You must cover the basics when starting out, the first few steps you will need to cover are…
1: Find the perfect beginners board
2: Practice how to paddle on your surfboard
3: Getting past waves, by either rolling or duckdiving
4: Then the fun part, catching the wave
5: Last of all, you can now learn how to pop up or stand on your board
Lets first cover choosing the right board. To choose the right board, you might be thinking of what looks the coolest, or what the pros are riding. But believe me you won’t look very cool trying to stand up on a 6ft thruster if you haven’t mastered the basics.
Don’t worry you will get there, but first you need to start on a board that floats well, and is easy to paddle. So the bigger the better, and obviously the bigger person you are, the bigger board you will need.
If you start on a longer board, you will be able to learn your balance before moving to a shorter surfboard. Find a board longer then 6 feet and 10 inches, you can go right up to 12 foot or more if you want, there will certainly be plenty of floatation. The problem might be getting it out past the breakers and turning it around to catch a wave, I suggest around 7ft to 8ft.
The larger the board is, the harder it will be to turn, manoeuver, and get out past the breakers. So your first board should not necessairly be oversized, or cost a fortune. Get a cheap 7ft or 8ft board that has a few dings, this will just be to learn on, and once you’ve mastered the basics you can trade it in. When choosing your first board, dings don’t mater, however you don’t want the foam showing. If the fibreglass is peeling off, water will get into the foam, and weigh the board down. So don’t choose anything too fancy, but make sure its going to float, and can be paddled easily.
The shape of the board should not worry you, if it has a swallow tail or is square, it wont matter, you will be going pretty much straight ahead anyway. Just like the number of fins wont bother you, 1 or 3 whatever. You will not be doing tight turns, so shape and fins don’t matter, however whatever surfboard you choose remember it should be at least 2 to 3 inches thick and at least 19 inches wide.
Size is important for gaining your balance, but the only seriously important thing is getting a good leg rope. Don’t worry about the board dragging you under, or flinging back at you, if you stay away from the big surf this should not happen to you, stay in the small swells when beginning.
A leg rope is essential for any beginner, and even the pros should have one. You see the ocean is a treacherous place, you may be a strong swimmer in a pool, but the ocean has hidden dangers. When you fall from your board, and you will fall, you wont have time to grab it before the wave takes it away, and you will be stuck without floatation.
Even the strongest of swimmers, will use up a lot of energy and time, trying to reach their board. The surfboard will be light enough for the waves to pick it up and move it away, however you will have to much drag in the water. Besides the obvious danger, of the sweep taking you into a rip, the hassle of swimming into shore will ruin any session, trust me you don’t want to be stuck without a surfboard.
You will need a new legrope, this is something you can keep when trading in your surfboard, so it will not be wasted with an old board. Quality is best, but any new rope should be strong enough. Make sure you get a legrope that is long enough to reach you when standing forward on the board. But don’t get anything too long, if the rope is too long it can act as a bungy, pulling your board right back at you.
So you got your surfboard, its big, its ugly, but it will hold you up. Now your ready to practice, so read the next articles on how to surf, grab your friends and start paddling.