Surfing Real Waves on Soft Tops
The beginner surfer learns to ride foam waves and progress to Surfing Real Waves on Soft Tops. The soft top board is a competent board and can take a beginner a long way.
The beauty of a soft top for riding foam waves is the high volume makes it a competent foam wave board. The surfer can roll over in waist deep water and learn the fundamentals of catching a wave, popping up and riding straight to the beach. Many surfers do not learn these fundamentals but move to real waves anyway.
Progressing on Foam Waves
After catching foam waves near shore, the surfer can start paddling out to catch bigger foam waves. After catching bigger foam waves, he can look for smaller real waves that have reformed.This works best on sand bar beaches like Oceanside, CA.
The surfer learns he has to paddle longer to catch 2′ real waves than he did with foam waves. The wave rolls under the board and has little push. I suggest to students they patrol for real waves. They paddle to where they are forming and then paddle parallel waiting to see if a foam or real wave forms. If a real wave forms, they turn and catch it.
Riding Bigger Real Waves
One way to start riding bigger real waves is to patrol for waves and after the real wave breaks at the apex (where foam first comes over lip), the pocket rolls out. The surfer paddles to catch the pocket by paddling 45 degrees toward the beach and letting the pocket roll under the board. Then he continues to paddle at a 45 degree angle towards the beach.
The surfer should then start moving closer to the apex to catch waves down the face. The wave has to roll under the soft top and when the tail is lifted, the surfer paddles hard down the face before popping up.
The surfer can also push the nose toward the pocket after catching the wave but before popping up. This can reduce pearling (nose under water). The surfer can also paddle in the direction of the pocket if the wave is not too steep which allows quick entry to the pocket before the wave can close out.
The soft top is competent for all these aspects. The surfer starts considering a hard board for better performance. A better board will help a surfer who already knows the basics. Short boards help create sharper carves, but the surfer must be very competent before he can utilize this feature.
More Posts
Oceanside Surf Lessons for Beginners
Beginner Surfers Learn the Pop Up
How to Progress to Surfing the Short Board
For Surf Lessons in Oceanside, see the Home Page
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