Surf breaks vary enormously and if you try to learn at the wrong one it can slow down the learning process. You’ll possibly get you hurt and label you as a nuisance to other surfers. Here are a few things to remember:
- Forget reef breaks (surf breaking over, rock, coral etc.)
- Avoid heavy, hollow beach breaks
- Pick an easy break wave in the 2-4ft range. It may not be glamorous but it will be the best place to start.
- Try and find a spot with no crowds- battling with hundreds of other beginners and more experienced surfers is not the way to go. If you have a little space it will be easier to learn.
Paddling
You have your new surfboard under your arm and it's now time to paddle out! Start in small waves and if possible paddle out when there is a lull in the waves. It's best to walk your board out until you are in waist deep water, and then lay your body on the deck of your surfboard. If you have a nice long board for a beginner, position yourself so the nose is around 1inch out of the water. Remember your position and stick with it.
Start to paddle using a crawl stroke with your arms, using cupped hands to increase the pull. If you hit bumpy water or "chop", lift your chest slightly and lessen your weight on the board so the nose and rails don't go under. Once you can get it right to balance yourself on the board while paddling, make your way to the line-up.
Start to paddle using a crawl stroke with your arms, using cupped hands to increase the pull. If you hit bumpy water or "chop", lift your chest slightly and lessen your weight on the board so the nose and rails don't go under. Once you can get it right to balance yourself on the board while paddling, make your way to the line-up.
Duck Diving
Duck-diving is a technique to allow you to pass under breaking waves when paddling out, rather than getting hammered by each breaking wave. Duck diving is more for shortboards with a sharp nose, where for longboards there are a lot other techniques to use. For paddling out on a longboard there are a few ways of tackling the breaking waves:
- The slice and duck: Push down on one side of the surfboard so that it slices/sinks into the water, at the same time push down on the deck so that the board nose ducks under the water in the same way as a duck dive.
- Eskimo roll: This is the old method of getting back out back. It's simply a matter of grabbing the board and rolling it over so that the wave passes over the top of you. This is maybe not the most effective method as there is a chance you can get drilled by the wave and pushed further back to shore.
- Push-ups : This technique is probably best on the smaller waves. Just push up your chest and the wave will pass under your body and over the board
- Shoot and scoot: Sit at the back of your board and sink the tail, grabbing the rails around the centre of the board so it raises above the oncoming wave. Don't grab the surfboard at the nose or allow the nose to raise too much as you'll flip the board.
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