A Newbies Guide for Newbies

by **Heathen** » Fri Jan 09, 2009 11:59 pm

Hey all first off like to say thanks to all the people who contribute to these forums there a lot of really helpful information and advice here for learners.

And thanks to Phil for sharing.

I have skated since I was about 10 and tried surfing when I was about 18 for one summer before I moved tried learning on short board was pretty brutal but still fun.

Any way after moving back to my beach side town (now 31) thought it was time to get back out and try again been reading these forums for a couple of weeks and looking at boards and yesterday I finally found a board i wanted aussie classic malibu 9 3'x 22 1/2 x 2 7/8 good condition second hand board.

Anyway went straight out to the break with my friend who still is learning to surf I was very worried about getting up from struggling so much with a short board any way second wave I caught got straight up and got a ride right into the shore I must have had a grin form ear to ear what a great feeling!!

Anyway got tired pretty fast as I thought I would still getting used to getting in the right position on the board which i guess will come with time on the board and getting used to it but man as it a lot of fun.

Must seem silly be so excited about riding white wash but it was real high for me even though I can see I have so far to go before i will be riding a real wave just being at there is fun no matter what.

And phil don't be embarrassed man learning to surf seen a couple of your post about being in the white wash everyone would have been the same when they started man if you having fun and not pissing anyone off who cares.

Most people on the beach watching (summer here) would have been having a good laugh at me but hey at a least I am out there having a go and enjoying myself.

**Sponsor**

by **drowningbitbybit** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:35 am

Heathen wrote: I am out there having a go and enjoying myself.

Nothing else matters.

by **Heathen** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 8:41 pm

How do you know when you ready to start catching waves?

My local is a point break and beach break mostly its only between 2-4 foot for the last 2 sessions I have been catching white wash I get up 90% of the time and ride right into the shore skated for years so once I am up I ma ok but I am not sure if I should be trying to catch real waves yet I am getting sick of being in the wash too when the back is only a little bit away.

But I guess a few good wipe outs will tell me if I am ready or not?
just wondered how long other new guys stayed in shore for.

Another couple of question was thinking of putting a sticker on the front of my board to be like a guide for where I am positioned on the board when paddling.

My mate told me my toes should be touching the back of the board I am 6'1 and my board is 9'3 so I ma not sure if this is right most times I seem to get the position ok but being white wash its hard to tell my boards nose is just slightly up out of the water.

The first time I tried to surf years a go was on a short board I found it really easy to paddle finding it a lot harder with the long board I was told to keep my feet together but I find it makes me really unbalance so I end up with my legs slightly apart and feet up a little bit is this a bad habit to get into to?

by **drowningbitbybit** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 8:54 pm

Heathen wrote:How do you know when you ready to start catching waves?

..... I am getting sick of being in the wash too when the back is only a little bit away.

You're ready, my son, it is time.
Time for you to go.... Out Back. :bow:

Seriously, if you can get out back, then go there.
Make sure its not too crowded (you will be in other people's way first time out back), and that you're clear about how to get back in again. Other than that - get out there and give it a go.

by **Heathen** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 9:14 pm

Cheers man I try to stay away from the main line up I am too much of a menace to people at the moment so I am pretty careful don't want to ruin a good surfers fun by getting in the way.

Swimmers are a pain in the arse though there is one area by the point and down the beach about 400mtr that everyone surfs there's a whole beach including the life guard area and flags further down and people still have to decide to swim right in front of the surfers and myself gives me the shits don't mind the hot woman to much though lol.

Be good once summer is over and its only surfers down there again be more car parks too.

Where I live is a pretty big Holiday makers post so get a lot people there from out of town during summer especially this time of the year.

by **phillwilson** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:27 pm

WOW new look forum...wasnt expecting that !!

well I would say if your excited enough to be asking on here if you can go out back,...then your ready to give it a go...one piece of prep I may reccomend ...something i just thougth of for myself, it might be worth sacrificing a sesh to go out at just around the part of the beach where you cant touch the bottom and have a really good long paddle from one marker point on your beach to another...paddling perpendicular to the beach so you are still within your comfort area ..say from one end of the bay to as far as you can go in the other direction...then get out and have a really good look at how far yuo managed and how you now feel..........to me this is a good indication of how far i can really paddle and is a great piece of working knowlage to have stored when out back.........you will have that inner confidence of knowing that as long as you know your not drifting out in a rip...you can safely make it in. im sure your sessions will be more enjoyable once you can get rid of any nagging doubts of your abillitys.

as for catching green...the rush is well worth the beatings...rememeber that speed of paddle is now more important then a lot of other stuff, you need to be giving it some welly rather then catching really peeling waves...its amazing what a gentle slope you can get away with...my rule of thumb is now to try to think of the wave as slightly muddy road....if my skateboard was going real slow the bumps would knock me off....but you only have to be going at a small rate and suddenly ..your on a hill...and as long as that wave hill is steep enough to travel down, you can get up on it and go down it just like a real hill. just let your foot work and momentum do the falling for you

ps im gutted its been flat all weekend

Phill

by **Heathen** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:41 pm

Thanks for the advice Phil.

TBH I have had a couple session of coming out of the water dishearten 2 days ago I went ready to have a go out the back was bad day big dumpy waves and relentless walls of white wash so decided to stay in shore I started to feel a lot more well positioned and comfortable on the board but for some reason i fell off a lot on the wash bad feet positioning and only caught maybe 4-5 rides all the way in in about and hour and a 1/2.

And felt battered and beaten lol.

I went out last night again got out the back have found if I don't get off the board and relies it over my head it does no worry me I also feel a lot safer if there are other surfers close to me.
there was a big line up straight out from the car park so i went to the left closer to the point a bit away from them but after about 30 minutes about 4-6 surfer came over by me which was cool as I was not in the way but still had guys around me to feel a bit more secure out the back

Most of the time I was just catching small or washy waves got a couple of good rides right into shore but same again fell off a few times when I should not have because of my feet .

I just feel I should be getting up and riding every wave a catch into shore (white wash) so when I don't if I bail getting up or the transition between crouching I get a bit bummed I know it sounds silly but I have had days that every 2nd one I catch i will get up and ride so when i don't get I get disappointed in myself.
I think I need to remember what the guy from the surf shop told me when I got my board ""don't have big expectations surfing is one of the hardest sports"" I think I am expecting too much but then I am glad I keep pushing msyelf to and giving myself xxxxx.

So right now I am 2 minds am ready to go out the back? should I stay in shore until I can stand up on 95% of what I catch or is time to just go out the back.
My fitness lets me down but I am surfing everyday or second day so I am hoping over the next 4-6 weeks i should see an improvement with my fitness strength and endurance from surfing all the time most session I go out for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Anyway enough of me having a moan I am hoping the next surf will be better.

by **essex sucks** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 12:40 pm

No go out back now, you will find it alot easy to pop up on unbroken waves, just get out there and keep trying. one day it will just happen without u knowing what u did and you will be on the face. you will have alot more fun outback

good luck

by **phillwilson** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 3:43 pm

dont get disheartened too much by a bad sesh......this is always going to happen, the sea is such an organic non repeating place, you just got to surf whats there and that will lead to all sorts of differant concequences..good and bad.

i think there reaches a stage where you know that the "buzz" of that initial few times you rode in to shore will start to loose its edge, thats because you have now ticked that off your accomplishments , you will need ot go out back and start riding the real stuff to get a bed on which all the rest of your surfing progress will be based, theres just simply a lot of stuff you cant do in whitewash.

one thing i noticed was many of the guys i look up to in my area go out and have a good sesh if they catch maybe ten waves in a two hour sesh......less maybe when its choppy like it is....they sit and wait and jockey and contemplate and seem to have the greated fun by waiting for "THE" wave......its a totally differant mindset to us learner who basically go grab a wave, jump off, grab another and another and another like they might turn them off!!

think im reaching a point at the mo where three GOOD waves where i turn and ride...is worth a whole sesh of tipping on my face and grabbing stuff too late...im testing, everything, finding what works and what dosnt ...but also learning to have patience for the right set of circumstances .

hope some of that makes sense,

by **Heathen** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 8:35 pm

Thanks guys

And yer I really don't think there is much more I can learn from being the wash I have got a ton of rides right in and there is not much else I can.

catching waves and getting up was my first goal I have got to which i have reached not as consistently as I want but that will come in time my next goal is to ride a face.

by **surferdude_scarborough** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 7:17 pm

you sound like you definately need to get out back and start catching some green waves. next step is riding the face obv so work on the bottomr turn. if its a little bigger and it took you while to get out back then its probably worth not riding waves all the way in so you dont have to paddle all the way out again. this is a commom mistake a lot of new surfers make.

Phil you say just 3 rides can make a session, youre right for me just 1 really good wave can make a session worth the effort.

by **RJD** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 7:22 pm

At some point you ave to paddle out back and go for clean waves. Better sooner than later.

Whole other ball game but its worth the effort as you can only progress so far in the whitewater.

Out back position and timing is more cruicial too - so dont be upset if you struggle for a bit, keep your eyes open and look at what the waves are doing and where, and where you need to be in relation to them.

I still stay on waves too long lol. OncI got one I dont wanna let it go.

by **phillwilson** » Thu Jan 15, 2009 10:02 am

whatever surfdude said....the new message board wont let me see that far into the thread to quote the last few pages

Ya, I concede your point after my last sesh, one wave can make a sesh. It was way to choppy to learn much , but making one big drop had me smiling all the way home.

I seem to have this rule of thumb that goes.......surf sesh......getting tired...."one more wave"....eventually after a lot of "oh that one didn't count i slipped etc)get OneMoreWave.....splash to the surface with grin on my face.... OK...OneMoreWavePlusOne....get wave...go home

seems to work as an equation to me!!

Phill

by **twerked** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 3:05 am

^that sometimes works for me. i was surfing for about 2 hours, and i was drained. but then some friends of mine showed up where i was surfing and i just stayed out for another hour or so. good thing i did. i got my first overhead tube, which proceeded to closeout on my head, but still got in there. although it works the other way too. because when i skated, it was always pushing that 'just one more try down the set' and then *BAM* sprained ankle. or another time when i was out thinking, i'll just get one more wave. then something large and rough slammed my leg...i promptly paddled in very quickly and that was the end of the session

by **Heathen** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 3:23 am

Went out today for the first time in 3 days been hard tide to work into for after work and last 2 days its been flat.

But went out today was good for me 1-3 foot pretty mellow not far to get out the back only dropped in on one face but was pretty cool seem to have more problems getting on face a lot of the time i just go over the top of the wave have tried going as forward on the board as I can without nose diving I think maybe the next time i will try to paddle on a angle and see if that help still not really sure when to get up with real waves.

by **voodoocol** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 1:30 pm

went to cayton on yesterday, was really quiet - waves not up top much, headed out back, didn't catch $£&% BUT still had a good 2 hours, just watching, paddling, learning, and occasionally getting dumped. No point in not being outback yo

by **Heathen** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:23 am

went out 4 days in a row surf has not been that good really maybe knee high tow asit high but messy strong on shore on Sunday but still all time in the water and practice.

Find it a lot harder to catch and get up on weak waves but find its good practice its hard work catching small weak so i figure I if can catch them the more powerful ones should be a bit easier.

Going out today same size knee to waist high but light off shore so might be a bit better hopefully some faces to ride

or try to ride.

by **Heathen** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 4:43 am

Got my first face today!!! was awesome got maybe a 10-15 sec ride shortly after that the tide started going out and the waves were closed out so just tried to do drops ins got a few good ones but white wash after the drop in.

Was a pretty big deal for me though finally what great a feeling hopefully it not too long before I get another one been out for about 4 days in a row so was a good success to get at least one today..

My friend was doing really well today catching just about every wave he went for and dropping in waves closed out so still did not get a face but his pop up is much better now he used to use his knees now he gets up smooth something must have clicked for him today was so good to see now I have to catch up lol.

I am still finding my timing often I still pop too early but I have been focusing on my paddling which is helping the face I got was going on a angle on the wave and got straight up and was away still have problems with timing when doing the straight drop in had a few good pearls but also had a few times where I got up to soon and the wave left me behind but its getting better still did some ok straight drop in on pretty dumpy waves.

Going out tomorrow again well before high tide this time.

by **drowningbitbybit** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 5:38 am

Heathen wrote:Got my first face today!!!

Now you're surfing. The rest is just improving.

by **dougirwin13** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:28 pm

Awesome! Sending you a hoot right now (and hope your buds hooted in the water)!

Now you are really surfing

It's all up from here.

A Newbies Guide for Newbies

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