Surfing Waves

Late last year my wife and I had our first ever surfing lesson and we loved it. Sadly the waves weren't there for us to practise during the weeks afterwards, amd then winter happened, but we're looking forward to starting up again next month. We have a question though that I can't seem to find an answer to on this forum: we both had huge difficulty staying on the boards when paddling. We were fine when standing up, but just kept slipping off when lying on the board, even when using our feet to grip the back of the board (without which I couldn't stay on at all!). We've both SUPed for years now and I windsurf regularly, so we're used to board sports and have fairly good balance. Could it be that the foam beginner's boards are slippery, or perhaps it's the t-shirts the school make you wear? Or is this just a skill we'll learn with time? I was surprised, as staying on the board when paddling wasn't something I've heard of before as being a typical beginner problem.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

That's a typical beginners thing. Off course if the boards deck or the shirts make things slippery it doesn't help, but basically you must learn to stay balanced when paddling. This will come in time as long u do it regularly, don't worry.
Next thing is to stay balanced when sprint-paddling to catch the wave

Something others have posted here; use wax on foamie boards. They have said to rub it up with some wax and you should have no issues.

Thanks very much for the advice.

Don't forget about us....I personally like to hear how new surfers are developing. Let us know how it worked out!

No worries - I will do! We really enjoyed it, so hopefully we'll be back out soon - we just need to wait for the water temperature to get back into double figures!

Just an update: We tried different boards on Saturday and the problem vanished. Everything else was the same, but the boards were different and slipping off the board wasn't an issue in the slightest.

I think bigger board are more stable so maybe that was your problem , the boards were too small?

Good thought, but the slippy boards were actually bigger. These ones are noticeably narrower and less floaty. It was the material on the top of the board that made it so hard to stay on them.

I've worked quite a lot for a few surf schools, and hence have ridden a big variety of their boards.

Whilst most of the foamies are fine, occasionally I'd take one out which was MUCH more slippery than the others, despite being exactly the same make and model. I don't have an explanation for it, but like you I would be sliding around whilst paddling it.

None of them were waxed by the way.

Lebowski wrote:Whilst most of the foamies are fine, occasionally I'd take one out which was MUCH more slippery than the others, despite being exactly the same make and model. I don't have an explanation for it, but like you I would be sliding around whilst paddling it.

Maybe sunscreen?

No, this was whilst wearing a wetsuit.

Ha ha, ok. I was more thinking maybe somebody all greased up used the board before you did

Lebowski wrote:I've worked quite a lot for a few surf schools, and hence have ridden a big variety of their boards.

Whilst most of the foamies are fine, occasionally I'd take one out which was MUCH more slippery than the others, despite being exactly the same make and model. I don't have an explanation for it, but like you I would be sliding around whilst paddling it.

None of them were waxed by the way.

Thanks - that makes a lot of sense. The second I picked up these new boards I knew something was different; the surface was sticky and rubbery, rather than smooth and slippy, and I could paddle around on them without budging an inch, whereas before I kept sliding off constantly. I wonder if it's just wear and tear with age? Perhaps they smooth off with use? Regarding wax, yes, I doubt very much these boards are waxed - it's just a hire at the beach arrangement and they live outside.

I think gear like surfboards just age differently depending on how it's been used, what it's come into contact with (such as sunscreen), how long it stays out in the sun, etc. I play basketball and it's like that with balls too- some get better with age and feel grippy and comfortable, others get slick and slippery.

Wax should help with all the slippery boards though.