How to learn to surf
How I did it: I bought three Groupons for Adventure Out's surfing lessons. The first two lessons I did back to back in one weekend. They were supposed to be held at Linda Mar in Pacifica, but the waves were too big due to recent rain. So, they moved the lessons down to Half Moon Bay, which was nice. I felt the instruction all three times was pretty vague, as it wasn't until the third lesson, held in Santa Cruz and with different instructors, which someone finally explained when the right time to stand up was. I have been able to get two feet on the board, but the only times I feel stable enough standing-wise are when I finally feel the rush of the wave and try to stand, only to be too close to the shore and having to jump off.
Comments:
sionnac is looking for a job.
Great to read this – my boyfriend and I want to learn, we just moved to SF from the Boston area in September. (He also wants to invite his mom, who will be completely game, too :)
Welcome to the area! I didn’t go as in-depth with this entry of “How to” compared to usual, but one thing I should say is hopefully you guys aren’t as analytical as me; analyzing every foot position, paddling technique, and so forth. When I tried asking instructors how you know when to stand, they just told me you’ll feel it; you’ll be going faster and downwards. I would ask them how this acceleration (change of speed and/or direction) would contrast to that of not being in the wave and would get kind of “Huh? What do you mean? You’ll feel it.” reactions. I would feel the board moving faster and going slightly downhill, but would not be one-hundred percent sure it was fast enough, if I had caught the wave, and such. In other words, it helps to be more of “feeler” instead, and/or just be able to stop thinking.
sionnac is looking for a job.
I was hoping for an intuitive approach. (I’ve always had trouble with those learn-to-dance instructions where they illustrate the steps with outlines of shoes :) Thanks for the info!
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