Noob questions: New board, Nosedives/tossed and etiquette

[decade190]

Hey guys.
Couple of questions from my first month of properly getting back into surfing. If it's too long I apologise but would reeeeally appreciate the help.

1) Firstly, is there any benefit to practicing on the white water rather than smaller "green waves"? I can pop up most times on white water but its a crappy ride and turning through it all isn't great - don't feel like it gives that much of a true trimming/carving (not that I can do the latter v. well). I also find all of the white water bubbling around makes my pop up messier/slower.

2) Following from the above I've been mostly getting out back (which is a right mission!) and taking bigger waves, aiming for trimming down the face. The success rate of this vs white water is much lower. In particular I've had many nose-dives where i'm tossed over the wave at speed - slightly messed my back up on one of these. Sometimes i'm almost to my feet but am picking up a lot of speed from the drop and hit the water hard. Any obvious tips on what causes these nose-dives/death rolls under the wave?
Waves ranged from 4-6ft and the occasion bigger one.

3) My new (2nd hand) funboard is 6 foot 8, 21", 3". I know I was told to go longer but I hate trying to get the minimal out back... can almost duck-dive the new one but struggle to get deep enough. At 75kg should I be able to duckdive with the right technique.

4) Finally, to try to keep out of the way of a lot of guys in the line up i'm staying 50metres to the side of them, and further back than the majority. Will this look like i'm hanging back trying to snake their waves? I hate the situation where i'm paddling out and get in the way of experienced guys riding and have to duck below waves to avoid getting hit etc.

If you've read all that and can offer even any advice, you are a saint! Asked some questions to a guy in the line up and got some pretty sarcastic answers!

[TonyB]

I'm no expert but maybe try 2-3ft waves first? Nose diving is because you have too much weight forward - get to your feet quickly, the weight will then be more centred. Perhaps you are taking off too late (when the wave is too steep for your pop up ability)?

A longer board should nose dive less, but will be harder to get out back. Wait for a lull in the waves and paddle like fuck.

Hope this helps.

[Black]

I'll add some thoughts to this too...

1 As you've discovered, surfing whitewater is shite. If you can catch unbroken waves then do it.
2 Probably a timing issue on steep waves resolved by more practice. There's no shortcuts in surfing, you just have to keep trying.
3 At 10kg heavier than you I'd find it a bit awkward to duckdive a board that chunky. You have no option though but to keep trying. If the nose is wide try angling it down so you are not pushing the whole width under.
4 Busy line-ups are a pain, as long as you're not dropping in or obviously being a tool you can sit where you like out of the way and pick off the empty ones.

Most of all enjoy the time!
Cheers

[Jory]

If you can catch green waves then that's where progression lies.

Nose diving is possibly because you are catching the wave too late or not popping up quickly enough. Harder paddling might allow you to catch the wave a little earlier when it's less steep and avoid it (we are talking a few fractions of a second but it all counts). You should be in the same position on the board for paddling out and catching waves with the nose just out of the water so you move through the water as efficiently as possible without pushing water. If you're too far back (to avoid nose diving) as you take off it actually makes it harder because you're pushing water and your take off ends up being later.

Angling your take off diagonally in the direction the wave is going to break also helps.

If you can't duck dive then turtle roll. For duck diving, starting early before the wave hits helps, as will slicing one rail down before the other rather than trying to push the board down flat.

[nonstop_pct10]

To avid the nose dive, as some already said, angle your board on the takeoff. Pop up and get down the line. You are probably popping up too late, then standing straight up and staring at the beach (and by staring at the beach, I mean staring at the nose of your board as it plummets down the face of the wave, nose dives, and you get womped) Really practice your pop up at home or on the beach and when you get out there. focus on angling the board, and after you pop up, look down the line at where you want to go. (Its like making a turn on a motorcycle if you have ever driven one.) You shouldnt be looking at the beach or down at your board, you want to be looking down the line and checking out what the wave is doing. All this sounds much more complicated than it is. Basically, keep practicing and one day it will click and then youre good to go. The board will feel like its stuck to your feet and it will go wherever you want it.

As for etiquette I would say find a beginner break. You should ask your local surf shop where the local beginner break is. An experienced surfer is going to be more than happy to tell you. Its good for you and its good for the better surfers. Youll gain a lot more confidence seeing others wipeout on there pop up too. That being said there are plenty of good surfers at beginner breaks. especially young kids, so do your best not to disrupt the line up. I also suggest getting up super early if the report is good. Get out there 20 min before sunrise. Less people = more room for you to play and make mistakes.

Also, if you are really out there in 4-6 foot surf, thats crazy and you are going to do more than hurt your back. 1-3 is what you want to learn on. 2 - 4 max.

This all comes from a beginner/intermediate guy, been surfing 10 months and the advice above is what worked for me. I learned on a similar board as you, a banged up 7'2 fun board. It was small for my size so the learning curve was bigger, but I got it down and Im sure you will too. I just switched to a 6'6 fish. Now the learning curve is back. Kind of a bummer but now I'm progressing much quicker. They say you learn patience from surfing. Its not from waiting for a perfect wave, its from freaking learning how to catch any wave Good luck out there!