I got a christmas present!

[Buttertoes]

Hi all, its been a while

So I was surprised this Christmas with a 6' 9" webber fatburner!! (Jaffa's suggestion a while back, thanks!) I have been surfing a 9'1" epoxy for 3 years and have been experimenting a little with a 7'6" funboard (kept going back to my longboard- happily, that experience made me a better longboarder though I didnt get many skills on the funboard)

I am pretty new to rocky breaks/reefs/points but can (on my longboard) catch, get up, ride the face, glide up and down on waves up to 4' with confidence and finally feel like I'm getting somewhere with surfing. I managed to get up on a head high storm wave this year- a first for me.

I had my fatburner out today at a 3' beach break. The waves close out there but there weren't rocks to worry about. It was pretty good for a first day. I did get up on a few, but it's a really different feel!

I have been reading transition posts, but wonder if anyone can answer a couple of more specific questions for me:

what kind of break is going to be good to learn to use this board? Should I be out on the points where there's consistency and a nice shoulder to ride? Stick with the beach so I don't whack a hole in the thing? Should I be looking for larger waves to get a good drop? What kind of conditions are good starting waves for your first shortboard?

I was having a tough time knowing where to land my feet, causing lots of falls! my popup is not awesome... i am a bit lanky build and struggle with a smooth 1 motion pop. I can't break myself of using a knee on my longboard. I am 6', 145 lbs female.

any thoughts would be appreciated

[Buttertoes]

actually, that was a mistake, Jaffa suggested a 7S... I can't remember where the fatburner came up but i believe they're similar?

[jaffa1949]

Nice to see you around Buttertoes, Merry Christmas , woo hoo a new board and learning curve!!!!

If you are comfortable with the waves you have been riding then stick with them as you know what they are doing and it is one less adjustment for you .
Pick the easier ones first as you find your feet and pop ups. Strangely the popups might become a little easier as you can push the board down more than a longboard to push into the drop and also give you enough room to get up without swingonto your knees (they will leave a dreadful depression in the deck if you do).
Revisit all the pop up threads and see if something gels for you.
I'm excited for you

[55funsurf]

Hi buttertoes

Have you got a pic ?

It's always good seeing a new board

Happy new year

Ross

[drowningbitbybit]

for new board!

what kind of break is going to be good to learn to use this board?

Ooh, now there's a question!
A point break with a long ride would be great... but... realistically you'll find it tricky to catch waves on a shorter board for a bit and you'll end up going in very late... and on a decent point, late is too late as someone will already be up and riding.

So unless you can find an uncrowded point ( ), go out on the beachies to start with and nail catching waves, popping up and making the drop. Once you're happy with that, get in amongst it at the points

[Buttertoes]

Thanks for your suggestions all, my questions may seem silly but I was honestly wondering whether or not I'd be beating my head against a wall trying to do something with a shortboard on a 2-3' closeout But if there's something to be learned I'll give it a try. I'm on the east coast of Canada heading into the deepfreeze of winter. There are fewer people out the colder it gets so theres a chance of finding a free or sparse point break somewhere

A pic? Here's one from a few days ago (the board is 'new to me' but the previous owner looks to have taken good care of it)

[surf patrol]

Congratulations on the new board Buttertoes. Comiserations on the temperature

[oldmansurfer]

well at least you look completely comfortable there. Nice board

[drowningbitbybit]

Good grief, wow, respect to you!

[pandarturo]

More like frozen toes lol

[Buttertoes]

lol if I can't get respect for my crazy skills, I'll at least take it for winter surfing
Thank goodness for thick wetsuits!

[jaffa1949]

Hi merry new year Buttertoes. One of the things you can use 2 to 3ft closeouts for, is to learn to pull into a barrel without fear, it gets that speedy takeoff and pop up going and then you tuck and duck and drive for as long as the wave lets you. You can learn to punch through the back to pull out or learn to work in the barrel until you can't. gets rid of the fear of wipeouts.
My prescription is to select the long point waves and practice combining a flow from one turn to another on your webber ( jaffa approved board LOL ). You can also practice increasing the volume of your turns in arc and size.
You will rock when you get somewhere warm an out of rubber

[billie_morini]

Buttertoes,
Thank you so very much for sharing the photo of you with your board in the snow. This photo is awesome!
Billie

[Buttertoes]

Well, it's like learning to surf all over again isn't it? I hope it's a quicker learning curve this time around we had some really nice conditions today! It was above 0, windless and 4' reef breaks. Unfortunately there were 5 others on the same break but I got 3 exhausting hours of falling and a few very newbie-esque whitewash rides lol... It's painful to have other people watch you when you are faaaaaaaar from your best

[jaffa1949]

Buttertoes , at Nova Scotia the only one you have to impress are the polar bears.
Really surfing is a singleton's journey amongst other people and surprisingly very few other surfers are paying any attention to what you are doing unless they are friends or you are directly in front of them.
Full kudos , my surfing would be compromised if I had to suit up like the michellin man ( sorry woman).
How many other women are in the ice pack surf with you? might give you an insight as to your uniqueness and physical toughness!

[Buttertoes]

lol Jaffa, no polar bears here The only animals who give a damn are the grey seals who seem to think we are cousins... On any given day, summer or winter there might be a 1 : 3or4 ratio more or less of women to men. The water is about 2 celcius right now. The air today was 0 with mild wind and I made it out for a short one. Last week it was cold (-8) with some brisk wind. My surf friend and I sat on the beach and watched the better and more determined people on a 6' point. When we left we followed a very good female longboarder up to her car. The hair that stuck out of her hood was frozen in icicles She said her rule is she has to get out when one limb freezes. Any more than that and she can't get into her car!

The suits do a good job of insulating. If it's not windy only the face feels the chill until you've been out a while. The bigger problem is changing into/out of the suit. Sometimes best to drive home wearing it and change there. You're right, the suits are so thick. Mine is an xcel 5/4/3 drylock with 8mm boots and mittens. When the water warms to 7 or 8 we switch to our 4/3 spring suits and it's like kicking off cement boots. It's rare the water is warm enough to go in just a swimsuit but it sometimes happens.

Not so tough... stubborn maybe. I really love the sport and it's either deal with winter, or wait til spring. Figured I'd mention it to those who understand the excitement- last time out I caught a decent reef wave and had my first good ride on my new board! Not so lucky today

We have a trip to Hawaii coming up so am really looking forward to that!