How high for catching a wave?

Question

how many feet high does the wave have to be in order to catch a good one?

like four feet waves or what?

and what about the winds

like what are the perfect winds and waves to go surfing?

Answer 1

for you id say stick to the whitewash for now and wind is not a factor

when you know the answer to your own question then you will understand my answer

Answer 2

Chances are, the above posters have absolutely no clue what they are talking about. Firstly, have you ever surfed/bodyboarded before? If not, I HIGHLY suggest you do not attempt riding anything greater than 2-3 feet. On a shortboard, you can catch waves as small as 3 feet if the movement speed is high enough. On a long board, you can ride waves that are 10 inches high. If you attempt riding anything much larger than 4 feet, for your first time; it's only going to end painfully and without much oxygen.

As far as winds go, on shore breezes are going to blow the shape out of the wave, causing it to wall out and be quite choppy. However, off shore winds are going to produce some of the best waves ever. You can gauge the winds by seeing which way the water is blowing off the crest of the wave. Off shore winds produce the hallowed out waves( barrels, tubes, pits, etc)

If you're trying to learn how to surf, pick up a long board and get the gist of "popping up" and how to actually bottom turn and ride the wave. It's definitely not something you will pick up overnight, but practice practice practice! In no time, you can advance to a shorter board and start doing cutbacks and floaters.

Have fun,and always use a leash on ur board! Make sure the surf board has a heavy layer of wax on it too, or theres not a chance in h**l for you to get up! Good luck

Answer 3

Four is descent, but if you want to feel like you have a big package, seek out the 8 footers!

Tough to find though!...very tough to find!

Answer 4

Well for one you don't exactly want winds because they will make the waves crash or white tip. You can surf almost all sizes of waves. With a short board you are gonna want nothing less then I would say 4 feet. With a long board you could catch a bit smaller waves!

Answer 5

As big as you can handle, there are guys paddling into 60 footers, towing into 70 and 80 feet.

Personally i like the 6 to 8 foot range.

Winds create fetch on the ocean which over distance creates swell, which is what becomes waves as it crashes onshore.

Generally its good to have the waves blow onshore, blowing out to the ocean, so that it stands up the waves a little more. Wind coming from off the ocean blows them down.

also wind can create a lot of chop(aka slop) on the water making it more difficult to surf as opposed to"glassy" days.

Answer 6

for your question, any size waves are good for catching, as long as your having fun. You can catch a 1 foot wave, just as long as you have alot speed. If you want to go big search for 5 foot waves, just if your not expericend, be careful. you can get seriously hurt if you rush into a big wave.

Answer 7

3-6ft. optimal to start off.  6+ gets more challenging.

winds just complicate things...but they pose no real issue except in competitions when its hard to hear stuff.

any waves are good surfing waves!  north shore O'ahu is the best surfing in the world! :P

good luck.