Surfing (eBook)

1 How to Start

Alright, you have decided to become a surfer. Sounds good. Just think of all those unreal pictures on television and in the magazines! Looks really cool! But, unfortunately, it is not as easy as many top surfers make it look. The multitude of different factors that make it possible to actually stand up on a board and glide on a wave, without a sail and without footstraps, turn the first steps into an uphill struggle.

But don’t give up just yet. Although many hours will be spent sitting in freezing water waiting for the waves that never came, and with your motivation close to zero, all of a sudden all will come together. The right wave, the correct paddling speed, no one in the way – and there you are – standing, surfing your first wave. What a feeling. So never give up. It is well worth the effort.

1.1 Requirements

Who can learn to surf? Basically anyone who can swim! For surfing, the size of the body is relatively insignificant. Actually, short surfers have a little advantage because of their somewhat lower centre of gravity. Although you will mainly find male surfers, the amount of women in surfing (in particular in the wake of the movie Blue Crush) is ever increasing as women can just as easily learn to surf. Irrespective of whether you are a man or a woman you must have a lot of patience and endurance. Surfing demands skill, timing and knowledge about waves, currents and the sea bottom. Surfing can sometimes be a little dangerous, but if you are well prepared and are aware of your own physical and psychological limits, even as a beginner you will have a lot of fun.

Oh yes, and one more thing. You better start saving money for your first big surfing trip to Australia, Bali or Hawaii.

(Photo: Billabong, Jason Childs)

Ineika Surf School Fuerteventura (Photo: Menges & Diel)

1.2 Equipment

1.2.1 The Right Surfboard for the Beginner

Selecting the right surfboard is a major factor for getting fun out of surfing, whether you are a beginner or an advanced surfer. The first surfboard should be long, thick and wide. The length and thickness gives the board more buoyancy, allowing you to paddle faster, and thereby helping you to catch a wave more easily. The width gives you extra stability when standing up. Either a longboard, or a hybrid or so-called Mini-Malibu is the most suitable board for the beginner. A typical longboard is between 9 and 10 foot long, 22 inches wide and between 3–4 inches thick. Let’s stay with the English measuring system as this ismost commonly used when boards or waves are described. But for those more used to metric measurements – 1 foot = 30.48 cm and 1 inch = 25.4 mm – thus we can easily translate the board into metric. A hybrid sits somewhere in between a longboard and a shortboard. It is about 6.5 to 8 feet long, 21–22 inches wide and 2.5–3.5 inches thick.

Besides the dimensions, there are a few other things to take note of. The board should not be too heavy and, above all, it should have no sharp edges e.g from previous repairs. Most injuries in surfing are caused by your own or by some other person’s board. The most dangerous parts of the board are the tip of the nose and the fins. Thus the nose should be rounded and the fins should have no sharp edges (if necessary off the edges with sandpaper or get a board with those hard rubber fins). For a beginner it does not matter whether the board has one, two or three fins. The rails of the board should similarly also be smoothly rounded.

A surfboard is made out of a polyurethane foam core with a fibreglass laminate on the outer surface. The glass is easily damaged so therefore a surfboard must always be handled carefully. The ceiling of the surf shop is a classic for the first ding when you lift a brand new board up for inspection. So watch out! If, despite all the good advice and the greatest care, you have damaged the board somehow, you must get it fixed as quickly as possible. Otherwise the foam core mentioned earlier will soak up water, and after a while, the board will become heavier, develop brown spots and simply will be no more fun to surf.

When buying a second-hand board you must check the board for any unrepaired cracks on the surface, that the fins and fin plugs are firmly fixed and that the foam is not lifting at any place. Brown coloured spots mean that water has already penetrated into the board. Also cracks that run right from one side to the other of the board can mean that the board has been broken in two before and will propably break again soon. So keep your fingers off.

A good alternative to purchase is to rent a board on the spot. Many surfing shops have, amongst other things, boards especially for beginners to hire. Also most snowboarding or windsurfing shops can possibly be of help in the search for a board to hire. But remember: long, thick, wide and no sharp edges!

1.2.2 The Wetsuit

The amount of time you will be able to spend in the water while having a go at surfing will largely depend on your clothing – the wetsuit. Especially when the conditions are good there is nothing worse then to start freezing after only five minutes in the water.

Wetsuits are made from a kind of rubber called neoprene. Unlike the so-called ‘drysuits’ often used for windsurfing, which keep the body dry and protect the whole body from the cold water, neoprene suits work on a different principle. Water gets trapped between the rubber and the body and is then warmed by your own body temperature. However the next time you go under, the warm water is flushed out and changes place with fresh cold water, which is then warmed up again. The wetsuit must fit snugly on the body so that not too much water can penetrate i.e., the body does not have to warm up too much water. The suit should also sit relatively tightly on the arms, round the neck and the legs. The thickness of the neoprene determines how much the coldness of the water and the wind can reach the body from the outside.

This brings us to another important feature of a wetsuit – comfort. Too close a fit makes movement in the water difficult, and you will want to move a great deal. The same applies to thick suits that are on the one hand very warm, but on the other also very heavy and unflexible. Many of the neoprene suits used by windsurfers or divers are therefore unsuitable for surfing. The thickness of the neoprene should be not more than 3 mm unless you are going to surf in extremely cold waters. The arms and legs of most surfing suits are 1 mm thinner than the rest. Very often you will find a number combination on the suit e.g., 3/2. This means 3 mm neoprene on the body part and 2 mm on the arms and legs.

Surfing suits come in various combinations, for example the ‘full suit’ or ‘steamer’ with long legs and sleeves, or the ‘spring suit’ with short sleeves and legs. To begin with use a suit with long legs. The sleeves can be either long or short. Long sleeves keep the warmth in but limit movement when paddling. If you choose a suit with long sleeves make sure it stretchs well around the shoulders and arms to allow for easier paddling.

The final decision is obviously dependent on the price but also your personal warmth requirements (skinnier people loose heat much quicker), where you are going to use it and of course what you look like in it (the Captain Kirk look remains a classic).

You will often find that you develop a rash on certain parts of your body from wearing the wetsuit. This is caused by the neoprene rubbing against your skin. To protect yourself you can get a special T-shirt made out of Lycra or a similar material – so-called wet-shirts or rash guards that are worn under the suit. Smearing Vaseline on the sensitive places offers another solution to prevent the rubbing. Whilst the latest wetsuits really do not require any of those anti-rash measures you can also wear the Lycra shirt without the suit to protect yourself against sunburn.

Just a few tips to help extend the life of your wetsuit! Whenever possible, after each use, you should rinse your suit in fresh water. You should also never leave your suit out to dry in the sun. It is perfectly sufficient to hang it on a clothes hanger or over a washing line in the shade. The water will automatically run out and it will dry without the aid of the sun.

If you do not want to buy a wetsuit straight away, try checking out the local surf shops where you can often find a decent suit for hire.

1.2.3 Wax and Leash

Wax

For a windsurfer it is the foot straps, for the snowboarder it is the binding and for the surfer it is the wax. Wax prevents the surfer from slipping off the wet board, which is obviously wet when in the water. Each time, before you go into the water, the whole upper-side of the board must be completely waxed. The rear two-thirds of the board are important (this is where the feet stand) as well as the side edges of the forward two-thirds (this is where you hold the board when you duck-dive through the waves). There is different wax for different water temperatures. You should use soft wax for cold water and harder wax for warm water. Most wax comes labelled as “cold water”, “cool”, “warm water” or “tropical”. Make sure the surface of the board is not hot from the sun before you wax it. If this is the case simply hold the board in the water before you start waxing. You can...