mo_writer Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 I'm leaving for Florida tomorrow, and it dawned on me that I could take a surf lesson or two while I'm there. When I snowboard, I sometimes think surfing must be a little like carving. Can anyone tell me if this is the case? While my snowboarding help with surfing? Will I feel anything like the carve of a snowboard in just a day or two or surfing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 My experience is that you will spend all of your time learning to get up, you won't get the chance to make a comparison. I was on a big raft of a beginner board that could barely turn. There is a lot of skill in being in the right spot, spotting a wave, timing the paddle and getting up. That's about all I was worried about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 (edited) Surfing is way more difficult, because you're on perpetual moving ground....and need to cope with many parameters snowboarders do not have.. - speed of incoming swell - position of sweet take off spot ( too far away and wave is not powerfull enough to take you, too deep inside and you go "over the falls" because you have no time to stand up before the wall is vertical and eat it.. ( on fast powerwaves the sweet spot/take off/standup is a 2 second timing...) - beeing able to paddle with efficiency so you gain enough speed to get the lift from the wave - beeing able to time the take off kind of pushup with hands pressing nose of the board while feet move to stand up position. Sensations are 100x bigger with surfing, once you glide on water you never forget it! Even a 5 second wave will be printed forever if it was good! Learning curve is long, but worths it! Florida is one of the good places to learn ( I learned in SC which has similar conditions) warm waters, gentle waves not too big, beach breaks, no sharks usually! Try to learn with a softboard of bigger size ( avoid shortboards): you need stability and flotation. N Edited March 16, 2015 by nils 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corey Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 I got up and stayed up once in a full day of trying. Once I got to that point it felt similar, in that I knew what to do. Just figuring out what was going to become a wave and what was a little ripple was tough, so I paddled a lot more than I should have. LOL! It was a blast even though I sucked. The next day, I hurt in places I didn't know I had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nils Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 corey: you always paddle more than you should when surfing ;) appart from pro level, or native islanders that are born on a board, and barely paddle to take off: paddle is the major part of surfing time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b0ardski Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Yeah, I thought I'd pick it right up I managed to catch & stand up on a wave once for a few seconds in a couple sessions of tying on a visit to Oahu 10yrs ago. The duck diving, paddling & swimming after a fail "totally" kicked my overweight azz, but I could see some of the dynamic balance skills transfer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Gendzwill Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 I took a lesson and got up about 5 times, but that's with the instructor doing a ton of the work - he had us in the right place, picked the wave, and gave us a good shove onto the wave. Watching from the side, the pathetic bit of paddling we all did wasn't doing 1/10th of what his shove did. But as I said, the huge raft of a beginner board meant all you could do was stand and ride it straight. If I attempted to lean to turn it, I just fell off. I had a couple of 2 hour sessions by myself and managed one good ride and a couple of half-assed ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queequeg Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 (edited) +1 to everything nils said. Surfing is very different. Far more physically demanding, and the rewards come more slowly; but it is very rewarding. I've been surfing about 2-3 years, and I am just getting to the point where I am reasonably competent, am not afraid of big surf but am probably still fairly unimpressive to watch. As I understand it my progress has been pretty fast. My greatest moments in surfing probably amount to under 20 minutes of time actually standing on waves; but I love it nonetheless. It is incredibly rewarding and being in the water is great. People learning are always super concerned about learning how to stand up. If you want to spend time actually surfing, your first priority needs to be learning how to paddle well - powerfully, efficiently, continuously, and with stability. Most instructors spend very little time dedicated to paddling technique — if you're learning to surf demand to be taught how to paddle effectively - there is plenty of nuance to be had in paddling technique. Edited March 16, 2015 by queequeg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colozeus Posted March 21, 2015 Report Share Posted March 21, 2015 I use to surf quite a bit when i lived in florida. Mostly in the cocoa beach area. I mostly rode a 10ft longboard shaped by Tom Neilson. Amazing ride that i had to sell since i'm now in DC and don't surf anymore. I'm in full agreement of queequeg. Snowboarders have the luxury of an almost fully static unchanging slope. (minus snow conditions). For me, the hardest part of surfing is reading the wave and getting into the right position. A floaty longboard helps in that regard to get you on the wave a bit earlier and maneuver accordingly. There is nothing quite like that feeling you get when riding wave for an extended period of time. And yes, paddling is probably the most overlooked thing. And to be honest, my paddle is not the best. It was improved tremendously when i did a trip to costa rica and i had a few instructors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo_writer Posted March 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 Thanks for all of the responses. I decided against it after I read the first two or three posts, but I tried some bodysurfing at the Canaveral National Seashore, or at least what counts as bodysurfing for me. The main thing is that I enjoyed myself, and if I found myself in Florida again with a little more time, maybe I'll try some surf lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Posted March 25, 2015 Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 Wow, I knew surfing was hard, but I didn't know it was this hard. Well, I'm happy to report that sandboarding is pretty easy for an experienced snowboarder to pick up. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Dahl Posted March 26, 2015 Report Share Posted March 26, 2015 Surf is 99% paddle 1% surf. Did it in Maui, it is fun but I don't have the time to learn it. Sand boarding is a hoot, but I need bigger hills!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buster Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Wow, I knew surfing was hard, but I didn't know it was this hard. Well, I'm happy to report that sandboarding is pretty easy for an experienced snowboarder to pick up. :) Come on down Dan. I'll get you started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andiss Posted July 3, 2015 Report Share Posted July 3, 2015 (edited) Surfing in bigger waves reminds a tiny bit about snowboarding. The speed and the full rail carving turns. I have been surfing since late 90's and I would not start as a beginner today even if you paid me to do it. Snowboarding is so easy compared to surfing and when you go on a snowboard trips you won't get skunked. Check the carve 9s in below clip and the slowmo at 1.35 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yI9NKBvON4 Edited July 3, 2015 by andiss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slopestar Posted July 3, 2015 Report Share Posted July 3, 2015 (edited) I've surfed avidly for 38 years and skied and snowboarded for 39 years. They are very much different and altogether the same. I'll sum it up like this. Snowboarding is pure joy and my days riding even on the best pow days and the worst icy crud seem to meld together as one great day (memory) of riding. Surfing also seems to blend together day after day of enjoyment however, (and that is a BIG HOWEVER...) those very special waves and sessions are burned into my memory like the tattoos on my skin. I love them both but for me, that is the comparison... Edited July 3, 2015 by slopestar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andiss Posted July 6, 2015 Report Share Posted July 6, 2015 Surfing is the most frustrating sport ever - even if the conditions are good it can be uber crowded or you can have a bad day - sucked over the falls and break your board and what have you. In regards to similarities - there are during certain moments - like full rail backhand bottom turns. But that's where it stops... Well Tow in surfing would be similar to snowboard - but forget about any carving turns! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWkBszNs-h8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queequeg Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 those very special waves and sessions are burned into my memory like the tattoos on my skin. Yes. I had one of these moments this past Sunday -- profoundly precious seconds that you will remember forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andiss Posted July 8, 2015 Report Share Posted July 8, 2015 Barrel? Im on a good streak currently - 3 surfs in as many days. But was cold today. That's actually one bad thing with surfing - you're usually colder surfing than snowboarding! Well surfing in the british isles anyway, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 This is not surfing . But somewhat related? https://youtu.be/lDi9uFcD7XI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andiss Posted August 6, 2015 Report Share Posted August 6, 2015 if he actually would have got barrelled it would been class.. the first section with skiis is a bit of a laugh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hard-on Posted January 17, 2016 Report Share Posted January 17, 2016 one thing you have that others don't is high endurance, just from living in the altitude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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