Surfing Waves

Hi everyone,

I've been surfing on and off for over 5 years, but have really made a push to be consistent over the past 2 years. I've grown up around surfing and I'm relatively knowledgeable about reading waves and positioning etc.

My question is centered around board size/volume. I am around 5'6, 135lbs and 28 years old. For the past 2 years I've been surfing a 6'6, 20", 2 1/2. It has been a breeze catching waves on that board even in very small conditions. However that board was in terrible condition when I got it and had to be recently put aside since it's damaged. Luckily I have another board here, a 5'10, 18 3/4, 2 3/8 Al Merrick Flyer 2. I've been using this board in the meantime and have only surfed it about 3 times. As far as actually catching waves, it has been surprisingly easy and my wave count is still just as good, sometimes I surprise myself catching tiny waves with it and once I'm up and going it's much lighter and easier to turn and maneuver than the older board, and obviously duck diving is also much easier. However, paddling out to the lineup and back and forth after catching waves is much more draining (as expected). I know most guys who have questions about board sizes generally tend to question from the standpoint of not being able to catch waves easily, but this situation is a bit different.

Since I have no issues catching waves with this board, would it be recommended to just stick it out for a while until my endurance increases? Or should I take the easier route and pay to repair (not sure if it's worth it with this particular board) or invest in a slightly higher volume board (I know volume isn't everything also).

Long story short: Old board bigger, easy to paddle around and catch waves but waterlogged and not as fun to ride; other board - smaller and more difficult to paddle around, but just as easy to catch waves and much more fun to surf once up and going.

Luckily endurance is something that is relatively easy to gain - if you are surfing frequently (2-3+ per week). Yes it will take a few months of shorter sessions as you wear out faster but eventually and slowly you should get there.

The issue will be if you are only surfing once per week or less - then you have some harder decisions to make

weigh up the amount of waves you are missing out on. buy a new board somewhere in between, good excuse for a new board lol.. but up to you really. I have the same issue, but not to your extent i think. even sacrificing turning capabilities for a few more waves a session is the dilemma.

but as noted above im just a weekend warrior, surf up to 2 times a week.

Should you marry the orettt one who can't cook or clean or the more homely one that treats you like a king?

No one can answer for you....if it were me I'd get a board that was a little bigger and use that on days I felt lazy.....I don't know the spots or conditions you surf but if you're surfing a Beckie that breaks 50m offshore that you get rides if 50 m is a lot different than if you are surfing an outer reef a few hundred meters offshore with rides of 2-300m. Don't know if day to day the sweep is benign or fierce. Don't know if you only have time for an hour maybe two when you surf or if you go for four hour seshs each time out. There are a lot of considerations; I would personally look for something that I enjoyed as much as possible in all aspects, which means choices and compromises OR getting different boards for different days.

whatever you do take care of your board so it doesn't become waterlogged.

dtc wrote:Luckily endurance is something that is relatively easy to gain - if you are surfing frequently (2-3+ per week). Yes it will take a few months of shorter sessions as you wear out faster but eventually and slowly you should get there.

The issue will be if you are only surfing once per week or less - then you have some harder decisions to make

Yea I was thinking the same thing. After our winter swells ended around April/May I've only surfed a handful of times, so I knew the 4 months off would've also contributed to feeling that drained when I first got back in the water.

BobIrons wrote:

dtc wrote:Luckily endurance is something that is relatively easy to gain - if you are surfing frequently (2-3+ per week). Yes it will take a few months of shorter sessions as you wear out faster but eventually and slowly you should get there.

The issue will be if you are only surfing once per week or less - then you have some harder decisions to make

Yea I was thinking the same thing. After our winter swells ended around April/May I've only surfed a handful of times, so I knew the 4 months off would've also contributed to feeling that drained when I first got back in the water.

LOL.....problem solved!

one0one wrote:weigh up the amount of waves you are missing out on. buy a new board somewhere in between, good excuse for a new board lol.. but up to you really. I have the same issue, but not to your extent i think. even sacrificing turning capabilities for a few more waves a session is the dilemma.

but as noted above im just a weekend warrior, surf up to 2 times a week.

Big dilemma indeed, if money wasn't an issue it would be a no-brainer, cause realistically I'd rather have more waves per session...ideally a hybrid type board with similar length but a bit more volume would certainly be better.

Big H wrote:Should you marry the orettt one who can't cook or clean or the more homely one that treats you like a king?

No one can answer for you....if it were me I'd get a board that was a little bigger and use that on days I felt lazy.....I don't know the spots or conditions you surf but if you're surfing a Beckie that breaks 50m offshore that you get rides if 50 m is a lot different than if you are surfing an outer reef a few hundred meters offshore with rides of 2-300m. Don't know if day to day the sweep is benign or fierce. Don't know if you only have time for an hour maybe two when you surf or if you go for four hour seshs each time out. There are a lot of considerations; I would personally look for something that I enjoyed as much as possible in all aspects, which means choices and compromises OR getting different boards for different days.

Very good points, most of my breaks aren't that far out to be honest and I'm usually happy with a 2 hour session since most of the spots I surf are uncrowded so I'm able to get in a decent amount of waves during that time. I guess the best I can do for now is to just stick with this board and go out as often as I can until I get more used to the reduced volume. Cheers for the advice everyone!!

It sounds like your body just needs to get used to paddling on that smaller board. Since you're catching waves just fine, I imagine it shouldn't take long for you to get your paddling endurance back up to speed, and give yourself a better workout when you surf too!

Inject copious amounts of steroids, you'll be padding fast in no time. Available in the back parking lot of any reputable gym.

But to address the issue at hand and actually be helpful, the Flyer II has quite a bit of nose rocker, which makes paddling over distance tiring as it pushes a bit more water. You can, by means of maximizing the efficiency of your paddle, exert less energy, paddle faster and have longer sessions. Nick Carroll (Tom's younger brother) has written extensively about this. He contributed a lot to this thread which is really helpful: http://forum.realsurf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12430

I'd also try his "Complete guide to surfing your best: Vol.2"

Hope this info proves useful.

I know there is a difference in form between long distance paddling and short burst paddling but perhaps if you wish to surf into your older years then the long distance technique is the one to use all the time. I think that is what I do naturally because there is no variation in my technique just in the speed of it.