the lull: my latest hang up ...

[holdmeup]

gonna just write this out so maybe i'll come to an answer on my own in so doing. the deal is this. when i go out, i try to catch my first wave pdq and usually, after that, i get a few more in rapid chop-order. let's say 1/2 an hr has passed. well, then, without fail, i spend the next 40 min to an hour getting nothing, zippo, nada. i'll find myself sitting too far outside and force myself to move in. still miss everything i paddle for. maybe i'll move down the line. ditto. maybe i'll ease on over to a spot w/ less competition. nope, doesn't help.

okay, i might catch a wave here and there but it's nothing like the first part of my session. and, of course, the more frustrated (and embarrassed) i get, the worse the situation becomes, natch.

and then it's time for me to go in. i flubber on over to the crowded place that's nearest my best exit spot and all of a sudden find myself catching a few waves back to back, no matter the number of heads around me or if i'm sitting inside/outside. it happens. (and then, of course, i'll spend half an hour trying to get the perfect last wave in, but that's another story.)

so what i don't get is that lull and what to do about it. a few things i've tried. one: limit myself to an hour in the water and come in on the dot, wave count be damned. didn't help. then i thought, okay, catch four waves and come in. then try to up the ante till it's ten waves in, say, an hour, and then bail. but whatever you do, exit the moment you feel the lull. and whatever you do (part 2) don't stop paddling and hunting. don't stop. that worked for a bit but then oh i dunno, and just like that, i'm back to lull city. hate it.

anyone in a similar boat? any suggestions? thanks!

[Geezer]

I can relate; this is something that happens sometimes. I've tried many different approaches in the past to break the cycle and get a sesh back on track. Being active and paddling around trying to catch waves rather than wait for them, change peaks, dip inside and go for less than perfect rather than waiting on the perfect wave. Part of the issue I think is that just exactly that happens; I get a few and then see a few go by that were better waves than I'd gotten to that point. So I wait for "that" wave....and wait.....and wait. Sometimes my trying to be active and increase my range has negative results....I zig when I should have zagged and decide to go inside then that perfect wave I'd been waiting on comes through and I'm too far out of position to get it. Then it starts to build in my head and I forget how simple it can be. I sometimes blame it on shifts in current and changing tide levels; makes my inept lull easier to swallow. LOL

I saw a video, I forget the series but it was a British instructional series that had 4 vhs tapes or dvd's (remember either of those?!) Anyway, they recommended going to the beach or well inside if a session was off the rails and observe, get your head together and then go back out. This is the best advice I've ever gotten on this and I'll do it if things really do go bad. A slightly less effective fix doesn't require going all the way in; just park out in the channel off the shoulder where you can see the face of the waves breaking. Idea behind both is to relax, get back into the flow and rhythm of things, to see where the waves are breaking, where the foam is after they pass, the boils, the lineup points and where those who are having success are....having success and exactly how they are getting in. Then I go back out to the peak and will almost always be right back in the saddle.

Other factors can be in play; especially after a layoff I will fatigue noticeably after the first half hour and my performance falls off. It happens to a degree regardless of my fitness; first few waves are the easiest. Tides and currents are easy to scapegoat but they need attention and adjustments need to be made, especially when rips slowly change position and travel laterally longshore down a beach changing wave dynamics or tide levels on breaks particularly sensitive that only really "work" in relatively small windows.

I have a theory on why those first few waves are good for me. I come to a break and first I sit for at least one set to see what's going on with the ocean, where people are, where the best entry points are - I get a pretty good picture of things. Then I paddle out while watching the waves all the way out and get an idea of where I want to be. Then I paddle to that spot and sure enough - I get one in short order. The trick of going to the beach to re assess or my abridgment of sitting on the shoulder are modifications of the first paddle out and is the best "pre shot routine" I've figured.

[Geezer]

The other thing to consider holdmeup is that you might be shying away from the crowd. You wrote that when it's time to leave you go to your exit spot that's crowded and then start catching waves. I don't like crowds as much as the next guy, but there are crowded parts of a break and parts not so crowded. Problem is the crowded parts are the best spots to get in. So maybe the issue MIGHT be that when you paddle out you are in the crowd and get a few straightaway, then decide to slide over to a less crowded part of the break and start bobbing rather than surfing.

[holdmeup]

holy cow, what a brilliant series of thoughts and suggestions. so much of what you say surprised the hell out of me as i read, largely because much of it had never occurred to me before and the stuff was absolutely, astonishingly true.

first up: "Part of the issue I think is that just exactly that happens; I get a few and then see a few go by that were better waves than I'd gotten to that point. So I wait for "that" wave....and wait.....and wait." you banged the nail on the head right there. i do way way too much waiting for "that" wave, especially if i've gotten a few hoots from other surfers during my previous rides -- hey, i gotta do bigger and better, no way can i do lesser and smaller. and then the crowd gets to be a little much, so my wave count quickly drops to zero.
and what often happens next is just as you say: "So maybe the issue MIGHT be that when you paddle out you are in the crowd and get a few straightaway, then decide to slide over to a less crowded part of the break and start bobbing rather than surfing."
bobbing. that's on the money, too. after i've done what you do, zigging and zagging around and being too far inside and (more often) too far outside, i just slide away and bob. and bob some more. and all of a sudden an hour has gone by with only a half a wave caught and so i flap back into the crowd and, once again, start waiting for 'that' wave, which by this time, everyone else and their mother is waiting for, too. i'm strictly a dawn patrol guy, which helps to keep the crowds down, but time marches on and now the surf schools are showing up ...

i think i'll try your idea about sitting off to the side and regrouping. i'd come in and do it, but the shore pound always has it in for me, so staying in the water might be best.

the crowd i surf with, i know who the good surfers are and i sometimes try to key off of their positioning but what's magic for them ain't necessarily the same for me. but i am looking and i am hoping to learn. meanwhile, i can always blame the tide or the wind or the kooks on their soft-tops sitting on the the inside, but usually i blame myself and that's not always the best thing to do either.

onward. thanks again for speaking up. really helpful stuff.

[BoMan]

I surf a beach break with shifting sandbars.

When there is a big difference between high tide and low tide (6 foot high, -1 foot low, for example), water moves in-and-out FAST and I get dragged out of position. On days like this I use landmarks and a lot of paddling between waves to stay in position.

[TeeBee89]

Geezer mostly nailed them, but a few small things I've tried to combat the problems you describe.
You really have to move around out there I agree. I find if I start sitting there for awhile, either during a lull or waiting for that "better wave," my attention wanders and I'm just not mentally there anymore after those first few good waves. The session suffers after that.

A friend told me years ago to always be working on something during that session (take off, bottom turn, foot placement, etc.), don't just be "surfing." Although I've forgotten that lately, I've found it helps to focus on something you want to improve that day, especially if conditions are sub-par. Even if you're being critical ("I've gotten lazy with my pop-up and now it is weak," etc.), I've found I weirdly start to forget myself while focusing on some minor issue and actually start to have fun, even if improvement was marginal or even nil.

I've sometimes found it helpful to end on a high note. I started doing this after suffering from "one-more-wave-itus," when as you said you get a couple good ones going in and decide to stay out longer. Predictably I got tired, started screwing up basic stuff, felt embarrassed and frustrated in front of growing crowds, and went in angry. So after a good wave (ideally one I've ridden almost into the shore, but not always), I decide I've had enough and am content to end the session on that note. This is easier said then done of course However, I go in happier more often than not and it removes any pressure I pile on myself over mistakes made, anxiety about crowds, conditions getting bigger, etc.

[holdmeup]

tb89: excellent stuff and i read you on all counts. the one-more-wave thing has been a real buzz kill to otherwise very good sessions. did it today, in fact. half an hour to get a crappy wave in, when i shoulda just paddled in when i figured twas time to go.
as it happens, the main reason i surf is to work on stuff and get better. never been one to, as you put it, just surf, even though you'd never know it by my ways and means in the lineup.
one thing i've done in the last few days is to take off deeper than i usually do and, wonder of wonders, i didn't get killed the way i thought i would. and i rode those waves better, too, start to finish, so much so that i got some hoots from the regulars that puffed me up and inspired me to catch way more waves than usual and even had some folks back off to let me go or call me in. it's weird how success can kinda breed success.
don't know how long this positive vibe will last. i'm a great one for backsliding. but i will continue to hope for the best.

[TeeBee89]

tb89: excellent stuff and i read you on all counts. the one-more-wave thing has been a real buzz kill to otherwise very good sessions. did it today, in fact. half an hour to get a crappy wave in, when i shoulda just paddled in when i figured twas time to go.

Exactly! Even if you do go in after you feel satisfied from the session though, nothing stopping you from going out again if you decide it still looks pretty good from the beach like Geezer said. I try to approach that as "Well I had a great session already, anything I get now is just a happy bonus." Try to get away from that negative, 'waiting for the other shoe to drop-backsliding' mindset, but it is tough.
Just happy my minor contributions help in some way!

[holdmeup]

yes, indeed, very helpful, and thanks. meanwhile, i've done some serious backsliding, and the lulls have returned. will reread everyone's thoughts from above and see if i can't get my groove back ...

[TeeBee89]

yes, indeed, very helpful, and thanks. meanwhile, i've done some serious backsliding, and the lulls have returned. will reread everyone's thoughts from above and see if i can't get my groove back ...

I resisted this view for a long time ('hippy dippy,' etc.), but have started coming around to the fact that I can't let the backsliding-lulls lock me into a negative mentality. Those were vicious cycles. They still are, especially with year plus periods out of the water. With all valuable hindsight though, I've come to realize getting the groove back didn't take so long in a session or two as it felt at the time and I shouldn't beat myself up over conditions that are fundamentally out of my control. The improvement is always incremental I think, especially when you don't notice it at first (ex: that time I got over myself and back on to a mini mal ).
Best wishes with it and let us know!!

[holdmeup]

still backsliding, still trying to puzzle out the whys and wherefores. today, it took me 1/2 hr to catch my first wave, then caught but 4 or 5 more in the next 1.5 hrs. one thing i know is holding me back: sitting too far outside. it's been a lifelong problem and pretty much without reason, since when i do take off late, i make it 95% of the time and i generally get a bunch of huzzahs from the crowd. i guess it's just not my comfort zone, so i retreat to the outside and start missing wave after wave and continue on like that until the end.

yes, negative mindset. it's a thing. and i've got a bunch of it. i mean, i've had a few other surfers -- better surfers -- slide by me and say, dude you're not getting your fair share; get on it.

and sometimes i do, but most often -- bleh. i mean, part 2: my issue isn't with riding waves -- once i'm on, i do well -- it's all in the catching. all. crap.

[TeeBee89]

still backsliding, still trying to puzzle out the whys and wherefores. today, it took me 1/2 hr to catch my first wave, then caught but 4 or 5 more in the next 1.5 hrs. one thing i know is holding me back: sitting too far outside. it's been a lifelong problem and pretty much without reason, since when i do take off late, i make it 95% of the time and i generally get a bunch of huzzahs from the crowd. i guess it's just not my comfort zone, so i retreat to the outside and start missing wave after wave and continue on like that until the end.

yes, negative mindset. it's a thing. and i've got a bunch of it. i mean, i've had a few other surfers -- better surfers -- slide by me and say, dude you're not getting your fair share; get on it.

and sometimes i do, but most often -- bleh. i mean, part 2: my issue isn't with riding waves -- once i'm on, i do well -- it's all in the catching. all. crap.

I struggle with this too as a lifelong problem, sitting too far outside, which is why I liked what Geezer said: move around out there. I was horrible at this. Still am horrible at this. I was psycho about not wasting paddle strength so I could stay out longer, but the reality is I waste more energy paddling for waves that I'm too far outside for, and/or constantly paddling further out because I'm overly paranoid about getting caught inside. As you say, I don't miss late takeoffs very often either and have my crouch far back on the board/holy crap that's steep power poop squat pretty much down. I just have to gradually get over me fear of committing to bigger looking waves/getting rumbled. It takes time.

Have found it also really helpful to mind those landmarks. Keeps me engaged and aware if I'm starting to paddle or drift too far outside, where to position myself, etc. I used to get irritated-intimidated when short boarders sat further inside of me, but reality is I'm on a bigger board and watching them catch what I might miss gives me a good idea if I'm sitting too far outside as well.

Sounds like you have a pretty supportive lineup, that's awesome! Not the Hobbesian thunderdome I'm used too

[stepphiesecret]

I can relate; this is something that happens sometimes. I've tried many different approaches in the past to break the cycle and get a sesh back on track. Being active and paddling around trying to catch waves rather than wait for them, change peaks, dip inside and go for less than perfect rather than waiting on the perfect wave. Part of the issue I think is that just exactly that happens; I get a few and then see a few go by that were better waves than I'd gotten to that point. So I wait for "that" wave....and wait.....and wait. Sometimes my trying to be active and increase my range has negative results....I zig when I should have zagged and decide to go inside then that perfect wave I'd been waiting on comes through and I'm too far out of position to get it. Then it starts to build in my head and I forget how simple it can be. I sometimes blame it on shifts in current and changing tide levels; makes my inept lull easier to swallow. LOL

I saw a video, I forget the series but it was a British instructional series that had 4 vhs tapes or dvd's (remember either of those?!) Anyway, they recommended going to the beach or well inside if a session was off the rails and observe, get your head together and then go back out. This is the best advice I've ever gotten on this and I'll do it if things really do go bad. A slightly less effective fix doesn't require going all the way in; just park out in the channel off the shoulder where you can see the face of the waves breaking. Idea behind both is to relax, get back into the flow and rhythm of things, to see where the waves are breaking, where the foam is after they pass, the boils, the lineup points and where those who are having success are....having success and exactly how they are getting in. Then I go back out to the peak and will almost always be right back in the saddle.

Other factors can be in play; especially after a layoff I will fatigue noticeably after the first half hour and my performance falls off. It happens to a degree regardless of my fitness; first few waves are the easiest. Tides and currents are easy to scapegoat but they need attention and adjustments need to be made, especially when rips slowly change position and travel laterally longshore down a beach changing wave dynamics or tide levels on breaks particularly sensitive that only really "work" in relatively small windows.

I have a theory on why those first few waves are good for me. I come to a break and first I sit for at least one set to see what's going on with the ocean, where people are, where the best entry points are - I get a pretty good picture of things. Then I paddle out while watching the waves all the way out and get an idea of where I want to be. Then I paddle to that spot and sure enough - I get one in short order. The trick of going to the beach to re assess or my abridgment of sitting on the shoulder are modifications of the first paddle out and is the best "pre shot routine" I've figured.

Great advice! Staying active and changing positions definitely helps. Observing from the beach or channel is a solid reset strategy. Fatigue and tides play a big role too. The "pre shot routine" of assessing and then paddling out is key. Thanks for sharing!