It had been so warm in SF I decided to try and sneak in a surf day. It was pretty flat. A few surfers at the north end of the beach picked off waves every now and then, but things were inconsistent at best.
Instead I beach hopped down the coast, taking in the sun.
For anyone wondering if I plan to surf while I’m home…that’s a big no.
Sure the waves are peeling nicely with some good peaks, but I haven’t learned to turn sharp enough to dodge ice. I don’t think my wetsuit is rated to -3 F with -30 F windchill, either.
The water is 33 F. As the waves hit the shore, the spray turns to an ice fog and the water freezes into a thick shelf. To put things in perspective, here’s the same view back in October: http://flickr.com/photos/tracey_t/2933039910/
Chilly.
While under warm blankets by a fire, I decided to write up a Wetsuit buying guide.
Check it out!
I’m hoping to write up a few more guides when I get a little more experience. I’ll probably write a board buying guide once I’ve finally committed to a board. Maybe a packing guide once I get my surf kit set up. Any requests?
Conditions: 3-5 ft. – waist to head high and fair-good conditions. Things are staying clean this afternoon with fun, workable waves in the shoulder-head high+ zone. Top spots see sets running a couple feet overhead. Winds are offshore and the tide drops to a 2′ low @ 12:20PM.
Gear: 9’2″ Sunset Soft Top.
Today was a pretty clean, mellow day. Lots of folks were out, lost of patient waiting for waves. I saw another seal hanging out in the line up. Mostly I watched other folks snagging waves and tried to figure out how to work on my timing.
What do I mean by timing? Timing is your sense of when to turn around, start paddling, how fast to paddle, and when to pop up. Good timing gets you up on a wave easily. When you’re learning, timing trouble can cause you to miss waves and wear yourself out paddling like crazy.
From what I’ve been told, timing is pretty much the hardest thing for a beginner to learn. Every surf spot is different, every wave headed to that spot is different, every day has variations in wind, swell, crowd, vibe no to mention the differences in style and ability from surfer to surfer. Unless someone is right there beside you saying “paddle! pop up!”, there’s not a lot of advice someone can give you.
It just takes time to learn.
I sit, I wait, I watch other people for when it’s time to paddle, but then when I’m paddling I haven’t been able to truly size up a wave and I’ve been early on my pop up leaving me sliding out the back of the wave as it rolls by.
I’ve been getting a little frustrated. Missing waves over and over eventually starts to wear down the “I’m just happy to be here” spirit. To try and help myself stay focused on fun, rather than performance, I decided to look up a little about timing hoping if I can kick it around in my head maybe thinking about timing on land will help me out when I get in the water.
Here’s what surfline had to say:
A common question asked by beginners is, How do I know when to turn around to paddle for a wave? Unfortunately, there’s no correct answer. For one, the surfer closest to the curl has the right of way, so if there are other surfers paddling for a wave and you’re on the outside of them, let it pass. When a wave does approach that has your name on it, you want it to come underneath you just as it’s about to break. If you’re in perfect position to catch the wave, you may only have to take a couple of strokes just before the wave reaches you. If it looks like the wave is going to break well inside from where you’re positioned, you may have to start paddling well before the wave approaches.
The shape of the wave should determine your angle. If it’s a slopey, slow-rolling break, you should paddle into the wave straight-on and still find the curl. If it’s steeper, you might have to approach it at an angle to help avoid pearling. When you feel the momentum of the wave and pop up, be sure to arch your back and compensate for the downward motion so your nose won’t pearl. On the other end of the spectrum, be sure that you don’t stand up too soon, or you’ll go out the back and lose the wave. Whatever the case, you want to stand up at the top of the wave and enter into it in one smooth, gliding motion. You want to tap into the speed of the wave right off the bat.
Checkout their site for a helpful little video: http://www.surfline.com/surfology/surfology_sschool_feat06.cfm
I know I stand up way too soon. I’ll start to pearl and figure “better get up while I can” and then the wave rolls on by. I’m thinking next time out I might goof off in the whitewater a bit, remember what it was like to successfully catch a wave, then head back to the lineup to keep trying to get my timing right.
Yep, 4-5 times overhead with occasional 30 ft waves.
Sounds like quite a day for the folks at Maverick’s. 15 foot waves at Pacifica.
Check out conditions at Maverick’s from the day before taken by agrinberg over at Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agrinberg/3071405458/
That’s some big winter surf.
Big days mean I skip the beach and have long lazy brunches instead. Mmm mimosa.
Maybe next weekend.
Conditions: 2-4 ft. + – knee to shoulder high and fair+ conditions.
Gear: 8’6″ NSP Epoxy.
After a year+ living in San Fran, I still hadn’t managed to get down to Santa Cruz. This weekend a nice, mellow swell and some warm weather came in so I figured it was time to try out a new beach.
Ali, Kevin, Athena and Joyce all came along. SC’s about an hour and a half south of the city on Monterrey Bay. Since I’d never been, I asked Dave at Wise what the good spots for beginners were. He made me a map.
He pointed out the good places to hit, how to get there, where to park, and what kind of waves to expect. He said he grew up surfing Pleasure Point and sent us off in that direction.
We got there to find a surf competition was going on. Not wanting to screw up the good waves (and look like fools getting smoked by high school kids), we headed to Cowell’s.
It was crowded, but the weather was great, the waves were clean, and we got in some pretty good runs. I was struggling a bit with the shorter board, but got a few solid waves using the 10′ board Ali was on. It definitely made me rethink getting an 8’6″.
I’m still agonzing about boards. 9ft, 9’6? I keep seeing boards go by on craigslist that are close, but not exactly what I want. If I can swing borrowing a friend’s board, I’ll try to do that for a little while, wait till I’m feeling more confident and then look again. I will probably drive everyone I know crazy till I decide on a board and catch a few solid waves.
All and all, a great day. Ali made us snacks and we spent our post-surfing time kicking back with some beers, fresh fruit, snacks, and mexican food. Can’t wait to get back!
Went back to Wise. Stared at boards.
Kept staring at boards.
I found one that has the same feel to it as that Arrow I liked, but in a styling I really like. It’s a Stewart Hydro Hull. Squashtail, little bit of v on the bottom. Medium rocker. Like this one:
Here’s Sherm’s board chilling in his yard:
But in this style:
It’s a blue green all the way through, no fade, with a slight white pinline around the rails and a wood stringer.
This board is versatile (I could learn to nose-ride or I could learn to turn, the board won’t dictate my style like more specialized boards would), good in a variety of conditions, with beveled rails and a thinner tail it should be good for my height/weight. It feels good to hold. I like the color and the styling. Dave at Wise says his wife has one and loves it. All her boards are Stewart and they are smooth, easy rides.
The cons: It’s fiberglass. I’m nervous about dinging and mangling a nice board because I’m clumsy and new. It’s also $850. I was hoping if I spent that much, it would be on an epoxy since they are stronger. The epoxys just haven’t felt as good in my hands as the fiberglass. They’ve felt bulky. But then I’m afraid I’ll be so nervous about hurting a fiberglass board that I’ll whack it on something. That adds up to $$ on ding repairs and time out in the shop instead of in the water.
My other, rather silly fear, is getting a top of the line board while being a beginner surfer. I feel like I haven’t earned it. That it will seem ostentatious to be out on a high end board and falling left and right.
While I want to scrape around craigslist looking for a $400 board I can whack into rocks and things, I’m worried a board that’s not right for my build and the things I want to do will just frustrate me in the end and I’ll wind up having spent $400-$600 on a board while pining away for something I like more, or worse, not getting any better at catching waves.
I know whatever board I get, I’ll keep forever. I’ll try to be as good to it as I can. I’ll ride it as much as I can. It’s still hard as anything to commit.
I have a lull between projects this week so I’ve been board shopping. It’s a lot of work.
I’ve visited five surf shops and a few dozen web sites comparing boards.
In addition to the three I was considering in this post, I’ve added two more models I’m considering plus I’m trying to decide between epoxy and fiberglass.
As far as the models:
Tony over at Cowell’s Surf Shop recommended an epoxy Santa Cruz Squashtail longboard shaped by Doug Haut. She gets bonus points for agreeing that flowery pink surfboards = yuck. She said if she were shooting for a first board, she’d pick this. Supposedly it’s fun, durable, and decent for the beach break I surf. $600.
Jeff at Arrow was willing to bet I’d be happier with the Arrow Formula 1 (teardrop) than with any other board out there. He said this board would be flexible enough for me to ride in a variety of conditions and it’s thinner around the rails which would be better for someone my weight. I could use this board for learning turns or for learning to noseride. $720 for fiberglass, $840 for tuflite.
One of the guys over at NorCal (who graciously spent about 2 hours pulling boards and talking with me) also recommended this board in the tuflite. I think it runs about $900 there. He pulled a few other boards more in the $700 range for me, but I can’t remember their names now. I looked at a LOT of boards that day. He was mixed on the Magic model. He and I are the same height and weight and he said he felt like it was a tougher board for a lighter, taller person and preferred the Arrow.
Here’s the write up on the Arrow from surftech: 9’0″ FORMULA 1 PEARSON ARROW – The Formula One model has it all. Great maneuverability, noseriding and wave entry. It’s for the surfer that wants to do everything on a wave.
The write up on Arrow’s site: This board is one of our most popular longboards. It is a great all around surfboard. A perfect compromise between a noserider and a performance board. A slight concave helps trim the board when you are on the nose, while the slightly pulled in tail, tri-fin set up harder rails allow the board to perform from the tail.
The board I still LOVE looking at, but haven’t seen in stores is this one, the Robert August What I Ride, tuflite in a wood veneer and also in the blue/yellow/white:
Write up: 9’0″ RA WIR – It makes sense to ride a board that maximizes your fun regardless of the conditions. “What I Ride” utilizes a 60/40 rail configuration which, in combination with a nifty tear drop concave conveniently placed under the 18″ wide nose, greatly enhances your style of nose riding.
These boards are supposed to be all around good boards and pretty solidly high end. Flexible as far as conditions it can handle, durable, can do both turns and noseriding well. It’s also durable with the tuflite epoxy. So far everyone showing me boards has said “yeah, that’s a nice board”. I haven’t seen this one in stores, so I don’t know how much it runs. It’s sister boards (there’s a red/yellow/white too) run about $800-840, over $900 for the length I want in the surf shops around here. That’s compared to over a grand online. Downside is it is a little thicker than I’d like, 3 inches. I was hoping for less.
So looking at price, if I could get that kind of board for the same price as one I’m a little hesitant about, maybe that’s the one I should pick? Crap this is hard.
The fiberglass vs epoxy/tuflite decision is throwing me too. According to Jeff, fiberglass absorbs more shock and is a smoother ride especially on choppy days when a stiffer epoxy board would tend to clang around. They are more flexible and have more give in the runs which translates to more momentum. BUT fiberglass is delicate. Bump into a wall even gently and you’ll be out $30-50 on ding repair plus 5-10+ days with your board in the shop getting fixed. The tuflite on the other hand, will chip after banging it or dropping it pretty hard, but not ding. It will stay watertight after chipping.
I’m clumsy. I dropped my watch while trying to get my wetsuit on and scraped the finish pretty good. I’m expecting to mangle a fiberglass board. I guess that’s fine if it’s cheap and I don’t care about reselling it. If I buy a board hoping to only use it for a year and shelve it or sell it then I don’t have to worry, however…
…I tend to keep things FOREVER, until they are absolutely unusable. I just sold the skiis I’ve had for 12 years! They are the only pair I’ve ever owned. I’m hoping to find a board I love and ride it for as long as I can in whatever conditions I can. I’m not worried about resale value so much as love. I want to love how it looks and how it rides. I want something that will help me learn and stick with me once I’ve got the hang of things.
I’m still looking at used boards. I haven’t ruled that out and would, in fact, prefer a used board. It’s hard to find them in the exact size I want and often I don’t know anything about the boards which makes me nervous. As you can tell, I like research.
Gotta think on it some more!
Conditions: 2-3 ft – knee to waist high and fair conditions. Fun, semi-peaky lines with workable shoulders. High tide left things pretty flat around 3 pm.
Gear: 9’2″ NSP Epoxy.
The project I’m working on got pushed back a week. I found myself with a clear week of no daytime olbigations and semi decent surf. What’s a girl to do but get out there.
I headed down to Pacifica on a beautiful warm day to find it socked in with fog. Cold and foggy, I spent almost 2 hours with the folks at NorCal looking at boards. They gave me even more to think about. Man, I’ve got a lot to decidine on. Do I want to pay as much for a locally shaped board as a big name brand? The guy there picked out a few that matched my height and weight with what I intend to do and the durability I want. Some decent choices. More hemming and hawwing on my end.
Surfwise, I got out late after checking out boards. The high tide and the mellow swell meant a lot of waiting. I didn’t get that many waves. Really close but man, my triceps were sore. I mostly practiced my knee paddling and chatted with folks out there. A kid from Denver only on his fourth day surfing, a few folks talking about the weather, a guy buying his first board in 35 years, and a guy going up the cali coast on a motorcycle. Best of all, I hung out with a seal for a little bit.
This is similar to the guy I saw, but thanks to cuteoverload.com, it’s way more cute.
Lil guy was adorable. I was torn between AWWWW and AAAAAA SHOO. With a little seal smile and cute wink, it’s easy to forget these guys are wild animals and shark bait. It’s the first seal I’ve seen surfing, so that was kinda cool.
I’m so sore now, so tired.
Conditions: 3-5 ft. – waist to head high and fair+ conditions. Offshore texture with walled up lines and open/workable shoulders. High tide swamped things out around 1.
Gear: 9’0″ Sunset soft top.
Wow, fall in California is full of surprises. Awesome 70-80 degree weekend out of the blue. Pacifica of course was pretty crowded. I just barely managed to get a board, solidifying further my need to buy one. My friend didn’t get one and napped on the beach scoring a decent tan while I was out busting my triceps trying to land a few waves.
High tide had things breaking seriously close to shore which spooked me a bit. I didn’t get up on any waves the whole day. I kept bailing because I was so close to shore and not willing to take out the tykes on boogie boards just ot get in a 30 second ride.
I met a few folks out in the line up. Some kids from Pittsburgh out for a wedding wanted to know what bars would be showing the Steelers game (aww Steelers, just like college) and I met a surf instructor who told me to stick with my instincts on the 9′ 0″ board.
Fun day, lots of sun, lots of paddling.
I went shopping for boards today. Dave over as Wise spent about 40 minutes talking to me. He gave me a pretty good idea of what I should be looking for and what kind of level of board I have to choose from for the size I want.
Now I’m down to the tough part, choosing.
I can go for a super durable NSP Board. It’s 9’2 and I was hoping for something 9 even, but it will take substantial abuse. I like the styling on this one better than option 2, but this is also the same type of board NorCal rents out so I’ll still look like I’m renting. Having ridden this board, I’m a little meh on how it feels. Not a huge deal. Looking at around $500-550 for this board.
The Walden Magic Model is the size I want, it’s a better quality board, but more fragile. Way more likely to get dinged up. Normally this board retails for $750, it’s currently on sale for $550. It’s lighter, more flexible and pretty versatile. I thought the styling was a little bland, but the rest of the performance features seemed nice. Reviews put this board as a staple.
Both boards are around the same price and supposedly good for someone in my skill level in the conditions I surf.
If I want to go all out, there’s this one:
Running at about $850, this board would be on the higher end. Pretty sleek, responsive and the stlyes Wise had in stock were pretty nice looking. A Stewart Hydrohull is on craigslist right now for $450. It’s longer than I want (9’4″) but I’m staring at it anyway. It’s decent looking and the styling I prefer. Hmmm.
I know I definitely want a board. Having the same board to surf whenever I want will make getting better a lot easier. Plus I’ve already spent about $300 renting. I’ve got $600 set aside and I think this is pretty doable. The big decisions are used or new, price, and personal preference. At my skill level I’m not going to notice performance as sharply as someone who’s been surfing a long time.
I’d kinda like a nice board, but I know I’ll mostly be falling down in junky surf and probably dinging it here and there. Any time I try to buy the top of the line anything I wind up talking myself into the more sensible buy. I keep thinking I should get a more durable board and surf the crap out of it for a year, then someday get a better board. Or shop around. I spend too much time agonizing and weighing my options, but usually once I’m done I’m good.
I can’t make up my mind just yet. I’ll sleep on it and hope no one snatches up the sale board in the mean time.
