Learning to surf or paddlesurf?

[susan]

I have been paddling flatwater for about 4 months on a weekly basis and am going on vacation near San Diego, Ca. I'm thinking about taking a surf lesson, but I'm not sure if I should take traditional lessons or paddlesurf lessons. I don't intend on buying a new board, as mine is supposed to be good in surf as well. So paddlesurfing is my ultimate goal. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[mik911]

By all means, take paddlesurfing lessons, if that's your goal.
Tradiitional surfing lessons will devote most of the time to paddling out, and the 'pop up' from prone to standing position, neither of which you'll be doing while sup surfing.

[HawaiiRN808]

In my opinion, you should learn to bodyboard and progress to surfing.  This gives you the opportunitu to learn how to read waves, stay calm when getting tumbled, and will make you a better overall waterman.  I see it like evolution..learn to swim, learn to body surf and board, learn to longboard, then learn to stand up paddle surf.  There are too many kooks out in the water on SUPs who didn't take the time to learn hiw to read the waves, and learn the unwritten rules of surfing.  These are the dudes who think they can SUP surf but are hazards to themselves and others around them.

It is up to you what course you want to take.  Good luck in your goal to learn to SUP surf.

Aloha,
HawaiiRN808
Honolulu, HI

[spleeft]

In my opinion, you should learn to bodyboard and progress to surfing.  This gives you the opportunitu to learn how to read waves, stay calm when getting tumbled, and will make you a better overall waterman.  I see it like evolution..learn to swim, learn to body surf and board, learn to longboard, then learn to stand up paddle surf.  There are too many kooks out in the water on SUPs who didn't take the time to learn hiw to read the waves, and learn the unwritten rules of surfing.  These are the dudes who think they can SUP surf but are hazards to themselves and others around them.

It is up to you what course you want to take.  Good luck in your goal to learn to SUP surf.

Aloha,
HawaiiRN808
Honolulu, HI

HRUMPH !!!!

[fms]

Hey Susan, I surf ,paddle sup,oc1 and  windsurf .learned to surf when I was about 8 years old and I fell in love. I'm 40 about now and can say with out hesitation that surfing has undoubtedly helped me with all my water sports !!! Please learn to read the water and understand wave etiquette on a surfboard before heading into the line up on an sup. I promise you won't regret it ! Have fun . Later, FMS

[AJR]

No matter what you do it's critical that you learn etiquette. I personally don't think you have to bodysurf, then surf, then SUP surf (it would be nice if you had the time I think) but you definitely need to know the etiquette and how to keep yourself and others safe. And stay out of the line up while you're learning and have fun!

If you need recommendations on a SUP lesson call Mitch's surf shop in La Jolla and ask for Mitch. Super nice guy who's surfed and SUP surfed for quite a while (he's in his 60's and rips the waves). I just happen to surf the same break with him usually - otherwise I've got no affiliation to him...

[susan]

Thanks everybody for your advice. It's really wonderful to know people are out there to help. I haven't decided what I'll do yet, but I definitely wouldn't go into a line up until i really knew what i was doing. I also think that learning how to read the waves and surf etiquette are big safety factors. Since I'll only be there for 4 days and I live in the desert, you don't have to worry about me in your line up! LOL Take care 

[Freeride]

As someone who is not as exposed to the daily surf culture as many of you, would you be so kind as to provide some tips?  I'm a long time snowboarder and the standards are pretty straight forward, but the posts above make it sound like it might be different at each break, and complex?  Really?

When in Hawaii in July I simply announced I was a noob/ignorant, didn't want to be a jackass and was thanked and told to "take anything you want".  Granted there were only a handful of folks out there, but perhaps it's different in big line ups?

[beaglebuddy]

If Susan were a child living on the beach of course she would want to learn conventional surfing but since she is a fully developed adult that has to work for a living along with other responsibilities and she lives in the desert hours away and can only rarely get to the ocean intermittently it would seem a wasteful use of time to try to learn conventional surfing.
Her arms will want to fall off after one day, it would take a month of daily paddling out and messing around to just get proficient with the paddling.
Susan can already paddle and balance well for long distances on a SUP, she just needs to paddle for some waves now.
She can be surfing in a day on her SUP.
I imagine she will be practicing on the small shorebreak somewhere not invading the personal waves of any of you "experts"

[outcast]

Yes, she can catch a wave on her first day.....if that's the goal, then she prob needs no lesson at all...

But is that what it's all about?....I thought it was about the ocean

There is a lot to know, and personally i would prefer that the the OP learn it right without a lesson the hard way.

My vote ....well established traditional surf school. Mitch sounds good

"Fundamentals" Swimming, breathing,  reading the water/sky....know how to take a pounding...board (Fin!) awareness, etiquitte as the above folks said.....No, maybe not if you learn to pop-up all day, but why not have two skills and not just be a boat-driver?.....

[susan]

@ Outcast: I've been really cool and honest about this consideration and I asked questions because I didn't want to just paddle out to a line up and hurt myself or someone else. That's called ETIQUETTE. But you seem to be a hater, calling SUPers "boat drivers". Now who's intolerant? I didn't grow up on the beach like you. It's a four-day vacation.

[trailertrashed]

Rule #1: Have fun

that is all.

[surfcowboy]

I came into this on standup. I was a flatwater paddler who went out, stayed out of lineups and got my butt handed to me til I was able to stand on a wave.

I'm now trying to find the time to pick up longboarding and  doing some snorkeling and body surfing and bodyboarding as I can to further my skills.

I agree with the following:

1. Have fun.

2. It's great to have waterman skills, but not necessary for a 4 day vacation where you'll be riding 2 foot waves. If someone fights you for those, they are the jerk.

3. Learn standup for now, and have your instructor teach you about surf etiquette and of course when you have time, try other water sports. (They are all fun.)

Final free advice. Just play on your own, watch who's on the beach inside of you and have a ball. I played at "Kiddies" on Kauai for almost a whole week one year and had a ball feeling like I was a surfer in knee high waves and never bothered a soul.

If you get a month at the shore (and I wish this for you!) then dig in, snorkel, bodysurf, learn the ocean and become a complete water-person.

[outcast]

Susan,
 sorry...go with rule #1...
  hope you get the 4 days, and a lifetime too

[PonoBill]

Mmmm, I think you misread Outcast, or maybe because I've been reading his posts a long time I know better, but he's no hater.

Anyway, the time it takes to be a proficient longboarder is probably at least a year, assuming ready access to decent surf and a lot of free time. SUP is bit of a shortcut since some of the bits that are hard for beginners get bypassed. So with a little instruction, or even none at all, you can find a empty area with some nice reformed waves or soup to play in, and start catching rides right away.

Once you get that first thrill though, you'll want to learn all the other stuff that makes you a better surfer. There's really no shortcut to that, it's time in the water paying attention to learning things the right way. If you're shuffling on the board instead of cross-stepping then you'll never be a decent noserider--you upset the board too much. So it's still important to learn the fundamentals. Every aspect of surfing is like that--one thing builds on another. I know people who have surfed a long time who never seem to be in the right spot. They never really learned to read waves. And because they didn't learn that they can't do a decent cutback, because they're never in the pocket.

The long term advantage of SUP is that you can catch a lot more waves in a day than a typical longboarder will get in two, so your experience--at least in number of rides--grows faster. The downside is that etiquette becomes even more important since it's easy to be seen as a wave hog, or to get in the way in a break you're not ready for. Google "kook or Kool" or visit www.supright.com (I think it's still up, I built it and never took it down) for a summary of basic etiquette.