How and Where Should I Start Learning to Surf?

 Learn to Surf.

Beginners’ guide to surfing

Read Time: 5 Minutes

Over the past few articles, we’ve spent a lot of time going into detail about what sort of equipment you need when you’re learning to surf, what to keep an eye out for and what to avoid. Now it’s time for the fun part – getting in the water.

We want to make these pieces as valuable as possible for you and already there’s a raft of information out there covering basic concepts like ‘paddle hard’, ‘pop up quickly but smoothly’, etc. etc. That kind of stuff can be useful but on its own it probably isn’t enough to get you very far, and as we mentioned there’s already more than enough of it going around. Instead, we’ll chat more about the process itself – things like where to go and whose help to enlist, which will hopefully help you out a bit more than a few hackneyed buzz words and phrases.

Since you’ve no doubt been religiously following our advice from previous articles, we can safely assume you’re well-equipped in terms of a board, wetsuit, and all the other accessories that you need. But where are you going to go with it? 

Depending on where you live you may have an abundance of great options or you may have very few, but the advice is similar regardless. The way waves break varies enormously between spots, and while one break might be producing powerful, overhead waves, another just down the road might be gifting mellow little two-footers despite receiving the same swell. This is all to do with the topography underneath the water, and as a beginner you’ll want to be heading towards the second of these options. 

With a few exceptions, you’ll generally be wanting to look for a beach break with a sandy bottom when you’re learning, as opposed to a point break or a reef. There are a couple of reasons for this. For starters, as a beginner you’ll pretty much be surfing in a straight line back towards the shore, rather than right or left on the clean face of a wave as you’ll be doing once you advance a little further. Beaches are ideal for this because you’re just surfing towards the beach itself – point breaks are not. If you go straight at a point break, more often than not you’ll end up crashing into a bunch of rocks, a cliff, or whatever it is that’s directly in front of the point. There are exceptions, and some points can offer mellow rides and not a lot of danger in front of the breaking waves, but as a rule beaches are more suitable.

A sandy bottom is also preferable to a reef because, to put it simply, sand is softer than reef. It’s a reality that as a learner you’ll be falling a lot and likely putting both yourself and your board in some awkward positions, but if you’re surfing somewhere with a sandy bottom this isn’t a big deal. As you already know, neither sand nor water are particularly hard, so you and your board will be safe here. If the bottom is a rocky reef, things can get a little dicier, and given reefs are also often found at point breaks, you probably don’t want to be surfing them just yet. 

It’s also beneficial to enlist the help of people you know who are more experienced than you, or even better, a surf instructor. Not only will they be able to help you find a suitable wave to start learning on, but they’ll also be able to see what mistakes you’re making and give you relevant advice. Yes, they’ll probably still give you a lot of the aforementioned ‘paddle hard and pop up smoothly’ cliches, but it’s a lot more helpful when it’s in person and more importantly, they’ll be able to help you out with the inevitable adjustments that you need to make. Having advice which is tailored to what you’re doing rather than just generic phrases can be hugely helpful and will enable you to progress much faster than you would otherwise.

It’s also pivotal to have someone with you when you’re first learning because if you’re out there by yourself, it can be dangerous for you and/or others. Ideally this is someone who knows what they’re doing, but even if you’re with another beginner this is better than being alone.  

For starters, if you’re with someone else you can theoretically find a peak with no one else on it – if there is one available! This is ideal because it allows you to do your thing and get a lot more repetitions in without having to worry about who might have priority to your left or right, who might be in front of you, where you’re going to end up etc. If you’re not with anyone, though, you should leave this empty peak empty – going out by yourself when you’re not an accomplished surfer is not a good idea.

And if and when you arrive at the beach and an empty peak isn’t available – which you’ll quickly find is often the case – paddling out to a wave which a few people are already surfing is a lot easier with a friend or instructor. Not only does it make the whole process a little less intimidating (this isn’t a problem regardless for some but many people do get a little nervy when they’re first starting out) but you’ll also be able to pick their brains for advice on where to sit, which people have priority relative to where you are, and a myriad of other things which you might not be able to figure out on your own.

So there it is – a few simple pieces of advice to help you get out in the water as a beginner, without the generic catchphrases. Next up we’re going to go into a little more detail about the resources you should use when teaching yourself to surf, before talking more explicitly about some great spots around the world at which to learn.