The Surf Guru

Father and son.

When the perfect wave is found.

Surf Hack #2: Wind n’ Waves

So you did a bunch of lessons with a surf school and you can’t understand why one day you were surfing like 6-time world champ Kelly Slater and the next was a total disaster.

Conditions are the most overlooked aspect of learning to surf. Why? Unlike all veteran surfers, you haven’t yet learnt that the ocean tells you when you can or can’t surf. Surf schools know this but even if the conditions are horrendous for the weekend you are still booked in, locked and loaded into the washing machine.

So what constitutes good and bad conditions? Let’s get one thing out of the way: sunshine has zero effect on surf conditions. In fact, winter is the best time of the year for great surf. There’s no need to live in fear of the cold as wetsuit technology has evolved to allow us to surf in polar bear territory. If you have a budget to buy gear, get a second-hand piece of crap board and the best wetsuit out there. For children, there is no such thing as he or she will grow into it. The wetsuit must fit very tightly from day one. If Twiggy Baker’s folks had given him a “he’ll grow into it” wetsuit, he wouldn’t be a three-time big wave world champ today.

What you really need to know is the wind direction and swell/wave height. as they can make and break a day of surfing. Learning to predict your next date with the ocean is just as exciting as planning a date with an attractive individual. Forecasting apps such as Windy, Magic Seaweed and Wind Guru are great and will let you know with pretty good accuracy if you should work all weekend and take Monday and Tuesday off.

I recommend the Windy app as it feels more intuitive. Some delightful folks on Youtube can help you make sense of what looks like gibberish at first. Let’s look at the basics, using Muizenberg as an example.

Most Cape-Townians don’t know that Muizenberg is the best wave in South Africa and one of the best in the world to learn to surf. With the gradient of the seafloor, the wave comes in nice and slow and the rides are long and gentle. As a beginner or even intermediate, I recommend mastering Muizies first before moving to other waves. This will also reduce the unnecessary crowding of surf spots out of your league. This is important as the growing popularity of surfing is having a negative on those who started surfing before you were born. Between now and my next article on surf etiquette, I recommend a quick google lesson on this topic to keep you out of trouble.

Wind direction: When the wind blows from the land out to the sea, this is called offshore wind. This wind direction smoothes out any lumps and bumps, making the waves easier and more fun to ride. Wind moving from sea to land is called onshore wind. A strong onshore wind can make the sea resemble a washing machine. Onshore and offshore are probably two of the most used words by surfers and for good reason, onshore at Muizies means rather get some work done and offshore means bunk work for a day of epic-ness. Getting good at reading the forecast will help you squeeze in one or two hours of offshore surf as the wind is seldom perfect offshore all day. Muizenberg is often cursed with the across-shore wind, which is not as bad as onshore but not worth bunking for.

Wave/swell height: If you want to get out to the backline and do some real surfing, you will need tiny waves. For a beginner, there is no such thing as too small. When most surfers are turning up their noses, you should be getting excited. These days are crucial to making leaps and bounds. Once you start getting stronger and more experienced then of course you are going to want bigger waves. Be warned though, there are three things that can destroy what could otherwise be the most insightful surf of your life: A surfboard smaller than 9 feet (trust me), high tide (mid and low tide are good) and the wind.

Or you could just be doubly sure and book a group or individual lesson with me ;)

Lifestyle Surf Shop in Muizies also does a morning and afternoon live video report. The guy there is great at talking you through what you are looking at. The Windy app has a we**am so you can see what’s happening in real time. My advice for becoming a pro at reading forecasting is to check your app every day and compare it with the live video report.

Surf Hack #1: Surfing isn't standing

So you’ve booked some surf lessons and joined a group of 10 other students, all eager to fall in love with the sport while acquiring the physique of a Greek god.

I’m going to cut straight to it and tell you why you’re not surfing anymore. Or if you are the 1% that persevered, why after 10 or more lessons you’re still not surfing as you imagined.

It’s a misconception that standing up on the surfboard is surfing. To prove my point: the world champion bodyboarder doesn’t stand, and neither does a kneeboarder or paddle skier. What they all have in common is the ability to navigate their way across the open face of a wave. This is the essence of surfing and the reason they all wake up at the crack of dawn on the coldest day of the year and paddle out in what looks like death-defying seas.

Yes, standing up on a massive soft top and heading straight to the beach in the whitewash is exhilarating at first as there’s a sense of achievement. However, this is far from the essence of surfing and pretty soon, boredom will set in. You are also jumping the gun in the process of learning how to actually surf.

If done properly, you can get a true taste of surfing during your first lesson, whether you’re 6 or 60. In the right conditions with the right instructor, you could be standing in a short space of time, flying across the open face of a wave heading into a new chapter of your life.

If you’ve done a trillion lessons, I suggest you do the following on your own during your next session.

Pick a day when the wind is offshore and the waves are small enough for you to get out to the back. I recommend Muizenberg with nothing smaller than a 9-foot board. Now, when you catch a wave, don’t stand up! Instead, turn the board by leaning your weight over to one side. If you nosedive, it’s because you didn’t turn enough. Make sure you turn enough to stay between the top and bottom of the wave while navigating across its open face. Once there is no more open face, don’t keep riding in the whitewash but rather jump off, paddle back out and try again.

Only once you feel you have mastered this navigation, after 10 or more successful rounds, should you stand up. Turn the board lying down as before, and once you’re moving nicely across the face of the wave, do your pop-up.

Remember: If you are too eager to stand up, you will just delay your progress. Trust me, to the other surfers, you look a lot cooler surfing across the wave lying down than standing up and going straight to the beach in the whitewash.

To book a group or individual surf lesson, I am available on Whatsapp- +27 84 880 8390