Learning To Surf

Ocean Safety

Rip currents are formed by waves traveling towards the beach. Since most waves come in at an angle, currents are formed by the water pushing sideways. When this sideways current meets certain objects such as piers, jetties, sanbars etc. the current is diverted out to sea. The pull straight out to sea and can be fast and powerful. If you happen to get caught in a rip current the first thing to remember is not to panic. Don’t try to fight the current by swimming against it. Instead, simply swim sideways (or parallel to the beach) for about 50 – 100 yards. That should get you far enough away from the current and then you can swim straight in.

Stingrays

Stingrays are flat fish that hang out towards the bottom of the ocean. They prefer sandy bottom beaches and warm water. They are not aggressive animals, and don’t attack humans. However, they will defend themselves if they get stepped on. Stingrays have a stinger on their tail that is used as a whip for defense. When they are threatened (or stepped on) the tail flies up and the barb stings you with a protein based substance similar to a bee. To avoid being stung by stingrays, simply shuffle your feet when you enter the water. The vibrations from your feet are enough to scare them off. If you don’t think that’s enough, you can drag your feet the whole way out to let them know you’re coming.

If you do happen to get stung by a stingray don’t panic. Try to find a lifeguard immediately. If there is no lifeguard in site, simply soak the wound in hot water to reduce the pain.

Jellyfish

Jellyfish move with the ocean’s current and are sometimes hard to notice when in the water. If you happen to see a jelly fish simply swim away from it. If you a jellyfish brushes up against you the tentacles will sting you. If you get stung see a lifeguard immediately. If no lifeguard is around, put hot water on the sting to reduce the pain. Vinegar can also be used to reduce the pain, as well as urine.

Bluff Failure

San Diego is known for having beautiful sandstone bluffs and cliffs along our coastline. However, due to frequent bluff failures a great deal of concern has been given to ensuring the safety of beach visitors in the area. While visiting the beach, do not sit directly below the bluffs, climb or hike above them. Bluffs do collapse and it is unknown when it will happen. It’s best to avoid the situation entirely. If you witness a bluff failure call the local fire department immediately.

What you need to start surfing

• Surfboard
• Wetsuit (depending on the water temperature)
• Sunscreen
• Strong swimming skills
• Motivation

Surfing is an extremely challenging sport to learn and requires lots of patience and dedication. Learning to surf doesn’t happen overnight, so sticking with it is key to one’s success. Before going out for your first time it’s good to learn a few ground rules. Surfing Etiquette and ocean safety should be reviewed first.

Here are a few things not to do before surfing.

DON’T go surfing by yourself. It’s never a good idea to go in the water alone, especially if you are a beginner. If something happens to you a friend will come to your help faster than a stranger.

DON’T surf while drunk or on drugs. This is not a good idea and never safe.

DON’T cut people off or drop in on people. See our surfing etiquette section for further details.

DON’T EVER ditch your board if people are around. Take the beating yourself instead of letting someone else get your board to the face.

Always be cautious of swimming zones and surfing zones (especially in the summertime). Designated swimming areas are designed to keep swimmers protected from anyone with a hard board. There are signs on the beach that have these areas posted.

Duck Diving (short boards)

Duck diving is one of the hardest aspects to grasp for beginners. Once the waves get bigger, or riding whitewash is no fun anymore, duck diving is essential to becoming a good surfer. But remember, duck diving is only possible for short boards. Longboarder’s can only turtle their boards. See our turtleing instruction article for more information.

This process involves sinking your board underneath an oncoming wave and popping up on the other side of it. A good duck dive will allow you to go under the wave entirely, without getting pulled back too far. A bad duck dive however can cause you to fall off your board or make negative progress.

The most important thing to remember when learning to duck dive is to get a lot of speed. The wave will be coming at you with a significant amount of force so you must counter that force with your own momentum. Simply trying to duck under the wave without paddling won’t cut it. So the first thing to do is paddle hard into the oncoming wave as it approaches. When the wave is right in front of you, grab the rails tightly and push the nose of the board downwards by putting your rear in the air. Your arms will straighten as you push down. Then place your dominant knee on the deck of the board (under your body) and push the whole board in a forward / downward motion (almost like your scooping something). You will know if you dove deep enough or not by feeling the wave above you. If the wave passes over you relatively smoothly it was a success. If it knocked you off your board, or pushed you back ways then you probably need to dive deeper. As with anything this takes a lot of practice to get good at.

How to Turtle

While longboarding it’s not always possible to make it over every wave. When a big wave crashes right in front of you it’s time to turtle.

Turtleing is pretty much the same as duck diving, except it’s for long boards. Just like with duck diving one of the most important things to remember when turtleing is to have lots of momentum before the wave approaches.

As the wave is coming at you, paddle fairly fast. Right before it crashes (or gets close) turn over on your back. Place your hands on the rails of the surfboard and your dominant foot towards the tail. Angle the nose of the surfboard towards the bottom of the ocean by using your foot to push the back of the board towards the sky. The wave will then go directly over the bottom of your board. When you feel the wave pass over you, simply turn back over and start paddling again. (this method is not as efficient as duck diving, but is the best option for long boards)

Gear Shop

Wax

Surfboard wax is meant to help your feet grip to the surfboard. It’s applied on to the deck of the surfboard. There are many different brands of wax including, Sex Wax, Sticky Bumps, Da Kine etc. In essence, they all serve the same purpose, however some smell, taste and work better for different conditions. There are also different wax types for different temperatures.
For instance, Cool wax should be used in the fall, Warm in the summer, and Cold in the winter. It’s all up to the surfer to decide which wax works best for their board.

In order to apply wax to your surfboard you will first need a bar of basecoat. Basecoat is also surfboard wax, but it’s designed to be put on underneath normal surf wax. Basecoat helps the regular surf wax stick to the board better.

It’s almost impossible to screw up waxing your board. Some people rant and rave about having perfectly circular bumps, but in reality it shouldn’t matter. Just make sure you use a lot of it, and DON’T put any on the bottom of the board. As long as there is grip on the board, you should be OK.

Wax Comb

A wax comb is a great tool for surfing. One side of the comb is flat and can be used to scrape old wax off the board. (changing wax every couple months or so is a good idea to keep it fresh and sticky) The other side of the comb has fine pointy teeth used to ‘comb’ the old wax already on the board. Combing the
wax will dig under the surface and make it stickier without having to re-apply any new wax. Combs are very cheap and usually come in the pockets of most brands of board shorts these days.

Leash

Leashes are very important when surfing. They should always be worn on the back foot while surfing. Like anything, there are many types of leashes out there, but they all serve the same purpose…to keep your board close by after a wipeout. Swimming after your board is tiring, dangerous and can cause your board to get dinged up on rocks etc.

The leash is attached to the ‘plug’ in your surfboard with a small piece of nylon rope. Some leashes have fancy swivels on the end to prevent the cord from getting tangled. Some newer brands of leashes actually float above the water, to help from getting tangled in seaweed. Other brands even have little pockets built in to put your car key in while surfing.

The most important thing to remember when buying a leash is to get one that’s the right size for your board. Getting a leash to small can greatly hinder your ability to surf. You should try and get a leash that’s a similar size to your board. So, if you’re riding a 9 foot board, you don’t want to buy a 6 foot leash.

Wetsuit

Wetsuits are a KEY essential to surfing in cold water. Any water colder than 67 degrees should probably require a wetsuit (although some people are more hardcore than me).

Wetsuits are made from a stretchy, rubber-like material called neoprene. They trap a small layer of water in between your body and the rubber, which is then heated up by your body heat. The wetsuit should be tightly fitted to your body in order to generate the most heat possible. You don’t want it too tight however, because that will hinder your ability to paddle and bend your knees. If the wetsuit is baggy in certain areas it will let cold water in and defeat
its purpose.

There are generally two types of wetsuits you can purchase. Spring suits, and full suits. A spring suit is a short sleeve suit (just like a tee shirt) and cut off right above the knees. A full suit covers everything except for your hands and feet. Other accessories can be purchased to cover your extremities. Booties cover your feet (little rubber shoes that work just like a wetsuit),
gloves cover your hands, and some surfers use rubber hoods to cover their heads. In San Diego, gloves and hoods are not necessary although some people tend to use them anyway.

Track Pads

Traction pads are used in place of wax. They are generally put on the back end of the decks of short boards intended for the back foot. These pads are permanently stuck to the deck (with adhesive tape) so the board never needs to be waxed in that area. When placed properly, they can give the surfer a point of reference for their back foot so they know exactly where they are standing on every wave. Some of the pads have a little lip on the end so that maneuvers
can be executed more easily. It’s simply a matter of preference if you want a track pad on your board or not. Some surfers like them, others hate them.

Fins

Lots of older boards have the fins already glassed in (permanently mounted), while newer boards use a new system called FCS. FCS or ‘fin control system’ are newer fins that can easily be inserted and removed with the turn of a key (a special FCS key). If your fin breaks you can easily just purchase another FCS fin and insert it into the board instead of having to re-glass the whole thing back on. FCS fins also make it much easier to travel with your board.
Now, you can remove all three fins, and pack your board better while keeping it flat. It lessens opportunities for damaging and are amazingly easy to install. There are many different sizes and FCS fins that can be mixed and matched to give you the right feel for your board. Some people like bigger fins, as they give the surfer more drive and power down the wave. Some like smaller fins because they allow surfers to execute more slide type maneuvers. Once again, it’s a preference thing.