No matter your age, background, or athletic ability, learning to surf is a privilege that can be harnessed by anyone that finds themselves at the water’s edge. You don’t need much, either. A surfboard, a few other pieces of equipment, some wax, the ocean, and a will to try is enough to get started.
Surfing has express mental and physical health benefits, as shown by research in Wallace J Nichols’ Blue Mind or programs like the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation. Surfing opens doorways of opportunity, floods countries with tourism, and allows for solitude away from technology, or a board meeting with friends. Learning to surf can be intimidating for any person, but nearly anyone who tries craves to return to the joy that surfing brings.
What is Surfing?
Merriam Webster defines surfing as a sport (some would disagree), and Cambridge limits the craft to a surfboard. They’re both a little right. Surfing is the act or activity of riding the surf, typically on a watercraft called a surfboard.
Equipment Needed
Before stepping foot into the ocean, you’ll need proper equipment to surf. There are five (5) things every surfer needs:
- Surfboard
- Fin(s)
- Wax
- Wetsuit (if the water is below ~70 degrees)
- Leash
Surfboards to Learn On
The type of surfboard someone learns on can determine the velocity of progression. Many surfers make the mistake of riding a board too short because they’ve seen Carissa Moore or John John Florence carving pint-sized shortboards. However, when you’re learning, the bigger the board, the better.
But you’re probably weighing whether or not to get a foam board, and the debate among them is impassioned. The advent of the wavestorm left shapers howling at the indecency of a mass-produced, pop-out hunk of foam, but for many, the barrier to entry that began with a $1,000 price tag snipped to 1/10th the price, and this opened up a beloved ocean activity to those that couldn’t before afford to surf.
While Wavestorms are popular because of the price, they are quite shaky and difficult to ride. If affordability is a concern and a wavestorm is your only option, it’s a great start. But here are some much better solutions for beginner surfboards (please, make the investment if you can):
- INT Softboards 9″ Classic
- Catch Surf Log Basic
- Used Longboard
- New Longboard
- Borrow a friends’ board
What Fin Do I Need?
If you bought yourself a wavestorm, fins will come with your board. If you bought a single-fin longboard, you’ll typically want an 8.5-10” fin depending upon your weight and the size of your surfboard.
If you bought a 2+1 (a longboard with two side fins and a center fin), you can get away with a smaller center fin and two side fins.
Our favorite fin for a single-fin longboard? The Greenough 4A. 2+1 combo fins? Check True Ames’ stock for that, too.
Which Wax Do I Buy?
The two market-dominating wax companies in surfing for many decades are Sticky Bumps and Sex Wax, and you’ll see both at nearly every surf shop into which you step foot. Surfers usually have a preference between each, but you’ll find smaller wax companies springing up now and then to gain footing.
- Sticky Bumps Basecoat 6-Pack: $15.50
- Sticky Bumps Cool/Cold 6-Pack: $15.50
- Sex Wax Basecoat 6-pack: $12.60
- Sex Wax Soft 6-pack: $12.60
- Kassia Surf Palo Santo 6-Pack: $36
A surfboard always performs better with a proper coat of wax. Read more about how to wax your surfboard the correct way depending on your board type and more.
Do I Need a Wetsuit?
Surf fashion is exploding, and there are a number of surf accessories you can purchase that will keep you warm and protected.
Most surfers get uncomfortable without a full wetsuit if the water is 65-70 degrees or below. You might need a top/jacket/spring suit if the water is anywhere from 67-75 depending on how cold you run. Seventy-five and up is fair game for boardies and a bikini, and possibly a rash guard.
If the water is below 60 degrees, it’s highly recommended to purchase a good 4/3 wetsuit along with booties and a hood. If it’s below 50 degrees, you may want to invest in a 5/4/3 along with booties, a hood and gloves.
What Type of Leash?
Selecting a leash is simple – your leash should be about the length of your surfboard.
So, what leg do you put your leash on? Put it on your back foot. If you’re regular-footed, that’d be your right leg. If you’re goofy footed, that’d be your left leg. To find out if you’re goofy footed or regular footed, have a friend face you and push you backward (yes, seriously). Whichever leg steps back to catch you is your dominant leg, and thus, your back leg.
Oh, and when you’re learning to surf on a mid length, longboard or long foam board, please don’t slap an extremely unnecessary traction pad on your board unless you want to be featured on the spectacular Instagram, @sadpads.
Shop Board Cave’s leash selection for all of your leash needs.
Where to Learn to Surf
Another key to success in learning how to surf is picking a spot where you can be successful. Do your research on your nearby beaches before ever paddling out – this is so important for the safety of yourself and others around you. Here’s what to remember before surfing as a beginner:
1. Avoid crowds. Pick an uncrowded beach where you have room to move.
2. Early bird gets the wave. The earlier, the better. If you live in an area with a dense beach-going population, the earlier you get in the water, the less you’ll encounter swimmers and even other surfers.
3. Don’t surf on a big day. Check out Swell Magnet, MagicSeaweed, or Surfline for surf reports in your area. When you’re learning, it’s best to go out on days 3’ (1 meter) or less.
How to Enter the Water
Entering the water will depend on if the wave is breaking in one of three (3) classifications – a beach break, point break, or over a reef. Let’s sum those up quickly:
Types of Breaks
Beach Break – a sand-bottom beach typically with fast-breaking waves and lots of peaks. Surfers can usually spread out because the waves break everywhere.
Point break – a wave breaking along a point. Rincon, ect.
Reef break – a wave breaking over a rock or coral reef. This type of wave is usually predictable, breaking in around the same spot every time with consistent channels to paddle out in.
If you’re entering the water at a place that’s a point break or reef break, you’d enter in a channel, or the area of undisturbed water where the wave is not breaking. Enter the water far enough down the point so that you do not disrupt someone’s wave.
If you’re entering the water at a beach break, get past the waves up to your knees or waves and start to paddle out when there is a lull in the oncoming waves. Avoid any other surfers in the water.
How to Paddle
Any experienced surf instructor will tell you that if you can’t paddle well, you can’t surf. If you’re serious about elevating your surfing, continually refining your paddle technique is one of the fastest ways to get better.
A few paddling tips will help you get started, but you’ll need to put the tips in the water and practice for hours before you can catch waves with ease!
Tip 1: Center your weight into your core. Lift your head, chest and legs slightly and bring your weight to your stomach, controlling your body from your center to stay steady and wobble-free.
Tip 2: Use your shoulders as much as your arms! Your shoulders should be doing half of the work.
Tip 3: Try for power, not just speed. Moving your arms faster won’t necessarily get you more speed. A more powerful paddle will generate more motion.
Tip 4: Practice! Go out past the surf and paddle around piers or parallel to the shore past lifeguard stations.
How to Get Through The Surf
To get through oncoming waves, you can do one of four (4) things: push the nose of your board through the whitewater, turtle, or advanced: boomerang, or duck dive.
1. The first scenario is pushing the tip of your board through whitewater. If the oncoming wave is small enough, you’ll be able to shoot through the wave and continue paddling. You need to work up some speed, though, or the wave could overpower you.
2. Turtling seems frightening to the beginning surfer, but after doing it a few times, you’ll see why this move is necessary for anyone with a longboard or bigger mid length.
Some advanced ways to get through waves include going over a bigger, fast-moving wave by what I call a see-saw approach, and duck diving if you have a short enough board (or if you weigh enough to push your surfboard under the wave. Those methods will be covered in an Intermediate Surfer’s Guide.
How to Sit on Your Surfboard
When you make it out past the surf, the next step is to sit on your surfboard and wait for a wave. It sounds simple, however, sitting on your surfboard for the first time is anything but.
When you’re past the breaking waves, grab your surfboard with both hands near the halfway point of the surfboard for balance and straddle your board approximately halfway between the tail and the center of the board (3/4 of the way back from the nose). Keep a light grip on your surfboard until you’re comfortable, then release your hands.
When you feel like you’re about to fall to the left, kick your right leg out to stabilize yourself and bring yourself back to center. When you feel like you’re about to fall to your right, extend your left leg.
To spin around and catch a wave, move your legs in an egg-beater fashion. Remember to never have your back to the ocean until you’re ready to catch a wave!
How to Catch a Wave
Catching a wave isn’t just about paddling — it involves timing, popping up and more. But there are two different waves that you can catch and tips for each.
How to Pop Up
Popping up takes a multi-pronged approach practiced over and over. Techniques on popping up are best explained in this video:
Surfing in Whitewater
To surf in whitewater, you’ll wait until the wave reaches its crest and spills over, sending white foam toward you. Ninety-nine percent of surfers catch a whitewater wave as their first wave.
To catch a whitewater wave, point your board toward the shore. Position yourself far enough behind the breaking parts of the wave so that a wave does not break on top of you but not far enough so that the wave loses all of its power by the time it reaches you, and give yourself enough distance to be able to stand up before crashing into the shoreline.
How to Catch a Non-Breaking Wave
When you catch a non-breaking wave on a surfboard will depend on the size, steepness, and speed of the wave itself, and techniques will vary at every break.
In general, paddle toward shore, and time your paddle to start before the wave meets your feet, but increase or decrease the speed of your paddle to match the waves steepness and where it will break. If you paddle quickly and the wave breaks when it catches up to you, it will send you over the falls. If you paddle too lightly, the wave might pass you by.
If the wave is particularly steep, paddle and stand up at an angle instead of straight. If the wave is sloped, you may be able to paddle straight into the wave and turn into the mid section of the wave, harnessing the inertia of the wave and staying close to the foam.