Looking for some help in NJ

[Airdale]

Hey guys, whats up. I'm from New Jersey, grew up here and spend a lot of time down the shore. Last summer was actually the first time I gave surfing a shot. I'm 29 yrs old, and last summer while on vacation down LBI my bro and I rented some long boards. I got hooked and ended up buying a 7'2" Austrailian surfboards mini-mal. I probably went out a dozen or more times last summer and had inconsistant success. Sometimes I could get right up in the wave and other times I'd wipe. I'm hoping this summer I can figure this out, because the few times I've gotten up on a wave its been totally awesome.

I was wondering if someone wouldn't mind meeting up with me and helping me out. Either my wave timing is off or I'm coming in on a bad angle or something. I'm missing the key component to getting up regularly. Most times my board just nose dives and other times it just goes right out from under me. I'll buy a case of your favorite brew for a lesson!

[zeech]

I don't live in New Jersey but I spent my first summer surfing there. I'm quite sure your problem is your board. A 7'2 is too small for a beginner. Depending on your height I would say go for at least an 8'6" and if you are taller than 6 foot, a 9 foot board is best. Then when you get comfortable on the bigger board you can move down to smaller boards. Too many people try to learn on boards that are too small for them and never get the fundamentals.

[Airdale]

Thanks Zeech. I bought my board from Wind Jammer, which was recommended by some local guys. I'm a small guy, 5'6" 120lbs. The guy at the shop swayed me towards the 7'2"Australia because of the flotation and he said its a great board to learn on and its versatile for the jersey surf. For what its worth, the rental board I had was a 9' and in the 3 days I had it, I only stood up on white water. First time on my mini-mal I was able to get up on a nice bar breaking knee high. Its just so inconsistant.

[GoodVibes]

Surfing takes some time so be patient,look at the guys out there and see what their doing.Go on you tube,rent videos,and read books.Practice your pop up in your living room .Paddle hard yet smooth.Respect the rules and the people around you.Hang onto your board.The more you go the easier it will get.Rep the pos.

[Airdale]

Surfing takes some time so be patient,look at the guys out there and see what their doing.Go on you tube,rent videos,and read books.Practice your pop up in your living room .Paddle hard yet smooth.Respect the rules and the people around you.Hang onto your board.The more you go the easier it will get.Rep the pos.

Thanks for the advice dude. Maybe because I'm older and know a thing or two about respect, I usually stay clear of the crowds. I'm the first to tell you that I suck, so I make sure to give way to the guys who know what they're doing. The thing thats frustrating is I can surf the white water all day, I just can't get up before the break most of the time.

[ND081]

it sounds like you're having problems positioning yourself on your board. when the board nosedives (or "pearls"), it means you're too far up on the board and you could be getting into the wave too late. if you cant seem to get into any waves, you may be too far out and the waves are just passing underneath you, or it could be that you're too far back on your board and it's pushing a lot of water. you want to be in a good position where the wave has time to build, but not so much that it just breaks on you. these are just the basics of catching waves, but it takes time and practice. the board you have now should be fine for your size but if you feel that stability is the issue you could always rent something longer to see how it feels. a bigger board will also let you get into waves more quickly and you'll have time to adjust.
Good luck, and have fun