Cant quite find an answer to my question....boards and waves

[surfingfacefirst]

Hi, Just looking for a little assistance for my very basic surfing and an issue I am struggling with, any help really appreciated and what an awesome sport!

I tried surfing last month for the first time and had 1 days surfing on a 9ft soft foam board, not to blow my own trumpet but the first wave I caught I managed to stand and ride to shore and had reasonably good success with fair few waves I caught that day, the waves were between 4 - 7 ft that day breaking upward of every 10 seconds I would guess according to the surf report and was able to get out just by swimming/walking with the board.

Absolutely loving the experience I went back over to the beach (which isn't particularly local) again this week and tried my luck again for 2 days, this time the board shop was shut so the manager of the local hotel attached to the surf shop provided me with board and wetsuit, so this time I ended up with a 6,4 ft soft foam board. I noticed the difference between the smaller and larger board and it definitely took little more effort to find balance when standing however managed to get to my feet again....fairly consistently although definitely not with as much ease as the longer board, although did find I could actually turn with the board a little which whilst to an on looker probably looked pretty basic to me I was on top of the world!!

Anyway to the point of my question, on the second day of surfing and even the afternoon of the first day the waves picked up and were far more regular eg every 7 seconds I would guess. I could not get out past the waves to past where they were breaking and god knows I tried my arse off for hours. I tried various methods (pushing down on the board and pushing my chest up worked on smaller but not larger waves, turtle rolling, swimming under the waves) and even did some research as all the more experienced guys who were making it out to past the breaks were duck diving to discover that apparently its very hard to duck dive on a foam board.

So my question is how do you get out past where the waves break on a longer foam board (I really really tried using turtle rolls and pushing over the waves but just couldn't get out past a certain point.)

Or is there a type of board I could hire/purchase which would enable me to duck dive to get as far out as I want to catch waves which would be ok to use as a beginner all be it one that can stand pretty well on foam boards.

I appreciate it may be that my technique is just not there yet in terms of getting out and maybe I'm trying to run before I can walk but any help really appreciated.

Thanks!

[waikikikichan]

So my question is how do you get out past where the waves break on a longer foam board (I really really tried using turtle rolls and pushing over the waves but just couldn't get out past a certain point.)

Or is there a type of board I could hire/purchase which would enable me to duck dive to get as far out as I want to catch waves which would be ok to use as a beginner all be it one that can stand pretty well on foam boards.

You have to build up your Paddling Fitness first. You have to increase your Wave Knowledge first. After pushing thru, turtle rolling over and over, WE ALL get tired. Sometimes conditions are too hard to get out.

As a newbie, a good board to start on is 3 feet over your head, so 9 foot (as you found out ) was good. Later as you improve and start to turn, you can try going down to 2 feet over your head, like a 8 footer. Then 7' ish funboard / Hybrids. After that 6'ish Fishes. Then lastly shortboards. Most people, myself included, can not duck dive a 7'0". You are not ready to be on a 6 foot board. So find breaks that are more beginner friendly. Getting a board based on duck diving is putting the Cart in front of the Horse.

[oldmansurfer]

there are a number of techniques to getting out through the surf. Do you think you could get out without the board? If not then you won't be able to with the board. First as you mentioned walking the board out. If that is possible then you need to walk it to almost where the waves are breaking and then wait for a calm time and paddle like crazy to get out before the next wave comes in. I can walk a board out through some heavy shorebreak sometimes but I prefer not to. Usually I look for a place that would be easier to get out. A place with smaller waves and less distance to get outside of the break because that is what you want is to get outside of where the waves are breaking. Once you get outside then you can paddle over to where the waves are. Lots of beginner are fixated on going straight out when going around the end would be quicker and easier. I watch the surf before I go out partly to find the Peaks I want to catch and partly to figure out how to get out and partly to figure out how to navigate within the impact zone. It seems we often have beginner surfers who want to get a shorter board so they can duck dive it when often a shorter board means they will struggle to even catch a wave and even with a shorter board they can't duck dive it to any meaningful degree anyway. My advice is to learn to navigate without duck diving. Then once you get some basic skills down work at duck diving. For turtle rolls to be effective you need to get the nose of the board below the impact of the wave. That way it doesn't rip the board out of your hands or suck you further inside. You also need to be quick to do it and quick to recover and start paddling back out. It's all timing. So first I would look down the beach and see if there is a channel to paddle out in where there aren't any waves. If not then where is the least amount of waves that you have to go through to get outside of the surf. Then try to walk the board out as far as possible and hold position inside of where the waves are breaking and time it between sets of waves coming in and try to beat the next set of waves out. Always avoid being where the wave is breaking either be outside of it or wait for it to break before you go out in that area. Getting out through the surf is one of the many ancillary skills that you need to surf and you will gain techniques that work for you over time. But basically if you can't get out then you can't surf so maybe go out on easier days for now and work at the techniques. If there are other surfers you can watch what they do to get out and keep that in mind for skills to gain.

[BoMan]

Here are a few helpful videos. I added "Popping Waves" to my skill set this year and really like it!

Rip Currents Can Help You Get Out

Punching Through Waves

Popping Waves

Duck Diving A Longboard

[oldmansurfer]

If you are laying down and paddling you can do the same thing as popping just push the tail down right before the wave hits but what I would do in waves that size is to let the wave go over the board and under my chest just a quick pushup sort of like duck diving but only the board goes under the wave

[Big H]

I know in your head you probably hear "blah blah blah.....I'm getting a board that I can duck dive to get outside".....thing is your paddle fitness....you still only get a 7sec gap in waves, and unless you are able to duck, recover and paddle meaningfully in that short wave period you're still not going anywhere.....to be able to paddle a board that is duckable meaningfully, you will need to have paddle fitness that can almost put a 9' foamie on plane....in other words you need to learn to be able to paddle a big board really fast for a sustained period.....like the others said, you study the break, how the water moves, weak spots in the waves that you can get through, the lulls between sets, how other surfers are able to get out back or where they fail in trying.....ocean knowledge.....then you need to be in the right place at the right time with some paddle fitness and you can race out back during the lulls....learn how to punch through wave faces (duck dips), how to plow through whitewater, pushing up to let the force pass between you and your board.....learn this now and later on when you are in better surf you will still be able to read the weak spots and find the path of least resistance, the best path out back regardless of the break or whether or not you can duck dive your board.

[surfingfacefirst]

Hi all, Thanks so much for all the advice and videos (I have read each one and its exactly why I came on here to get some more experienced advice as felt a bit stuck.) Hadn't even thought about the idea of watching the waves and routes out (although now highlighted makes a lot of sense.) I will, as suggested refrain from getting a smaller board ....for the mean time or at least until I can prove my worth on the longer board and try some of these techniques. As I am limited on when I can get down to the beach its kind of a matter of whatever waves are there when I go down thats what I have to work with, although as highlighted it could also be that I am just still lacking the paddling skills to get out properly so will be putting some serious effort into that side of things!!

Thanks again, love this sport and its great to be able to get non condescending advice on here for an early stages learner, speaks volumes for the sport and this forum.