semi-useless techniques
In winter, don't forget to throw your steamer in the boot.
Take your time getting into your wetsuit, have a good ol' chat in the carpark, wax your board slowly and thoroughly, and then save five seconds by running across the sand.
For winter surfs, fill a big plastic bottle (1.5-2L will do) with hot water, then wrap your wettie around it. After getting into your now warm wettie, wrap your towel around the bottle.
When you come in, pour hot water over your head and down your wettie. Hot shower, a nice rinse, and gets rid of salt and sand. And you have a warm towel to dry off with.
Unreal idea IB. I have a mate who takes a bottle of warm water with him but the wettie/towel wrap is next level. Very timely.
-put plastic bags over each foot before getting into a wetsuit (specially if it's wet)
-in cold water wear a full hood. You lose most heat out of your head and for me anyhow it means I can surf right through Winter in Vicco without fucking booties cause my whole body stays that little bit warmer
-stretch glad wrap over freshly filled dings (only small ones) to avoid excess sanding
-have fin keys located in as many places as you would stash rolly papers so you can always find one when in need
Glass yourself a fibreglass bridge near your leash plug on your bigger wave board. Connect your leash to both the bridge and the leash plug. When that rogue 15 foot set out in the middle of nowhere comes to mow you down you can start swimming to the bottom with a bit more confidence that you won't be in for a long oxygen depleting swim with just a leash and a foam encrusted plug on your ankle after just copping the rest of the set on your head. Obviously a leash to suit the conditions would be handy as well!!!
Don’t let the wife on to how much you actually surf. Some methodology I use to keep her oblivious; Wash wetsuits at beach. Keep 2 towels in the car. Always wear sunscreen. Any other hot tips out there to help throw the missus of the scent that your going surfing?
Westofthelake, I learned that from a mate, and I'm eternally grateful. It just makes a Wellington winter surf so much more pleasant.
Wait for the set.........
You may’ve been waiting on your peak for 20 mins whilst waves break all around you. Wait, yours is coming..........cave in and paddle up the beach 20m and the set of the day will break on the bank you just paddled away from.
A fin screw key in the little pocket of your wettie for that one time in your life you knock a fin, it dislodges but stays with the board saving you a paddle in to sort out, yep it’s happened only once.
I keep a Fin key in the legrope key holder...but i shorten it by docking almost half the Hex off.
Solid tip that one, Udo.
Good thinking.
Always grab hands of wet sand just on the paddle out and rub them together to get off any sunscreen oil and slipperiness. Almost like a Rafa ritual now and I still do even if I haven't got any on my hands.
a mate used to tuck a can of baked beans up under the radiator of his car before a pre-dawn run up the coast, and tuck into the by-then-warm beans for brekkie while checking a certain spot.
Same mate used to strap a 10L water bottle to the top of his car in winter and hook this hose/shower head contraption up to it. It'd heat up in the sun, so you'd get a warmish shower.
Ben Dark had a ripper of Pie Warmer rigged up under the Bonnet of his Statesman
There's a bloke here who has a pizza oven in his van.
Wax the top of your feet if you're surfing a reefbreak that involves rock-hopping.
Once clear of the rocks and while laying on your board, rub the bottom of one foot with the top of the other (and vice versa) to get rid of any seaweed slime and make your feet grippy from the get go.
No need to wax them heavily but a few strokes back and forth.
(Also helps for hair removal if you've got hobbit's feet....or so I've heard)
A cork float [sliding] on your legrope keeps it out the way
Hmm, never had many issues with the leggy getting in the way less it's a new one and still a bit out of shape from being bound up. Odd time when on a ripbowl but easy to keep out of the way.
Also leggyless loggers would scream blue murder at the extra drag created by said cork Udo ;)
Always hang/ suspend a new leggy up in the garage with a small weight at the bottom to train it properly before use. Hang up in the sun to speed process up but not on extreme temp days
With you on the wet sand on the hands ritual Craig. Have been known to search it out amongst the rocks.
Get a pair of old flip flops and wax them up where your souls of your feet sit, keep them in the car and wear them when driving to the beach.
Helps avoid that slippery feet thing that can happen for first few waves.
Mattlock, Guilty!
Wow Indo, never heard anyone do that, haha. Just don't walk back into the house after wearing them post surf!
Im not sure if others do it, but i just thought of it one day and does seem to help, but i often get in my wetty at home before driving to the beach, ensures i go out even if crap or crowded.
Actually i guess in itself thats a semi-useless technique
Always say Gday , How ya goin ‘ to the bloke you’ve sat next to in a lineup.
Don’t have to chew their ear off , just let them know you come in peace ....and you’re not intimidated.
I like that one blowie. I feel that method has made surfs away from home much more enjoyable than they woud’ve otherwise.
Nothing worse than a blowin with an unfriendly face who won’t even say G’day.
wrap your feet up in biodegradable band-aids if doing the long shallow reef walkout, then rip them off as the water gets deeper, time your surf so you paddle back in on the high tide and miss the reef
smooth and fill small board dings with warm wax
remove wax from your board easily by burying your board in the sand and leave for 10 minutes in the sun (has to be hot) then pull out your board and scrape off the sand with a bank card and the sand will remove all the wax efficiently
"Nothing worse than a blowin with an unfriendly face who won’t even say G’day."
Yeah I prefer Blowins to have a textured out face :P
(maybe only regular posters will get that one)
use baby wipes to remove zinc
"use baby wipes to remove zinc"
Ha ha i have a confession I take wipes and even a tube of chick's facial scrub to Indo to get rid of caked up zinc
Those little things can make you feel a hundred bucks at the end of a big day.
Oh and for Indo, a pair of speedo's under your boardies to stop any rash.
Surfing in boardies is a weird thing for us mexicans
Surf in a short john instead of boardies in the tropics.
No boardie leg pulling on your thigh, great sunburn protection for your back and offers some cover when getting bounced/dragged across reef.
Also helps reduce board bumps on your ribcage as well as stopping wax getting stuck in your snail trail.
Real important: Even if you think you 'might' need to shit, don't suit up and paddle out until you've pumped something out.
At more remote, less populated surf spots that can be easy pickings for petty thieves, hide your car key in an empty wax pack and bury it under the leaf litter at the base of a tree. Make sure nobody is looking and try to remember where you buried it, otherwise you could end up crawling around trying to find it when you’re cold and tired after a long winter surf.
when the session is coming to a close and you're coming back to shore, after you rip the leggie off you stand up and then turn around and look at the mighty 3ft waves you've just conquered. Stare at them for a good 20 seconds or so then walk up the beach like you've just done a tremendous act.
It achieves absolutely nothing but I still seem to do it every surf.
Don't think I've ever just ripped the leggie off and kept walking without looking back
Yes. The look-back is mandatory.
I've seen guys waxing their tail pads. Whats with that? Kinda defeats the the purpose. I don't know as I don't use them.
The rare times I've surfed off boats I've been freaking out that there is no wet sand to rub on my hands. I make up for it by waxing the souls of my feet.
Haha goofyfoot, used to do that look back all the time now less so
Have a wetsuit quiver so one is always dry, put the wetty half on at home, cup of hot tea for the drive down/bank assessment - you’re now comfortable, warmed inside out, and committed to go out for the freezing dawny regardless.
Jeez Mattlock, you must be a hairy bugger.
On a road trip, I'd stash my weed in a mates backpack but not tell him. That way if you're busted, you're covered.
I’m guilty of that one too Craig
Yeah; I rub sand between my hands, and then a quick light once over on the wax.
For some stupid reason....
When bolting down a sandy/rocky track (cause the waves are pumping) don’t stare at the lineup for too long at any one point. Stubbing a cold stiff toe can lead to breath taking pain & obscene language.......
Zen. I did run a sad nineties pony tail.
That's the spirit Matty.
When sneaking off from your losmen at 5am to walk down to your favourite wave, make sure your leggie doesn't bang against your board. Don't want to wake up the punters.
About once every couple of years I collect all the small scraps of surf wax I have and melt them form to make a new block. Sure you’re only saving $5 for a block of wax but there’s something oddly satisfying about doing this.
This is for the dawn surf when the break maybe visible from the car park but down a rocky beach or a cliff face. Use a headlamp to get to where you want to paddle out in the darkness leading into the dawn light. Guarantees you first in the water and the jump on anyone else. Used this for years to great effect until I lost my nerve after one too many close encounters with sea life.
Tape up the knee BEFORE surf trip and leave said tape in place to (try) avoid hole in knee from duckdiving
In summer, half fill a 1.5lt pet bottle with water and freeze it lying on its side. Then fill up the other half before leaving home. That way the water stays icy cold and you can actually get a decent drink.
In winter, if your dog is part pony like mine, when you pick up his poop, use freezer bags and tie them off. Throw them away when you get home, not before, then you can use them as hand warmers while walking the dog.
Walk as far out as possible from shore while jumping whitewater to delay having to lay on the board, put pressure on the ribs, and start using your paddling muscles. Not so applicable at reef breaks.
Dial in a spot to grab any given board and throw it under you in one swift movement to the perfect paddling position. On a typical shortboard this means palming the nose and fully extending your arm, but your go to spot may vary.
Timing your paddling and duck dive to a breaking set wave so that the first lip impact detonates right in front of you. Not on you (of course) and not allowing it to roll too far, but to where the first splash just covers you (low pressure theory = Mike Stewart). The perceived benefit of less turbulence is reduced the further the whitewater rolls.
Keeping the board level or ever so slightly angled up when you bottom out a duck dive so that the nose or tail doesn't get pushed backwards by the whitewater turbulence as it rolls over you.
I regret that I'm not a good enough surfer to discuss more useful advice, but at least I know my place in it all. Flame away, or drop your own.