Surfing Waves

Hi all I'm new to this site and surfing, so any advice is much appreciated.

I have just bought myself a board, and am keen to be able to use it. My 12 year old son is also learning with me.

Can anyone recommend a good spot to learn? I have read that Freshwater is good, but I'd love to find something a little further north if possible?

When you are learning there are 2 stages:

1. whitewater learning - catching the whitewater, learning to stand up. Any beach will do this, but the best beaches are those that are flat and shallow, so the waves break further out and there is a lot of white water.

2. small wave catching - for this you want small, not powerful, waves. Often a nice sheltered corner of a beach is good, or a generally quiet (small wave) beach. Away from rips and rocks etc, of course.

The best spot for 'level 2' will vary depending on the tide, swell, wind direction etc. For example some beaches will be good at low tide with a sandbar to stand on, but the same spot will have unrideable shore dump at high tide. Some will be beautifully protected during a NE wind/swell but totally exposed to a Southerly.

That doesnt really help in terms of location; I guess my general advice is that to learn any beach is potentially good but you have to identify the right part of the beach and the right time. This does take a while to learn; and you will turn up to a beach that was perfect yesterday only to find its terrible today. The key is to find 3 or 4 good spots that work in different conditions, and know when each of them will work and be prepared to drive up and down a little bit to find the best one for the day.

A good starting point is to look around at where the surf schools run their courses, then go there. Not just to the beach they go to, but to the part of the beach they go to. A quick google shows schools at Narrabeen, Warriewood, Mona Vale and Newport, along with Freshwater and probably other areas. See when they run their courses (although school holidays is the best time to do this) and turn up to the beach and just copy them!

Almost any of the northern beaches will do. Avoid the points, and avoid some of the smaller beaches where localism can be a bit of an issue (Warriewood for example), but DY, mona vale etc. will all be fine for learning as dtc said

A bigger issue (and for anyone in Sydney...) will be when you surf not where. Try and get out there when the crowds are bit less intense (first thing in the morning, during weekdays, when the weather's a bit icky) and you've got a chance of snagging a wave.

Thanks for the tips. Much appreciated.

Hopefully I'll be improving soon.