Surfing Waves

so i have been surfing around 6times but i am having trouble with catching waves. i paddle into them fine and all but the waves just seem to go straight under me. its not the waves as my dad is doing just fine on the same waves but no matter how much i paddle into them they just roll under me. any tips or anyone know where i might be going wrong??? thanks...

what size board are you on?

its a 9'1 longboard plenty of volume to the board but is a little thin but i cant see this stoping me as it should be a great board to catch waves.

now im only a little further along than yourself, (12 times) but the only tip i could give you is to make sure your your board is resonably level when your paddling into the waves, personally, when i started catching them i found if i was too far back on the board i was left behind the wave, im not saying im right on this but i reckon lying plenty forward on the board would help, keeping your weight further down the board would mean keeping your weight further down the wave, helping you not get left behind... you know where im coming from?

yeah totally, i have tried both but i havent found the right spot yet where i dont either nose dive or get left behind.

hmm, well i dont know of anything else that could be causing it, but im sure some of the other guys will, keep tryin, you'll get there, maybe you should try another (your dad's) board just to see?
i mean ive had days when the waves just seem funny and its rock hard to catch them, but the other guys found it too so...
anyway good luck, it'll click

bmth.longboarder wrote:yeah totally, i have tried both but i havent found the right spot yet where i dont either nose dive or get left behind.

Thats tough! Think with surfing is getting it all together.

Make sure your arching your back , looking straight forward, legs straight or bent at the knees upwards, paddle hard but keep stable.

Sounds to me like your too far back, and if your more forwards get to your feet before you realy know you've caught the wave, if you leave it late you'll go ove the front.

Also dont go straight in , angle the board a bit - will help with the pearling.

There is a sweet spot on a long board and it varies on the wave you are surfing on. Too far back on the board it passes you by. This sounds like what is happening to you. To far forward on the board and your pearl. It is a fine line as ussualy within si inches of an area.

Also when the wave is about to get to you make sure you paddel like you are in a race. Give it all you got. Good luck.

ditto to what has already been said, find the sweet spot, that is alot of it. Also, make a few extra paddles before you get up. Don't stop paddling until you KNOW you are being pushed along by the wave. It might take you a few rides laying down the whole way before you find when you should stop paddling and stand up. My wife had the same problem, 3-4 extra paddles cured it.
Good luck

thanks for all the help ppl i spose the best thing is for me to get back out there and try again

The other thing to consider, is that you might be a little too far away from the break... In smaller surf, particularly if it isn't barrelling, you can take off on the edge of the whitewash, and then surf out onto the face... If you try to take off too far away from the break, then the wave won't be steep enough to push you along, no matter how good your weight balance is on the board.

i agree with everything that has been saidi think positioning is probably the key, and try paddeling allitle earlyer for the wave so youve got more speed. i longboard bournemouth and boscombe quite abit, and i have found that at times iv been padeling my ass of and the wave goes straight under me aswell because when they put the fresh sand on the beaches its ruind the banks slightly so the waves sometimes dont break until later on

bmth.longboarder wrote: its not the waves as my dad is doing just fine on the same waves

Why not ask him?

It´s hard to tell what yer doing wrong without seeing you in action (or lack of it ).

yeah my dad thinks i just need to paddle harder but im already paddeling my ass off! im off to saunton on saturday and its sposed to be good surf so il get a fair bit of practice in then

Not only is there a "sweet" spot, but if the wave your riding is a "roller" it may be that you are attempting to catch the wave before it's ready to be caught. Try moving in a tad closer to the beach, to a point before the wave actually starts to break, but is very close to breaking. Sometimes it is critical to be in "the pocket" to be able to catch a wave.
From what I've read, you've found an appropriate spot on the board, so maybe it is that you're trying to catch the wave to early in the waves lifespan, move toward the shore, but don't move so close that the wave breaks on top of you. Good luck, keep the stoke, see you in the lineup!

cheers for everyones advice went down to saunton today and caught loooooads of waves, sat back a bit on my board and i was fine.