Surfing Waves

Hi everyone.

I've been surfing about 15 times now, and I've mastered surfing whitewash. I moved to catching green waves, and was actually succeeding for a bit. But recently, I've been going back in my learning curve. I just cannot catch the green waves anymore.

I'm moving forward on my board more, to the point where the board is flat on the water. I've been paddling quickly, as well. I feel like the waves just pass right under me, or by the time I've caught them, they've already broken and I'm in the whitewash again.

For a second, I blamed the surf conditions. I live in SC, and the surf lately has been 1-2 feet, mushy, and showing 4-9 sec wave periods. The waves don't break until they get close to shore, and they tend to crumble all at once. I don't want to be that one kook that always blames the conditions, though. Is it me? Or is it the surf? I just have no idea what I'm doing wrong!

I know this topic has been posted before. But I just don't understand how one day I'm getting green waves, and the next it's like I was pushed back in my development.

Forgot to add- I'm 5'5", 143lbs, riding a 9ft foam board. It's a popout I know but I just started surfing and didn't want something too expensive.

It's difficult to tell but I am going to bet it's the waves. I went surfing yesterday and found what looked like a decent small break but it turned out to have no power at all and the only way to catch it was in the whitewater.

When I first started to learn how to catch green waves, I was having difficulty to read the waves. I was always waiting in the wrong spot. Then I started going further out to the lineup to sit with the pros. I find the waves were so much easier to catch. So I'd say just see where the other people are catching the waves and go sit next to them!

it happens to everyone!

If you catch the wave but its whitewater, either you are catching them too late or you are not popping up fast enough. The latter is common when you are a beginner - the wave catches the board, you think 'ok, now what do I do, thats right I do this' and by then its too late. This is just a matter of muscle memory - learning to pop up immediately and not having to think about what you are doing. Comes with practice

if the wave is passing you by, probably you are trying to catch it too early - your positioning is wrong like others have said. It can be hard because on a green wave you have to get used to the board being at an angle and going fast and dropping and all the rest, and it can feel wrong. So you back off a bit or whatever and then you miss it... So take BaNZs advice, look at where the other people are starting from

Thanks everyone!

Went surfing again today in better conditions an definitely did better. I'm still struggling to break the lip though. And I'm still pearling.

When you're sitting in the right spot in the lineup, what are you looking for in a wave? I should know this by now. :/

The wave should be breaking inside of the spot you are at. So the wave doesn't break before you catch it. You want to be positioned where you can turn and go down the line and the wave won't break in front of you and leave you behind. This is not an exact spot and depends you your ability. Generally it is at the peak (highest point in the wave) but perhaps to the side of the peak. What I do to avoid pearling a long board is to take off with the board angled down the wave and use my ankles to turn the board toward the wave (push the inside edge of the board down). I also step on the tail to push the nose up but I do this while watching the tip of the board and after I am falling down the wave so if the nose is going underwater or close to going underwater I step on the tail and if not I don't. You don't want to step on the tail before the board is well onto the wave because this will slow you down. You have to really concentrate to adjust on the drop so it requires focus. At some point it will all be automatic. If I were just starting I would focus on taking off at an angle and doing an ankle turn once you are on the wave.

Keep at it...everyone goes through periods of backward development. Remember, the ocean doesn't provide a consistent training ground, so for beginners it can be tough because what worked one day may not work the next due to a change in conditions--swell, wind, tide and shifting bottom contours...it all adds up even when the wave heights are more or less the same. Having said that,
I wonder how your paddling is--to be honest, pearling a nine foot board in small surf at your weight shouldn't be that easy unless you're doing something wrong from the start. Have you ever just gone out and paddled for a long time in one direction, up or down the beach? If not, I would start with that until you develop a really strong, smooth glide. Shift your body forward and back to find what's most efficient and stable. A lot of mistakes occur during the strokes leading up to catching the wave--out of rhythm, too far forward or back, too much motion without any real 'bite'. On a small day, just practice paddling into waves. Don't even bother standing up, just get a feel for the different motions of the wave as you paddle in to them. You may find yourself pearling still, if so, you're probably poorly positioned from the start. If you don't pearl, but still can't get into the wave (it just rolls right by) then you're probably not generating enough speed--you can't catch a wave if you're not moving fast enough. The standing part on a 9' should be easy (relatively). The trickiest part of learning is reading the waves, so sometimes taking the standing part out of the equation can help.

Reading waves is tough and lining up with experienced surfers can help, but remember: they paddle much better than you so don't get frustrated with yourself if you can't get into waves from the same spot as them. The lineup is a guide for proficient surfers and paddlers, but it's not a guarantee you'll catch waves from there. Just give yourself plenty of time to learn and don't lose patience--we've all been there

Thank you so much, guys. I went out for a second time today and did much better because the surf was larger and more powerful.

Carmelite- My paddling skills are terrible. I'm very weak, but I've been sore recently, so I know I'm building muscle.

I lined up with all the other surfers today and it helped a lot. Could I possibly be pearling as a result of not popping up fast enough? I read dtc's post and tried popping up earlier, but it seems so scary to pop up right away. I'm unsure that I've caught the wave so I hesitate for a second and ride the wave on my belly. THEN I stand up. When I do pop up early, the wave still passes right under me, and I'm stuck standing on the board, looking like an idiot.

Also- when you guys were first catching green waves, what was your major issue? I feel like mine is paddling speed.

Thanks!

Thanks so much again!

I think the experience for beginners is slightly different depending on your sense of balance and level of fitness and determination. Build up your arms and things will get easier. At the top of this page is a menu bar and if you hold the cursor over "Learn to Surf" there are lots of instructions. You can practice popping up when you aren't in the water. My biggest problem was I was out of control and my board would fly all over the place sometimes going off the wave by accident. I was a top level swimmer before I started and super fit. Initially I got the "rubber band arms" after surfing for a while but I quickly got through that stage. I quit surfing for a number of years and restarted out of shape over weight and less nimble than I used to be. My biggest problem when I restarted was probably just old reflexes trying to do what I used to do on boards that worked quite different from what I used before. I found that on slow weak waves I took much longer to popup but when the board fell over the edge of a steep wave it was easier and quicker. However before I restarted surfing I spent 6 months exercising my weak arms so that I could paddle better. After a while you will feel the rear of the board lift when the wave starts to catch you or you will feel the board falling down the face of the wave and know you are on. I think beginners tend to be timid about taking the drop. You have to get over it and aggressively go for the takeoff. Practicing your popup and strengthening your arms will help.

swellchaser wrote:I lined up with all the other surfers today and it helped a lot. Could I possibly be pearling as a result of not popping up fast enough? I read dtc's post and tried popping up earlier, but it seems so scary to pop up right away. I'm unsure that I've caught the wave so I hesitate for a second and ride the wave on my belly. THEN I stand up. When I do pop up early, the wave still passes right under me, and I'm stuck standing on the board, looking like an idiot.

Also- when you guys were first catching green waves, what was your major issue? I feel like mine is paddling speed.!

Everyone stands up too early sometimes and the wave keeps going - but its better than popping up too late if the wave has any size. But riding down the wave and then popping up is a beginner thing, everyone does it, its part of learning. Just try not to!

What is hard to do is to pop up and then force yourself down the wave. The wave is a hill, imagine you are on a bike (or a skateboard or skis, whatever you do on land). if you want to go down the hill, you dont lean back and do nothing. You lean forward into the hill and head down. The same on a wave. As a beginner, you probably pop up and then try to lean back to slow things down. The wave doesnt care, it keeps going and you dont have the speed to keep up. So its not just pop up timing, its what you do after - go with the flow, dont fight it.

Perling is almost always due to not paddling fast enough as others have said.

Google up the 'surf simply' videos on youtube. they are really good for beginners, there are 10 or so - have a watch

Honestly, never blame the conditions because everywhere else in the world are surfing the same conditions.

So to stop pearling you pop up earlier. And if you miss the wave, so what it was only by a fraction of a second. Keep practicing the timing of it.

And to catch the wave, do what all the other people are doing. Take five minutes on the beach and watch them to prevent a lot of problems. Good luck.