Surfing Lesson 4 - Lets Have some Fun and Catch that First Wave
Cool, you made it this far, you've read the other articles, and you have the right surfboard, you know how to paddle it, duck dive it and roll it. Your all prepared, so lets cover catching your first wave now.
Catching the wave:
Once you have made it out, sit up and straddle the board with your but just below center, so you can easily swing the board around.
When you straddle your board, face towards the horizon so no freak swells surprise you and break right on top of you. You should also note a landmark on shore and continually check that you haven't drifted away from it.
You need to catch your breath, and choose a good wave. Go for one that looks full or ready to break, but is not standing straight up. Turn your surfboard to face towards the beach, position yourself lying with your weight central, and start to paddle.
It may take a few times to get your position right, so remember this so you know which way to change it. If you are lying to far back on your surfboard, it will create to much drag, and you will not get enough speed, dropping off the backside of the wave.
Where as if you are to far forward on the board, you will end up flipping over or tumbling down the face of the wave. You need to stay forward enough to get the speed, but keep your chest up and lean back as you drop. Ultimately you would pop to your feet, just as begin to feel the board take, but when learning you want to wait until you have dropped down to the flat water in front of the wave.
You need to paddle as hard as you can straight towards the beach. When you get more experienced you can angle your board more, to head along the wave. But since you just want to catch the water in front of the wave, just head straight.
Alright, you caught your first wave, so we will tackle the last lesson, standing up, in the next article, so don't miss it.
