Beginner Surfers Start with Foam Waves

Beginner surfers start with foam waves to learn the fundamentals. They also begin with soft top boards so that the surfboard is not an issue. The fundamentals for beginners barely change as surfers become advanced.

What changes are the techniques for real waves and the skill needed if surfers go to shorter boards. There is no reason the occasional surfer can’t keep the 8′ soft top for a life time as he progresses to real waves.

How to Catch Foam Waves

Foam waves occur after real wave break. Some beaches have much better foam waves for beginners, like Oceanside, CA. The foam waves rolls a long way before hitting the beach. The beginner positions himself far enough out so the foam wave has some push and is big enough to ride.

The surfer rolls onto his board when the foam wave is 20 feet away and starts paddling to get momentum. He looks back before it hits the board and when the wave is 5 feet from the board, he starts paddling hard.

It is important to keep paddling after the foam wave hits the board so that the board gets in front of the lip. If the surfer tries to stand while the tail is still in the foam, the board is more unstable. It requires about 3-5 paddles after the foam wave hits the tail of the board.

Advancing to Bigger Foam Waves

After riding the shore break, the surfer can paddle out through the foam waves to catch foam waves closer to where the real waves break. These waves will be bigger and moving faster. If the surfer does not have the fundamentals of catching and popping up mastered, the trouncings will be harsher.

As the surfer paddles through the first foam wave, he lets the nose of the board go under the lip and does a push up on the surf board so that the foam goes under his chest. If the wave is not too big, he can also put the surfboard on top of the foam wave. It is important to paddle hard through the wave so it doesn’t turn the board.

To turn the board, the surfer pushes water under the board on the side in which he wants to turn. If he wants to turn right, his right hand pushes water under the board as his left hand keeps stroking normally, one after the other.

It is important to be sure there is enough gap between the waves to easily make the turn. If the next wave is too close, the surfer turns back into the wave or can slide off the board to keep from getting hit sideways.

Most of the time, we learn the hard way by getting tumbled.

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