Weak shoulders

[oldmansurfer]

You are not a "decent swimmer" then. It only takes practice to become one but you should practice freestyle to build muscles for surfing.

[Big H]

You better practice in the pool then....when (that is when, not if) your leash breaks one day in heavy surf, you will need to swim to either retrieve your board, or return to the beach, or be rescued by either a fellow surfer or lifeguard or drown. Think about that last one and do some laps.

[Jester]

You DEFINITELY need to up your swimming abilities then mate, you gotta be safe out there and don't trust on your board being there all the time to save you. Also there's this thing called 'drown proofing' that is a useful thing to know, essentially if you're ever left bobbing in the ocean it's a technique to help you survive a few hrs until you're picked up.

You lie face down in the water with both hands stretched in front of you together, just hold your breath calmly and you'll stay that way without sinking. Then when you need a breath, bring both arms down together and it'll propel your head up for a breath, repeat until rescued! It's actually great because you'll quickly tire out trying to keep your head up treading water.

That being said, train for getting yourself out of hairy situations, not to be rescued!!

[Big H]

When I was living in the Caribbean, I went for a swim one afternoon in a quiet bay...a couple of beaches down there was some activity so I swam closer to check it out....turned out to be a bikini then nude photo shoot of a few different models complete with lighting, the big light reflectors, support crew and photographer with a houseful of cameras....big production so it wasn't too weird that I treaded water on the edges watching along with the rest of the crew.....found out that I could tread water for just about an hour that day...... 22 years old and single with no prospects.....I'd probably lose interest after two minutes nowadays.......

[leinosaur]

Bowman your head-turning issue has me wondering about flexibility issues? Shoulders are meant to be highly mobile and any limitation of range of motion in the upper body could compound any deconditioned state with inefficiency. Stiff neck, back or shoulders?

Condition-wise I can always tell whether I've been swimming between surf sessions, and with a recent running jag has come surprising gains in swim and surf stamina.