In love?? help?

Question

i have always wanted to learn to surf and i did it in hawaii with an instructor, i was the only one in my family to actually get up and stay up. i really want to pick it up and learn but i know absolutly nothing about it! what kind of board do i need, what size, where do i go? etc. i live near half moon bay in cali

Answer 1

woooooo half moon eh? that place can be huge! lets see what i did first was check out craiglist and ebay... since i really had no idea what i was doing i went to my local surf shop and they helped out A LOT! so probably the best way is to go to your local surf shop and get some help there :)

good luck!

Answer 2

Best place to start: spend a morning or an afternoon with a local surf instructor.  In your neighborhood either go up to Linda Mar or down to Santa Cruz.  They'll not only give you a refresher course on surfing, but will be able to give you very specific help in determining the equipment you'll want to allow for the fastest progression (read: some people have a sense of balance and athletic ability that allows them to learn on a 7 foot hybrid, while others need to learn basics on a 9 foot longboard before going shorter).  Bottom line: an instructor can size all this up within an hour of being in the water with you, so dollar for dollar and minute for minute that is the best, fastest and most successful way for you to get all of your questions answered.  Good luck.

Answer 3

Well you are definately in a good spot, CA in general is a great place to surf. The best thing you can do is go to a local surf shop. If you can, get lessons and then advance to getting your first board (lessons will give you a good idea of the sport and if you actually want to continue it, and your instructor can help you get your first board). In absence of that, the best thing to do is get the advice of a local surf shop, they know the local waves best and can better assert what type of board is right for you. Using the advice of some people on the internet who have probably never even surfed to buy your first board is a waste of money, and if you're going to do that, well, you might as well send me the money 'cause you'd just be throwing it away.

Answer 4

The place to start is at a good local surf shop. You got some pretty good answers from the other folks here, but don't worry about the size of the board, or anything else. Let the surfing professionals at a surf shop help set you up with some lessons, and use a rental board to learn on. Once you have mastered the basics, and have decided that you really want to stick with surfing, the folks in the surf shop will help you get the right board for your body size, skill level, the types of waves at the local break(s) and your budget.

Answer 5

Get your self a 7-0 gun and go paddle into some bombs at Mavericks or Ghost Tree.  Haha.

In all seriousness though, the standard answer that everyone gives here applies.  Get yourself a used longboard for your first one.  They have much more stability and are way easier to paddle into waves.  Just go to a local surf shop or find a good deal on craigslist (Just always check out the board before you purchase it).  You'll also obviously need a wetsuit for those cold NorCal waters.  I'd say a 4/3 would be a good year-round investment.  Then head out to a small beginner break and get going.  It sounds like you already have the fundamentals down.  You just need to get out in the water and put your time in.

Answer 6

i recommend a mid-size board like a 7-8 footer maybe a foam board if you're really new at it. If you feel more comfortable i suggest a fish-board. To me it was a good board to learn on but it's different for everyone. As for places to surf i would try the cliffs or at bolsa chica in huntington beach on a small day. Usually the waves aren't too big. For the board i wouldn't buy your first board at a super expensive surf shop. You can get a good board at the frog house in newport beach. I've found great deals on boards there. Beckers surf shop has the occasional deals on boards. For the summer i don't think you need a wetsuit, it's been pretty warm lately.

Oh ya go surfing in the morning that's when the best waves are. If you get cold you can always buy a spring-suit. If you go surfing during the winter if can get pretty cold some days i suggest a 3/2 mm wetsuit (full-suit) and if you get cold really easily i'd get a 4/3 mm full-suit.

Answer 7

buy an inexpensive used long board so once you get the hang of it you can switch to a short board if you want

Answer 8

in surfing, your hieght, weight, athletic ability, motivation, and even age all factor in to what kind of board you need.  

the easiest board to get up on is the longboard. and you should learn the basics on this one.  The length and volume of the board that you need is really based on your hieght and weight.  if you are an older individual, as in 30+, i highly recommend a longboard.

if you want to be awesome though, and you follow the age rule, try learning to shortboard.  but they take one heck of a lot more effort to learn, but i found that it was worth it. you just really have to want to learn. only do this after you have the basics down on a longboard.

but in the end boards are all about preference.  since you live in Cali, bum some boards off of your friends, and try out different boards to start. try longboards, shortboards, and funboards.  but most importantly have fun and do what feels right to you.