Surfing Waves

Where to sit? Always a question.

I've got a board which is impossible to duck dive properly over shoulder-height waves so I tend to sit very far as I don't like to get washed and loose my position. To get priority I have to sit very deep as well, sometimes too deep so more experienced guys burn me but at least karma is on my side

However, I think that I don't get the wave count I want and can see all groms are ripping close to the shore catching small waves and having fun. Yes, usually I'm on bombs, but they tend to break faster and look more scary plus all Pros and heavy locals want them too and they ignore less experienced people like me even if I'm deeper.

But if I try to sit closer to the shore to catch something smaller I tend to get cleared and then pushed from my position and get into other people's way. I don't like angry people. Especially from North Narrabeen. Anyway, the obvious reason is to buy a smaller board which is easy to duck dive but I guess I'm not ready to drop my wave count as smaller board will cut my chance to get a wave for sure.

What should I do?

Yes, it’s a classic learners conundrum that everyone goes through. You have to stay deep to be able to paddle over the set waves, but the set waves are too big to catch...and the shore break requires you to do a lot of duck diving. So you end up catching nothing

If at all possible your best bet is to hop on the 2nd or 3rd tier break, rather than the one that everyone else wants to surf. Go down the beach and find somewhere less crowded - sure the waves are nowhere near as good but it’s less stressful. Most places will have at least a second area of shore break.

Actually the ideal is to surf on the days that have set waves of the size you want to catch. But days like that are far between - albeit that summer there are quite a few small days.

Oh, and surf during school hours - the hordes of grommets sitting way inside annoy the hell out of me as well! (Realise it’s now school holidays so that’s 2 months away)

To be honest there isn’t that much you can do, especially on big days. Unless and until those big waves are waves you can surf, you are stuck in a bit of a no win situation when it’s a bit crowded. You need to find a smaller wave or a less crowded area of the beach.

Build on your paddle technique and power. Then you can get yourself out of bad situations better.

A shorter board is not the answer either, learn how to duck dive properly. What is the difference in duck diving a waist high versus a over shoulder high wave ? Sometimes I find it easier to go through a head High wave than go down under a waist high wave. What size/type board you're having a hard time duckdiving ?

waikikikichan wrote:Build on your paddle technique and power. Then you can get yourself out of bad situations better.

A shorter board is not the answer either, learn how to duck dive properly. What is the difference in duck diving a waist high versus a over shoulder high wave ? Sometimes I find it easier to go through a head High wave than go down under a waist high wave. What size/type board you're having a hard time duckdiving ?

It's about whitewash power, I've got pushed too far as I can't go deep enough underwater to let whitewater to go through. Board is 7.2x22x2.3/4 I think around 45l volume.

Yeah, agreed it's highly improbable to duck dive a 7'2" thru a wall of whitewater. You have to Turtle. What technique are you using to Turtle ?

Is the wave a beach break or a break with multiple peaks intersecting ? Sometimes it's better to turn tail and head in and around instead of fighting the wave head on.

waikikikichan wrote:Yeah, agreed it's highly improbable to duck dive a 7'2" thru a wall of whitewater. You have to Turtle. What technique are you using to Turtle ?

Is the wave a beach break or a break with multiple peaks intersecting ? Sometimes it's better to turn tail and head in and around instead of fighting the wave head on.

My turtle roll is my backup option but even this option doesn't work against big wall of whitewater. When turtle I always try to put the nose of surfboard deeper, so wave can push it down rather than taking the board from my hands.

Majority of breaks where I surf are beach breaks with no defined peaks. No channels, no defined rips to paddle out. Sometimes I feel lost in the sea as trying to sit deep and wait for bombs and at the same time trying to paddle for smaller ones usually ending in being moved out of position and getting cleaned-up by the bigger set.

Have you tried timing the sets? I wear a cheap Casio dive watch w/ a rotating bezel that allows me to mark when the big sets roll through. Since waves usually have a regular interval (wave period) timing the sets can help prevent you from getting caught inside. On some days it doesn't really matter much. But, for example, on days where there are 2 swells - one breaking clean on the inside and one clean up set - it's really nice to be able to time it. Catch a few waves inside, then paddle out back and wait for the bombs, then paddle back inside.

surferbee wrote:Have you tried timing the sets? I wear a cheap Casio dive watch w/ a rotating bezel that allows me to mark when the big sets roll through. Since waves usually have a regular interval (wave period) timing the sets can help prevent you from getting caught inside. On some days it doesn't really matter much. But, for example, on days where there are 2 swells - one breaking clean on the inside and one clean up set - it's really nice to be able to time it. Catch a few waves inside, then paddle out back and wait for the bombs, then paddle back inside.

Interesting, does it work? From my experience all these sets always different - number of waves, size, initial breaking peak. Sometimes lulls can be minutes, sometimes just 30 seconds before big sets.

KitesurferAU wrote: Interesting, does it work? From my experience all these sets always different - number of waves, size, initial breaking peak. Sometimes lulls can be minutes, sometimes just 30 seconds before big sets.

The short answer, is: yes, it works.

It's different every session, but you should be able to notice some regularity with the waves. Single waves may come seconds apart from one another, but sets are usually minutes apart. Like any other wave in physics, ocean waves will have a particular period or interval (the time it takes for two waves from the same swell to pass a fixed point - like a buoy). This changes gradually depending on the strength of the swell, but it's measurable and contributes to the regularity of set waves, or groups of waves that travel together.

Of course, there are other factors that can effect the regularity - wind, other swells, swell energy. If you look at most surf reports, you'll notice a primary swell and secondary swells. The primary swell is the one that will produce the largest waves. But the swells come from different directions and interfere with one another. If they enhance each other (constructive interference) then you end up with a larger than normal wave, like a cleanup wave that breaks out the back and washes everyone in. If they detract from each other (destructive interference) then they can cancel each other out and produce smaller than average waves which can be lulls, mushy waves, non-breaking waves, etc.

Because there are a lot of different forces at work in the ocean, there's often a chaotic element at play. But, the set waves should still be showing up at a fairly regular interval. Do you time your paddle out to the lineup so that you make it out without taking too many waves on the head? If so, you're taking advantage of the interval. If not, you really should since it makes paddling out a lot easier.

On a good day, timing the sets will allow you to surf the waves at the lineup with everyone else, then paddle outside to catch the longer period set waves when they roll through. These will often clean up surfers on the inside or spook people into paddling further out. Either way, you then have a less crowded lineup to deal with until the next outside set rolls through.

Someone who knows physics or oceanography better than me can probably do a better job explaining it. But, the short of it is, yes, you can time the sets, and that can help keep you from getting caught inside (or help you catch the bombs). Don't just take my word for it - you should try it out and see for yourself. You can even do it while sitting on the beach. Set a timer when the biggest waves roll through and then see how much time passes before the next large waves roll through. Then see if the next big set rolls through in the same amount of time. That's it.

If you are positioned too deep you aren't positioned so no one can burn you. You are just out of the picture out of position. I do a half duck dive in fairly large waves that seems to work. I shove the nose down almost like doing a handstand with my legs up in the air then right before the wave hits I also dive my head a little deeper. The wave hit my rear end and legs and the back half of my board pushing it down and I pull the nose up and this completes the duck dive. However it's not as clean as a well done duck dive on a shortboard but it works for me. I think working on your paddling is the right thing to do. I have no idea how anyone learns to surf in a crowded lineup. You don't even get much paddling done for the time you spend in the water.

I purposely back paddle a little sometimes to encourage a determined surfer or group to push to set up deeper than me....they will keep going until I am on the peak and they are too deep to make the wave. It’s not a burn if the guy(s) deeper have no chance to make the wave.

We called that the reef meat technique!