Surfing Waves

I have been surfing for 30 years after learning to surf in Newcastle during the early 90's, sometimes in big and heavy surf. I surfed all over the east coast of Australia in that time from Wilsons Prom to Noosa, and everywhere in between. Broken Head was my goto beach for over 10 years and now I live at Scotts Head which has the point and several decent beach breaks.

However I am now 56 and 95kg's and I usually surf 2-3 times a week, sometimes more if it's good, or less if it's crap so I am still pretty surf fit, but about two years ago I started having serious problems catching waves. Once I get up, I am fine but most sessions I will be lucky to get one decent wave in 60-90m, and many times when the surf isn't great or small, I don't catch any waves at all.

I have tried 6 different boards over the last 2 years ranging from mini-mals, to fun boards from 7'2 to 8'0 and from 48L to 60L vol and none of them have really changed anything for me. Am currently riding a Modern Love Child 7'6 and a Modern Falcon 8'0 but they haven't really improved my wave count either to be honest.

So many times over the last few years I have felt like giving up completely but I am a stubborn old bugger and just can't accept that it's over for me already. I have watched countless online videos to try and improve my paddling and pop-up technique and a couple of things have helped correct some bad habits like holding onto the rails, but most days I just end up watching everyone else from young grommets to older surfers in their 70's catch waves right in front of me.

At 95kg's and 6ft I need to ride a board over 50L and both my current boards float me OK, but i still find them hard to get paddle speed onto the wave. When I paddle out nearly everyone paddles faster than me, so it's obviously a combo of my weight, strength, age and possibly technique.

I still love surfing as a way of keeping fit, and being in the Ocean but for more than two years I have surfed 3-4 times a week and hardly caught more than 20-30 proper waves in that entire time.

Should I just give up?

Let reply to the most important question first ABSOLUTELY NO , having dealt with that now is how to do it.
I was a similar age and weight when i went south from the central coast to the beaches of the Bega valley, like Scotts Head a haven for aging surfers, i went to a 9ft performance mal, i regained wave catching and my surfing recovered its joy and I went back to doing everything on the board again and lost sadness and picked up very old skills from when I first started surfing in 1958.

Now paddling is not just about volume, it is also about a long flat areaon the bottom of the board that provides glide, so 9ft without heavy rocker im tail and nose , they cut down that area, go and see Mitchell Rae ( Outer Islands Surfboards) have a look at his boards , i ride a 9’3’’ Super Mal .
After 10 years it is still going strong.
I’m 71 in a few days, im over weight 100kgs but this is the go for me

This was one of my last trips to Indonesia so after that had to recover from Cancer and now knee reconstruction looms, but since i now live in Austria the Atlantic is challenging
.

There are also various Mactavish boards both epoxy and and PU to look at to.
Go to Crescent Head for the annual Mal comp if it happens (viral stuff) look at what is there.


All good don’t lose surfing from your life.

Thanks so much for the encouragement.

I have been putting off moving to a 9' Mal but might check the Super Mal by Outer Islands. It does look interesting.

Stop thinking too much, surfing is the way to go, you are looking at about $1700 to $1900 AUD for an Outer Island or McTavish new,

There are other options. Walden, Torq or NSP in epoxy, they are all pretty good, slightly cheaper but not quite supporting local industries.
Heaven knows that might be needed.
If you go the Supermal with it’s particular concave set up I would talk to Mitchell about the difference between a 2+ 1 set up and his newer 5 fin system. Either way i recommend from my experience the FCS bonzer special fins as either side bites or the quad set up.
Seriously consider Mitchell’s switch blade fin system .

I also know the shop has second hand trade ins , could be worth while!
cheers
Jaffa

If you don’t want a mal, check out Grant Miller’s boards. He specialises in boards for bigger guys. He is pretty outspoken on his website but is a lovely guy totally committed to give you what you need. A 7’6 or longer Waterskate might really suit you, or maybe a Sub-X (disclosure: I have 2 boards from Grant including a waterskate - mine is 6’10).

http://www.grantmillersurfboards.com.au/

Outside of boards, do you have any underlying limitations- are you slow in popping up, losing flexibility, shoulder pain? Would a strength program help (for example)? Or yoga?

Do you smoke cigarettes ?

waikikikichan wrote:Do you smoke cigarettes ?

Hopefully not and definitely not while he is surfing.

A contemporary 60s surfer at Dee Why was nicknamed Smoke Kool cause he did, but sadly he is no longer a contemporary!

Are you having fun? Do you enjoy surfing? If the answer is no then it’s time to reevaluate why you are surfing. If the answer is yes then why quit?

oldmansurfer wrote:Are you having fun? Do you enjoy surfing? If the answer is no then it’s time to reevaluate why you are surfing. If the answer is yes then why quit?

Yup

Thanks so much everyone for your advice and suggestions. This is a huge issue for me which has left me feeling really xxxxx about myself and my life, so i do sincerely appreciate your help.

I do love surfing, that's why I have put up with all the disappointment, heartbreak and embarrassment as people watch me day after day struggling to get a wave. The joy I feel when i finally do get a decent wave keeps me going for months. When the last big cyclone hit about 3 years ago I got a 7-8ft wave 400m from way out the back of the point to the bowlo carpark. That kept me going for ages but that was 3 years ago now.

No I don't smoke, and my lung capacity is pretty good but could be better. I got shot through the chest when I was 16 (long story) so only have 2/3rd's of a lung in my right lung. But I get smashed so often and held under when it's bigger that I have developed a good level of fitness in that regard. My shoulders do get sore, but not so much while I am in the water, but afterwards, especially after a long session with lots of paddling.

The pop-up is my main problem, my right wrist is always playing up and it's hard to do push ups even out of the water. When I don't have enough paddle on speed to get up early i often find myself getting up too late when the wave has already started breaking, which causes me to hold onto the board too much. Yet the other day I did a super fast popup and got up quickly because of the way the wave pushed me as I got up but that is pretty rare unless i time it right.

I really do think the main problem is my weight 95kg and the volume of the boards I am riding, as they don't seem to paddle onto the waves fast enough without a super human paddling effort. I very rarely get up and riding before the waves has broken like I see most others do, and so every take off is a late take-off pretty much. When it's bigger I do better as the waves have more push but the problem with Scotts Head is most of the time the waves are under 3-4ft.

The Supermal is too expensive for me, and I am reluctant to spend that much on another board, only to find it doesn't help or is the wrong board. I need something that can surf the breach breaks here because the point gets too crowded so a 9ft Mal wouldn't really work as the waves get too steep and break fast.

These boards are in my short list so far.

https://www.akewatu.com.au/surf/surfboa ... a799/22129
https://overboardsurf.com.au/product/ma ... _sizes=7-6
https://pipedreamsurfboards.com/product ... 3777026161

Sometimes I think mid length boards (depending on the board I guess) are the worst of both worlds. Too long to fit into fast pitching waves and too short to paddle in on rounder waves. The surf has to be just right.

I would take the advice of others and get a longboard.

I understand the cost factor for the boards, that is a genuine reason.=
i do hear you arguing for your limitations.
crowded points as up there can be very crowded , if you ride well enough then you are among the mals and the whole rash of surf vehicles, no real issue.
Beach breaks up from The point, again picking your wave and spot but all doable on a mal.
Ive surfed everywhere up there from back Plomer to Angers and further up to Byron of course on old mals and modern, biggest bug for meis the poor manners of the crowd, now with SUPs thrown in.

My pop up is a problem as i am needing knee replacement at times my knee will only half open like a rusty pen knife, the slightly longer paddle in with a mal gives me time to organise through that. Short does give the time or stability to do it essily.

Check out the Torq, NSP and the epoxy mals i suggest , maybe some of the surfshops, allow trial surfs.

I offer a thought for you all the short or fun boards talk of paddling like alike a longboard is BS only a longboard paddles like a longboard, , go longer than 7‘6‘‘ you are buying a new board with the same problem, you and your paddling, i know as i got older and stayed short i found myself wallowing more and more each surf, i borrowed a mal and immediately regained catching power!

A thought , since you like Modern boards in the GSI stable, have a look at the 9‘1“ Boss, see if that fits your needs and price range.
if you started surfing in the early 90s you may have caught the longboards are for kooks and old guys, prejudicial virus,, it can be cured

Thanks everyone, am seriously considering buying this 8'0 Supermal.
It might be the last board I ever buy.

https://outerislandboardtrader.blogspot ... r-mal.html

A good one to consider, but never a. last board.
i have taken up river surfing, since i dont have to paddle or pop up i have two short boards which I can kneeboard in the ocean as well ++ my super mal,
Tell Mitchell Rae i sent you , he will remember the Sri Mango Ganesh!



Cheers
Jaffa

That Outer Islands board looks good - obviously there are cheaper options if you arent sure you want to spend that much eg Surfboard Warehouse or gumtree

Hey please dont give up, ive been surfing on and off for 20 years still count myself as working towards intermediate. Im 60 and have begun to feel the limitations that age brings on. Anyway i went out after about 6 months off and over several days went out about 3 times, catching very little and feeling as though i was a noob again. So going through several wave catching clips on video i saw how flat joel tudors' board was when he caught the wave and decided next time in to replicate this so the board tip was hardly above the water( i moved up the board several inches to do this). Well just have to say what a massive difference this made as i got the board to plane so much better and my wave count was brilliant as a result. I ride a 9'4" bic ecomp which i love and had the pleasure on holiday in portugal of seeing a surf coach (it was his board) in his twenties on a similar one surfing superbly on it, completing most manoeuvres you can thing of and catching everything. Dont post much but have found advice on this site excellent, hope this encourages you and keep persevering.

If you live somewhere near any surf shops, pay for a private lesson with a coach, at your usual spot.
A good coach can help you sit in a better spot, or identify what is going wrong.

Thanks again for the encouragement everyone, things have gotten worse of late even though I have been surfing more than ever. In the last 12 surfs I have had, which average of 1h:30m I have caught two waves. I swapped to a 8Ft Modern Falcon with 60L volume and it's a good board, floats me well yet still light and easy to handle. It turns really well on the two waves I have caught in the last month. Went out again this morning in pumping 4-5ft point break surf and didn't catch a wave. Couldn't get onto them in time or was not quiet in the right take off spot. Watched others getting waves after wave in front of me (again) which is so frustrating and soul destroying. Last week I went out with a friend in nice 2-3ft offshore beach break waves and he must have caught 20 waves and I got one ordinary one. I just can't get onto the waves fast enough to get up quickly into the wave.

Everyone tells me I should get a 9'1 Mal and i do thinks it's time I tried at least. Will let you know how I go.

A really good option would be to get someone to video, with a decent camera and lens range to video your tactics to catch waves, something very basic is wrong other than your previous board lengths.
Point breaks as they get bigger get more specific. ad where to take off and poor paddle technique gives no help at all.
I betting without seeing your paddle technique sucks! Sorry 8ft should close to doing it, but a little visual insight as to what you are doing would help!
The answer will available, might not involve buying a bigger board!
sinceyou surf with friends maybe they might have noticed why you are struggling.