Turning pointers

[Millsy82]

I've now been out a few times on my new board and have a few more possibly stupid questions.

1) I have 2+1 find set up and my middle fin is center of the box am I better off moving it forward/Backward? Or would a person of my standard not really notice any Difference?

2) anybody recommend videos on YouTube that would be good for learning turning. I can turn to a certain degree but not everytime and I have only put 2 turns together on 1 occasion.

3) my wave selection still needs a lot of work, today it was a bit bigger and I was dropping off the back which I think is because I was going for slightly earlier take off so I didn't nose dive it when I started going for slightly steeper waves I was catching them. What do I do when the wave is now too steep and about to break on my head as this was always the thing that got me on my foamie and to be honest the bit I hated.

4) most times I go down to my local beach it is usually really busy on the best 2/3 breaks sometimes probably 50-60 people sat in an area the size of a couple of tennis courts so I look a bit further down the beach where it is not as good but less crowded. Am I better doing that and going for a slightly less well formed wave but getting plenty of waves or going for the better Waves?

Many thanks for your replies.

[dtc]

1. Yes you will notice. Move forward for easier turning but less stability, back for harder turns more stability. Only move an inch at a time - the change can be noticed (or, for fun, move right back or forward and see what happens). Around the middle is usually ok, but there is interplay with your other fins and the tail etc so it's a matter of experimenting rather than any rule you can use

2. Surf simply?

3. If you are falling off the back then you are either not paddling fast enough (water coming up the face pushes you up and over - you need to be going faster forward than it is pushing you back) and/or you aren't in the right position (wave is breaking further in than you are). Perhaps both - going further out does make for an easier pop up but you will miss waves. If the wave is landing on your head you are too close to the beach. You probably need to go in a bit and paddle harder. If you are missing then regularly, move in 5-10ft (not far) and try again. Keep adjusting - the right spot changes depending on wave size, tide changes, wind changes, the flap of a butterfly - hence why catching waves is a hard skill to learn

4. Yes - more waves is better and saves you and the line up from your lack of skill (not being harsh, you are still learning and that involves making mistakes). You are having problems catching the wave and popping up. Having perfectly formed waves is irrelevant unless you can catch the wave in the first place

[Tudeo]

3. When paddling for the wave, look over your shoulder to see how the wave is developing. Sometimes the wave doesn't become steep enough to catch it, when you recognise this you can stop paddling for it and save some energy.

Other times you timed it wrong and the wave becomes too steep or starts breaking behind you, if you see this happening in time you can move all the way back, sit on the tail and hold firmly to the nose of the board. This way you use the emergency brake. If the wave is not too big, the white water will pass and you'll stay in position ready for the next wave.

When the waves are bigger they will educate you good on being too late

[waikikikichan]

1) I have 2+1 find set up and my middle fin is center of the box am I better off moving it forward/Backward? Or would a person of my standard not really notice any Difference?

I would recommend to take off the side fins and just run the center fin. Reason - less things to get hit by. When your learning to control/turn your board, a lot of the time the board will flip over or you on to it. The side fins aid in adding more grip on steeper waves when you start to trim and set your edge/rail. Right now don't worry about that, focus on proper positioning, timing and catching waves.

[Millsy82]

I don't want to keep starting new threads so thought I would keep putting my stupid questions in here.

Today's is wind. When do you say enough is enough?

The reason I ask is I had a spare couple of hours this morning and I looked at the forecast on magicseaweed and it said cross winds of 25mph and gusts of 29mph, normally I say no and go for a walk or do something else but as I'm away for the weekend it would of been my last day for over a week unless I get lucky with work.

So I chucked the board on and had a look and the waves were not as big as first thought but the wind was strong, bearing this in mind I looked at where I wanted to go and got in and paddled out further up wind so it would drift me down to where I wanted to be.

The problem I had is I drifted extremely quickly so between sets I had drifted past where I wanted to be even with paddling as hard as I could. I caught a few waves but after an hour I was exhausted and said that's it I give up for the day and I'd pretty much drifted to where I wanted to get off.

I've usually gone for 20mph I don't bother purely because it was a nightmare carrying the board.