Am I on the right track?

[gary_mendigorin]

I have started taking lessons early this year, and from there surf at least once a week on a softie (9ft to 8ft to 7.5ft).

For the past five (5) sessions, i have decided to rent a board- fibreglass in material i would say. From those sessions, i only manage to catch a unbroken waves like 2-3 times. Most of the time, wave just rolls beneath the board and nose dives of course.

Question is, is it normal to have a very low success rate in catching waves?

I usually go out on a 1-2ft, 2-3ft waves
at least once a week (twice is lucky)
Board dimension 7' x 22" x 3"

[waikikikichan]

Question is, is it normal to have a very low success rate in catching waves?

Yes, especially if you have a slow weak paddle, set up in the wrong spot, start paddling to early or too late and not having your body properly positioned on the board
( by the way, having a too small board, makes everything above harder )

[dtc]

The bigger the board - in broad terms - the bigger the margin for error. So the bigger margin you have to compensate for a weak paddle, being in the wrong spot, bad timing, bad positioning and bad pop up.

In other words - try a bigger board. it doesnt have to be a softboard, but bigger than 7ft. If you are over 80kg then make it a 9ft board; if you are under then maybe 8ft. After 6 months or so of solid surfing, or maybe more, then you start looking for a 7ft ish board.

No point surfing for 10 session and catching 2 waves on a 7ft board, when you can get a longer board and catch 10+ waves every session.

If you are in Sydney, hop on gumtree and you should find something, - maybe even look here

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/manly/s ... 1160130800

[flyawayyy]

Glad to hear that you are getting into surfing!!

Yes this is normal, it's all part of the process and the pursuit of progression

With that said, the right equptment will speed up that process and also the progression.

[saltydog]

Sounds totally normal to me... I've gone through the same when I was learning! Unless you are a fit 12 years old, you'd benefit tremendously from a longer board as others have said. Plus small and weak waves can be harder to catch so having more surface area to plane really helps. Foamies usually are more buoyant than hard surfboards also. In addition to that, unlike lessons now you have to read the waves and position yourself accordingly all by yourself while not get in the way of others. That can take quite a while to master.

[RobSF]

Just to add to the eventually dozen people or more who will say this, use a bigger board. Much much MUCH more fun when you're starting out (than walking around with a funboard under your arm, looking cool on land but catching no waves).

[gary_mendigorin]

no worries. Thanks guys

[waikikikichan]

Most of the time, wave just rolls beneath the board and nose dives of course.

That's a sign you are TOO FAR back on the board during the paddle. Until you learn better body positioning, paddle technique and develop core strength to hold the board under you with your stomach, it'll be better to use something bigger than a 7'0".

[dtc]

Wkk makes a great point that the rest of us glossed over - getting a bigger board wont solve the problem if you arent positioned well. Its not uncommon for people who nose dive to inch further and further back, trying to get the nose into the air to avoid the nose dive. This is the completely wrong solution!

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=31257#p207673

I suggest renting a bigger board again and seeing how many waves you catch. Then try the smaller board. If there is a big difference in numbers, there is part of your answer

As an aside, an intermediate surfer will expect to catch 8 or 9/10 waves s/he goes for, or even 10/10 if conditions are reasonable or good.

[gary_mendigorin]

i have try positioning my self a bit forward from that board. laying down (motionless) on the board felt alright, tip of the board just 1 or few inches above water. however, when i start paddling out, nose starts to dig down as if im nose diving while paddling. Arching my back would correct this issue you reckon?

anyways, i will be trying a bigger board on weekend, 7-6 or 8 and try to apply these tips.

thanks

[waikikikichan]

however, when i start paddling out, nose starts to dig down as if im nose diving while paddling.

"Paddling Out" like when a boat gets out of the safety of the harbor and starts to push thru the waves ?
Or when you actually start to paddle for the wave to catch it ?

By the way, how do you know the water is going over the nose ?

[gary_mendigorin]

When paddling out to the line up and when catching waves. (Apologies, might have used a different terminology). So yeah, the nose sinks into the water as I paddle - 2 to 3 inches below water level i would say.

[waikikikichan]

2-3 inches as the nose pushes thru waves/swell on the paddle out momentarily, I can understand. But you are saying as you begin to paddle to catch a wave, the nose is 2-3 inches under the surface ??

Could you post a photo of your board top, bottom and side view.

[gary_mendigorin]

yeah, 2-3 under the water level. I think i have to figure out the boards sweet spot. Trial and error, at least.

I will take snaps of the board once i rent them out again on the weekend.

[gary_mendigorin]

The board looks like this, never got a chance to get the actual board since someone has rented it out.

i ended up with a softie during that weekend. 7'6" softie - fatter, longer and better wave counts even water is choppy.

even with softie, there are time that the waves roll underneath my board.

anyways, thanks for the tips. I believe i still have to practice more and more.

[waikikikichan]

even with softie, there are time that the waves roll underneath my board.

So yeah, the nose sinks into the water as I paddle - 2 to 3 inches below water level i would say.

Those 2 things are direct opposites. If you paddle with the nose under the water, when the wave comes up to you, it just keeps digging more and more, then you get flipped over forward or rolled over to the side.
If you are too far back and the nose is way up in the air, then the bottom pushes water like a snow plow, the more you paddle the more "snow" you gather and usually the wave "passes under" you, since you're not planing. ( but there are situation at a punchy beach break being too far back just delays the pearl, when the power of the lip and the vertical angle takes over and picks up the tail and slams you down.
I have a feeling you are either rocking your body back and forth, or you are trying to stand up before you even caught the wave.

[dtc]

You could also just be picking the wrong waves. Sometimes, especially with smaller waves (like this past weekend on the Australian E coast) and esp at higher tides, the waves look like they are about to break and then just don't...

If you are missing waves and they end up breaking 30 or 50ft further towards shore - bad wave choice (but we all do it! So don't feel too bad. Well, I do it so I've decided it must be a universal problem )

If you are missing it by 2-10ft (it ends up breaking 5ft in front of you) then that's a wave you potentially could have caught - so can be positioning or paddling or a combination (both affected by the board choice to some extent ie bigger board gives a bigger take off zone so more margin for positioning error).

[gary_mendigorin]

Will keep these in mind. Thanks again for the info

[BoMan]

The Surf Simply tutorials were very helpful for me. First up...."Catching Unbroken Waves."

[kookRachelle]

I'm also new to surfing, but I progressed from foam to hard tops similarly. As you probably know, the foamies are way more forgiving due to the volume. A 7'5 foamie doesn't translate to a 7' hard top at all. As everyone else has said, try a longer board. Hard tops are much harder to position yourself on and turn with than foamies as well. They are just thinner, less stable, less volume, less float. Also, if the waves are rolling under you, you are simply not timing it well. You are either getting up too early or too late. Keep at it - this is a feel type of thing you need to get used to. I haven't come close to mastering it yet. If you are pearling you are too far forward - move back on the board and arch your back to keep the nose above the water. A longer board will also help with this. Even though they have less rocker than the shorter boards, there is more volume to keep you afloat and go straight - it's less "squirrely"

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, guys... I know close to nothing, but this is what I think I've noticed while learning. I am 5'2", 115lbs and I ride an 8'6" hardtop. I have trouble even with 8' foamies.