Welcome to Surfgirl's top surfing tips and techniques. These will take you from complete beginner to being the standout surfer at your local break, ripping with the best of them!
Surf Safety
You've heard it all before, but we're gonna tell you again, because it's important! Take a few minutes to read these surf safety tips from Dominique Kent and you'll be ready to surf safely through the crowded summer waves.
Pre-Surf
Use the beach lifeguards - it's their job to answer questions about the tide, the banks, the winds etc.
Check your equipment: is your leash securely fastened with no nicks in the cord, are the fins tight and not too sharp (sand the trailing edges lightly if they are), are any dings fixed and sanded smooth (or at least taped!)?
Wax the board properly, or it'll be hard to even paddle!
Sit and watch the surf for 20 minutes - where are others surfing, what are the waves doing, what's the current like?
Rips - Check for patches of water which are choppy, with suspended sand in the water and waves breaking either side
Be aware of what the tides are doing - don't get cut off
Always put sunblock on, but make sure your hands aren't slippy
Make sure your wetsuit fits properly
Don't eat a heavy meal, drink alcohol or take drugs before surfing
Don't surf in fog or thunder and lightning
Stretch before you go out to avoid cramp and puled muscles
Paddling Out
Stay on the inside if learning.
Stay out of the swimming area (red and yellow flags); black and white flags are the surfing area - stay there
Don't put the board across you when heading out. Don't let go of the board when you are paddling out.
Be concious of people around you
Learn to turtle roll if you can't duck-dive your board
Surfing and Wipeouts
Once you've made it out back, pick two points on shore and keep them lined up to stay in the same position.
When you go for a wave check there is no-one directly in front of you. When you come off protect your head with your arms.
Don't panic and dump the board when a bigger wave comes towards you - you could hurt yourself or someone else.
Falling off in shallow water - don't put hands out to save yourself just belly flop, don't dive off
When you come up have your hand come up first as it will protect your head and push the board away.
Stay away from the pack, but if possible surf with a friend
Smile and talk to people - look out for others and share waves and karma will give back to you!
Rips
If you get stuck in a rip don't leave your board, it's your life preserver. If you dump your board the lifeguard will come and get you.
If stuck in a rip, don't try to paddle directly against it. Paddle horizontal to the beach or ride it out and paddle in and come in in the whitewater.
Trust your instincts. Don't get pushed into surfing in conditions or waves you are not happy with. Just say no! Have fun but be sensible - there are a lot of people in the water at most popular breaks.
How to get through the coldest of winter surfs
- Realise that you're probably not going to catch as many waves, make as many moves or stay out as long, and don't beat yourself up about it. It's supposed to be fun…
- Make sure you know when it's going to get dark and when the tides are. Way more important to stay on top of this in the winter or you'll miss surfs.
- Equipment is paramount - if it doesn't fit, scour the shops and net for something new. Pick out the best suit you can afford, then put it back and get the next model up. Make sure it fits like a glove; if necessary take advice.
- Protecting your ears is vital; you don't want to get surfer's ear (a bony growth the body produces to protect the ear canal from repeated exposure to cold water and wind - it can make you go deaf!). Wear a hood when it gets cold enough to give you an ice-cream headache, and use some ear putty/plugs as well if you can stand it (not Blu-Tac, more bacteria than you can imagine!).
- Don't be cold before you get there. Wrap up well and get the heaters blasting in the car.
- Don't be forced to pull on cold wet gear. Rinse it all and hang it up somewhere so it has a chance to dry before the next session.
- If it's too cold to contemplate big bombs landing on your head, give yourself a break and head to a more sheltered smaller spot!
- Warm up - you might feel like an idiot but you'll avoid pulled muscles and make the paddle out easier.
- Pee in your wetsuit! Hey, the guys do it…just make sure you wash it well if you do!
Wetsuits work better if you keep moving, so don't just sit there and shiver, paddle about and keep the blood moving.
- Take mates with you to keep your mind off the cold and have a laugh with.
- Have something warm to go back to when you get out - hand warmers, soup, your favourite big jumper or a hot man…
Kat Dawes
BOttom turn
The basic, fundamental basis of all surfing is the first bottom turn. A great bottom turn is always a beautiful sight and the deeper and more powerful the turn, the more speed and projection there is into the next move. This is especially true on your backhand.
With a bit of over-exaggeration of the shoulder turn and by really getting the arms to lead the move, the accompanying slide to the top turn is easy.
The forehand bottom turn relies on many more things, but one thing is vital – the more bent the knees and hips the lower the centre of gravity and the more coiled like a spring you are. The closer the knees are bent to 90° the better.
With your weight slightly back going into the turn, you’ll have more pressure on the tail and fins and more drive out of the turn. Keep pressure on the inside rail all the way through the turn.
Even if the first real turn you do sends you flying up over the back of the wave, you go for it. Just remember how you got yourself there and get ready for the next bit of fun – coming off the top.
top turn
So you got to the bottom, dug your rail in and now what? LOOK at the wall of water facing you and get ready to hit it. Don’t think it’s going to hit you or you’ve already wiped out! Pick the spot ahead of you where you want to get to.
As you go up, let your board flatten so that as the board goes up the wave you can get ready to swivel to get your board down.
The turn at the top must come from the legs and hips, as well as your arms and shoulders. The back arm must lift to push the body weight forward and back down the wave. Women seem to struggle here - it always amazes me because we have more weight at the back, but the thing is we often don’t bend our knees enough.
Both knees must bend as fully as possible. Next, by looking down and then ahead, you’re ready to go for the next move.
wax on, wax off
Clean your board: Let it sit in the sun for a while or pour warm (not too hot!) water over the deck to loosen the wax. Now scrape it off onto some paper with one of those useless store cards or a wax comb. Wax combs are way better 'cos they have one curved edge which is ace for the rails. Then use a cloth to get the rest off, or acetone for a really clean finish. (Now's a great time to check for little dings etc. – a stitch in time as granny would say!)
Base coat: Get some base coat wax. Sex Wax do topcoat and basecoat flavours, if anyone finds any coconut let me know as I haven't seen it for ages…anyway, whack on a base coat or at least wax one flavour harder than the wax for the temperature you're actually in, e.g. cold water wax for warm water temperatures.
Mark diagonal criss-crosses with the wax over the deck of the board. You need wax from the leash plug up to where your neck is when you are lying on the board. Then rub over the lines in a circular motion. Humps will begin to build up - this is good! PS - a tailpad will really help reduce your wax usage, and there are some great girly ones on the Orcashop (no, not all pink with flowers!!).
Top coat: Apply a top coat of cold water wax (in the UK), this should be stickier than the base coat and will really give grip. You can apply a bit more each surf.
Maintenance: Don't leave the board in the sun or it'll melt the wax, obviously enough, and also turn the board yellow. Don't put it deck down in the sand.
Use a wax comb to rough up the deck if the grip factor decreases. If you've got good humps you should be okay just reapplying wax, wax combs will mess up the beads of wax. If you do use one, drag the teeth diagonally one way then the other.
Some people use a bit of stick, a shell or even a handful of sand to rub up the wax job; this'll work but it's way better to blag a bit of wax!
Keep your wax in a little bag/pot so you can always find some and don't get it covered in sand. You can also use one of those 'for delicates' laundry bags. Tiny slivers of wax can be melted together so you don't waste any.
Kat Dawes
Getting to your feet in the surf
Use the same technique to paddle into the wave, as you feel the tail of the board lift and you begin to move towards the beach, catching the wave. The first thing to do is push up with your arms. At the same time, slide the knee of your back leg up the board. Make sure that it is positioned in the centre of the board. Keep your weight forward leaning through your shoulders. Focus on keeping your head up, this will keep the nose of your board up and stop you from nose diving. As you gain momentum bring your front foot forward and place it in the middle of the board.
Keep your balance in this drop knee position by holding your arms out to your sides like a tight rope walker to help keep your balance. Your front foot should then be brought through and placed in the middle of the board just forward of the centre point. Don’t stand up bolt upright again keep a low centre of gravity. Your body should be kept sideways and you should be looking forward, keeping your nose roughly in line with your knee and your foot. As you become better at this technique you should begin to try the first technique as jumping straight to your feet will make steeper drops easier.
Once you’ve finished your ride don’t just run up onto the sand as this will more than likely snap your fins. So just step off the side of the board and you will stop. Never dive off! . This maybe difficult at first, but don’t worry, it’s all part of learning a new skill.
Surfgirl's guide to surfing
The essential guide for surf chicks everywhere!
SurfGirl has teamed up with the UK’s best female surfers and qualified surf coaches to make this a must-have guide.
The guide is colour-drenched with photography of the top women surfers from around the world as well as in the UK. It includes everything you need to learn the sport, from beginner to hot ripper.
