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| Sharing waves back in the day |
Summer's here, a great time for paddling out on the longboard to catch a few waves. BUT there are still a limited amount of surfable waves breaking at a limited amount of accessible places around our coast. So to make it enjoyable and fun for yourself as well as those around you consider these 5 Basic Longboard Rules.
1. Don't hog the sets. Don't take all the best waves. Spare a thought for those not advantaged by nine-foot-plus of paddling power. People moan about bad vibes in the surf these days, but remember tension in the water is a direct result of actions taken by those actually in the surf. So be cool and let a set or two roll through for the guys on the inside between rides. You'll get your fair share and you can feel good about keeping it sweet.
2. Don't bail at the sign of an approaching set. Never let go of your board. That's nine-foot-plus of uncontrolled hardware bouncing around, add another nine-foot-plus of leash at the end of your leg. And you have just carelessly endangered anybody unfortunate enough to be within 20 feet of you. If you can't duck dive your mal, learn to roll it or stay in the whitewater where you can hold onto it. As a last resort if you do have to bail or let go of your board, make sure there's no-one behind you (you should always be aware of where others are) grab the 'rail saver' part of your leash at the tail of your board and keep hold of that sucka.
3. Do learn to turn. Longboards can get you up and riding decent waves relatively quickly. Which means there is even more of an obligation for you to be in control of what you are doing. A thick, fat board with a huge fin means you are a liability in the lineup if you aren't able to turn it.
4. Don't shuffle instead of walking. If you want to get on the nose you've got to learn to cross step. Walking the board allows the smoothest possible weight transition as you move from tail to tip. Throwing shapes while standing 'near' the front, does not make you a nose-rider. Put simply, if you can't cross step you won't get those toes on the nose. It's essential for surfing longboards well and is literally the only way forward if you wanna glide with style.
5. Don't ride a longboard just to get more waves. Go for quality NOT quantity of waves. Longboarding isn't all about catching waves earlier than shortboarders. It's about soul, spirit and style. Get into it... and have fun.
