Surfing Help

Loco-Deer-Slayer

Loco-Deer-Slayer

Active member
What's up NS?

I'm moving to Caribbean with my girlfriend at the end of this November and skipping out on winter this year. We will be living in the Dominican Republic for a month, St Kitts two months thereafter, and possibly Puerto Rico or Mexico to finish things off. Anyway I want to pick up surfing while I'm out there, but I don't know anything about boards and the sport in general.

I have surfed before but I'm definitely still a beginner. I don't need lessons...I can go out on my own, paddle around, and catch waves but not very well practiced. What kind of board should I get? Are there any wave forecast websites specifically for surfing? Any recommendations on surfing spots in any of the above locations I listed?

It's been a while since I've been on this site, but people used to ask about things like this.
 
Surf line used to have breaks, pictures, webcams, descriptions, forecasts, current conditions, and possibly location.

I can't see that site not existing anymore. But I stay on land these days
 
Yeah i use surfline and magic seaweed the most. Honestly for a beginner and your first full "season" surfing you're gonna wanna get something between 8-9ish feet, just the easiest to get used to and improve on. Definitely use a leash, haven't surfed at all in the dominican but have surfed up and down baja.
 
For a beginner, it's best to use a soft top but you'll look like a gaper. ("Kook") Get something a few inches longer than you and with a lot of foam around the chest area. Maybe a bit more info- How tall are you? How much do you weigh?
 
Find the surfing thread on here. Also watch some surf videos. It helps. I don't know anything about those areas but surfline, swellinfo and magicseaweed probably do. Well, other than that certain areas in Mexico get huge and are entirely inappropriate for a beginner, like Mexican pipeline on a big day. Do you know what kind of board you want? And are you really tall or heavy, or really short and light? Or just average? Fitness level? All that and preference will dictate board sizing and type.

Shortboard? I'm a fan of recommending stubby small wave boards to people who can identify good waves, catch them and read them while up and riding. These boards are easy to maneuver, they catch waves decently and are just fun. They'll typically be 5 foot something and 20 something inches wide with a wider nose and tail. Most shapers make them now. They're versatile craft. With a decent, in reasonable shape pilot they make great daily rides in conditions other than longboard only or really big waves.

Longboard? Depends on your break and what you like. They'll all catch waves. They'll be harder to turn until you develop the right technique, if you've never ridden a big board. I enjoy longboarding though and cranking a turn on a big board feels nice. It'll never be too small to ride waves. Ideally you have one those stubby boards I mentioned and a longboard. That's a good 2 board quiver and mixing it up helps your surfing.

MId length? Again, depends on what you like. What's referred to as funboards have no character, if you ask me, but they do work. They're not exceptional at anything but they will do most things you ask of them. There's a lot of variations of mid lengths, too many to write a few words about. But there's plenty that are quite fun.
 
Get a 6'1"x20"x 2 5/8" With the wide point further up on the board. Single concave, soft rails and round tail.

**This post was edited on Oct 21st 2017 at 7:20:06pm
 
13847419:DrZoidberg said:
Find the surfing thread on here. Also watch some surf videos. It helps.

Longboard? Depends on your break and what you like. They'll all catch waves.

MId length? Again, depends on what you like. What's referred to as funboards have no character, if you ask me, but they do work. They're not exceptional at anything but they will do most things you ask of them.
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Honestly i would stay away from a shortboard/midlength if i was you. Trying to learn everyday on a shortboard will make you hate surfing. If you are looking at mid lengths, don't. What zoidberg is saying is entirely true unless you find yourself on a ryan lovelace v.bowls, which you wont. Mid lengths are useless and shitty boards. If you're looking at longboards, please do yourself a favor and try and find yourself a nice classic single fin.
 
What's your height and weight and ill tell you which board to get. I work in a surf store so I'd like to say I know what I'm talking about.
 
13847581:hotdog. said:
He said 6'0 180

Basically anything fishy/grovelly/high volume that is under 6'5 should be great for you OP. The Lost board posted above is good.

I'm 6'4, around 215 and in very good shape, intermediate surfer, I ride a 6'2.5 Lost Baby Buggy Round in any surf above thigh high. Its 36.5 Liters. I made my transition from a 6'7 performance fish shape at around 42 liters(basically my first board of my own) to a short board shape at 6'4 38 liters, and finally my current board.

Personally, I'd get a Fish/alternative style board no more than 40 liters and no more than 3 inches taller than you. I always think more foam the better, but not necessarily length. If youre even mildly athletic this should be totally fine for you.

If not, add girth.
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true didn't see that in the OP.

Something like the DHD black diamond would be very good. Heaps of foam under your chest, great paddler. 7S superfish, double down, slipstream. Look around the 6-6"4 mark. Round 20-21" wide and around 2 1/2" thick. Remember use that as a rough guide, if you go shorter, make sure you go wider and fatter. Wouldn't really advise anything over 6 4" as at 6"4 21 and 2 1/2 you'd be looking at like 38 litres which is alot of foam.
 
13847372:strayln_Skier said:
For a beginner, it's best to use a soft top but you'll look like a gaper. ("Kook") Get something a few inches longer than you and with a lot of foam around the chest area. Maybe a bit more info- How tall are you? How much do you weigh?
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Might be better to get a hard top. As someone who is a bigger dude soft tops don't float as much as fiberglass boards and can be very hard to use starting out if you want anything more maneuverable than a 9' board
 
I agree with the posts about a thicker fish style board in the 6-7 ft range, depends on what you want out of a board though, If you're living down there I think you'll progress to the point where you'll want to start putting some weight into turns and pumping down the line. You'll be able to do all that on a fish and you'll still be able to catch almost as many waves as you would on a traditional long board as well. Also considering you're living in the DR for a bit, a board thats not too long or flat will come in handy because its a lot of steep waves breaking onto reef. I spent almost a month in the DR two winters ago and got to surf a little bit. Not sure where you'll be but most of the north and east coast have some really good surf and its still very under the radar. If you're near cabarete, El encuentro will be the local break, its reef but its dead and smooth so as long as its small it'll be super user friendly, gets some crazy barrels on bigger swells though. Wind is a huge factor there and you've gotta be in the water early. Its actually a huge kite surfing destination for that reason. Magicseaweed.com seemed reliable for the swell. Reef booties woulda been nice too, the reef won't get ya but there're tons of urchins. Water's beautiful and vibe is mellow and i've heard there are some crazy secret spots east of cabarete. Careful down there though some of the reef is really serious and it gets some of the biggest swell in the Caribbean i've been told
 
Sick! Thanks guys! Past few weeks I've just been reading surf reports, watching videos and getting stoked. I'm staying 29 days in Cabarete where I'll be able to walk to the beach every day.

The board advice has been super helpful...holy shit there are a lot of boards out there. With how much flying I'm going to be doing I don't think it's going to be feasible to fly with a board. $150 for a surfboard per airline is going to be around $500 minimum after all the traveling is done.

Next question. Where to surf in Central America from January - March? I've been looking at Costa Rica on the Caribbean coast (Limon) or the Pacific Side (Hermosa Beach etc.). Also considering Nicaragua, and El Salvador. El Salvador faces south which is different from the other coasts. Maybe bad or good?
 
I have no idea how the waves/beaches where you are going, but....

I started on 7'0 fun shape tri fin that I got on craigslist for super cheap. It was a good board, but super hard to duck dive, so if your going in bigger powerful waves, keep in mind the longer and more foam, the harder it will be to get out.

I didn't get very good on my 7'0, just struggled to get my weight in the right spot. So I went and bought a 6'6 thruster with about 36-37 liters and was able to get better quick. Now I like to ride 5'10-6'0 with around 29-32 liters depending on board and conditions.

Plan to buy more than one board if you get into it and want to progress quickly.

As to other replies regarding fish type boards, I've found some to be very forgiving while others are very skaty and unstable. If you're not familiar with what you like, I would be careful going the fish route until you've got the basics down.

**This post was edited on Nov 6th 2017 at 8:54:46pm
 
13847372:strayln_Skier said:
For a beginner, it's best to use a soft top but you'll look like a gaper. ("Kook") Get something a few inches longer than you and with a lot of foam around the chest area. Maybe a bit more info- How tall are you? How much do you weigh?
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Ive seen people in barrels on a foamy. Your board doesn't make you a kook your surfing does.
 
13852705:Frozinballz said:
Ive seen people in barrels on a foamy. Your board doesn't make you a kook your surfing does.
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Not gunna lie but I can tell who can or can't surf before they get into the water.
 
13847277:theabortionator said:
Surf line used to have breaks, pictures, webcams, descriptions, forecasts, current conditions, and possibly location.

I can't see that site not existing anymore. But I stay on land these days
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theyre still around and they kill it

buy premium if you can its so unbelievably worth it
 
13847407:Loco-Deer-Slayer said:
Sweet, thanks for the replies. I'm 6'0" and 180 lbs. Stoked!!
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buy a 8 foot long board if your not going to take it too seriously (as in moving to maneuvers and shit later on) but besides that a 6'0" or 6'4"skipper fish from catch surf would be pretty sick
 
I'm renting boards while I'm out there and then I can figure out what I like and purchase a board if needed in Central America. Seriously...thanks for the help though.

I'll be staying for a month in Nicaragua after the Dominican Republic. Just booked a place within walking distance of Playa Gigante and Playa Colorado (supposedly a "world class" break). Can't wait to get out there!

**This post was edited on Nov 10th 2017 at 6:02:28pm
 
13861819:hotdog. said:
This is a little late but

Your best bets will be pacific side during those months. Lots of solid swell coming from the big ol' pacific. I loved Limon and Puerto Viejo and got some good surf days in there, but that was a very lucky swell and I dont think I would go there specifically to surf

any where in central america will have solid swell during that period, especially for a beginner surfer
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Yeah buddy! Pacific seems to be where it's at. My girlfriend and I will be leaving this Saturday to start our 3 months abroad! One month in the Dominican Republic and one month in Nicaragua on the pacific side.
 
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