Surfing Waves

Hi everyone

So i finally have some pictures for you guys and on a day i have had some major breakthroughs. My last session left me very underwhelmed and frustrated, but today made it up.

i ride a 6"3 7s Superfish 2 PU (2013) with FCS Q-PC5 Quad fins ( seeing as one snapped clean off in the plug surfing Typhoon UTOR Swell. )


Heres me with my board!

I had to choose a small board, because im limited by public transport in hong kong! stuff driving in the concrete jungle .

1 ) I somehow managed to break onc of my fins clean off my board in utor, how i dont know. i went out and picked up a FCS q-pc5 quad set from my local shop so wanted to test them. I have tried my board with thruster set up and quad setup and really prefer the speed down the line quad gives... im all about speed. these fins have transformed how my board is paddling, regardless the fact they are practically the same template as my old fin but with different construction.

2) I have felt like something is wrong with my foot positioning for a very long time, so i purchased a traction pad to my back foot can seek the tail better and build some muscle memory

3) catch some waves..

they were lovely waves today, 2 - 4ft / 8 - 9 secs. somehow i just figured out how to get into the wave at a angle, i was paddling and just thought 'throw a extra paddle on the right its breaking to your left' i dropped in with a perfect clean pop up and rode it into the beach with a few pumps..stoked!.


Get out of the close out and have a pump!

the traction pad is a miracle and every beginner should have one if they are trying to learn on a shorter board!. My foot is seeking the tail, i feel more comfortable when standing, and its giving me to time to think more, for example...im popping up and instead of stalling i got time to think 'get that front foot forward, put some weight on the nose and drive down that face for the bottom turn', something has just clicked, that i need to get the foot forward on the pop up and 'drop the nose into the troth' distribute my weight evenly and keep a low center of gravity.


Get the front foot forward and drive down the face!

In realizing where my weight distribution needs to be, i know my surf board wax is dodgy! will be stripping it down and reapplying in where its 'really' needed... like in the 'white stripe' where my front foot needs to be to drive.

Its nice to be able to finally share some decent pictures of my break and me surfing... every camera just didn't do the trick last time.


Heres me pulling off a bottom turn, didnt have enough power and wiped out! will work on this

If you guys can see any mistakes im making from my pictures speak up! thanks to everyone for advice throughout my short 4 months so far of learning!

thought id add, i met some other surfers down there today, and asked to have a go on a guys 5"6 retro fish. They are very fun boards i must say... first wave i paddled for i got up and took of angled. i much prefer shorter boards with that looser feel.

i have tried longboards and funboards several times over past sessions and i still dont like them, i cant put my finger on what it is...they just feel like logs.

the dude that tried mine ended up pearling because he didnt get up fast enough... quite simply the board was off before he had the time to react.

Hooray!! Photos are fun, too!
I'm stoked!

cant see the photos!

Where are you mainly surfing (in HK)?

wierd the photos are showing for me

i made the facebook album public - fb . com /andy.cresswell.921/media_set?set=a.10153152607745037.1073741827.837140036&type=3

im surfing Chueng sha, lantau island atm, seeing as wind / swell is coming from the south during summer months. from my knowledge the wind / swell will shift e / ne in the coming winter months, then ill move up to big wave bay and tai long wan, sk

Ive surfed lantau through some varied conditions now, And must say it can be a very dynamic break, at low tide the set move through alot faster, alot steeper and some 'tiny' barrel action, but nothing u could get into...

At high tide, they turn in to rolling mush which is still surfable, but alot more closeouts...

Peazz I am stoked for you, this is a good beginning. The pictures you show show you are doing well in pretty mushy white water stuff with a couple of small bits of face showing I am glad you are stoked, you will be even more as you get onto the faces and do more keep at it. Kep talking to the local guys and start figuring out more ideal conditions. good stuff

Thanks Jaff, means alot coming from you mate!.

My deadlifting injury has flared up for no apparent reason, so im out of surfing now for atleast 2 weeks.... going to be hard getting back into the water and remembering everything, 90% of surfing is muscle memory

This is what I want to see you riding, like this About 2ft face.
Totally nice conditions Small but very doable.

Will do my best, no real fluctuations atm all swell coming from south with onshore winds, ride seems very short at chueng sha

Saw the pics - HK can be a hard place to surf, not much swell so you are sort of stuck with wind waves unless a typhoon - the waves in Jaffa's picture (or, indeed, a little bigger) are actually easier to catch than the ones in yours, esp with a shorter board. So you are doing well - bigger waves will be no problems

And you are having fun so that is what counts. Plus finding an outdoor activity in HK I remember was hard - you could hike or run the same trail over and over or pay a lot of money to do a sport; surfing is a great way to get out and about. You will just have to make a visit to Australia over (our) summer...(or Hawaii or the Phillipines or wherever).