A Humble Introduction....

Surfing is something that can and will change your life, but also something that is incredibly difficult to learn. While everyone must go through the learning process, very few have had a personal advisor to save them from frustrating mistakes.  These mistakes tend to discourage new surfers or even make them quit!  The intent here is to guide you through the very difficult early stages of learning to surf.  So take some time to review these notes from my 30 years plus of surfing and travel experience.  While this intended for beginners, there is advice in here that will help everyone.  Always a pleasure to pass on the 'stoke' of surfing, and thanks for the interest.

FIRST THING - A 'WARNING'

We as surfers enter the ocean at its most dangerous; when the waves are largest and the currents their strongest.  So, I cannot emphasize enough that you must learn to become an excellent swimmer.  As a surfer you will also be surfing at different places and under ever changing conditions so you will need to develop some ocean skills as well.  While experienced surfers are typically excellent watermen, everyone must be aware of their own skill level.  Be extremely careful not to challenge conditions above your current abilities.  Know your limits, and be very careful of exceeding them. 

The picture above shows a warning posted by the North Shore Lifeguards at Pipeline and reads - "If in doubt, Dont go out "

Click the additional pages above to continue learning...