ol' k00k - first session! - bliss - plus a weird question

[Grrr]

Heya - seven hours ago I put MY board in the water. First session, first ding repair, first wax...

Crazy-good.
I'm doomed. Doooooomed, alright.

Lived most of my life in Cali, 80 miles inland - never made "it" happen - moved to Sebastian ('cause I started skydiving there !) and finally got up the nerve to follow through.
This urge has been pulling at me for 30 freakin' years, and yesterday I got to start doing it.
I could go on and on (and prob. will, later, so consider yourselves warned) but - here. Perfect weather, rubber arms, bruises I don't remember getting, wax in my belly button. This is -incredible-.
If I were to never get beyond just laying on the board, out there, or sitting on it - if I never make it past booger status - I'll always have this first session. It still feels like I got a dose of some vitamin I didn't even know I was lacking. Unbelievable...
Sure I have hopes of actually getting up off my knees, catching a wave , all of the other things I now get to work for. I don't even have any idea yet of how much I don't know. However long it takes, I'm blown away.
Joined SF too. Now I feel like I have a right to be there.
I wanna be a good ol' k00k and stay WAY over from your breaking waves...

Longboard House set me up (and they were patient too). I got a good sales guy.
To my surprise I had no trouble keeping the nose "from pointing to the North Star" when I paddle, and I didn't even expect to be able to sit on a 7'10" and stay stable yet. But hey!
I'm okay with taking longer to get up on my feet and turn the thing. I LOVE this board. My limbs wrap around it "just right".

Groms and newbies - I wanted to throw in here that I went to the Inlet about two months ago and spent a couple hours learning how to sit on a boogie-board (onshore wind, obviously). That, or the skydiving - in which stability is helped a lot by body position and small li'l movements - or skateboarding -seems- to helped me avoid overcorrecting and turtling anywhere near as much as I expected.

I don't know how you guys paddle fast enough to catch a wave, but my delts need some building-up. My board moves faster than I expected, having read that longboards need less effort to paddle (?).

Oh, yeah - my question.
When I'm paddling, there's... um... solid pressure on my favorite body parts. It doesn't hurt (I did jam a rail between my legs once - ow) but I didn't expect it - and I don't think I'm particularly pressing down or grinding my, er, pelvis.
I'm keeping the nose a few centimeters above the water. And when I paddle, I'm moving. But I wondered if, well, could I be -laying- wrong ... ??

Somebody tell me this isn't just my unconscious affection for the board.


Did I mention I love my board?

Y'all RULE.
I get it now.

[Johnny B]

I think the thing about yer tackle is natural, I don't think it's owt your doing wrong. Since its just a pressure rather than a pain or...chafing...I just got used to it and no longer notice it.

Oh, by the way, I like yer avatar...you don't happen to love your board do ya?

[justloafing]

Sounds like you had a hoot of a time .

Well I do a long board. So I hope this may help with your paddling. Get out a little deeper to do this, not much though.

When you see the wave you want turn and paddle (about 7 - 8 seconds before the wave gets to you), not hard just enough to get your speed started. Now you have a little speed. Right before that wave gets to you start paddling like your life depends on it but keep your paddle smooth. If you notice your nose going back and forth or if you are going side to side your not paddling smooth. A smooth paddle is a must.

When I paddle out. As soon as I get past the breakers I paddle another 15 or 20 more paddles and that is where I start. I would imagine with the size of your board you would paddle 7 - 10 more times past the breakers. Someone else may know more what you need to try with the board size your using.

[Hang11]

I have to watch the tackle when I knee paddle, it really hurts if I put all my weight on it

Keep enjoying yourself. Sounds like you're stoked already!

[Grrr]

Johnny B - "I tell you what," it was just another piece of equipment. Like skydiving gear, motorcycle - take good care of 'em, keep vigilant, never trust 'em in stupid ways. My life depends on this thing, etc. etc.

But then I took a deep breath and got ON the board.
It's like... some prostetic device I didn't even know was missing. I've always gotten into just swimming out and bobbing around for an hour - but THIS board-thing isn't so touchy that it's dumping me into the water every minute. Hot dawg. Didn't expect it to be so "nice" to me. It's like a big ol' flotation device that fits right. And I see these young turks zipping around on 'em, so there's that prospect to work for too.

justloafing - yah, a much better time than I dared to expect.
Many thanks for the paddling help. Will def. take print out your post and chew on it right before I get wet.

Hang11 - me putting the words "knee" and "paddle" together is almost like a paradox at this point, but yo comprendo. Thanks. (great handle, there.)
Since the nose wasn't way up high or underwater when I paddled I hoped the pressure "down there" was normal but it sure was a surprise. Like my floating ribs, which are mad at me today... along wth my chin... and my calves, which should've been all set from running fairly often - oh, and more neck stretches to loosen up first are in order.

Goin' back for more in a couple hours. (Stupid thunderstorm...)

Hey, I know I was babbling in the first post but you could never have told me I was gonna feel even a little bit "at home" - whew! - during the first half-hour. This rawks hard.

[justloafing]

I should have also said bend your knees before (between 45 and 90 degrees) you catch the wave so your not putting any more drag in the water.

If you notice your going to pearl (nose goes under the water and you end up going end over end). Arch your back and throw your hips into the board. Once you feel you have caught the wave pop up.

Remember to angle on the wave a little when taking off.

[CALHOUN]

Howdy!
Hey, I skydive, and just starting surfing myself, 47 yr old, only been out 3-4 times with my own board 9’4’Sunset
Haven’t stood up..yet..I feel I’m getting better, feel comfortable sitting paddling and trying to catch the wave. I think maybe I’m laughing too much! Ha ha
I’ve got 556 skydives.
Keep in touch!

[Grrr]

justloafing - that's good stuff. Thanks.

Not much to ride on this week when I've been in the water, but I have your words o' wisdom printed out and on my phone...

I'm just beginning to believe that someday I'll be able to paddle fast enough. Practice, practice, dumbbell-lifting, more paddling practice. Gotta pay to play, right?

Reading waves is going to take a while too. It's good to have a reason to study the ocean for ridiculous amounts of time, though.

The lessons here are really appreciated, and I can't recommend 'em enough. Even while trying to catch these little bitty waves here lately I suspect I really need to "commit" and pounce on 'em - not so sure I would've considered the importance of that without what I read here.

(Also, I got hungry to do this 'cause of the skill-building posts on eHow.com ...)

And I need to practice pop-ups more, so no thought at all is required.


CALHOUN - right on. 398 jumps here, started when I was 37 - here in Sebastian, just up the road a li'l bit from where I stuck my first board in the water two weeks ago today.

Something I do or did is helping me with balance. A long way to go yet, but I'm not snorting nearly as much water as I expected. ('Course there's been uncooperative wind most all of the time I've been geared up and ready - the story of my life as a new skydiver too.)

(That reminds me, I gotta go get my reserve repacked...)

blue ones

- c.
<grrr>

[Grrr]

I can't stand it, I'm gonna follow-up my own post.

Most of the time I'm just manic lately. I read a surfing magazine and then it's hard to fall asleep that night 'cause of all the ideas and images that are in my head. It is so sweet even to float, paddle, sit, crouch, lie on my back... Working on the endurance and skills is bonafide work sometimes but I'm in no hurry. If I'd had the sense to rent a board twenty years ago, I would've been babbling like this - twenty years ago. This has just slapped me upside the head hard and sometimes I still can't believe I get to be out there, bobbing around.

/end of rant

[NJsurf]

Hey Grrr just saw the picture of the board you have and it's a 7'10" NSP right? I was thinking of getting myself a 7'6" NSP and was wondering how stable the 7'10". This is going to be my first board too so I am a bit anxious to get the right one for me. I have been able to pop up pretty well on the boards I have been renting but they are typically 8 and 9'.

[Grrr]

That is indeed a 7"10" NSP. (22" wide at the middle)
I keep reading / hearing that a 9' is (much?) easier to learn on. Less paddling too.

If you've already entitled to use the word "up" in connection with this sport, I feel reluctant to say much of anything.
(But I'll keep typing anyway.)

I was willing to take a couple months longer (or more) to learn how to get up and stay up... so I walked into the House with something well over 6' but less than 9' in mind. I wasn't expecting to bring extra paddling upon myself, but oh well.

The sales guy pointed me at the board I got (they supposedly use 'em for rentals, so I quit worrying about breaking it in half before the summer was out) and at the 9's, but I'd done some time on a boogie-board and felt like I could deal with the longer learning curve on something I could haul around without whacking into things all the time, including windows and such.

So - I'm 5'9", and I get on this board (keeping the nose down) and my toes can park on the tail, or find the fins. Maybe my expectations were too low but this thing -fits- me, and for now I'm pretty relieved to be able to paddle/sit/lay on my back without constantly turtling or falling off...

[Smedegaard]

hi grr i hear you.... the crown jewels get a bit off pressure, i learnt that it helps a bit just to lift your feet about 5-10" above the board with my knee´s firmly pressed down.
NJSURF: im kook to and im on a 7,4" spider minimal and have no problem paddeling or catching waves, im 5,9 and 180lbs