White Water tips for a newbie

When you work it out, make sure I'm the first to know

Just kidding, I am getting better but I still get caught occasionally when the sets don't behave the way they're supposed to.

I use an arsenal of tricks.

1. Rips are your friends find them and love them.

2. If it's only waist high, I stay off the board and walk it out as far as I can

3. If I see a biggy coming towards me I do a mental calculation of what my best option would be to avoid it breaking on top of my head.

option a. Paddle like all the bejeezus and punch through the lip
b. slow down a tad so you know it's lost it's juice and Eskimo roll under the wash (more on an esky later)
c. And I really hate to admit this, but if I'm too late for either of those options and a really big one is about to hammer me, I will dive down beside the board and swim as deep as possible and let the leggy do all the work. I do try to make sure I check for others close by but I've even seen big wave riders do this when they have no other option so I don't feel so bad.

4. Lifting you body and tunneling the water through is a good technique on the really small wash because it also has the effect of pushing the nose under the wash. If you can manager to make your feet jump over the wave as it washed through, then it will save you even more lost ground.

5. The esky roll, this is something I have a love hate relationship with simply because it knackers me to have to keep climbing back on the board but there's simply no way to avoid it if a monster wash is heading your way. Just make sure that as you roll you keep a good hold of the board because it's what's going to a make it easy for you to pop back to the surface. Otherwise you'll find yourself getting churned around not knowing what way is up or down and groping around for your leggy in the hope that it will lead you to some air.

6. Rips are your friends find them and love them. (yes I know I already said that)

7. Walk back up the beach and start again from the easy spot. The older I get the more I do this, particular at my local bommy. I can't resist an inside section and I find myself back in the middle of the wash zone and near the beach. Rather than try to fight my way out, I simply walk back up to the rip and start all over again. I was surfing near the south end of Diggers beach a few weeks back and the rip was such a gem that I rode every wave to the sand and just walked back to the southern point to get back out.

I'm sure there's heaps of other tricks, they're just the ones this old fart uses.

Thanks for the info. guys...I too am new. I find surfing so much more challenging than any sport I have tried...exhausting if you don't have a good strategy.

Try duck diving the same as on a short board. The timing is more critical on a mal but with some practice is do-able.
Weight over the nose, both arms straight, square to the wave, get the nose as deep as possible.
When wave passes, allow nose to come up and use combination of wave power and your own weight by foot on the tail, to force back of board down and nose up.
Help stabilise board by sliding one dominant hand along rail to front of nose.

Probably becomes too hard once double head height on mal

I'm in the same boat as obct and mac62, 1. you either paddle like crazy 2. back out of it or 3. dive and swim under (making sure there is no-one behind you) to collect your board.
Speaking from experience, of the eskimo only, I was clouted doing the eskimo roll when I did not get it right and the wave came down on my board and smacked me on the noggin. I try to turn my head to the side now if I have to eskimo. Rather the side of the face than the top of my head copping it.
Saying that, I'd rather swim under if possible.
The rip thing is the go but you'll get some strength into your arms/shoulders if no.

Buy a 6,2

LOL was it mac-fish or dog-fish towballor both haha.

Good onya oceanblue for sticking it up those sup'ers haha

Yep,but every days a win living in good old QLD

Don't do it unless your smashed or just don't go there