When Size is Everything - Learning to Surf

When size is everything -  learning to surf

"Foam is your friend. Don't be scared of it. A little bit of extra foam here and there is good for the soul, and your surfing." Rob Machado

Rob Machado is right: Foam is your friend when learning to surf. Surfing - unlike most other sports - is a long game. There are endless different types of waves to master, endless conditions to experience and adding to that learning to balance. You, the board, and the water beneath! Like learning to drive, there are lots of things to master, but the more you do it, the more it becomes second nature and instinctive.

Beginner surfers or surfers who have been surfing for a short period of time often try to progress to a short board much too soon. It is tempting when the big beginner board is hard to carry, cumbersome and not particularly manoeuvrable in the water.

But try to go shorter too soon, and you could end up reversing the learning curve and hindering that all-important surf progression.

Things to consider when you want to switch to a shorter board are:

Can you catch waves easily every time on your big board?

Can you sit on the board easily?

Can you paddle the board to catch waves easily?

Can you stand up every time and ride the wave to the end?

Can you turn the board left, and right?

If you can answer yes to all the above then you may be ready for a shorter board. But beware, go too short and you won’t progress. It’s better to go to a 7-8ft mini mal or fun board with plenty of volume to help catch waves and is easy to turn, than a high performance shortboard which will sink if you don’t know how to generate speed straight from the pop up.

Short boards are built for speed. They are thin, have less volume and have lots of rocker (curve). Tget are for riding bigger waves and for experienced surfers who need to generate lots of speed to perform big turns and surfing manoeuvres in the critical part of the wave.














 

If you’re relatively new to surfing don’t let your ego get in the way of your learning. It’s best to progress to a shorter board gradually over the years once you have learned the basics and surfed thousands of different waves at lots of different places.

So, leave your ego at the door. It’s about having fun.

"The best surfer out there is the one having the most fun." Phil Edwards