[Jimbly]

the story so far - done lots of body boarding as a kid. Thought id rent a swell board for a few hours...

This was yesterday in Polzeath... (i live up in london however)

First off i was very very surprised at how easy it was to catch waves with it... No problems there...

Then came the pop up... I'd been really cheeky and just stood behind one of the surf school instructors and effectively managed to get myself a free lesson... However i must have caught a good 15-20 waves before even geting close... And my god was i surprised at how damn unstable it was. I do (or used to) a lot of windsurfing, so i didnt think that foot positioning would be much of a problem for me... But it seemed that i was either always too far forward on the board, or to far back as i popped up, the nose would either dig in resulting in me face planting the beach, or the board would rock to the back and id loose the wave. Is this common with swell boards? I had a go on a very kind man's 10ft longboard, and i paddled on it kneeling, then stood up and rode in all the way and it was very stable wherever i put my feet.

Would i have the same problems i was having with the swell board with a normal board? was there something glaringly obvious i was doing wrong?

I dont know where i want to go in terms of long boarding and short boarding, but ive been seriously considering making my first board a mini-mal... is this wise? (im 6ft and weigh about 13.5-14stone)

Thanks,

James

[62microbus]

Hi james

I would say you best bet for your size / abillity is defently to get yourself a mini mal, the 10ft longboard would be much more stable so in theory you could stand or do what u like on it lol the swell boards are very good for learning on though because as you say you can get a ride on almost any size wave.

good luck!

[Jimbly]

thanks for the quick reply...

Looks like the Mini-Mal it is then....

Ive been looking at the BIC ones, are they any good? (ive read somewhere that they arent really all they're cracked up to be?)

Ive been considering making my own board... It looks fun and im reasonably technical and none of the techniques needed are new to me, but ive not got a lot of time on my hands at the moment. A good idea maybe??

[62microbus]

hi again,

the bic boards are very good to learn on and have a reasnable re-sale value so if you can get one for your first 2 years maybe while you get confident then find out what style you like from there and upgrade to a better board. This is similar to what i brought my partner and i have to say it is a great board for her.
I would consider making a board along side a bic board because your home made board is unlickly to be as easy to learn on but would be a great exsperence and you can maybe use it after the bic board when you have honned your surfing and shapping skills.

[Jimmy Shibari]

Personally I'd reccomend longboarding to anyone learning to surf. You can catch smaller waves and a lot earlier than shortboards. Once youve got some basic skills (paddle out, take offs and trim) then its maybe decision time. Shortboards and longboards are pretty different styles -so you pays your money and takes your choice.