A Newbies Guide for Newbies

[tree4]

makes me feel like I'm a member of a community
Phill

That is one of the coolest things about it, imo.

Hear, hear.

[phillwilson]

hey thanks Oldgrom, I'm probably not THAT far down the line but I sure love the feeling of accomplishment I have had so far and look forward to all the challenges still to come.

looks like its going to be a great week here on the east coast of the uk so it will be a chance ot get worked over by bigger waves!!! YAY!!

Phill

[phillwilson]

Well, this weekend was by and large rubbish.

went out to northbay on saturday and it was just silly messy...seems to be a british tradition at the moment!!well that or flat!!

i just couldnt catch anything and even my popup seemed limp and lifeless.
I wondered after if my rib injury was playing on my mind and stopping me from pushing myself? it was certainly similar conditions to when i got wacked and i think i might have phased myself..anyone got any tips? do i learn from my probs and avoid the conditions all together or do i work on proving to myself that you can push yourself in thick fast and messy conditions?

I have however thought of something that may have come out of this...I have made myself 3 tables in Excel spreadsheet, one for each bay i surf , with wave period across the top and swell size down the side...Im going to record what the condtions where and which way the wind was facing, im hoping over time i might work out what conditions suit the way i surf, cos at the mo i keep gettng excoted by the charts only to find it differant on the beach.

anyways , off to pub now

Phill

[pkbum]

I have however thought of something that may have come out of this...I have made myself 3 tables in Excel spreadsheet, one for each bay i surf , with wave period across the top and swell size down the side...Im going to record what the condtions where and which way the wind was facing, im hoping over time i might work out what conditions suit the way i surf, cos at the mo i keep gettng excoted by the charts only to find it differant on the beach.

anyways , off to pub now

Phill

yah that might be smart way to compare conditions and you can probably know which day is gonna be clean and glassy by looking at the chart probably

[RJD]

Learning your local breaks, via excel!

Phill you'll have good days and bad. I had a pretty sucky session yesterday TBH but the waves were all over the place and set size was inconsistent, and I wasnt 'on it' and hadnt been in much.

To some extent its all you can do in bad conditions, as you learn & get more experienced you need better conditions to progress or even do well in.


Part of learning is knowing when to turn round and do something else..

[phillwilson]

"Part of learning is knowing when to turn round and do something else.."


amen to that RJD....I just checked my petrol gauge, not fun

[phillwilson]

Hi all....

heres an update and a few questions to through out to the kind reading folk...

first the Q's (get them over and done with)

does the cold affect your popup / paddling strength? it sure seems to with me

Is there any real risks involved with cross shore rips aside from if you suddenly get pulled onto rocks or a seawall?


I had a fab weekend up north... went to check out Blyth but no dice.. took in Tynemouth on Friday on the way back and it was a lovely sesh.

I think I am getting an angle on the type of days I work best in, it was nice defined sets of threes rolling in with a minute or so between them , this was really good for me.
I had plenty of time to paddle out, turn, get my leash and stuff all settled and get a good run at the waves.

on the plus side..

1.I looked UP!!!! the weird sense of fear of not looking at your feel and increased sensation of being pushed along by the wave made for a few moments of heightened thrill. Is no where near as easy as it sounds when described tho, maybe i just got into bad habits, but i have to force myself not to look I kept forgetting by default... do any of you guys still glance down?

2.I tried to walk to the nose.....ok I FAILED miserably but i enjoyed the attempt.What happened was I caught a particularly strong white-water wave and it just seemed to hold me securely but I was loosing speed so I stepped forwards, then a little more…then thought hmm..lets give it a go and took another few steps, I was probably still about a foot from the nose when I lost all speed and had to jump off before my board flipped. Should I just hold off trying this until I’m generally better or is it something worth working on?

3. I also took my first steps to getting out of the “poo stance” once im up ,I tried to remember to come a little further up still this felt weird but I seemed to have a bit more “pivot” by not being so spreadeagled.

Now for the downsides…

1. as mentioned I found I was really weak, I have gone back to spending too much time in the half press up position and loosing control before I even start, I attribute this to not being in the water as much as in summer and also the cold making my muscles feel weaker…any tips? Would warm up exercises help?

2. I sadly witnessed my first real life example of violence in the lineup. There was this older kneeboarder who I was initially HUGELY impressed with, he was really going for it and giving it his all (cursing the waves that he didn’t catch n all) but on one of his rides, he rode right into a guy who was clearly trying to get out of his way. This poor dude looked pretty much like a intermediate-learner and he sure as hell wasn’t trying to snake, he was already in the same place before the old dude even took off, anyways old dude gets amazingly angry swearing and cursing at this guy then lashes out trying to punch him…

To be honest I was pretty put out by this, I was the nearest to the fracas out there and felt that if he had just happened to go left rather then right, would have been the guy in exactly the same situation, I didn’t know what to do really, would you guys wade in or stay shtum…the kneeboarder had at least one other friend in the lineup who didn’t do xxxxx to help and I wasn’t on familiar ground so I didn’t know whos who etc...whole thing made me pretty worried for rest of the sesh, I tried to flash the victim a smile of solidarity and tried to move closer so he knew I wasn’t just letting it go over my head, but the dude got out pretty quick. Annoying thing is, I am one of the most politest surfers and I would always give my wave to a better surfer…but I had had a good surf up to this point, after this I was always checking all over and moving to keep my distance.

Anyways, to round up the story, went back on the Sunday but it had turned crazy choppy with a real side drag and I had a fun sesh but nothing as good as the fri.

Laters…

[RJD]

Hi all....

heres an update and a few questions to through out to the kind reading folk...

first the Q's (get them over and done with)

does the cold affect your popup / paddling strength? it sure seems to with me

Is there any real risks involved with cross shore rips aside from if you suddenly get pulled onto rocks or a seawall?

Cold saps your strength, your usualy in more rubber too but even without it drains you.

Rips are rips, a beachie here can sweep you miles upshore and often out to sea too.

[tree4]

Hi all....

I think I am getting an angle on the type of days I work best in, it was nice defined sets of threes rolling in with a minute or so between them , this was really good for me.
I had plenty of time to paddle out, turn, get my leash and stuff all settled and get a good run at the waves.

Holy sh*t, I would kill for a day at Bournemouth where there was more than 10 seconds between crap waves.

Sounds like I need to rethink my relocation to Devon and come oop north with you Phil.

[phillwilson]

Wow, its been two weeks since I last got in for a surf....AND I forgot to post about it!!

21st was my first ever SNOW SURF, it was AMAZING.

got woke up by a call from a very eager Derbyshire Surfer...I was in no fit state to drive let alone surf so I turned over and vowed "later" and went back into drink induced sleep.

finally got my arse moving around mid-day, to be honest I saw the snow , felt the cold and nearly gave myself an excuse to not go but i kinda thought, if you don't go in the snow once you will never know if its for you,give it a go..even if you only man it for ten minutes. (I have these words with myself)

set off after having the brainwave of putting a hot waterbottle in my kit box (suit was still wet due to me being reeeeally lazy) which i would recomend to all after the toasty warmth of getitng my suit on.

also the other thing i picked up was to REALLY spend the extra few minutes manipulating the suit so it isreally fitting all the pits and cracks and make sure all your gloves and boot seals are as good as they are going to get. I normally just throw the suit on in overeagerness...but i think my cautiousness paid off in terms of warth and water time.

after about five minutes in and my fist icecream wipeout i was really nice and warm in the water and catching some lovely waves there was plenty of people out but i think the snow had brought out a really good atmosphere with lots of nods smiles and eye contact which really made up for the fact i was out alone again.

then the snow started up again....awwwwwwwww

this is gonna be one of the memories i will be most happy to think of on my deathbed, it was just brilliant. looking back into shore seeing all the people on the beach looking as us like e where nuts and us sat smuggly knowing we were probably warmer AND having more fun, got a really good wave and I think basically I just made my year!!

onyl other major event was taking my BIIIIIGEST drop and royally messing it up!! the wave i was going for was a comfortable size, but it kind of got almost overtaken by one behind it which was bigger, much bigger..it kinda lifted me up another level and suddenly i was waaay too high to be comfy and still in paddling position, in retrospect it would have been crazy fun to try and surf it, but i just kinda instintivly grabbed hold angled sharply and just tried ot not pop straight over the edge, whch kind of worked...what happened next was kinda seeing feet smacking my head on my board..feet again..bubbles..more board to head and then a bit of air...was glad to surface but was actually laughing , it was like a proper rollercoaster

anyhows, i surfed another couple of hours until it was getting dark and i finally messed up the seal of my left glove on a wipe out, it filled with cold water and i figured i wasn't going to be able to reheat that back to the warmth of the rest of me so i got out.

was fun changing and seeing all the steam coming off me.

I stuck around and took some photos, (see the black and white ones in photo section)

all in all another one on the side of "good" days.

[phillwilson]

big news this weekend, finally got down the line........

big props for Chloe for watching me come down a wave and say..."hey you would have made that if you had started turnign at the top of the wave"


now why the heck didnt i think of that..............

so i did....and it worked.........thing is , i didnt fully know what to do next hehe so i just pumped up and down and enjoyed the moment.


by the end of the day I actually managed three to smaller extents, hey this is LIVIN!!!!

[RJD]

Gratz !!! its an ace feeling when you nail your first proper wave and trim into the face!

[phillwilson]

Just realised that my last few posts have had very little info for the new surfer...which was the point of my guide

(its sorta turned into a diary of things i can look back on when im feeling uninspired or stuck either in surfing or life in general)

anyhows,

One major thing to say that wish had been said to me......

GET USED TO YOUR BOARD STICKING OUT IN MID-AIR

to some of you this may seem obvious, to others not an issue...but to me for a long time i found that one of the main changes from riding white water to riding green face is that your board is no longer flat to the water and if like me you are learning on a longboard...that starts to look like a whole lot of board sticking striaght out into the nothing in front of you.

basically the advice part is relax into it, it will start to seem normal...indeed it is normal...yes if you leave it hanging there pointing to shore you may well take the drop too steep and the front will dig in when you hit the bottom.....but think of that as good encouragement to learn how to turn your board...seemed to work with me.

I guess now I need any pointers in what is coming next from any of you further along...I find the "board sticking out the side of a wave" thing amazing...cant believe it actuallyl holds there like a shelf, with all my weight on it..but it does!!

is the idea now to make small left to right movements (small in comparison to the turn that got me down the line) to move me up and down reletive ot the wave to make my ride longer? ...seems logical and what my body is telling me to do...but im not sure.

also tip for Newbies like me...have said it before..but seriously...get a buddy!!

I would never be working this sorta stuff out half as fast if I hadn't had ChasingDaylight in the water with me giving me the pointer ot start turning earlier also i always feel more gutsy when im not alone.

right thats enough from me....class dismissed

[tree4]

Thanks for the update Phil. Couldn't agree more with about the buddy thing. Went to K Bay on Sunday and was too scared to do the ledges but with encouragement from KiteSurfer and Bewilderbeast and Sar had a fantastic time in the Bay and had 2 monster rides.

[RJD]

is the idea now to make small left to right movements (small in comparison to the turn that got me down the line) to move me up and down reletive ot the wave to make my ride longer? ...seems logical and what my body is telling me to do...but im not sure.

Is your board still pointing at the shore?

You want to turn it so its almost facing down the wave next, so you dont have as much board out of the wave but rather almost the whole side into the wave.

You also need to move around on a longboard to keep it in trim and going.

Forward (obviously) lowers the nose but gets you more speed and will stop you stalling.

Back will slow you down but allow you to turn.

So usualy front foot = accelerator
Back foot to turn.

But get used to moving forwards and backwards to keep the board in trim and moving, on a 9ft longboard you'll ne using quite a lot of that (7ft or so) to do this.

[phillwilson]

WOw Tree sounds like the whole crew was out this weekend , glad you had a good sesh.

RJD...totally agree, your explanation was much better then mine,..that is exactly the stage I have got to as of this weekend just passed..board facing down the wave.

I think moving about on the board was just happening by "feel" good to have the benifits of each position explained...so where on the wave is ideal?
high up?
just before the bit thats breaking?
low down?
moving up and down between the two?

again, I kind of think i know what I want to do, just from that i have seen others doing, but its always nice when people put it in their own way.

seriously, i would have never got this far without the folk of the forum breaking it down into terms someone like me who has never done a sport/physical activity can understand.

cheers

[tree4]

Surely time for an update Phil?

[phillwilson]

haha, awwwww.......its nice to be missed!!!:)

truth is, I have had very little to report.

The Family got fully behind me with my hobby this year and I have some ace new surfing bits and bobs to try out, hopefully in the next few days including a "hatchet" and tunnel fin (when they clear customs)...cant wait to mix it up a lil.

as for the waves, up here its been powerful but really choppy.

Headed out with Chasing Daylight this wekeend and found that it was a real battle to get out The relentlasness of it all showed up a few things
1. too much time sat on my arse over christmas
2. that im definatly still phased a lil from my broken rib adventure....

as soon as the conditions start to look like that I get more worried about where the next wave is coming from and it its going to shove a board into me then I am about getting my positioning right etc..

on the plus side I took my biggest drop yet ..to be honest i didnt turn it along the face in time and i litterally dropped..but it was great fun at that speed and i actually bounced over a smaller wave infront of the one i was coming down...did a little mini jump and thoroghly enjoyed the experiance but despite catching a few promising ones ...nothing doing...either hesitated too long cos of the height..which then made me take some pretty nasty face plants whilst sliding off the front of my board...or making it up to my feet but then not gettig it turned in time...ah well those are the breaks.

in other news....

does anyone else get back pains surifng in winter?
I had a sesh before xmas where it felt like i had trapped a nerve in my lower back...was very painful and had me almost doubled up an hour or so after, but i put that down to bad luck and the fact i was running when it came on.

however after this weeks sesh, i had pain in my lower back again followed by twinges further up my spine then last time.

i was wondering if it was the cold and not warmingup / cooling down properly ..well at all? not had this in summer.

any thoughts?

Phill

[tree4]

Nice one Phil.

Yes get a bit of back pain especially if been out for like 3 hours in really cold conditions. Have recently tried pro-actively taking 2 paracetamol and 2 ibuprofen before I surf which does help, probably by masking the pain as soon as it develops so I don't get all tense and tight which excaerbates things.
I think one of the contributing factors is spending too much time lying on the board and arching back and craning neck to see what's coming, usually cause its too cold to stay sat upright all the time.

[pacey]

Hey Phil,

Just stumbled across your guide - yet to read through fully but get the feeling it'll help me out a lot as I'm just getting back into the water after a 3 year break (except the odd session 2 or 3 times a year). Just moved down under, lucky me! Anyway fantastic to see how enthusiastic you are, and sounds like you've learnt a lot so hoping I can match your learning curve and be riding the face in a few months time! So just wanted to say thanks for the guide and thanks for the enthusiasm, it's rubbed off!