Into the water

Paddling

Moving your board will initially be very demanding. Paddling requires strength in the back, shoulders and arms to a) lift your chest and head up from the board to see where you are going, b) lift your arms up out of the water to move them forwards and c) pull your arms back through the water. (See surf fitness). You should be able to paddle your board to a speed of about as fast as the waves are moving in.

Standing Up.

Watch the horizon. When a wave starts to approach, look inshore to check there are no surfers that you are going to run into. Look left and right to check that no other surfer has right of way or is already paddling into the wave. Turn your board so that you are pointing inshore. Look over your shoulder and as the wave starts to approach paddle hard to build up the speed of your board. As the wave arrives you will feel it lift the back of the board. At this exact moment give one last paddle, grab the sides of your board and pop-up.

You are now mid pop-up, facing downwards on a moving wall of water and probably hurtling towards the beach at some speed. It is like being strapped to the front of a train and looking down at the tracks and you will be pitching and tossing all over the place. Keep your arms locked and your hands tightly on the edges of the board as you bring your feet into position. Rise from a squat and stand up, trying to bend your knees to keep a low centre of gravity. Look directly in front of you and enjoy the view, it may not last long!

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Surfing is exactly the same as all other sports, it will take a while to get to any sort of standard, but one day it will just click. Once that happens it will be in your muscle memory and you will advance very quickly. Practice even on the flat days, get to know your kit, practice paddling, become confident in the water and being offshore, build your fitness and stamina reduce your pop-up down to a split second. Practice and have fun surfing.

Hiring Surfing Equipment.

Many novice surfers choose to hire equipment rather than invest a significant amount of money in a equipment that they will quickly out grow (as their technique rapidly advances). This is a very practical way to keep the expense of learning down. HOWEVER there are some very poor surf hire operators who rent out unsafe or inappropriate equipement. Thankfully the RNLI and British Surfing Association have teamed up to create the Surf Hire Safety scheme, which marks those businesses that have passed their high level of scrutiny.

Only rent equipment where you see the following sign: