The Timing of Catching Real Surf Waves

Mark
March 13, 2021
3:55 pm

The timing of catching real surf waves takes practice and is worked on all your life. It starts by learning the timing of catching foam waves and progresses to catching bigger foam waves and small real waves.

Timing requires judgment and judgment has to be learned. It helps to watch video and live surfers to see where they intersect with the waves. A surfer lets a real wave roll under the board before catching it.

The Fundamentals of Real Wave Catching

When beginners start with foam waves they have to learn patience. Many want to pop up before the wave arrives or pop up as it hits the board instead of paddling to get in front of the foam. Real waves are similar.

The surfer identifies the area where the real waves are forming. The line up is a good indication, but in the line up there are different sized boards and surfers with different intentions. Paddle to where you see the waves you want breaking.

When a wave begins to form, the surfer decides if he has to paddle out, parallel, or in to get in front of it. There are a few seconds when the wave arcs when the surfer wants to be on the face. Once the lip is arced above the surfer’s head, he paddles hard about three times before putting his hands on the board.

Riding down the face on two to three foot waves is a good start. Then learn to catch the corners where the wave is rolling after the lip breaks over the top. The surfer paddles for the pocket as it unfolds and points at a 45 degree angle toward the beach. As the wave rolls under the board, the surfer pops up and he is already in the pocket.

A faster way to get into the pocket on the face is to point the board toward the pocket after paddling down the face to catch the wave and before popping up. In this maneuver, the surfer points the nose toward the pocket and then pops up. This prevents pearling. It might be especially helpful on steep close out waves that are found on many sand bar beaches.

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