slop, the waves will eventually go into a lull giving you an opportunity to paddle out. Walk up to the surf and just watch the break until you see a window to laddle out.

There's literally no way this board can be duckdived. It's 7'0x21x2.8 and I'm 5'5" 130 pounds.

I just feel like I'm stuck in the middle because duckdiving is impossible and turtle rolling is so sketchy, I feel like I still get a pounding and water in my nose when I do it. So what do people do to paddle out funboards? There has to be something else.

I put some suggestions here

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=20246&p=156685#p156685

and although everyone quite rightly says to learn to duck dive or turtle roll, I couldnt duck dive my board (long board) no matter how hard I tried and am still working on turtle rolling. Anyway, grabbing the nose of the board and sinking yourself down will help in white water, if your grip is strong enough. Its better than abandoning your board. Even if its not really what you should ideally be doing - think of it as a temporary work around.

If the wave is breaking on your head, you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Look for rips or channels (where the waves are lower) and paddle out there and around to your break; or paddle hard between sets, as others have mentioned.

As to swimming in, learning to body surf is a good idea, as are general life saving techniques (floating on your back, treading water, relaxing and taking things slow). In addition, and depending on your beach, have a look around for 'exit points'. For example, you may be able to swim over to a headland rather than have to swim back to the beach - but be careful with this, as even if the waves arent breaking there will be a swell and the last thing you want is to be washed onto rocks. However, sometimes there will be sheltered areas that face away from the swell direction and can be used.

If things are really bad, ask another surfer to help out - the old guy (or gal) with the long board will usually be your best bet.

I know you say turtle rolling is sketchy, but seriously it is less sketchy than any other option with a board you can't duck. Just roll as late as possible, paddle as long as possible before you roll, and hold real tight.

You'll be surprised how often you get through unscathed.

Agree with all the above comments - lots of good advice up there.

Nobody really likes turtle rolling. But if you can't duckdive your board then it is a skill you want to know because it minimizes the ground you give up if you get hammered by a big wave and helps keep your board away from other people. That's all it does, it is not a magic cure that allows surfers to get outside who can't otherwise. All of these are far more important: (1) working on paddle fitness; (2) learning to read the surf for easier places to paddle out; and (3) learning to time your paddle out and wait for a lull. Sounds like you probably have much of this part already down. But I mention this because I personally think if you are constantly having to turtle roll / swim under waves more than like two or three times in a row, then you are wasting valuable energy and need to re-consult (1) (2) and (3) above to see if you can find a better strategy that works at your break.

At many spots you'll get bad vibes (at a minimum) if you are repeatedly using the "swimming under the wave" technique you describe. Occasionally we all get caught in a place we can't turtle (for example, right after a wipeout and another wave is about to hit before you can get back on your board). At a minimum though, you need to think about your surroundings and make sure your board isn't somewhere where it can hit someone. Often if I'm off my board and about to get pounded I'll try to grab the end of the leash strap near the board (but be careful how / where you grab that it won't break fingers!) and swim under so at least I don't have the board swinging by the extra 8-9 feet of leash.

To add to the turtle rolling tips above, to do it effectively you need to go straight down (perpendicular to the board) and really sink your weight below the board - like you are trying to stand on the bottom. This is especially important if you don't weigh a lot. I know I sound like a broken record on this but go to the Surf Simply website and look at their "Paddling out" podcast - the part on turtle rolling starts halfway in. This technique is the only one I've found that works for me in bigger surf.

What I did with a 8 foot Doyle foamboard is jump off, grab the leash really close to the tail and pull it underwater as deep as i could. The wave would then push down the board. You can also push the front down and the back will follow. You can even do a push up for small waves and the water will go through the gap between your board and you. Hope this helps

KookieRookie wrote:What I did with a 8 foot Doyle foamboard is jump off, grab the leash really close to the tail and pull it underwater as deep as i could. The wave would then push down the board. You can also push the front down and the back will follow. You can even do a push up for small waves and the water will go through the gap between your board and you. Hope this helps

Watch out with that technique, guys have managed to put their fingers through the tie off loop or the swivel strap and have given themselves and injury called degloving where the leash has stripped the skin and muscle off a finger or two right to the bone Usually need to have the finger amputated if the injury hasn't done it already!
It's been happening a lot to newbies on Australia's Gold Coast.

Jumping off your board or throwing it away is a danger to everyone including yourself. Do not do it
Please stop thinking about it as an option except in extreme, dire, can't do anything else and Waimea Bay is about to unload on my head type situations.
Learn to read the surf learn to duck dive and turtle roll they are not that difficult but need practice.
Kookie take the advice about board choice on your other thread

jaffa1949 wrote:

KookieRookie wrote:What I did with a 8 foot Doyle foamboard is jump off, grab the leash really close to the tail and pull it underwater as deep as i could. The wave would then push down the board. You can also push the front down and the back will follow. You can even do a push up for small waves and the water will go through the gap between your board and you. Hope this helps

Watch out with that technique, guys have managed to put their fingers through the tie off loop or the swivel strap and have given themselves and injury called degloving where the leash has stripped the skin and muscle off a finger or two right to the bone Usually need to have the finger amputated if the injury hasn't done it already!
It's been happening a lot to newbies on Australia's Gold Coast.

Jumping off your board or throwing it away is a danger to everyone including yourself. Do not do it
Please stop thinking about it as an option except in extreme, dire, can't do anything else and Waimea Bay is about to unload on my head type situations.
Learn to read the surf learn to duck dive and turtle roll they are not that difficult but need practice.
Kookie take the advice about board choice on your other thread

Yea, I try only to jump off if im about the get smashed. Otherwise i just push the nose down as far as i can while im still on the board

jaffa1949 wrote:Watch out with that technique, guys have managed to put their fingers through the tie off loop or the swivel strap and have given themselves and injury called degloving where the leash has stripped the skin and muscle off a finger or two right to the bone Usually need to have the finger amputated if the injury hasn't done it already!
It's been happening a lot to newbies on Australia's Gold Coast.

You can also cut through your board with the tie off loop. I found that out the hard way just a couple of weeks ago. It looks like someone took a saw blade and ran it straight up the center of my board. Needless to say I no longer grab the leash that close to the board.

I have problems duck diving my board as well since the thing is a 7'4" Anderson fader that is pretty thick. The thickness helps with balancing for me since I'm relatively new to surfing but it introduces problems when trying to duck dive the sucker. Like others have said, learn to read the waves better. There is usually always a decent rip on a beach break that you can coast out on and even then I usually wait for a lull in the sets and paddle out quickly on calm water.

spectrefish wrote:You can also cut through your board with the tie off loop. I found that out the hard way just a couple of weeks ago. It looks like someone took a saw blade and ran it straight up the center of my board. Needless to say I no longer grab the leash that close to the board.

Most modern leashes have a broad strappy piece of webbing material which in theory is a rail saver but the cords will slice a rail easily

spectrefish wrote: I have problems duck diving my board as well since the thing is a 7'4" Anderson fader that is pretty thick. The thickness helps with balancing for me since I'm relatively new to surfing but it introduces problems when trying to duck dive the sucker. Like others have said, learn to read the waves better. There is usually always a decent rip on a beach break that you can coast out on and even then I usually wait for a lull in the sets and paddle out quickly on calm water.

Duck diving is a skill that everyone gets better at but is a challenge to the learner ( as we see by the number of posts)

You are getting the knowledge spectrefish learning to read the rip etc. Well done