New surfer...need a little help

[bomber35]

Ok all, I am 35 years old, no expereince surfing and 6', 200lbs. I recently purchased a 9' long board to learn on, and have not taken any lessons at all. My paddling is strong and I feel very comfortable on the board overall. I have been a fast learner but am having some issues.

Anyways, I have been out intermittently over the past 2 months and recently have been going to El Porto about 3-4 days a week for the past 2 weeks. Let me just say that my skills are in flux...one day I do ok and most days I flounder. I have discovered the fine art of pearling (and subsequently getting tossed), but I have also felt the excitement of standing up as well, although very infrequently and usually only for about 3-5 seconds.

My questions are kind weird, I think. First off, when I have attempted to stand up, I have noticed that I can't get consistency with my foot placement. Is there anything I can do to fix this? I believe it will help with my pearling problem. Secondly, when I paddle, I have intentionally placed my body further back on the board but I am discovering that this may be the cause of me getting passed by the waves as well...basically the ass end of the board slowing me down. Where should I be centered on the board to find that "sweet-spot"?

Lastly, when i purchased the board it only had a single center fin on the board and I have added 2 FCS fins, which my friend calls "training wheels." Will the 2+1 truly be a help or a detriment to me learning?

Any help is appreciated! I really want to get the basics down!

[Katsura]

1. Foot placement has got nothing to do with pearling. You pearl before you get up to your foot.
It is because you are experincing shuffling your weight forward and back on your board at this stage, that's why your foot placement is inconsistent. And there is no golden spot on a longboard! The whole point is eventually you will cross step forward and back on your board. I won't worry too much about it right now. If you are too forward or too back after you pop up, just try to shuffle bacj/ forward a little bit.

2. So you are either pearling or have waves passing by, this is the classic stage for learning. If wave pass you by, then you are too far back, smove forward an inch and see if it improves, if no, move forward again, until you pearl, then you moved forward too much, so go back a little. Some people mark out lines on the wax on their board to find that sweet spot. Oh BTW, ARCH your back! this cannot be stressed enough.

3. Fin set up would not make any difference at this stage for you. To be honest I think you should go for an slightly oversized single fin to give you more stability for now. Until you start to learn turning.

[tonylamont]

I've recently gone through the same learning curve myself.

To add to what Katsura said re pearling: in addition to position on the board, in my experience pearling may also occur because you: (1) catch a wave too late; or (2) aren't paddling fast enough.

I went through a terrible spell of catching waves right as they were breaking, which led to pearling and being pitched forward at high speed just at the moment I was popping up. Turns out I was catching the waves too late. It helped learning to catch waves before they get too critical - however, this requires a lot of practice with your timing and sometime a bit more "oomph" paddling-wise.

[kook420]

Bomber,

I too have the same trouble. I went out this morning for the very first time. I am 30, 260 and surf a 10' Blacktip Softie. I have trouble even getting out past the break if I cant touch the bottom. I did manage to ride two waves today on my knees. Still havent made it to the stand up postion. Your questions will help me and I hope the answers you got will help you.

Is it me or is really hard to balance just laying down?

[bomber35]

I just wanted to give an update. I have a very good situation, as far as location to local surf spots (I live within 6 miles of the one I go to and within a mile of another location), and I have been able to go out around 8 times in the past 2 weeks. My confidence was super low going into this 2nd week and figured I would go out yesterday for a quick session. Well, I'm glad to say that everything just kinda "clicked" yesterday. I was up and riding consistently and my "pop ups" were pretty much spot on. I wasn't riding anything crazy (1-3 footers), but things "just happened." I was also able to get a few small turns in as well! Great day! I gotta say that practice, practice, practice is the key. If I were not able to get out so easily, I would have had a hard time getting to where I am now...from only 3 months of owning my board and stepping into "kook" status

[bomber35]

Bomber,

I too have the same trouble. I went out this morning for the very first time. I am 30, 260 and surf a 10' Blacktip Softie. I have trouble even getting out past the break if I cant touch the bottom. I did manage to ride two waves today on my knees. Still haven't made it to the stand up postion. Your questions will help me and I hope the answers you got will help you.

Is it me or is really hard to balance just laying down?

Hey bro, sometimes getting past the breakers is a tough thing to do. The first couple times I went out, I was staring at 3-5 ft. waves that were part of a horrendous wind-swell, with sets rolling in around every 8 seconds. Needless to say, I got pounded and exhausted, so I packed it up after 20 minutes. Getting past the breaks can take a little practice sometimes. Maybe try finding a spot along the beach where the breaks aren't as bad. Paddle in there and then paddle around. Sounds like you just need to work on your paddling a bit. Balancing while laying down should be fairly easy, but 260 is a bit of weight to balance. How wide is your board? I would think a 21-22" board can support your weight adequately.