A Newbies Guide for Newbies

[Heathen]

Cheers guys

Well it was all down today lol.

its the 5th day in a row I have been out I tend to start getting tired fast after the 3rd day.
Anyway went out was the biggest its been since I have started surfing with maybe 4-6 foot and heavy so anyway paddle out the back that was ok go for a wave I miss it so i turn around to paddle out and in come a 6 foot beast so i paddle hard to get back out so its not going to break on my and I think I am ok I try to paddle on a angle first mistake never do that again the peak grabs my board and drags me over the falls and kicks the xxxxx out of me and being a noob and never been in surf this big I panic frantically trying to get my head out the water was under for maybe 10 secs so by this stage after paddling hard and then wasting energy struggling I ma puffed and tired I have been rolled in the wash before but not this bad and because I was out breath before hand it seemed so much more scary.

Anyway i finally pop and try to get some air in when I turn my head to see another 3 foot wall of wash coming on so i jump on the board and try to ride it and again get my arse kicked I ended up going to waist height and get some energy back and my breath back.

So then I go out again paddle hard in a low and get out that back I caught 2 waves that I dropped into but closed then I am sitting out the back in the line up nice waves rolling under m thinking I am safe and out of the impact zone when another monster rolls in I am thinking cool i am out far enough but I still start paddling out a bit more then low and behold it peaks and breaks about 3 meters from me and with what seemed to be 3-4 foot wash it looked mean so i panic jump off the board to try to turtle dive and get my arse kicked again so by this stage 1 1/2 hours in the water I went home I was too tired.

I hope some of you will have a laugh about this I am sure you have all been through it when learning but man big heavy surf puts you in your place.

I am still trying to work out the best way to get through big white wash on a long board.

And I hope I will get more relaxed and charm when I get caught under in big wash instead of freaking out.

[ChasingDaylight]

Aww don't even worry. As many have said before, we all have bad sessions. Those bad sessions help us build up our experience though, so power through and don't get disheartened!

I was out a while ago and i got held under for so long i thought i was done for! Really papped myself. I know exactly how you felt out there. Sometimes, only when there's no one else around though, if a massive wave looks like it's about to break on you, i sod my board (having a longboard too) and throw it behind me while i duck dive it. Probably not good for the leash or, come to think of it, the board in general, but you don't get held under at all. Last resort i guess.

Another tip, as has been said before, is hang back a bit in the whitewater until a lull in between sets comes, then paddle like crazy. Also, if you can still touch the bottom, jump as high as you can and push down on the tail (although this has started to mess up my wrist) this gets you pretty much over easily enough.

Always going to be hard with a log. Just keep surfing and keep practising and appreciate those days where your body lets you work it right and gets you out back. Work out and bit too and get your strength up and it will get easier.

[Heathen]

cool thanks for the advice i was thinking about doing that next time ditching my board and diving under the wash.

I do wait for lulls but like I say this was the first time I have been in surf that big and heavy I was dishearten when I came in a felt useless but at the same time I learned a lot of good lessons of what to do and not to do.

And yer i hope in time I don't get as freaked out when I get rolled like i do at the moment.

[RJD]

Cheers guys

I am still trying to work out the best way to get through big white wash on a long board.

When you find out let me know!

Theres a number of tactics.

Primarily you take advantage of the boards paddling speed, if you can paddle it strong and fast enough to get out back you never will, so paddling is the key.

Wait for a lul in the sets, go out in a rip of there is one, position and timing is key.

Waves I take head on, I dont bother to turtle etc.

[drowningbitbybit]

Happens to me all the time

It'll always happen every now and then -everyone gets a beating occasionally - but the real trick is anticipation of what the wave is going to do. And then move to where it isnt going to do it. And that takes time in the water, watching the waves.

Also, if you're out back and suddenly all the surfers around you start to paddle towards the horizon... its a good idea to follow them

[Heathen]

Been out the last 2 days bit of a swell on here at the moment and some nasty on shore.

I have just been staying in shore and catching the reformed waves got some ok rides too and also been practicing hoping off the board holding the nose and diving through the wash which seem to work quite well.

My mate has been going out the back yesterday he did not catch really any waves too big he got his ares kicked too lol like I did last weekend.

I am just worried I am being a pussy not going out there because my mate is but the fact is it out of my league and his and I don't see the point I still have trouble at times dropping in on smaller waves so I don't have much chance on bigger ones 3+.

I did paddle out that back once just for the hell of it even had a big xxxxx break in front of me good practice before hand I jumped of dove under holding the noise and worked well no arse kicking I caught a smaller wave in that was about it.

But like I say i don't see the point in going out the back in surf that's beyond my skill and sit there not catching anything I would rather stay in shore and catch more waves and get more practice.

90% of the time at my local I am out the back and the surf is 1-3 foot and I am fine but like now we get bigger surf coming in have a got the wrong attitude? should I be out there get my arse kicked anyway or am i doing the right thing my mate keeps saying nah bro bigs good and I am am like well nah its not we learning but after yesterday he said to me when we came in hope it gets small again but after a arse liking and not catching much because they were too big I think he has seen the light lol.

But I had good day I just had fun in shore and like i say got some good reformed rides.

I know one day i will be out there on the bigger waves but i am a hell of a long way off that.

[drowningbitbybit]

Hey, dont worry about it. Discretion is the better part of valour, and cowardice is a much under-rated quality

You should be pushing yourself to do better, but not pushing much against limits of skill and safety. If you're not comfortable out back, then you're probably not safe to be out there.
I dont remember a time when I suddenly went out back, or suddenly felt comfortable - you just kind of drift into it as your skill level increases.

Your mate went out back, didnt catch any waves, and got his arse kicked - who do you reckon made the right choice?

[Heathen]

Yer I do try to push myself but I also know my limits and skill lvl and try to be realistic thanks for the advice .

[gutterball]

Got to agree with drowning on those points.

If it is too big for you and you get your ass kicked sometimes it over scares you for a while aswell and you lose some hope.
If you drift into the bigger stuff and push yourself at a reasonable rate for your skill it might take longer to go the bigger waves but you have more hope when you do.

However the truth is, if you can hold your breath, swim a decent level and are fit, hold downs and getting punished isnt really that bad in most cases. Even if you draw blood hitting a reef the adrenaline and stoke usually pulls you through.

Knocking your board in your face or something like that is another story.

Dont worry about taking a while to learn either, sometimes the ones who take there time in the learning process become great surfers.

[phillwilson]

Wow, this threads been gaining a life of its own without me
truth is in the last fortnight, I have only had the correlation of days off and waves twice which sucks.

we have been getting the sort of dumping waves that are really hard to get past, coupled with logs and lots of cross shore drift both times.

to be honest I have become a little disillusioned myself, just because I have spent 95% of my water time , effort and energy just fighting to stay upright and more or less in the same place (had a LOOOONG wind walk back up).

so yer, I got a fair few white waves and some standing time, but now I have had green, riding white just don't seem worth the trip, maybe i am being ungrateful, cos i know if that was back in September i would be stoked with the amount of times i stood and the fact i got to move left and right in the wave a bit, but ever since my down the line rides I have been yearning for similar conditions to have another go and it just hasnt been happening.

sorry for lack of funnies or info, i guess its just one of them posts.

[Heathen]

Sorry for high jacking your thread Phil but seemed the easiest place to post my issues

I went out last night was big surf maybe even bigger but i found a really nice spot by the point away from the bigger sets was still in shore a bit but I must have got 10-12 really clean pop ups and drop in and 2 shoulders so was a good day.

Starting to feel really better timed on my pop ups never went over the back once couple of wipe outs on pop up but most like I say where very clean and smooth drops in so pretty stoked.

And I know what you mean Phil after getting a few faces nothing gives me that rush now I can get a good drop in but if it closes out to wash its like bah but what I do is walk up and down the board for practice keeps me entertained.

I find it really hard now to pop up on white wash as well after catching waves for a while I miss the weightlessness when you pop while dropping in a cant get up as well on the wash anymore or as fast or clean I just drag my arse up where as on a wave I pop pretty fast and smooth.

[drowningbitbybit]

riding white just don't seem worth the trip

Okay, now you have to work on another set of surfing skills - forecasting.
Absolutely critical, particularly somewhere as fickle as the UK.

To be catching the green waves, you need to be in the right spot at the right moment.

So you need to learn to read the tide, wind and the waves to know when its gonna be on - and to know all the spots and which ones work for what conditions. Sometimes it'll be a blown out choppy mess everywhere, but almost always there'll be a spot working somewhere - you just need to work out which one it'll be in advance so that you can travel there for the perfect moment.

No more popping to the closest or easiest beach break. Time to start staring at pressure charts and exploring the coast.

Plenty of green faces waiting for you out there.

[RJD]

As you improve you need better waves to improve on!

Whitewater mush is only usefull so long, sometimes going out only results in a beating and often thats not worth it, part of learning is learning when not to go out!

Though its sometimes worth it just to work on paddling and getting through breakers...

[TReMoR]

umm quick question.. when you fall.. do you try to fall out away from the wave? or does it not matter?

[phillwilson]

Heathen, No probs buddy, we should share this forum as we share the waves...post away

dbbb VERY true, and actually, well worth mentioning, you are right on the money with sticking to the same ol breaks. truth is even my eyes decieved me on sunday, the lines from the carpark looked awesome and clean, but on the beach i found they where so much further out then i realised and the fight to get through the big dumping nearshore waves just made it impossible for me.

I have however started reading some forcasting guides, and of course i always have my geektastic excel speadsheets which i update every sesh try and build a local picture.
Trem, I find in nearly always end up going over backwards so i am throwing myself into the wave usually, in my mind this means the oftern i go THOUGH the wave rather then my bdoy being taken somersaulting into the wave.

[TReMoR]

last time i fell toward the wave.. i took my board to my jaw and hurt my teeth (thankfully after getting a brace i didnt need 4 root canals like my doctor thought)
thats what i was unsure.. if i fall toward the face then i can get hit by my board.. as the board gets sucked up over the wave too... but falling toward the other side means you'll get smashed by the wave? o_0
or should i just not ditch.. and just try to stick with it and see what happens when the wave hits me

[drowningbitbybit]

Well, if you're wiping out, you probably havent got a lot of choices
But as a rule, push the board away and out in front of you - assuming you're travelling along the face, you'll be pushed along next to your board, and not into your board.

But assuming you have at least some control, the best thing to do is kick out over the top of the wave. On a clean face, the board comes with you, while on a closing out wave, you'll need to jump over the back of the wave (and hope your leash is done up tight).

[drowningbitbybit]

should i just not ditch.. and just try to stick with it and see what happens when the wave hits me

Oh, and in this case, go out onto the flats. Easy. Let it close out behind you and lose most of its power, or just ride the whitewater.

[W.I.P.]

This thread has been a lot of help to me as a beginner. I read through page five and I am looking forward to the rest, but it is time for a Beer. Cheers!

[phillwilson]

great stuff, glad to have you onboard