Hi there, I posted awhile back about riding unbroken waves on my 8'8 longboard. I have fixed the problem and almost never pearl. I also have taken drops fairly well My next question is that my friend has a 6'8 shortboard that he said i can use on sunday (there's supposed to be a nice swell moving through on that day). Should i attempt the shortboard? or just stick with my longboarding for right now?
Not a good idea. Stick with the equipment you are good with. Start shortboarding on a smaller day when it is safer. Be careful regardless if this is your first real hurricane.
So the first time you are ever going to try to ride a short board will be during a hurricane swell? I dunno man, doesn't seem smart. I can tell you going from a 9' LB to a 7'4" FB took a bit of practice. If you are going straight to a SB, I would wait for calmer conditions.
as a noob myself i would say no. i'm gonna wait maybe till the swell goes down maybe wed/thurs if the conditions are cleaner. going from 8 foot foamie to 7'8" funboard i have to work on my popup all over again, its a lot less stable.
As long as the waves aren't crazy big, I would say go for it! There's no better time than the present to learn. You'll probably get your ass kicked but so what?! If it is big, then you're better off with a short board for duck diving purposes anyways. Like zaGaffer, I always paddled out in the big stuff when I was learning to surf. It was definitely stupid, but it also helped my progression. One of my biggest challenges surfing has always been getting psyched out about surfing big waves. But every time I go out there in challenging conditions I progress. Obviously be smart and go with someone who is more experienced, but don't miss out on good waves because you don't think you're ready to rip it yet.
You should not paddle out on anything during the solid part of this swell... Like Gaffer said you need to know your limits. There will be many more experienced surfers on the beach for this one. Because they know they are not ready for it... If you really just learned to stand up and not pearl, dont go in. You will get rocked and possibly worse. Just the paddle will be too much.... And I'm not being a dic to a newbie. I'd hate for you to get seriously hurt. You seem stoked on surfing. Stick with it and soon enough you will be ready soon enough
I have been long boarding for a year. Four foot waves are my limit. I can spot the wave paddle for it and pop up quickly to ride it in, and bottom turn. Thats it for my skills, but then again I started at age 60. Some of my buddies use body boards and can do much larger waves. Therefore, I bought a 5'10 soft top short board and I use it for bigger waves by riding it on belly. It's a totally different sport. You catch the wAve different than long board. I also have only been able to pop up twice, whereas on long board I catch wave after wave and pop up. This Sunday will be 10 foot, clean light breeze NW. Too big for me. I am not ashamed to say we will all go anyway and catch the whitewater after the wave breaks. It's way more fun than heading to a movie or anything else. That's what I would do if I were you too.
Yeah I figured this was a dumb idea lol. I'll just skip hitting the beach Sunday. Wait for the swell to slow down then try shortboarding
Everything ZaGaffer said is spot on... One other thing to add is that with a shorter board, paddling becomes twice as hard, you really have to stroke a lot harder to move with less foam under you, it's an s-load easier to duck dive, though. I admit, I wouldn't have taken the advice either, I went out after less than a year in big swells I wasn't prepared for, got rocked by a big set, spent time with my head and shoulder pinned to the bottom of the ocean 200 yards offshore, but it humbled me and I think, in the long-run has progressed my surfing, but i know my limits. And if you do go out, look out for **** in the water, especially during these type of storms, i remember during Ernesto I was paddling and nailed my shin on something, looked to see what it was and damn if it wasn't a 3' section of telephone pole...goddamn, if that thing went over the falls and hit somebody, they woulda needed bodybags that day.
Didnt even think of that. It would be best for me to stay in just for this weekend. Thanks guys. sorry for sounding like a total kook.
yea man, it would not be wise to go out on a 10ft.@14sec. swell, always know your limits, it will be dangerous even for old dogs like myself..wait until wednesday it will be a lot better out...be safe and have fun
you don't sound like a kook at all... You sound like you're stoked for waves. That's a good thing. You will be hoping for waves for teh rest of your life. And you will surf plenty of hurricanes... When you feel you're ready, surf.. You will know when it looks like too much for you.. You do want to push yourself to surf bigger, better waves. Just don't go for to much too fast. Good luck!
I would definitely still head to the beach if the waves are firing! even if you dont paddle out it would be great to watch all the more experienced guys ripping, might be able to learn a thing or two just from watching ... but like everyone else said if you are not comfortable dont go. Take a camera and enjoy the spectacle that is mother nature!
"If you’re gonna be dumb you better be tough." LOL. love that quote from zaGaffer and some solid advice too
Brings back memories of my first day out as a young kook.........6' low tide fast peeling barrels.......Got my A** handed to me many times over. Was an awesome experience but...........If your a noob to a short wait for a smaller day.
