The surf this weekend was all over the place and so was the weather. Friday was super hot with small waves. Saturday and Sunday we had some swell but also again lots of wind and the weather was a bit on the cloudy side. You could definitely surf and catch a few but as I said it was all over the place and a bit random.
With random surf came random surfing thoughts. You always learn something when you are out there, so here are things I’ve discovered this weekend:
It’s about the shape and not the size, Claudia…I’ve been reminded by one of my surfie friends when I complained about the size of the waves. True that …when it comes to waves… Having said that, I did not see much shape nor size this weekend.
Don’t eat a block of chocolate before you go for a surf… True too…it gives you heartburn. I’ve tried it today. I can not recommend it.
The ‘shit wave’ threshold correlates negatively to the number of surfing years. I used to stay out there for ages no matter how bad it would be and I would always, ALWAYS, surf the last wave in. Nowadays, I just can’t bothered anymore. Today it was really bad (no shape, no size…), I caught a few waves and made my way out pronto. Yesterday, I did not even wait for my last wave and just paddled back to shore. That would have never happened a few years ago.
Your own boyfriend makes the worst surf coach…I kind of knew it already but it was only confirmed when I gave surf lessons to a group of girls today who did not have the most exciting surfs with their boys and almost lost their faith in their gidgetness.
Now, you would think that your boyfriend would patiently stay with you in the whitewash, helps you catch waves and then eases you into bigger waves with all in mind but sharing his passion with his loved one. Sorry to break the news but I can tell you that they might try to (and really want to) stay with you in the whitewash but there is this magical force that draws them further out and they are torn between their girlfriend drowning in the whitewash and that right hander out the back. After short deliberation, they figure the best solution might be to drag their girlfriends out the back. (I wonder what they are thinking …it must be something along the lines: Really it’s not that big and she’s not falling off lying on the board, she’ll be alright…). Unless it’s really small, many gidgets experience a bad surf that way and get scarred for life and leave surfing to the boys. I still hate surfing close to rocks because my boyfriend in my beginner days thought it was a good idea for me to surf a point break in Ensenada…great wave…if you know how to surf across it. If you’ve just learned how to stand up on a wave and can only go straight, not so great…you’ll kiss the rock instead of your boy. Anyway, I’m glad to report that I did get the girls to have fun in the waves today.
In other news, completely unrelated to the above but also random… I’ll be competing in the Austrian surfing Nationals later this year (no joke). That’s what I love about surfing…never a dull moment even if the waves are not all time.
I think we’ll have some waves throughout the week. Fingers crossed also for the long weekend next weekend (super long for me 4 days off whoop whoop). Hope there will be some waves. A crew of us is heading up to Boomerang. Should be fun.
Have a great week everyone.
Clauds x
3 Comments
Hi Claudia,
I like your website.
Here are some crusty old surf dog surfing tips, the Summer small waves.
Equipment is key, but a highly subjective and emotive issue. (he he) Different strokes for different folks. But whether you ride a long-board or a fish, the main thing is to have some foam under your feet.
There are three keys techniques to small wave surfing, (which apply to both big and small waves really) but sometimes you need to mix up both techniques to get the speed, that the wave is not supplying.
1. Learning to pump down the line and generate speed. Skateboarding is the best way to learn this. You need to learn to do small bottom turn-top turn combinations, sometimes in the middle of the wave face. Going right to the bottom of the wave will often slow you down. Barton Lynch (Former World champ) who runs a surfing training course, http://www.bartonlynch.com/COACHING.html always get his surfing students on a skateboard first, before they go near the water.
2. Staying near the source, or surfing in the pocket. All the energy of the wave, is in the steepest part, right next to the breaking curl or lip. Often surfers will rise up near the top of the wave to get that speed, but if the wave is backing off, it’s important to know how to cut-back and head back into the foam, and stay close to the energy pocket. Staying in the pocket is an art, especially challenging if the waves are weak and fading out. Sometimes even you have to run over a flat section to get into the next little pocket of juice. That when having a bit foam can help to join up the dots.
3. Martin Potter (Former world champ) wrote an article on small wave surfing which I remember to this day. He said the key thing, is first up, to do a big turn (or any turn as soon as you stand up, or as soon as the wave allows) on the outside. This turn sets up the whole wave. Few surfers know, that doing a big turn, in the steepest part of the wave, actually generates more speed.
If you can learn to generate speed in small waves, actually means when it comes to waves that have push, everything is much easier. It’s the key next step for someone who has been surfing a few years. It’s the difference between an average surfer and a good surfer.
Cheers
Andrzej
Thanks Coach Kowalski for your surfing tips. I might have to recruit you for a new segment on the blog called ‘crusty old surf dog surfing tips’ ;-)
Sounds good…Crusty Old surf dog surfing Tips…I like it…he he