Surfing
Surfing is one of the fastest developing sports in the world
today. First practiced by the ancient Polynesians, the tradition
was mostly used by fishermen who developed the surfboard
from the streamlined canoes that were used for their speed
and agility. Today there is something for everyone with
an increasing number of styles of surfing from body boarding
to one of the newest forms kite surfing. Top
surf spots are found all around Lanzarote.
This ‘art’, as all surfers like
to call it (as opposed to a ‘sport’), requires
a good sense of balance and a love of the ocean. Learning
to surf is not an easy task. It requires a lot of dedication,
stamina and determination as learning to sit up right on
your board, or even to paddle the right way is a hard task.
Equipment
Basically your gear as a surfer will consist of your board,
clothes and then some extra goodies like wax and a leash.
Surfing is not as expensive as other sports such as wind
surfing and the gear will be easy to maintain and cost effective.
The surfboard is the most important piece of equipment although
as a beginner, it is not recommended that you go out and
buy an expensive one. Rather start off with a used board,
because chances are that you will dent by just carrying
it around.
There are three basic types of boards:
- Short board The general size of a short
board varies from 5’ 6”, to 6’ 11”
in length.
- The Long board (or mini log) varies between
7’ to 8’ in length.
- The modern version which is 8’
6” to 11’ in length.
The gun is a variation on the longboard
with its main difference being that it has a pin shaped
nose and tail and is used to ride big waves in the range
of 10 foot to 30 feet. There are as many fin styles as there
are board styles from a modern longboard which uses a single
fin to the short board which uses a tri fin.
Skins
The body needs some protection from the changes in water
temperature and the wet suit does this by trapping some
water within the suit and insulating the body at its own
temperature. The wet suit also has the added advantage of
keeping the body afloat to a certain extent. A spring wet
suit is made out of neoprene, it is sleeveless, covers to
the top of the knee and should be used for water temperatures
between 64-68 degrees.
The winter suit has full-length sleeves
and legs is designed to protect in water temperatures of
64 degrees and below. Hands can be protected by wearing
neoprene gloves. It is also possible to buy neoprene-webbed
gloves that will not only keep the warmth in, but will improve
propulsion when paddling. Feet are in the water 95% of the
time in a surfing session and will get cold easily. Wearing
a pair of booties will help keep them warm and have the
added advantage of protecting them against cuts on the coral
and rocks.
The Wax, Track Pad
and Leash
Before surfing apply a combination of track pad and surfboard
wax to improve grip to the board. The wax should be applied
from where the track pad left off to about 2/3 up the board
towards the nose. The leash is used to keep the board near
you when you wipe out (fall off!) so you do not have to
swim around chasing it. It is recommended that the leash
is as long as the board. These preparations will keep your
gear in pristine condition and last for as long as possible
The Lingo
Here is a quick guide to some of the terms used in surfing.
If you take up surfing, you might to notice that you automatically
start talking like this (yes, scary...!).
- Backwash - Water returning to the ocean
from the shore, against the breaking waves.
- Rip current - A small channel (usually
formed by two sand banks next to each other) that allows
water to pass out to sea faster than normal. Waves can’t
break in them.
- Ripping - The wave to shreds/ to surf
very well.
- Impact zone - Where the waves start breaking
for the first time (where you have to sit and wait for
them).
- Gulley - Where the waves start fading
out.
- Line-up - Where all the surfers sit on
their boards, waiting to catch a wave.
- Face - The wall of water beneath the
lip of the wave, the part of the wave you should be surfing.
- Lip - The curling lip at the top of the
wave.
- Break - A location on the shore that
waves tend to break.
Point break - Where waves are bent according to the land’s
form (also a film!).
- Pearling - This happens if the nose of
the board goes under the water (pearl-diving).
- Going over the falls - Getting sucked
over the lip of the wave. It usually ends in pain.
- Howzit? - A kind of standard greeting
that surfers use with each other.
- Bru / Brah - Is from ‘Braddah’,
the Hawaiian word for brother. Bru is just a variation
of that.
Hitting the Water
Choose a location that is easily accessible as learning
to surf takes a lot of dedication and practice. Preferably
choose a beach break at first, as it will minimise the damage
of reef breaks. Decide if you are natural footed (right
foot on the back of the board, left in front) or goofy footed
(left foot on the back, right in front). This is pretty
much just the position you feel most comfortable in. Now
put your leash on the foot that is on the back of the board,
and start walking into the water, until you are about waist-deep.
Catching the waves
Start paddling towards the shore before the wave reaches
you to gain some momentum until you ‘slide down’
onto the wave. Standing up is the hard part, and will take
some practice. Hold on to the rails (the sides of your board)
and push yourself up and remember that the movement from
lying down to standing up should be one fluid action, not
a limb at a time. The key is to not be afraid of the bigger
waves, but just to go for it. Once you’ve ridden your
first wave, you’ll never look back. ENJOY THE RIDE
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