Chris from the UK spent 3 months of his backpacking adventure living and working in the surfing mecca of Montanita, Ecuador as a surf instructor but he’s been surfing for the best part of 10 years now – from the frigid climates of north Devon, England to the warm water lines of Byron Bay, Australia and tagine-filled shorelines of Tamraght, Morocco.
Last year he took the plunge to turn his hobby into an avenue for work and gained his International Surf Association and Surf GB coaching qualification. All in all then, we’d say he was pretty well placed to give a few tips on learning to surf!
Here are Chris’s top tips if you are looking to go surfing for the first time.
Hit the Water with an Instructor
Your water pipes burst and you bring in a plumber, your power goes out so you enlist the services of an electrician – so if you want to learn to surf I highly recommend taking the plunge and utilising the skills of a professional surf instructor.
This way you join some other beginners, have some good banter and hit the water in safe and capable hands with the correct equipment.
Where you do this is up to you. Some people prefer to head out on a surfari with companies like Errant Surf to the warmer waters around Europe. There are amazing surf camps in Portugal and Spain – both highly recommended destinations.
If you’re on the road places like Bali, Australia and New Zealand provide some great beaches to learn on, but if you’re feeling hardcore hit it up in the UK with surf schools like South West Surf in Croyde, England.
If you are you looking for an unforgettable and exciting surf holiday check out BookSurfCamps. You can search hundreds of surf camps worldwide!
“Pops” and Paddles
The first thing you’ll learn is how to ‘pop’.
This is the lingo given to the motion of getting from laying to standing. The basic overview is to arch your back in a press up style movement and then bringyour front foot into the space created under your chest. It’s difficult to explain in text but a quick YouTube search will clarify it for you!
Once standing your feet should sit shoulder width apart and keep your knees slight bent.
If you get this first time you’re an exception to the rule – you’ll need to give it some serious practice both in and out of the water!
Paddling on the other hand is alot simpler! Laying with your head toward the nose of the board (it sounds stupid but alot of people mess that up!) you should be able to stretch an arm up almost inline with the end of the board.
Any further forward and the board will nose dive and send you flying head over heel, any furher back and the tail will drag making the board slow and waves difficult to catch.
Once you’re positioned correctly your paddles should be long, strong and even. No flapping around please – you’ll tire quickly and look stupid!
Practice
These are the two basics of surfing. You will need to practice – ALOT! Don’t get frustrated, keep calm and if you fall off paddle back out and try again. Surfing should be fun – that’s the aim of the game.
Again having a surf instructor to hand will make this easier on you – they will constantly be checking you foot position, pop and paddling techniques, if there’s anything going wrong they help correct it for you and get you riding waves.
Bigger is better, warmer is more fun and shop owners are your best friend.
Once you’ve had a few lessons, progressed from the white water to green waves and got the stoke for the sport I love you’ll no doubt want to sink some of your hard earned cash into kitting yourself out to go solo.
Choosing a Surf Board
First off any image you had of buying a tooth pick thin short board and busting aerials should be firmly put out of thought. Pros ride short boards. Are you pro! In the world of surfing you want a board that is forgiving, easy to paddle, stable and with space to progress.
If you’re in it for the slick surfer image then you’re in this for the wrong reasons! Ideally you need a board at least a foot bigger than your height, it needs to be thick and wide – kind of like surfing with stabilisers.
Price wise it’s down to your wallet. A second hand board is a good investment as you’ll save some dollar and you’ll knock it about anyway – they also hold their value well if you treat it right. A new board is fine though, but it can make a big dent in your funds once you include fins, leash and a bag.
Your best friend in the world of surf kit buying is your local surf shop owner. Most of them are legends and surfers. They will do their best to point you in the right direction and pass on their years of knowledge, guys like Sam and Steven from the Little Pink Shop in Croyde know full well that a happy customer is a returning customer and they’ll make sure you get what you need.
The same goes for advice for what to wear in the water. Boardshort sessions in the UK are a rarity – you’ll want some serious rubber to keep you warm. They range alot in price but personally it’s a solid investment and to some degree, you get what you pay for – I love my Rip Curl E-Bomb Pro… my wallet not so much.
If you’re lucky enough to be learning in warmer waters; boardies, rash vest or a thermal rashie will hopefully be enough – but staying warm will prolong your surf and make it more enjoyable.
At the end of the day that’s why you should be surfing – because you enjoy it. It’s addictive though and 10 years down the line I still have the same stoke for the sport that I did the first time I stood up. It’s taken me to some beautiful places and I’ve met heaps of wonderful people through it.
I’ll see you in the water….
