Surfing Waves

Hi, many thanks for the add.

Fairly new to surfing but been skating for many years on and off. It started with a one to one lesson in the Summer and was having a ball renting 8ft mini-mals in Croyde until my local skate shop sold me a brand new BIC Egg saying it would be great for me, I am 95kg and this thing just sinks when I ride it on anything other than bigger green waves and it has slayed my confidence - I am sure it would be great if I was out hitting more, bigger waves but I was hoping that the blurb I was given would hold and that it would be good for any condition....sadly not.

Any recommendations for boards to provide intermediate waves and skill level fun for the bigger surfer?

Many thanks

Marty

You received a few answers to this in your introduce yourself post! They apply here too!

That's not "bummed". Bummed is when you take that brand new board out for its maiden voyage and some kook goes straight in front of you, dings your board with a skeg thru the deck, and then her husband is about to bend you in half for getting too close to her.

What you got was a taste of "reality". I'm not sure why a competent surf shop staff would "sell" you an improper board. Is the board they "sold" you the Bic 7'0" Egg ?

On Bic's own website it says, "It’s THE perfect board for 50 - 70kg surfers wanting to learn and progress easily".

50-70kg........................ Hmmmm ?

Martysheehan wrote:Hi, many thanks for the add.

Fairly new to surfing but been skating for many years on and off. It started with a one to one lesson in the Summer and was having a ball renting 8ft mini-mals in Croyde until my local skate shop sold me a brand new BIC Egg saying it would be great for me, I am 95kg and this thing just sinks when I ride it on anything other than bigger green waves and it has slayed my confidence - I am sure it would be great if I was out hitting more, bigger waves but I was hoping that the blurb I was given would hold and that it would be good for any condition....sadly not.

Any recommendations for boards to provide intermediate waves and skill level fun for the bigger surfer?

Many thanks

Marty

If you can't surf that board either the waves you have aren't good enough for that board or you aren't good enough for that board. I have an eggish mini mal board that is the same length and 3L less volume. I am 3kg lighter than you are. I surf Bali waves. The board works ok for me. I think you need to take a step or two towards the longer direction. I just got an 8' mega magic with 84L of volume and it's a blast to ride. Get something longer and fatter and you'll learn much faster.

At our size we need bigger and stronger waves than a smaller person to be able to do much with them. Not sure what an intermediate wave is for you in your head but for me I need at minimum a between waist to shoulder high wave with at least a 13sec period to be able to do much anything.

BTW, I think you're finding out that the years of skateboarding really mean __ - all when it comes to surfing. Don't feel bad about it; every former skater (me....still skate as well) or snowboarder thinks they've got the inside track on getting this thing wired. That is until they run into the realities of paddle fitness, positioning, more paddling, pop up technique, timing, more paddling, watermanship/safety/self preservation (first time you find yourself in a rip current it all come to the fore).......there is a lot to learn and it just takes time.....LOTS of time. Our size in surfing terms is huge.....as a beginner (make no mistake, that's where you are.....nothing wrong with that either) you need more board to learn. Honestly, I'd not go smaller than a 9' board. I'm your size, used to skate, wasn't so long ago that I was in your shoes (4 years surfing now). Trust me on this. A fellow forumite (rinkydink) posted how he recently went back to using a longer board from the 7'10" he was riding and it was a revelation in that he could instantly paddle better, catch waves better and generally surf better just by taking a step longer and re addressing basics. My 84L purchase was a nod in that same direction......don't be afraid of volume and length and don't listen to any more advice from that skate (surf) shop is what I'd recommend.

I weigh a little more than you and have a 7 foot egg shape board that was custom made for me. It's 24 inches wide and nearly 4 inches thick in the middle. No idea how many litters but I can't duck dive it. It works very well for me but not so good in small weak waves however I can still ride it in small weak waves. I consider myself an intermediate surfer right in the middle between a beginner and a pro. A whole foot shorter board is often very difficult to get used to. It's possible that with time you will find you can ride this board. I don't ride anything but green waves. I guess if you want to ride whitewater then you need a different board.

I forgot to say that most likely positioning more forward on the board will make it keep going in whitewater

Get a log. The waves in the UK are hit and miss and a long board will see you through the flatter times during the summer. There are a few good shops in braunton and they all seem to be knowledgeable. You have surfed out, the board barn and tiki.

I was 5kg lighter than you and used an NSP 9'2 and that did me well in everything Up To 6' faces when I was brave enough to get out there.

It's okay, we all we all go through the same thing, but we learn from it.

I also bought an egg which was a mistake and it now just sits in my garage gathering dust. I find that eggs (even if the volume is similar) is not great for us learners. Longboards and minimals are better - the added length really helps with paddling and wave catching, and because it's longer should mean quite a bit of volume too to float the bigger person