3 – Finding A Beginner Surf Spot

Finding a good beginner break to learn to surf

Finding a good spot to learn to surf is an important ingredient when you’re just starting out. Small, gentle waves and a sandy beach are the keys. You wouldn’t want to begin your surfing career at Pipeline!

Key ingredients to a good beginners surf spot:

• Relatively uncrowded—you want a few people around for safety, but you don’t want to be in a crowd, either.

• Sand bottom—much easier on feet and boards, especially for beginners.

• Calm, crumbling waves—don’t try to learn to surf where the waves are very steep and hollow. In certain areas, it’s hard to find a crumbling wave, but it’s worth a little investigation.

• Big sandbar—it’s important to be able to wade out and catch the lines of whitewater at first, so try to find a nice big sandbar with knee to waist-high water.

Things to watch out for when selecting a surf spot:

• Don’t go where the more experienced surfers are. You’ll only get in the way, create dangerous situations, and annoy everyone.

• When you’re just starting to learn to surf, find a peak to yourself if possible.

• If you’re very new, make sure there’s at least some people around. Sometimes you can surf near a lifeguard, but don’t surf between the lifeguard’s flags.

• Watch out for surfing restrictions in certain areas. Some places will not let you surf during certain hours of the day.

• Make sure you have the right parking permits! A parking ticket will kill your day and your stoke.

• Don’t surf in the shorebreak. This is very dangerous! Shorebreak is when the waves break right onto the sand at the edge of the waterline.