Surf Thread

I know this thread was necro'd, but I love surfing so wanted to opine

I personally think one of the best places to learn would be southern california during the week and during a down swell. the waves are usually waist high at windansea, blacks, etc., minimum, and they're gentle, plenty of board rentals around, super easy. downside is there's not a low CoL, but you'll get a lot of reps in. once you can reliably catch waist-chest high waves and go down the line, try to do the same with a shortboard (something under 6'6") and get used to pumping a bit to control speed, going right and left, don't worry about turns, just get used to getting to your feet, catching waves, and going down the line.

once you've got that down, you can ride bigger stuff. if it's over summer, look at southern Baja, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua (unsure how safe Nica is these days). the downside is the south swells that they can be waist to chest high, or they can be DOH, so be ready to just sit on the beach and watch locals do their thing. I'd probably start with the Tamarindo/Nosara area of Costa Rica, less heavy than Baja, Nica, or central Costa Rica, equally consistent, and less rocky so better for beginners. plenty of lessons, tours, rentals, etc., in Tamarindo whereas Nica is more sparse and Baja is fine but idk that there's as much surf infrastructure there as there is for Tamarindo (plus the surf in Cabo isn't as world class as Costa)

for something like this, once you're used to waist to chest high stuff in california and have caught a head high wave, assuming your paddling is up to snuff, you can probably get away with a couple of volume-y shortboards. I'd start with a 6'3 or 6'6 if you're bigger and have lots of volume (over 32L minimum). this will give you enough maneuverability to carve and pump, but still short enough to not pearl the nose on every takeoff and still give you the ability to somewhat duckdive.

last thing I'll say is work on your swimming. work yourself up to being able to swim for an hour with a pull buoy. most of surfing is paddling, so your training should mimic that. strength and conditioning exercises are great, but you don't need to make it complex. do some kettlebell swings, do some pullups and pushups, do some cardio, but then get back in the pool and when you're gassed from that practice your carving on a skateboard (mimics the feeling of having to pump when your arms are tired from duckdiving 4 out of 5 waves in a set and you take off on the last one).

have fun, get ready for this to be the most important thing in your life (ask my wife)