Im going to Maui for the first time in may. Any advice for a 1st time surfer?

Question

I live in Dallas, TX (land locked) & have wakeboarded avidly for 10 years but have never been surfing. I am going to Hawaii for my honeymoon & need advice on whether to get lessons, what kind of board to rent & where to go. I would like to do a little longboarding with my fiance for one day, then trade the long board in & find some bigger swells (4-5ft)

Do I have false expextations thinking I can ride these waves?

P.S. I am a very comfortable in the water & not scared of getting pounded & tossed around by the ocean

Answer 1

get a surfboard in sive about 7-8 feet.to start off with

Answer 2

If you've never been surfing before, you should definitely take at least one lesson to learn basic surfing manuevers, safety, and etiquette.  After that, go out and rent a longboard (the longer the better), find out which beaches are considered "beginner" beaches, and go out and have some fun!  

I'd also advise that you lower your expectations a little bit.  Standing up and riding a wave is easy - it should be even easier for you with all your wakeboarding experience.  The hard part is in paddling past the break (breaking waves), identifying good waves, and positioning yourself properly so you can catch the wave.  It's hard to get a good sense of the subtleties of a wave until you've spent a good amount of time surfing.  Until then, it helps to have an instructor position you properly and tell you which waves to go for.

Besides that, once you get into the water with a board for the first time you'll have a much better feel of what you need to do.  Surfing is extremely fun and there's no better place to learn than in Hawaii.  Good luck!

Answer 3

Watch out for the coral.  If Muai is anything like Oahu, the coral will be only a few feet below your board when you're in the trough of the wave.  Getting tossed around by the ocean isn't what will hurt you in 4'-5' waves; it's getting dragged across the coral.  I have a scar from it.  If you can find an area with no rocks or coral, I would start there.

The bigger the board, the easier time you will have learning.

Answer 4

go to honolua bay and just watch.  you won't learn anything useful, but the kind of talent coming off that island right now is unreal.  just sit back and enjoy and contemplate how hard they have worked to get that good.

Answer 5

I had a friend who was a great wake boarder and very strong swimmer. He owned his own ski boat and could do back-flips on the wake board, etc.  

He rented a surfboard as soon as he got here and went to the north shore to give it a try.

He found a spot where the waves were about medium sized and every one was having a lot of fun so he paddled out.

You paddle about 10 yards and then the waves push you back about 8. He was completely exhausted by the time he got out to where the other surfers were.

At that very moment... just like a school of fish, they all turned in the same direction and started paddling away from him. About 30 seconds later a big wave came and smashed him into the coral, head first.

The dude needed to be rescued and almost died.

He suffered a concussion, a big gash on his head, a dislocated shoulder, broken collar bone, and torn ligaments in his shoulder, etc. The bills for the injury were expensive and the recovery took about 6 months.

The best waves occur at a slope or drop-off. The wave breaks up-over and onto shallow area. These formations are frequently caused by coral heads or lava. Trust me... You don't want to get smashed into and then drug across the stuff.

There is a learning curve.

The first time I stood up on a surfboard, I lost my balance and jumped off into the water "Feet first" versus landing flat on my side. (Big mistake) The water was only about 3 feet deep and both feet hit the razor sharp coral-head below which tore the bottom of my feet wide open in several places. I didn't get stitches but I probably should have. It hurt and bled like crazy. And then... The cuts got filled with sand as still I had to walk across the beach to get to the car. (Ouch! - It hurts just thinking about it)

My advice would be to take a quick lesson, rent a Long board and stay in the tourist beach area that the surfing guide recommends. It's a lot of fun.