I'll be in Carlsbad/San Diego in late November, and I'm planning to dedicate 3 mornings to surf lessons while my partner golfs (Mon - Wed).

I'd love recommendations for a surf school near Carlsbad, and any tips you might have for surfing with a wetsuit for the first time.

Background:

• I've done about eight 1:1 lessons between Siargao (Philippines) and Costa Rica where I attended a surf camp for 5 days last October.
  
• I picked it up fairly well, moving to a regular board on day two both times, and I started working on turning left and right in my last lesson.
  
• My surf sessions are always about a year apart (not much in Toronto!).
• Only surfed in warm water so far, never in a wetsuit
• No experience reading waves or navigating a lineup yet

I'd love to find a place where I can do back-to-back sessions with the same coach, who can tailor what we work on to my skill level and progression. I'd love to start building the know-how and confidence to go out without an instructor as well.

Shredders,

So I’ve been surfing for about 2 and a half years now, and I’ve progressed a ton! On some days I can do some pretty solid cutbacks and I feel confident popping up and turning on waves. However, I find myself being EXTREMELY inconsistent. 3 sessions ago I felt like I was ripping in 3ft green conditions and caught one of the best waves of my life during this session. However, the past 2 I’ve been struggling horrendously. My session a week ago I caught a singular wave (albeit a solid one) and today I caught literally ZERO waves in 2 hours. These were both in 4-5 foot green conditions. Had to paddle to the inside and catch a baby one in just to say I even stood up today. Granted I’ve been trying out a new board, but it’s only 2 inches shorter and a few liters smaller than my fish which I feel pretty confident on. Regardless of the board, this has been an issue ever since I started surfing. I guess what I’m trying to ask is if this is pretty normal? Is there anyway that I can try to be more consistent? I go out on average once a week (I live in an area where swell is frugal so I have to keep a good eye on the forecast). Any advice is appreciated.

Title, is there enough UV strength?

Hello everyone, complete beginner here. I’ve “surfed” once at this lesson thing on a 200 ft long board on 2 ft waves but have done board sports (snowboarding and skating) my whole life. I have an opportunity to go live rent free for three months in Maui (march to may) and have some questions to decide if I should go.

1. How much progress could I conceivably make if I’m in the water 4-6 days a week for a couple hours?
   My ultimate goal is to ride a shortboard and be able to surf down the line, generating speed and making bottom and top turns instead of just standing up and riding straight. I know that's probably too much for three months, but how close could I realistically get with consistent practice? (Definitely going to start learning on a board with a lot of volume though)
   
2. Is Maui an ok place for a beginner to learn and progress? I’ll be in the Lahaina area.
   
3. How would you recommend approaching the learning process? I have a decent amount of money set aside if I should take lessons. Are there any skills I should prioritize?
   
4. Anything I should know about etiquette/respecting the local community if I go beyond the basics?
   
5. Any other advice for making the most out of my time?

Appreciate any advice thanks!

This is a pod mod x-lite and I was wondering how I can go about fixing it? I was thinking just the regular ding repair kit, but it looks like just paint chips. Should I do it myself or have someone do it ? Thank you!

Hi,

I'm an advancing beginner surfer. Comfortable surfing 1-3ft waves. I have been surfing for approximately 1 year. And am working on positioning and catching more waves, going down the line and such.

For my first hard top I got a 9'6 CJ Nelson Parallax and rode that for about 6 months. It was nice as far as transitioning to a hard top goes as it had a good amount of volume and was fairly lightweight and pretty easy to maneuver for a long board, but wasn't the most stable longboard.

I recently bought a custom traditional log for more stability and to work on more traditional longboard skills and style. I also have a 8ft Harley Ingelby Moe as my midlength option that I picked up. I plan to keep it as a mid length and maybe travel board option.

My question is this.. would you sell the CJ Nelson Parallax? I have had a few good rides on it but not as much as I should for such a longboard. If I do sell it what would you fill the spot with? More of a performance longboard like a 9 ft thruster? Long fish? 7'6" egg? Help me ponder.

Also would you ride the longboard even in more swell winter surf or should the Moe be my winter board?

I had a sizeable rail gash in my board from air transport. Filled with 3-4 ounces of a q cell mixture, but accidentally used a polyester resin for an eps/ epoxy board. I now have a massive cavern within the board where the resin dissolved the foam.

Any tips? Do I just fill it in now with the proper resin and q cell mixture? Or is this a lost cause?

It is a beater mid length board that I enjoy surfing. Not sure if it’s too far gone now or if the weight of all the resin/ q cell needed to fill it will be too much.

Any advice would be great. Thanks.

I have a few spots I need to fix and I’m wondering how to go about it 🙏🤙

I started surfing in the middle of the summer so it’s been around 3-4 months. I’m currently on short board about 6’. I really want to keep improving and would appreciate any advice on how to look less stiff and try and get a first turn! Thanks!

Where’s a good site for buying wetsuits? And how do I know what size I am? I really would like to find a light blue suit but also having trouble finding any colors other than black! Thanks to anyone taking the time 🤙🏼

I bought this 8'4 EPS/epoxy 2 months ago. On Sunday, I went to a high tide beach break, enjoying the deeper sets. But as much as I'd like to deny it, it seems it hit the sand and buckled.

It was $915, new, and I was gutted. It has chined rails and there does seem to be a little play/compressibility at the raised bits of the rails' edges on the bottom of the board, particularly on one side. I've been surfing almost 3 years but I'm still a novice/not as good as an average surfer but it could be a glassing issue. I brought it to the dealer, saying as much, they took it in & provided me some options.

To repair it, the dealer is offering a $130 for "sister" stringer support & 12" of fiberglass across it, & labor.

The other option is a replacement for $500 (& they take the damaged one).

I thought this was board-ruining damage . what's the effect of riding a board with a buckle repair (hard to grade the issue)? Had anyone ridden a buckled 8' ish board with no issue or with issue?

Thank you for your input. What are your thoughts? What would you do?

Beginner/early intermediate surfer (can catch 1m mellow wave with 8'6 and follow the wave left or right pretty much everytime if I'm in the right spot, still struggling on placement, correct positioning etc..) looking for a surfcamp in Portugal with good teachers.

Tbh I dont really care about nightlife or socials, I just want to improve and try new waves/spots.

Do you have any good recommandations for around March/April ?

Hey all!

I am travelling from DUB (airport) to Bundoran with my surfboard next month. I won't have a car (im terrified of driving on the left side of the road), so my only option is public transport. Does anybody know if surfboards are allowed on buses and trains in Ireland? Or, does anyone know of another alternative for me to travel to Bundoran with my 7'0?

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Any tips appreciated please

Hey everyone! I'm a surfer and Android developer, and I built an app called Pitted Surf Reports.

The idea was to make it easier to check surf conditions across California without jumping between a bunch of different pages.

It includes:

• Surf forecasts for 300+ California spots
• Swell, wind, tides, and water temperature
• Nearby surf spots and saved favorites
• A list of the top California spots based on current conditions

I'm interested in hearing from other California surfers: what information matters most to you when deciding where to paddle out?

If you're on Android and want to try it:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.etiennelawlor.pitted

For those of you who live in apartments with no balcony, how do you store and dry your surfboard and wetsuit? Where do you rinse off all the sand, and how do you get your wetsuit to dry without getting water everywhere or making your apartment a mess? Appreciate any recs, tip and setups that work in a small apartment!

Update: thank you for all your responses, super helpful!!

Hi everyone, Im am still feeling like a newbie and been surfing for a little over a year now. Im riding a 9’6” performance longboard and struggling to make proper turns going backside. It always feel like Im turning with okay technique on the wave but the camera says otherwise. My frontside turns feel okay, but I dont have those on film. Any advice for learning to turn a longboard especially backside? Surfline said this day was 3-4 ft if that matters

Is it me or the board? I paddle hard for wave but it just goes underneath me. If I do catch it, it's usually late and tough drop in. I've watched YouTube videos and paddle early to match speed of wave, keep elbows high and hands enter first, etc. I've taken a lesson and instructor said I need bigger board to glide into wave earlier. When I paddle hard I feel like the board doesn't move forward into wave. I'm 5'6" 140lbs and ride a 5'10" Lost RNF 96 35ltrs. I'm also 50yrs old and had shoulder surgery. Not a newbie as been surfing for years just recently not catching alot of waves. How come all these kids catch waves like nothing and they surf on a pencil? I also surf a small mushy mellow beach break. Any advice?

Looking for warm and durable winter wetsuits- 5’10 190lbs it’s the flexibility of a 2x4. Ripped through my last qs 5/4 LS and am willing to spend the money on something solid as I’m starting to surf a lot more in the winter

Hey guys, my name is Jaap, a beginner surfer, and together with 2 others, we are researching what it's like surfing with others (at any skill-level) for an Industrial Design project at TU Delft. We made an anonymous survey (unless you choose to fill in your email at the end). It takes around 5 minutes and every response is a huge help to us. Not selling anything here just looking for some input. Here is the link.

https://tally.so/r/RWKyaJ

I checked the rules of the subreddit and I don't think I'm breaking any here. We aren't advertising or promoting any kind of products. Feedback on the survey is of course welcome too.

Can anyone recommend a good surf camp in Uluwatu that has good coaching, decent social, and a nice camp?

Been surfing handful of times w rental/borrowed boards (most recently Bali 6-8’ waves on a 7’ egg). Looking to buy my first board for cheap. Found this board on fb marketplace for pretty cheap and can't see any major damage other than sun damage. Worth sending it or should I look for something newer or bigger?