Surfing Waves

Hi everyone,

Beginner surfer here. After taking a few lessons and renting larger foamies on my own for awhile, I finally took the plunge and bought my own board so I can go out more often.

I settled on a 7 foot wavestorm. I did this for a few reasons, the biggest being that it comfortably fits in my car. The second reason is that I wanted to learn to pop up without both feet on the board. The third reason being that the 7' wavestorm still has about 70 liters of volume, and I thought this would be more than enough.

I'm surfing out in New York @ Rockaway beach. The waves aren't great, they're very small and mushy. I find myself having a hard time catching them. I can't tell if this is because of my paddling technique, my positioning, or the board holding me back.

I know that volume isn't everything, but is a 7 foot foam board that much harder to catch waves on than an equivalent volume longboard? Should I continue on improving my technique or did I limit myself with board choice?

Thanks for your help!

hundreth wrote:Hi everyone,

Beginner surfer here. After taking a few lessons and renting larger foamies on my own for awhile, I finally took the plunge and bought my own board so I can go out more often.

I settled on a 7 foot wavestorm. I did this for a few reasons, the biggest being that it comfortably fits in my car. The second reason is that I wanted to learn to pop up without both feet on the board. The third reason being that the 7' wavestorm still has about 70 liters of volume, and I thought this would be more than enough.

I'm surfing out in New York @ Rockaway beach. The waves aren't great, they're very small and mushy. I find myself having a hard time catching them. I can't tell if this is because of my paddling technique, my positioning, or the board holding me back.

I know that volume isn't everything, but is a 7 foot foam board that much harder to catch waves on than an equivalent volume longboard? Should I continue on improving my technique or did I limit myself with board choice?

Thanks for your help!

Questions:
1) What size was the "larger foamies" you rented ?

2) I understand the size limitation of a car/apartment but why did you want to "learn to pop up without both feet on the board" ?
( that is making things more difficult than it already is )

3) Forget about "volume" at your stage. No "volume chart" caters to newbies.

4) What IS your paddling technique ? Do you have a strong swimming background ?

5) Where are you positioning yourself on the board ( that you wanted to have you feet not on the deck ) ? Where are you positioning yourself in the line up compared to the other beginner surfers ?

waikikikichan wrote:

hundreth wrote:Hi everyone,

Beginner surfer here. After taking a few lessons and renting larger foamies on my own for awhile, I finally took the plunge and bought my own board so I can go out more often.

I settled on a 7 foot wavestorm. I did this for a few reasons, the biggest being that it comfortably fits in my car. The second reason is that I wanted to learn to pop up without both feet on the board. The third reason being that the 7' wavestorm still has about 70 liters of volume, and I thought this would be more than enough.

I'm surfing out in New York @ Rockaway beach. The waves aren't great, they're very small and mushy. I find myself having a hard time catching them. I can't tell if this is because of my paddling technique, my positioning, or the board holding me back.

I know that volume isn't everything, but is a 7 foot foam board that much harder to catch waves on than an equivalent volume longboard? Should I continue on improving my technique or did I limit myself with board choice?

Thanks for your help!

Questions:
1) What size was the "larger foamies" you rented ?

2) I understand the size limitation of a car/apartment but why did you want to "learn to pop up without both feet on the board" ?
( that is making things more difficult than it already is )

3) Forget about "volume" at your stage. No "volume chart" caters to newbies.

4) What IS your paddling technique ? Do you have a strong swimming background ?

5) Where are you positioning yourself on the board ( that you wanted to have you feet not on the deck ) ? Where are you positioning yourself in the line up compared to the other beginner surfers ?

Thanks so much for responding waikikikichan.

1.) They were around 8'6 or so. Mostly with lessons in much better conditions, in Costa Rica, etc.

2.) On the larger boards, I was able to pop up alright, but found myself using a "push up" with both foot. Recently I went to a wave pool to play around with different boards, and when trying a smaller board I was completely dumbfounded by not having my feet on the board. I wanted to get used to a better pop up form that will allow me to transition more easily going forward. So far I've had success with a chicken wing pop up on the 7 foot board, but the problem is I can barely ever catch waves to even do it.

3.) Ok. Noted.

4.) I'm an ok swimmer but definitely don't have any formal background. I feel faster and more effective paddling on my own than with a board, which seems wrong. I find that when I'm paddling, the board is wobbling, I'm shuffling my legs to maintain balance, I have a hard time keeping my back arched, and I'm expending a ton of energy to get nowhere.

5.) I usually try to keep myself in a position where the nose of the board is only a few inches out of the water. This usually means my feet are slightly off the board. I try to position myself near other surfers, slightly more on the shoulder, and I even paddle into the same waves at the same time to see if I could catch the same wave. They catch it, I'm left behind. Then I try to go further in towards the beach, the wave either crashes over me, or I end up with a really short ride.

How tall and heavy are you ?

If the board isn't flat to the surface of the water then you push water in front of that profile area. Even if your board is flat to the water you still push water equal to the cross section of the board at it's thickest dimension. The more angled back it is the more water you push and the less effective is your paddling. Most surfers try to have just an inch of the nose out of the water when they paddle this minimizes the amount of water they push.

waikikikichan wrote:How tall and heavy are you ?

5'7 (170 cm) and 164 lbs (74kg)

hundreth wrote:I usually try to keep myself in a position where the nose of the board is only a few inches out of the water. This usually means my feet are slightly off the board. I try to position myself near other surfers, slightly more on the shoulder, and I even paddle into the same waves at the same time to see if I could catch the same wave. They catch it, I'm left behind.

At 5'7" on a 7'0" board your toes should still be on the board during the paddle. You try to keep the nose a "FEW" inches out of the water ? Few meaning more than two ? Then that is too much. You are pushing water like a snow plow. You need to move your body more up.

Questions:
1) When others catch the wave and you miss, is it because the wave passes under you and leaves you out the back OR because your nose pearls / digs and slows your momentum ?

hundreth wrote: I'm an ok swimmer but definitely don't have any formal background. I feel faster and more effective paddling on my own than with a board, which seems wrong. I find that when I'm paddling, the board is wobbling, I'm shuffling my legs to maintain balance, I have a hard time keeping my back arched, and I'm expending a ton of energy to get nowhere.

It has some to do with a too small board, since you haven't learned the basics on how to paddle correctly on a larger more stable board.

Questions:
2) Why are you arching your back during the paddle ?

3) How is your hand shaped when it enters the water ? Cupped ?

waikikikichan wrote:

hundreth wrote:I usually try to keep myself in a position where the nose of the board is only a few inches out of the water. This usually means my feet are slightly off the board. I try to position myself near other surfers, slightly more on the shoulder, and I even paddle into the same waves at the same time to see if I could catch the same wave. They catch it, I'm left behind.

At 5'7" on a 7'0" board your toes should still be on the board during the paddle. You try to keep the nose a "FEW" inches out of the water ? Few meaning more than two ? Then that is too much. You are pushing water like a snow plow. You need to move your body more up.

Questions:
1) When others catch the wave and you miss, is it because the wave passes under you and leaves you out the back OR because your nose pearls / digs and slows your momentum ?

hundreth wrote: I'm an ok swimmer but definitely don't have any formal background. I feel faster and more effective paddling on my own than with a board, which seems wrong. I find that when I'm paddling, the board is wobbling, I'm shuffling my legs to maintain balance, I have a hard time keeping my back arched, and I'm expending a ton of energy to get nowhere.

It has some to do with a too small board, since you haven't learned the basics on how to paddle correctly on a larger more stable board.

Questions:
2) Why are you arching your back during the paddle ?

3) How is your hand shaped when it enters the water ? Cupped ?

1.) The wave passes under me and leaves me back most of the time.

2.) From what I've read and seen, this is what is taught. To keep your head up and back arched when paddling.

3.) I do usually cup my hand as I find it most consistent. I've seen some suggest to slightly separate the fingers but I never know if I'm overdoing it or not, so I stick to something reproducible.

Just wanted to thank you again for taking the time to figure it out with me. I am going to try push myself further up and see how much it helps get into the wave.

1.) "The wave passes under me and leaves me back most of the time." That's a sign you're too far back. If you are pearling / digging your nose constantly, then you're too far forward. ( among other things )

2.) "From what I've read and seen, this is what is taught. To keep your head up and back arched when paddling." I don't agree with that teaching. Can your arm reach down deeper if your back is arched or if your chest is on the deck ? If the nose does go under, how do you arch you back if it is already arched ? During the paddle, everything within your shoulders should be quiet.

3.) "I do usually cup my hand as I find it most consistent. I've seen some suggest to slightly separate the fingers but I never know if I'm overdoing it or not, so I stick to something reproducible." Do Not cup your hands.

Just wanted to follow up that I’ve continued surfing and using the suggestions here. Very helpful.

Most importantly I needed more time in the water to become acclimated with the board and develop balance. Now I feel much more stable, and my paddling has improved.

I’m able to catch green waves now. I need to work on my positioning, but it is improving.

Now I realize that my pop up needs a lot of work. I seem to end up hunched over with the board turning left and me trying to shift my weight over to the right side to center the board. I’m not trying to go down the line yet, just have a nice controlled ride back to shore - but I often feel unbalanced getting up.

hundreth wrote:I can't tell if this is because of my paddling technique, my positioning, or the board holding me back.

I know that volume isn't everything, but is a 7 foot foam board that much harder to catch waves on than an equivalent volume longboard? Should I continue on improving my technique or did I limit myself with board choice?

Having never seen you surf but knowing what are common and unavoidable trials and tribulations of learning to surf, I would answer “yes” a 7’ IS that much harder to catch waves on than an 8’6” or 9’ board. Thing is you own the board now and can understand wanting to be able to have it fit in the car. FWIW you can practice and learn to pop up without using your toes on a longboard as well, but if you are still chicken winging and riding babies straight ti the flats then being pushed by whitewater to the beach it is a bit of the cart in front of the horse. A bugger board will allow youbto develop your paddle and poise on the board, build your surfing muscles and learn basic techniques on an easier, more stable and forgiving platform. A smaller board will make all those things harder and take longer.
Everyone always thinks it will be different for them, that they will apply themselves and work really hard to improve. Really no shortcuts to developing surf strength, paddle endurance and consistency other than surfing alot. And if you dont get thst time on the wave due to missing waves or bigging out in the flats, it will just take longer.

I am teaching my daughter; she benefits from previously doing gymnastics and is on the swim team. We also live where waves are very goid and we surf often. I take her out and have taught her about currents, tides, sandbars vs reefs, surfed different breaks whith waves that break at different speeds. I position her and even verbally coach her into waves (slowly…..now paddle normal….go go go!) she is comfortable now in head high to slightly overhead waves and is able to get out back using timing and reading the waves…..these are just sone if the things Ive shared with her, but to grt back to the poibt, shes 14 now, 5’7” and 115lbs and rides a 9’2” performance mal (rocker is a friend here). I told her she could move to a smalller board once she could cutback front and backside. Right niw she points and shoots either left ir right with some shallow top and bottom turns. Her pop up is fast and consistent, riding position is improving, getting stronger and more stable all the time in her paddling and is able to waves in a crowded lineup about half the time. The board is helping her improve by not being the issue and in spite if that and all the other advantages she has over someone learning on their own, she still has a long way to go….why complicate it with going too short in a board too soon.