Surfing Waves

As a kook who has been on this forum a few years, and has really been fortunate to have lived in multiple areas for surfing (South Florida --> Maui --> Oahu), I figure this is something worth mentioning to beginners

There are many different wave types and characteristics

There are waves that are a nice lump you can see from a mile away, and slowly build up
There are waves that will seem to ''come out of nowhere'' and will suddenly get steep and barrel.
There are waves with a consistent peak, in nearly same place every time
There are waves where the peak looks to be in one place and then will break in another place first
There are waves that will peel for ages, and once you start riding the face you actually have a moment to think about what's happening.
There are waves that will run away without you, or randomly closeout.

All of these different waves require slightly different techniques to successfully ride. Steep waves don't require you to paddle like a madman (once you have your positioning correct), while slower waves often will require more paddling, etc.


There can be different wave types at different breaks just up the road from one another
Here's an example from Maui

Breakwall - Lahaina, Maui
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcX8EpNz6Mk

Lahaina Harbor, Maui
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d_SC5qs7og

These two breaks are literally paddling distance from one another, Breakwall is a much softer wave and the harbor is much faster and steeper.

One of the things people online cannot determine (unless you have video from the beach) is your type of wave. I have surfed waves that only require a few paddles, and then other spots you need to take 8 extra paddles just to make sure you have the wave.
Another complicating factor is the board you're riding. Some longboards have less rocker and will pearl much easier, especially at a steeper / faster wave.

Even on certain days / conditions you can get different wave types at the same break.
This takes many, many hours in the water to start to work out.
I surfed 3-5 days a week from April '18 to November '18. These days I feel like i've finally started to work things out.

There are endless kinds of waves even steep waves that are very difficult to take off on. Boards can limit an individual surfer but other surfers will be able to figure out how to use them better. There are three major parts to surfing, the wave, the board and the surfer but endless variations of all those parts

eh, just get a 7' foamie, you're set for any conditions