Later in life beginners

[jaffa1949]

Bump, reason being old folk sometimes have memory problems so I bought this thread up to the top again so more of our learning oldies can be encouraged.
ZIMMER FRAMES RULE

[bomber35]

I would say I'm a "later in life learner.". I started at 36. As my post history indicates, I've been very lucky with a good break nearby and plenty of flexible scheduling with work. All I can say is that taking up surfing has been one of the bet things I have done for myself.

[aimsblack]

Hi all,

I am 40 and just started surfing last year. Only went a few times and did great! I am now having to start all over again. Have a coach now so I can train to surf in the local wahine next June. Will keep you posted on my progress. Went today for a lesson and could not even get up due to being so winded once I got out there. There was a swell from Nadine out there and the waves were brutal. Am training on Sundays and surfing myself on Saturdays. Just bought a 6'4" Fish to practice with as I am 5'5" and 112lbs. I learned on a 9' board, so we will see my progress with this new board.

Strating conditioning in the morning at 0500. Wish me luck!!!!

[IB_Surfer]

We'll, I didn't just start, but I didn't start until 31

[Spudsurfs]

Hi All,

This is a great thread, and makes me feel a whole lot more positive about taking up surfing.
This is my first post...so be kind
I'm the wrong side of 35 and started surfing 4 months ago.
Although from the UK, I've spent the past 5 months in Oz and NZ.
4 months of that was learning to Surf, out in the water nearly everyday.
I've been surfing either Kirra, Rainbow, Snapper or D'bar in Queensland.
It's been the hardest thing i've ever done, but one of the most enjoyable.
I am totally crap at it. But love every minute of it. I'm now hooked.
One of the greatest aspects, is how many good friends i've made from taking it up.
Everyone has been so helpful and encouraging. Giving me tips and advise.
I've also never felt so fit or healthy. Even if the surf has been poor, I've still got out, even if it's just to paddle... to build up fitness. There is so much to learn...and that's part of the fun.
I wish i'd taken this up when i was younger... but never had the opportunity.
One of the biggest positives for me, was being accepted into the local surfing community. Everyone was so helpful and kind. It's not often in a Sport you get to share the same playground with complete beginners and the Sports elite.
I only found out I was talking to Steph Gilmore and Mick Fanning in the line up when i was told who they were when i got back to dry land... Both were so humble and encouraging. How many other sports would you get that?
Having left my Wetsuit and Board in Oz...I'm going back next year... I've now got to embrace the chilly waters of the uk.
I'm expecting a shock to the system.....
Lets hope my new love doesn't deminish...

[Fay]

I love this thread. Being a returning surfer at 42, I thought I'd be way too old but it's great to find others my age and older either getting into it for the first time or going back after an absence. You don't have to be a grom to surf (or attempt to surf!).

Good luck to all of us older surfers!

[surf patrol]

Hi aimsblack and Spudsurfs, welcome to Surfing Waves!

@aimsblack: Sounds like you are taking it seriously. I shudder at the 5.00 start, good on you for committing. I'd love to hear about your progress.

@Spudsurfs: Great to hear such positive story of your experience so far. You've also been lucky enough to surf on some classic waves with some great surfers. Getting into the UK water will be a shock, but the cold water season is the best time to get the waves.

Spudsurfs

[Spudsurfs]

Hi aimsblack and Spudsurfs, welcome to Surfing Waves!

@aimsblack: Sounds like you are taking it seriously. I shudder at the 5.00 start, good on you for committing. I'd love to hear about your progress.

@Spudsurfs: Great to hear such positive story of your experience so far. You've also been lucky enough to surf on some classic waves with some great surfers. Getting into the UK water will be a shock, but the cold water season is the best time to get the waves.

Spudsurfs

Many thanks for the welcome... appreciated.
Yes... I realise i've been very lucky with my introduction to surfing. Very humbling...
Living in a community for 4 months, that predominantly Surfs...it was hard not to get involved. I'm so glad I did. What struck me the most, was how many kids were out there giving it a go. If not on a Surfboard they were on Skateboards. Those kids truely have a beautiful part of the world to grow up in and such a healthy lifestyle. Seems so different here in the UK.
To be out in the water and see Dolphin's everyday...many times swimming under my board ( freaked me out at first) was amazing. Humpback Whales seemed to swim past every 10 mins or so...they were as common as cats and dogs it seems. I think the freakiest moment was being sat on my board and having a whale swim between me and the shore.
I have very fond memories, that will drive me on to become better.
Soooooo.....looking forward to getting back their next year.

Great informative forum btw

[georgekellop]

Nice man! Ya, I started late too. Started when I was 30, and now I'm 31. I think it's better to start later actually. You may not be as "spry" as you were when you were 18, but you're much better at learning stuff than you were when you were younger, I think. It's a helluva time, any way you look at it.

[Adam T]

Am 40 years old and started earlier this year. live near bournemouth, and biggest problem is being allowed out from family commitments and very sporadic conditions, and making the two meet!!

my 9 year old has also been for a few lessons, and he loves it, especially as he can stand up when Dad can't. we recently went to Westward Ho! for a camping trip just the two of us, had lesson where i got to stand up, and did bodyboarding. its a great bonding thing.

Family commitments are the biggest problem, getting your son into it is the way to go otherwise you'll just be branded selfish.

I learned to surf at 8/9 with help from the old man (he's surfed on and off since the 60s) it was probably the best time of my life until having my own son. We used to drive down to Bude on a Friday night and come home Sunday night after camping in the van or B&B in the winter.

Anyway I last surfed in 1999/2000 due to long term injury but am planning to get back in the water with a larger board this spring. I'll be interested to see how I do, seeing as I still skate I'm hoping my balance/coordination will still be good but I know getting out back will probably give me a stitch or something. I really want to get back into surfing so I can share the same experiences with my own son, a great way to spend some quality time together.

[pmcaero]

Surfed a few times in my early 20s, but I truly started this year at 32.I can't say I feel any disadvantage compared to younger people, but I did witness teenagers (granted, real athletes) being able to surf better than me after only a couple of times in the water, while I had been at it for three months twice a week.
I believe I was blessed with better than average balance, skateboarded a bit as a teen, and rollerblade sometimes. This winter I'm going to teach myself how to snowboard

[312T4]

(I wrote this page in the beginner section, but I think this a more appropriate topic!)


Hi guys,
I like this forum and I've been reading you for some months now. I thought I better join the conversation and have my say (if any!).

About me: I'm 36 yo, not fit, not sporty, 173cm and 63kg. I'm a small man!

Surfing was not part of my life until recently.
It all started 2 years ago when I met a painter who was going to paint some surfboards and I was asked to film the little event. The painter was/is obviously also a surfer himself, and I got the chance to learn some basic notions about this sport/activity.
Then 6 months later I got a second hand car with an old crap surfboard (7ft) left in the back.
That was winter.. I thought: well.. I may give it a try later on..

And I did it. I went to the beach with a friend and he told me how to paddle and little things like that.
At the beginning I just kept trying to show to myself that I could stand up on the goddam thing. Then when I got to that point, I started riding the white water, and it was fun. A lot of fun. And I wanted more.
After 2 months and thousands of questions, I went to a local shop and got myself a 9''2 cheap, easy surfboard. (the 7ft was sinking)

Now, I know what you think: LOCAL SHAPER!! IDIOT!
But the point is: what if I give up like with my push bike? Or the PSP? Or my swimming pool subscription? I couldn't afford that kind of surfboard for something that I never considered as part of my life.
(I'll buy it, later, I know)

Truth is: that cheap thing helped me a lot. I started catching green waves and I now think, I hope I'll never stop surfing. It's just too good.

I'm surfing in easy friendly spots in Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, Australia. I surf on weekends and sometimes on week days. If I'm lucky.
For me 4ft is a big wave!
I thought I may go for a shorter board, but the more time I spend on the easy, lovely, long waves of Noosa or Byron Bay, the more I watch other guys in the water or on youtube, the more I fell in love with the longboard style.

I can catch green waves and have reasonable rides. With a bit of steering up and down the face. I still need the right conditions though. It takes nothing to put me down.
As the waves get steeper I still have the nose dive problem. Plus other thing..
I'm reading and watching as much as I can.

Trouble is: in the last few months there are no decent waves here. I can't try new things and I'm getting crazy, and the crowd in the water is getting bigger and bigger.. people need waves!

One last thing: I started with the gym because I have no strength in my shoulders. Can you believe it? Who cares about the gym?! But I need it, I soo need it!

You guys, you surfers since 2yo, you riders of every sort of waves, you don't know how difficult is and painful is to paddle here and there for 2 hours when you spent most of your life in front of a pc.
Will I ever get there?

Thanks guys.
Nice to be here.

[surf patrol]

Hi 312T4, welcome to Surfing Waves!

A fantastic introduction, welcome to the forum

[jaffa1949]

Welcome 312T4, I couldn't think of a nicer spot , to start and continue surfing than around Noosa , if you've fallen in love with long boarding go with your love
Surfing is about having fun doing what you love if you go to its essence
You can get a full repertoire of surfing experiences all the short board stuff except maybe airs.
Tubes , re-entries , powerful turns the lot +things like nose rides you can't do on short boards.

The surfing world needs surfers of all craft (of their own choice).

You know now that surfing is not a net thing. Plan your escape as often as possible the fitness will come

[312T4]

Thanks guys.
I'm reading all the suggestions for beginners and I found some interesting things that I need to try asap.
This sunday seems to be a good one. I'll be there.
Cheers

[312T4]

I forgot to mention that around here all the good spots are right waves and I'm a goofy.
That means that from the very start I had to go on my backside.
In 1 year I surfed 5 left waves. Yes, I could go to a beach break but I'd need someone to guide me, explain conditions, rips and all about that spot. I don't feel safe in a open beach. Also, they are less reliable.
So, yes, I feel it like a small handycap but at the end of the day I'm fine with it.

[drowningbitbybit]

I'm new to the sport myself.. I'm just starting out and have only had a couple lessons, but i'll tell you about my experience so far. I rode a skateboard as a teenager pretty much everyday and thought this might be pretty easy... wrong...lol

I'm 48 and in decent shape at 6'0 and 160lbs. My first lesson was a bit humbling. I was on a 9' foamie and the instructor warned me that surfing was 85% paddling, 15% surfing. Wow was he dead on about that. The surf was a little choppy with 3-4' waves and a good wind. By the time I paddled out beyond where the sets were breaking I was well winded and had to just sit on my board awhile to get my wind back and my heart rate down. I found it a little scary to because that was the furthest I had been off shore without being in a boat. I can swim but I'm not the best swimmer for sure. I did catch like 2 waves during the lesson and just barely stood up and rode for a short ride, really short..lol I was so sore the next week it was crazy. My knee was bothering me, I lost a little skin off my toes from dragging my feet doing the pop-up, and my arms felt like they we're going to fall off at the shoulders from the paddling. I had a new found respect for the fitness of the regular surfers.

My second lesson was worse. This time they put me on a 10' paddle board. It was heavy, and awkward. They said it would be more stable but it was harder to paddle and I never could get up on that boat. It was like 4" thick and actually had a handle in the center of it. I'm going back to the 9' foamie, it was much easier for me.

I live 4 hours from the water but I just talked my wife into another beach trip this weekend so I am going try out my new Ripcurl e-bomb 3/2 wet-suit and rent a 9' foamie and see how sore I can make myself for Christmas. I have been working out in the gym and riding the bike a few miles each day so maybe it will be a little easier anyway.

Either way, whether i catch a wave or wipe-out, I am playing in the water and it don't get no better then that!:woot:

[Vic Docker]

Had the best day ever yesterday surfing. After months and months of practice in all sorts of conditions trying to find what suits me best, I surfed at Ocean Grove beach which is on the fabulous surf coast of Victoria, about 20 minutes from Geelong.
Conditions were perfect. Fine sunny day 21oC, water temperature perfect, waves up to 4ft at times, a tad choppy but otherwise couldn't have picked a better day, time or conditions.
Was enjoying it so much, spent nearly 2 hours out n the surf and was getting a tad thirsty, so decided to have a break and a drink for about 1/2 hour. Enjoyed it s much, went back in for about and hour and 3/4, so nearly 4 hours n the water! My god my arms today are reminding me how hard I paddled, but all in all the best day in the water EVER.
Can wait for the next surf session!

[312T4]

Hi,
I finally manage to have some consistent time in the water.. 3 days at the beach during Christmas.. there were so many people.. but still managed to catch a few.
Beautiful feeling.
I'm a the point where:
my fitness is good for 2 hours session
my pop up is fine a part from the fact that I jump up too fast, and going backhand, sometimes I fell.
My noose diving problem is gone thanks to the suggestions I found in this forum.
I have control of the board but I can't carve a turn. For that I need some bigger waves (speed) but they r all better than me in the water and I have to go for the second choice waves..
And speaking about speed, the other day I had some very fast moments, superb!, but it just happened to me. I need to understand better when to do what to have that when I want it.
All in all, I think that as a 1 year surfer I'm not that bad, I'd need someone to look at me and tell me what I'm doing wrong, and what to do better.
I may pay a private surf lesson soon.

[bigcherry]

39...40 in a few days...started surfing at San Onofre and Mondos here in Socal. Started off on a 9ft foamy, but my 6'4" 240 lbs was sinking the board too much to get going, so I got an 11 ft becker and what a difference! Catching waves and standing is still hard, but I at least catch some now and stand up a few times each session.

Looking for any other beginners to hook up with on weekends near Ventura. It's hard to get away from the kids, but I am so glad I took this up. Nothing (aside from maybe snowboarding really deep and steep fresh powder) makes me smile more than catching a wave and riding...even for a short bit.