Hey all, I'm learning to surf(longboard), and I just wanted to ask a question regarding minimum wave heights...I live in Sea Isle City, and the waves are up and down to say the least. Some days it looks like a lake with the lack of waves... Yet, is there a minimum wave height that is worthwhile?...Obviously I'm not looking for overheads or anything like that while I learn, but it would be good to have some guidance on what size waves are minimal enough to be out there---looking at the forecast for the next week, it looks very small--in the 1ft range...so, is that worthwhile to even get out there? Thanks in advance guys...
on a longboard you can surf just about anything. you dont really have to worry about height as much as wave shape and quality. the only time you cant surf a longboard is when its flat like a lake. a glassy 1 foot wave is probably better than a chopped up, steep 4 foot wave when your beginning
yeah i agree with above post. longboards can catch very small waves so any bump is virtually rideable. a good time to see minimal heights would be this week as the forecast is calling for as low as possible. a few tips to aid you would be to write down information about when you go out when its low like this. for example: write down what tide it is (flowing, ebb, low, high) period of the swell direction significant wave height wind direction/speed overall description of how the session went for all you know, your break might call for 1 foot @ 9 seconds from SSE and at low tide flowing it can be 2-3 feet and great for your board. but 2.5 feet @ 6 seconds from E at high tide slack might just be too disorganized and rides will be tough and worthless tl;dr and in summary so acknowledging that your board can catch most swells/waves, i would rather find out the optimal conditions for small swells in order to assist you in finding more suitable times to surf
pvjumper05 is right. The buoys are great... if you know how to put the numbers into the context of all the other variables that affect your break. That's why I like to use "knee high" instead of 1-2 ft., "waist high" instead of 3 ft., etc., and "clean," "bumpy," "weak," "barreling" etc. when I post a report. Mica does it here, too. Why? Because it has all the other factors built in already. So, to answer your question in those terms a classic longboard, retro fish, and a couple shortboards make up the core of my quiver, like this: knee high mush: not interested clean knee high peeler: log thigh high mush: log thigh high and hollow: fish waist high, any shape: log or fish, depending on my mood belly high junk: fish belly high and hollow: shortie chest high: shortie or fish, depending... over chest high: various shortboards This keeps things interesting, and I feel like I'm getting the most out of what the wave has to offer that day.
