Learning To Sup Surf

[Gramps]

I just tried SUPing for the first time a few weeks ago.  I mainly wakesurf and was looking for something to do when I
couldn't take out the boat.  Big mistake ... now I'm hooked.  I'm working on flatwater paddling and enjoying it but I also want to surf.

Where do I start?  I live a long way from the ocean (thus wakesurfing) but I plan on taking a few trips a year to feed my impending addiction.  Where is a good place to learn / take lessons?  I live in NE Oregon, I'm 67 and haven't proned since the early 70's. 

Thanks!

[SupSurfIsSurf]

Go to any learner spot rent a sup probably like 10'6 and try until you catch a bunch.  You'll be catching waves within the first couple sessions for sure.

Good luck!!

Have Fun!!

[The Kernel]

San Onofre/Dogpatch.

Hire a local instructor for your first outing, stay on the inside from there and keep practicing for as many sessions as it takes until until you are safe enough to join the crowd.

Good luck!

[addapost]

In the meantime take advantage of the flat water where you live. Practice paddling in a surf stance, do 180 degree turns and quick accelerations. Develop your balance and leg strength by doing squats on the water. Walk around on your board as much as you can, all the way to the tail? All the way to the nose? Push your limits, fall in a lot. Nothing beats actually paddling in the surf but these flat water "skate sessions" can help move you along the learning curve when you do get to the coast. Good luck and have fun!

[breakbad]

+1 addapost

I'm learning now, and goofing around on flat water is helped me tremendously with foot movement and balance. I also go out on choppy days for practice and exercise.

[PonoBill]

Hood River. Get into downwinding, which clinches the addiction and raises the ante substantially. Probably a short morning drive from where you are. Big Winds has appropriate rental boards for downwinding and offers a shuttle service and lessons. Once you're comfortable with the basics you have a big span of the Columbia to make life interesting. Some of the best and craziest places are further east. If you can successfully catch river swells your transition to surf will be a bit easier.

For surfing, I like Pacific City, Manzanita, Seaside and anywhere there's a point or a big sandbar. I'm not a huge fan of beachbreak.

I'm also 67 and live in HR. The SUP scene here is comparable to Maui. Used to be that every car that had a downwinder SUP on it was being driven by a friend of mine. Now they're like belly buttons. Everyone has one.

If you're going to wakesurf, be careful about exhaust. It collects behind the boats and the Carbon Monoxide doesn't dissipate as quickly as you'd like. I turned a little pink after a long session once, which I was later told is an indication I was going to kaack pretty quickly. Apparently when you get to the point you need oxygen--just stopping and breathing fresh air isn't good enough. I was lucky.

There's also surfing behind the sternwheeler, but it's a little tricky to catch.

[1tuberider]

Try Cape Kiwanda or Short Sands beaches on the Oregon coast. Cape Kiwanda is also know as Pacific City. Due west
from you is one of the best west coast points but not a beginner wave, something to work up to.

[PonoBill]

To REALLY surf the Oregon coast you need current local knowledge. It's a whacky area for surfing because of the highly varied and mixed swell angles. The usual online surf forecasts are useful but not authoritative. It's useful to cultivate some locals who will give up the real scoop.

Pre-SUP I had a beach house in Manzanita for about 30 years, but I'm NOT a local and I NEVER figured out the surf. I mostly windsurfed there. Kind of wish now that I didn't sell the house, but for as much as I used it I could rent the Taj Mahal.

Short Sands is a nice surf spot but it gets crowded in the summer and it's a long hike down with a SUP unless you have a little 'un. Seaside point is intensely local and can be a handful. People drown there. Indian beach is user-friendly and has some complexity--lots of bars and rocks. Relatively easy access, fewer cranky locals. Manzanita has a number of good spots, including the point to the north which is easy to reach on a SUP. Major league current which is good news and bad. Lots of rips to help you get out. Lots of rips to make it interesting getting in.

It's all cold and sharky, but that's why it's relatively uncrowded. Perfect for SUP, sucks for prone surfing. You can be trunking while everyone else is freezing in 4/5's with hoods and booties. Most of the long-time locals that are serious surfers have gone over to the dark side, leaving only the grumpy wannabes and the kids who get attitude from reading Surfer. Imagine my surprise at having old friends who gave me endless shit about doing SUP surfing turn up at races in the Willamette with their hardcore race boards and their full quiver of surfing SUPs. One of them even uses a SUP board to tend his crab traps, which is simply brilliant. Lots of crab with no fuss, no gas and no launching issues.

Of course I never said a word.  ...yeah, right.

[Gramps]

Thanks, everyone!  addapost, I'll keep working on flatwater and try some of the things you suggest.  I have family in Newport Beach and Dana Point, so maybe I'll start visiting more.    My son has a friend who has been a diehard OR prone surfer for decades, so I'll have to pick his brain once I'm ready.  PonoBill,  Thanks for all the detailed info. I'm about 3 hours from HR; I'll be sure and check out Big Winds next time I'm through there.

[Daniel Rose]

Surfing is such a great fun and great way to spend time at the beach.Your basic equipment for learning to surf is a surfboard scaled to suit your size and trunks or wetsuit and a rash guard. Paddling skills are very essential for it.

[p06781]

I would agree with ponobill. 

Seaside cove is a great wave . I probably will never get a chance to surf seaside point . look it up . The cove is very localized with a core of grumpy old men longboarders.  I will say I have had my best day ever in oregon surfing there .  I have also experienced unfounded hatred from guys on boards bigger than mine . The reason the old LBers love it is because they dont even have to paddle to get out . The rip by rocks takes you out so easily that they just sit on there boards and talk taking their time .  If you stay north of the pack there are 2 more peaks down the beach when the winds are good that no one rides .  This spot is where to go in south winds

Short sands is a good learning area but its a walk with your board .  It can be super fun and can have a great rip on the north end to get out .  Better on mid to high tide.  Most beautiful beach to surf in oregon .  In high tide you can actually  paddlel under/near  a waterfall on the north end too.  Generally a friendly vibe. 

Pacific City is my north wind spot .  Its probably the best place to learn in the summer when its small .  Hot water shower, driving on the beach , brewpub, what more could you want ?  Go midweek for low crowds .  There are a number of sandbars that change every year that make different beach breaks .  The inside cove sometimes works for rights . The locals can be tough here too if its big, good , or crowed but generally its a friendly vibe. 

I would  give it a shot , take a lesson , know the "surfers lineup rules"  and just have fun .  Surf with friends is the best .  The best oregon surf season is in fall midweek after school starts .  Warm , sun , offshores, no people , good swell. 

J

[Gramps]

Thanks for all the info, J!   

[PonoBill]

I like seaside cove. I've surfed the point with only three other surfers out and they all gave me shit. I felt very hurt that they were mean to me and cried all the way back to my truck.

Ok, not really.

There's a rock ledge about 300 yards north of the point that gets an A-frame wave when the tide and swell are right. I SUP surfed there by myself one afternoon and got a zillion waves--right or left, surfer's choice. It was magnificent, but it's a rare treat. Every other time I've gone it's been nada. So I surf the point or the cove. It helps that some of the guys realize I've known them for thirty years.

The grief you get at Pacific City is just a low level grumble. I've always been surprised at how short everyone's sessions are there, and how few waves they catch. It's an easy spot on a SUP, and I'm usually out for four or five hours. If I drive three hours each way to surf I'm gonna surf. The hot showers are fabulous, and after a long, long session a beer and a plate of fried oysters is very welcome.

I feel a road trip coming on. Maybe after the COC trip and the ten days that my Michigan grandkids and daughter are here I'll need to pack up and head for the coast. Got to get that shoulder going.

Wow, I just looked at my calendar. How did August get so filled up? There's a few spots open and I see the Doc on August 6th. Hopefully he turns me loose then.