Have a few practice duck dives in the shallows to suss out the proper technique.

And, while never condoning board bailing in two foot waves (yes you muppet boy in Lorne last year squealing like a baby), let's not talk ourselves up too much boys. 8 foot and eying off your ass? Going square one foot in front of you and triple overhead with your gun in your hands? Bet that board bail and dive is looking pretty good now.

Actually a reef I grew up on was so shallow that we would duckdive and grab hold of it so we wouldn't get washed in. Should be more of that around.

Anyway buddy, stick at it. Surfing isn't easy, like Macaha said, and realistically you need to give yourself 6 months and 3 or 4 surfs a week to start getting the basics dialled in.

Salty Sea Dog said...

chrispy said..

Dawn Patrol said..
Maybe combination of fitness and technique? Keep it up, you'll get out eventually, maybe at a different spot on a different day. It'll come.
Good persistence, I'd be pissed right off after not making it after that long!!!

mmmm i surfed burleigh today and it was one of the easier days with the swell we had. so i sorta dont know what to say now..

salty now your just mocking me.... if you can duck dive a small wave you can do the same on a bigger one....i will say that on a few bigger ones i have felt the wave pass over me and im thinking all is good.....then i get sucked back and dragged. glad im still holding onto my board though

oh i find it easier o the bigger waves as generally it is in deeper water,or they help force the board under more

I'm only messing with you Chrispy, I actually take the advice you and all the other guys dish out on here very seriously. Some of it works, and some of it doesn't, but I'll try anything once if it means I'll surf better.

It's the getting dragged back part as I don't seem to have stayed underwater long enough, I just feel I don't get deep enough on the bigger sets. Sounds like the norm though

Use your foot and extend as far as you can? So you sort of finish up doing the downward dog. Then don't forget the pull up part - that can help you spear through the turbulence. And come up paddling.

On big sets bear hugging the board during your duckdive can help. I sometimes wrap my arms and legs around the board. That way I know I am coming up and the board won't be snapping.

Tux said..

thedrip said..

Salty Sea Dog said...

chrispy said..

Dawn Patrol said..
Maybe combination of fitness and technique? Keep it up, you'll get out eventually, maybe at a different spot on a different day. It'll come.
Good persistence, I'd be pissed right off after not making it after that long!!!

mmmm i surfed burleigh today and it was one of the easier days with the swell we had. so i sorta dont know what to say now..

salty now your just mocking me.... if you can duck dive a small wave you can do the same on a bigger one....i will say that on a few bigger ones i have felt the wave pass over me and im thinking all is good.....then i get sucked back and dragged. glad im still holding onto my board though

oh i find it easier o the bigger waves as generally it is in deeper water,or they help force the board under more

I'm only messing with you Chrispy, I actually take the advice you and all the other guys dish out on here very seriously. Some of it works, and some of it doesn't, but I'll try anything once if it means I'll surf better.

It's the getting dragged back part as I don't seem to have stayed underwater long enough, I just feel I don't get deep enough on the bigger sets. Sounds like the norm though

Use your foot and extend as far as you can? So you sort of finish up doing the downward dog. Then don't forget the pull up part - that can help you spear through the turbulence. And come up paddling.

On big sets bear hugging the board during your duckdive can help. I sometimes wrap my arms and legs around the board. That way I know I am coming up and the board won't be snapping.

Good advice there!!

1. Assume downward dog position
2. Point nose of board down to bottom of ocean
3. Push down on tail of the board with back leg so the board swings in an arc under the white water
4. Move hands forward and pull nose of board back toward chest to direct skyward
5. Pop to surface and paddle

...probs not the best description but its all about practice...I can duckdive my 7'6 with no issues...infact I find it easier than my 5'10 cause teh bouyancy helps coming up through the whitewater

I'll add to what Tux has said by saying that I find it easier to push one side of the board down slightly earlier then the other so it knifes through the water surface, rather than a flat board, thus making it easier to push down is you've got pipe cleaner arms like me

thedrip said..

Salty Sea Dog said...

chrispy said..

Dawn Patrol said..
Maybe combination of fitness and technique? Keep it up, you'll get out eventually, maybe at a different spot on a different day. It'll come.
Good persistence, I'd be pissed right off after not making it after that long!!!

mmmm i surfed burleigh today and it was one of the easier days with the swell we had. so i sorta dont know what to say now..

salty now your just mocking me.... if you can duck dive a small wave you can do the same on a bigger one....i will say that on a few bigger ones i have felt the wave pass over me and im thinking all is good.....then i get sucked back and dragged. glad im still holding onto my board though

oh i find it easier o the bigger waves as generally it is in deeper water,or they help force the board under more

I'm only messing with you Chrispy, I actually take the advice you and all the other guys dish out on here very seriously. Some of it works, and some of it doesn't, but I'll try anything once if it means I'll surf better.

It's the getting dragged back part as I don't seem to have stayed underwater long enough, I just feel I don't get deep enough on the bigger sets. Sounds like the norm though

Use your foot and extend as far as you can? So you sort of finish up doing the downward dog. Then don't forget the pull up part - that can help you spear through the turbulence. And come up paddling.

On big sets bear hugging the board during your duckdive can help. I sometimes wrap my arms and legs around the board. That way I know I am coming up and the board won't be snapping.

I creased a board hugging a it during a duck dive..

One big issue i find is duck diving in shallow spots. I have found more often i have hit bottom so id practise in deep water first. But the key is to get the board deep and hang on, also resuming paddling quickly when you get to the surface is key. I also like to give a decent kick with my legs under water.

You simply have to commit and push through and rest when out the back. But fitness is the answer

bjshack said..
I creased a board hugging a it during a duck dive..

Biting my tongue.

bjshack said..One big issue i find is duck diving in shallow spots. I have found more often i have hit bottom so id practise in deep water first. But the key is to get the board deep and hang on, also resuming paddling quickly when you get to the surface is key. I also like to give a decent kick with my legs under water.

If it's that shallow and it's big (and esp. rocky) then it's starfish time. One of the few times you can ditch your board, because no other morans are going to be as stupid as to be stuck in the shallows with a set bearing down. But he's talking about the goldy, so you can just duckdive hard and bounce off the sand.

bjshack said..You simply have to commit and push through and rest when out the back. But fitness is the answer

Why do you need to rest? Surely you can paddle and duckdive indefinitely?

Legion said..

because no other morans are going to be as stupid as to be stuck in the shallow....

Biting my tongue

That image was the first thing that popped into my head

Never bailed there, not once. Bounce off the bottom very rarely.

Last winter at my local there was a channel to paddle out. A storm came, then a nice day like today. I ran down the beach in a hurry and did the superman leap ... onto about 2" of water. Storm had dumped about a foot of new sandbank. Beached whale. Told my mate out the back, he'd done the exact same thing.