Surf Lesson on a Longboard Surfboard

Website design By BotEap.comYour first surf lesson should be on a longboard surfboard. I can’t make it clearer or simpler than that. Hard knock school is often the best form of education you’ll ever receive, so I want to share with you a little but extremely valuable information in my opinion.

Website design By BotEap.comMy first experience with a surf lesson was on a fiberglass shortboard that a ‘friend’ told me was easy to use. Well he actually told me this when he sold me the board and wished me luck. Boy, was I a fool. I weigh 200 lbs (85 kg) and am quite tall, the complete opposite of my very short fiberglass board.

Website design By BotEap.comA few near misses and a scalp cut that bled badly, and for those unfamiliar with Australian waters, you do run into the odd shark. I was out of the water quickly and infuriated with my skills and the whole sport in general.

Website design By BotEap.comMy wife took pity on me and paid for my first surf lesson at a local surf school. The first thing they said was that I was going to learn in a surfboard longboard. A very large 10 foot thick softboard that anyone could stand on… I’m sure I was thinking, everyone but me.

Website design By BotEap.comAfter my initial lesson on the beach, the instructor took us as a group and one by one positioned us for the next wave. When it was my turn I paddled hard and before I knew it I was standing on my longboard surfing towards the beach. No, I’m not lying, on my first try I did.

Website design By BotEap.comI spoke to my instructor after the lesson and explained the frustrations and injuries I’ve had with my shortboard and she told me that’s the biggest mistake everyone makes when first learning to surf. They want to be like Kelly Slater and slide across the water. Little do they know that all of the pros started longboarding when they were young and progressed to smaller, faster beasts.

Website design By BotEap.comIf only I had known this earlier, my first browsing experience would have been so much better. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know.

Website design By BotEap.comThanks to my wife for my first surf lesson. I’ve never looked back. And yes, I ended up trading my shortboard for a longboard after the lesson.