Moved recently from the west coast to the east coast and so went from surfing point breaks to surfing beach breaks. On point breaks out west, I get a lot of waves, more than most guys there. On beach breaks, all my timing seems to be off for catching them. And even when I do catch the wave, I have to take a steeper drop than others do. So, any tips for making this change? Did anyone else make this transition and find that there was something they had to fundamentally change in their style? Thanks! I'm surfing a short thruster.
look for points on the east coast, there's a couple, maybe one near you...but not too many and there's only one or two that don't attract a gathering. As far as style of taking off on the wave, it's all about angle.
that and you might be using too small of a board. For beach breaks I needed a little more foam since everything was more spread out...just something with more foam and paddling power to get me from point a to b. Not sure what you are riding, where you use to ride, and what type of beach break you have now.
Paddle harder, position your self better. Try sitting a little more on the inside of the line up.then again no one knows your surfing ability. I live in texas and travel a lot to get waves. I have never had this problem jumping around to different breaks.
My experience trying to learn to surf beach breaks on the East coast has been very difficult to say the least. I find that when I travel to surf point or reef breaks, I'm always amazed at how mellow they roll in...seeming to just sort of nudge you a little while saying, "hello friend". I'm constantly waiting for these waves to rise up and crash down like they do in NY/NJ. Angling my takeoff seems to help, but I'm still struggling to catch even a couple waves after almost 3 years of trying year round.
Much harder to go from reefbreaks to beachies than the other way around. There's no trick to it... you just gotta make the adjustment. Everything just speeds up.
Your just so used to catching waves without paddleing really, really hard. I'm guessing you know positioning and angle so I'm thinking your not getting the spped you need. I don't think people know how hard you have to dig and kick to catch waves on east coast. If you think your paddling hard, your not! Do you kick when u try catching waves? Its a huge difference when u do! Anway, if your doing that then it could be your equipment. I'm always trying new boards and fins. On the east coast proper equipment makes all the difference. It took me a few years to find a board that works good in any conditions. Bigger guys seem to have a harder time with our lack of power and faster waves. Well, good luck!
I have a thruster but I only ride it when its head high or bigger other than that I ride a fish or an egg. I have a pumpkin seed and it work for the mush. I would also suggest studying the tides where your at. I always go for mid tides where I live because The waves break steeper and are easier for me to get into. Don't give up you'll get it wired.
Same thing... You have to paddle much harder than you're used to. It just takes time getting used to... The good news is it will make you a much better surfer. The East Coat may not have the best waves in the world, but they are challenging. Whenever I travel I find that I surf way better than I do back home. It's so much easier to surf a reef or point compared to a heavy beach break. If you can surf here when it's heavy you will excel in most places in the world.... Of course there are exceptions (chopes, shipsterns and other freaks...) But most places it's true
My experience trying to learn to surf beach breaks about the East coast has been very difficult to state the least. I see that when I visit surf point or even reef breaks, I'm always astonished at how calm they roll inside seeming to just form of nudge you a time saying hello good friend.
True in my experience as well...it's very humbling to come back home expecting to tear it up and then...not so much. At the same time, it's cool to see the guys who rip the Right Coast go elsewhere and really excel.
