Learning to Surf in Mass

[BigLeagueBrian]

How would one go about learning to surf in Mass? I'll be somewhat close to cape in the summer.

1) I dont know anyone who surf's, so do I take a lesson or just go for it?
2) Do I rent a board or buy a shitty one?
3) Where do I go?
4) Do I really need a wetsuit? If not, should I buy an antishark suit instead?
5) Should I learn how to swim? Are arm floaties a good idea?

Thanks.

[advres]

You go North or South. North of Hampton or down to RI.

You'll need a wetsuit especially if you head North. Rental boards tend to suck but they will get you going. Best waves are in the winter. I hope the swim thing was a joke.

[Breakwater]

^^^^^ That was actually a joke.



1.Just go for it. A lesson won't do shit. You're atleast 1 1/2 years away from understanding how to turn.

2.Rent a board you first day. If you hate it, and you leave bloody, Quit.
Just like renting Snowboards, find out where the price to you is more worth it to buy, than keep renting. Who gives a fuck if the rental board sucks. You can't stand-up.

3. Go east. Sounds like you live on the south shore. (sorry about that)
Use http://magicseaweed.com/ It will tell you some breaks to go to, including Nantasket, Which happens to be closer to you than the Cape.

4. Everyone's body is different. I wear a wetsuit all the time, with the exeption of about 3 weeks around the end of august and begining of September. Wearing a wetsuit doesn't mean much, The thickness matters.

5. Thats going to technically depend on your body type. I happen to sink if I'm knocked unconsious. It's probably not a bad reccomendation either way to learn how to swim.


Also, Just so both of you kooks know.
The best waves are infact during Hurricane season late Sept-October.

The winter waves quite suck, since storm systems come from the west.
Antisocial outcasts of society tend to think winter waves are the best for surfing.

[Hugh Conway]

You should learn how to die instead of swimming

[Breakwater]

You two are cute

[gringorasta]

I've surfed later summer in Rhodi in just a rash top and been fine, but learning in general and anywhere above the cape you're going to want a wetsuit for the warmth and the added flotation. Because regardless of whether you know how to swim or not, learning to surf, you are going to feel like you are drowning.

Rather than take lessons, make some friends, watch where they paddle out, and chase them into the lineup. dont hassle them for lots of picky advice, and dont get in their way while they are surfing, just ask them to keep an eye on you so you dont actually drown.

Dont worry about the best waves, and dont get discouraged. Learning to surf sucks. Just keep paddling and eating shit and catching foam until you get a clean wave. then you wont have a choice but to keep at it. cause that shit is like heroin.

enjoy

[Hugh Conway]

You two are cute

5. Thats going to technically depend on your body type. I happen to sink if I'm knocked unconsious. It's probably not a bad reccomendation either way to learn how to swim.


is the funniest thing I've ever read not witten by hop about surfing

[BigLeagueBrian]

I actually do know how to swim.

Thanks for the tips.

[Snakeboy]

Also, Just so both of you kooks know.
The best waves are infact during Hurricane season late Sept-October.

The winter waves quite suck, since storm systems come from the west.
Antisocial outcasts of society tend to think winter waves are the best for surfing.

Kook! That may be true for RI but definitely not for MASS which is where the OP is asking about. I may be anti-social but I've been surfing here long enough to know that in MA the best waves are in the winter, and I am glad you don't realize that.

As for learning in MA, dont even bother, everyone I know from here that learned to surf here still sucks after 5 years. Save your money and go to Costa Rica. You'll learn more in a week there that you will in a year in MA.

[Microcosm]

I'm gonna go against what others have said and recommend taking a lesson. I'm sure a local shop can give you information or provide one. It might be decently expensive, but you should be good to go with just one. They'll be able to teach you the basics of popping up, paddling, and the all important etiquette-- Which is more than just avoiding making others angry: Surfboards HURT when you're hit, and you'll learn how to predict and avoid that scenario.

A lot of people hate the ideas of lessons teaching newbies the ropes, but I'd rather be in the water with educated newbies than a few people paddling around in utter confusion.

The shop/ lesson giver should also be able to hook you up with a board, a spot to surf, and a little guidance on the whole wetsuit thing. (For reference I'm down in NJ and I'll be wearing my 3/2 fullsuit, possibly with gloves and booties, for a little while. Hey, I like to stay warm out there.)

Expect to get your ass kicked by the ocean, but if you stand up expect to be addicted for life. I still remember my first wave, it's one of those things you'll never forget.

PS: Winter waves good, too. AND emptier. AND cold. School gets in the way of my enjoying them, unfortunately. Hurricane season is the shit too, but as a beginner you'll definitely want to be avoiding the bigger days of that this summer. It's amazing how strong even a small wave can be!

[Hugh Conway]

people hate on lessons because 99% of the people giving surf lessons suck at teaching and fail at things like etiquette

[Breakwater]

Kook! That may be true for RI but definitely not for MASS which is where the OP is asking about. I may be anti-social but I've been surfing here long enough to know that in MA the best waves are in the winter, and I am glad you don't realize that.

As for learning in MA, dont even bother, everyone I know from here that learned to surf here still sucks after 5 years. Save your money and go to Costa Rica. You'll learn more in a week there that you will in a year in MA.

O.K.
12345

[Skibum2]

I would have to agree with taking a lesson. You'll get the jist of the pop-up faster. But, most important, you'll learn basic surfing code of conduct and "hopefully" not put yourself or others in danger. Mucho importante...

[Microcosm]

people hate on lessons because 99% of the people giving surf lessons suck at teaching and fail at things like etiquette

Hmm, fair enough assessment! (Unfortunately) My first time was through this Quiksilver learn to ride thing they had going on once upon a time. They definitely taught us all the general etiquette. A few years later I took another week long lesson and I got lucky I guess. Good surfers, brought us to a pretty empty beach and taught us lots. Definitely learned my place in the lineup well.

So if finding quality a quality lesson is out of the picture, give Surfline's Bill of Lefts and Rights a quick read through: http://www.surfline.com/surfology/su...borl_index.cfm

Oh, and one more thing! IF YOU'RE NOT HAVING FUN, YOU'RE NOT DOING IT RIGHT.

random tip: the wax goes on TOP of the board

[Piggity]

There is plenty of surf in MA, the cape has plenty o days that are surfable with a few mind blowing A frame beach break days that will rival any beach break I've surfed in San Diego, besides Black's Beach and maybe IB.

There is a rather peculiar group of 'men in grey suit's that are feeding on the seal population off the Cape.

RI has gotten extremely crowded since I moved about 12 years ago. I surfed what used to be a semi-low key point break in RI the day of Hurricane Bill in 2009, great waves but the lineup and cliff looked like it was Swami's in Encinitas. It was redonkulous compared to how I remember it.

Some of my most memorable surfs were when I lived on Martha's Vineyard. Really hard to access the breaks due to private property but living on the island I knew some of the ins and outs to be able to score waves. Highly recommended

[Ottime]

^^^ Hurricane Bill. I remember that one. Slammed into RI. Must have been huge. It then headed back out to sea as a TS and came right over us in southern Maine. As the the eye past, and the winds shifted offshore, we could see huge surf from across the wetlands a mile away. Must have been 20' plus. By day break it was down to 8' faces and pretty much gone by night fall.

Snakeboy - Curious. Are you surfing north or south of Boston. I always imagined the beaches of the cape pretty much wrecked in winter time, but I can see how points north could get way more swell from Nor'Easters than hurricanes, given their track. I know I always preferred the Sept-Nov period most as I could wear way less rubber (even boardshort on LI in Sept) and it remained pretty consistent. The four best days for NE in my memory were in September (RI), October (NY), November (ME) and December (ME).

[Piggity]

Yup Bill put out some solid swell! It did the exact same thing in RI.

The swell was gone as fast as the storm. Peaked DOH+ at dawn and then by 1-2 pm it was down around head high and inconsistent. Of course I showed up in time to see it going off and then by the time I suited up it was almost gone.

Are you originally from Maine or were you just up there visiting? I bet some of the breaks up there and Nova Scotia were going off

[Breakwater]

Here is a cut & paste of a local shaper's advertisement of a swap he's putting on.

I would reccomend going.



Twin Lights Surf Co. is hosting it's first Annual Fish Market Surfboard Swap on Saturday June 4th, 12-2pm. We encourage everyone to bring their boards, fins, and wetsuits to sell, trade and swap. This is going to a great event. There will be raffles for a New board, a wetsuit, fins, leashes, and other surf accessories, autographed CJ Hobgood glossy prints, $200 in Gift Cards from TD Bank, and gift certificates to Jalapenos. Everyone who attends will get 20% off a new board order. If you have an old board that you want to trade we will give you a minimum of $100 towards a new board order with us no matter what the condition of the board. There will be stock boards for sale. Check out the surfboard factory that is right here on the North Shore you may not have known even existed. Watch a glassing expo with Keith Natti and meet and discuss board design with Shawn Vecchione of Vec Surfboards. It will be a fun day to look at other peoples boards and talk about surfing. This is a chance to sell and buy boards. If you need a surfboard and a wetsuit this will be a great place to buy your gear for cheaper from fellow surfers. Bring all your boards, you never know what someone else might have that you want or fall in love with. The Fish Market will be at Twin Light Surf Co. located just off 128 in Gloucester - 44 Whittemore Rd. Gloucester MA 01930 - go to twinlightssurf.com with questions. The Fish Market will be Saturday June 4th, 12noon-2pm. The two hour format is an attempt to get as many people there all at once so those looking to trade or buy will have a lot to choose from. This event will stay open as long as there are people hanging out and swapping.
PLEASE BRING BLANKETS OR TOWELS TO PUT YOUR BOARDS ON AS WELL AS A DESCRIPTION AND ROUGH PRICE OR TRADE OPTIONS FOR EACH ITEM YOU ARE LOOKING TO TRADE. THANKS!!

[BigDaddy]

BLB, try Goosebury Point past Horseneck Beach in Westport. It's been a while, but there was a place called Shandys that rented old boards for $1 an hour:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsene...te_Reservation

[Alaskan Rover]

I laughed at #5, but am glad to hear you already know how to swim.

Here's my take....and I'm no pro-surfer, so don't take it too much.

Lessons: It doesn't really matter what coast you start on....if your brand new to surfing, I'd DEFINITELY take at least one lesson. That lesson will cost anywhere from $65 to $100 but if the instructor is decent at all, it will be money well spent.

3/4 of the lesson will be be basic shit on the beach: parts of the board....putting on the leash...blah blah blah.

But then he'll spend time on doing the dreaded "Pop-up"...which will be at first practiced on the sand.

Make no mistake about this....the pop-up is pretty much the most important thing you can take away from a first lesson.

When the lesson is over, keep practicing those beach pop-ups until you can pop-up on the sand in one quick, fluid motion. Doing it on a board will be a HELL of a lot harder!!!

The teacher will then send you in the water to float you on board...so you can get a feel for board-bouyancy. He'll know doubt push you out on a small wave and hold the board when you do your first pop-up to stand up on the board. He'll do this on a miniscule wave, that way he gets his lesson guarantee that "you'll get up on your first day or your money back". You won't get shit from this part of nthe lesson because it's basically cheating....but at least you'll take away a decent pop-up...the MOST important part of surfing besides having great balance and cat-like reflexes.

[U]BOARD[/U: ] DON'T buy your first board (unless you get a screaming deal...like fifty bucks!)...the board you want for your first days will be bigger than you'll want to stick with.

Rent one....or much better yet, BORROW one. Unfortunately, the rental boards are almost almost 9'6 and 10' BIC boards which surf like crap, but you won't need a triple-fin anyway yet. The board will be wide...so get ready for sore shoulders from paddling that ridiculous beast.

DOESN'T matter...rent it anyway...as the most important thing you'll be learning that first day once the lesson is over is how to do a clean on-water pop-up without falling off and learning balance once you're up and a big board is great for that.

Used to live in the northeast, and from experience I can vouch that summer surfing on CC sucks, but the smallish waves ARE decent for learning on.

Oh...one last thing: get the floaties with the little fishies on them....theyre rad.

[Piggity]

Used to live in the northeast, and from experience I can vouch that summer surfing on CC sucks

That's why god created Rhode Island so you can alternate between the two and score almost any swell angle NE has to offer. CC will pick up the same or more swell directions as Rye in NH and most of SE Maine's coast line. If the storm is not in that swell window, then skip on over to RI for some SW to SE action.

You can alternate between cold A-frame beachies on the cape to some of the longest point breaks RI has to offer = a happy piggity pow when he returns home for a visit

[snowmonster]

Here is a cut & paste of a local shaper's advertisement of a swap he's putting on.

I would reccomend going.



Twin Lights Surf Co. is hosting it's first Annual Fish Market Surfboard Swap on Saturday June 4th, 12-2pm. We encourage everyone to bring their boards, fins, and wetsuits to sell, trade and swap. This is going to a great event. There will be raffles for a New board, a wetsuit, fins, leashes, and other surf accessories, autographed CJ Hobgood glossy prints, $200 in Gift Cards from TD Bank, and gift certificates to Jalapenos. Everyone who attends will get 20% off a new board order. If you have an old board that you want to trade we will give you a minimum of $100 towards a new board order with us no matter what the condition of the board. There will be stock boards for sale. Check out the surfboard factory that is right here on the North Shore you may not have known even existed. Watch a glassing expo with Keith Natti and meet and discuss board design with Shawn Vecchione of Vec Surfboards. It will be a fun day to look at other peoples boards and talk about surfing. This is a chance to sell and buy boards. If you need a surfboard and a wetsuit this will be a great place to buy your gear for cheaper from fellow surfers. Bring all your boards, you never know what someone else might have that you want or fall in love with. The Fish Market will be at Twin Light Surf Co. located just off 128 in Gloucester - 44 Whittemore Rd. Gloucester MA 01930 - go to twinlightssurf.com with questions. The Fish Market will be Saturday June 4th, 12noon-2pm. The two hour format is an attempt to get as many people there all at once so those looking to trade or buy will have a lot to choose from. This event will stay open as long as there are people hanging out and swapping.
PLEASE BRING BLANKETS OR TOWELS TO PUT YOUR BOARDS ON AS WELL AS A DESCRIPTION AND ROUGH PRICE OR TRADE OPTIONS FOR EACH ITEM YOU ARE LOOKING TO TRADE. THANKS!!

Damn! I saw this too late. I'm in the market for a board to use around the Cape. 7'2" to 7'8". I'd go longer for the summer but there's nowhere I can stick it in my apartment and besides I'm not into longboards anymore. Looks like the Little Overshead Surf Shop in Eastham is closed and the shops in the neighborhood are a bit too pricey. Budget is tight so any maggot recos will be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Ottime]

Yup Bill put out some solid swell! It did the exact same thing in RI.

The swell was gone as fast as the storm. Peaked DOH+ at dawn and then by 1-2 pm it was down around head high and inconsistent. Of course I showed up in time to see it going off and then by the time I suited up it was almost gone.

Are you originally from Maine or were you just up there visiting? I bet some of the breaks up there and Nova Scotia were going off

Grew up in upstate NY. Summered in S Main from 10-20 yrs. Lived there for a season (June-Dec) in '94. Mostly surfed there and L.I. (Rockaway) mostly while I was at NYU. Got my share of RI days as well. Never surfed CC, or Mass. The Wall and a few spots in NH over the years.

I am headed back to Well/Moody for two weeks this summer and hope for a 'caine swell to get with my buddies who still live back there. With the new boy, all day trips to RI are out of the question. Bummer, as I enjoy me some Judith, as well as west and east sides.

[Piggity]

I am headed back to Well/Moody for two weeks this summer and hope for a 'caine swell to get with my buddies who still live back there

There will be surf and you will score a 'cane swell.