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Surfing history

The western world knows about surfing since 1778. At this time, Captain James Cook explored the Sandwich Islands, today better known as Hawaii. He wrote about the "sport of the kings" in his log book. According to Polynesian tradition, surfing is much older though. The boards at that time were built from heavy redwood and did not feature fins or a leash.

In 1900, Hawaii has been declared as territory of the USA. In the course of the fast growing tourism industry, jobs as “Beach Boy” were created. These young men surfed to amuse the tourists. They were also the first life guards and worked as surf instructors. First surf clubs were founded.

In 1912, the Hawaiian Beach Boy Duke Kahanamoku won the Olympic gold medal in freestyle swimming. For the first time, he showed the world a new technique by doing the crawl. He derived this stroke from paddling.

Afterwards, “The Duke” travelled around the world and showed his surf style to other countries. Therefore he is called "father of surfing" today.

After World War II, surfboards were predominantly built from balsa wood and more and more from PU foam, coated with fibreglass and synthetic resin.

In Malibu Beach, California, the first board with fins was built.

In 1952, Jack O`Neill invented the wetsuit and hence made surfing possible around the world.

Standing on the nose of the board and letting hang one or both feet over the nose was the most popular trick around 1960. The new shapes were called nose-riders. Bruce Brown shot his legendary surf movie "The Endless Summer".

At the ISA World Surfing Games in 1966, the young Australian surfer Nat Young rode a much shorter board than his competitors. Surprisingly, he won this year’s world title and initiated the trend to short-boards.

In 1969, the American surfers Hoyle Schweizer and Jim Drake developed the first windsurfer. Primarily, they just wanted to ease the hard paddle out and tried to sail into the line up. By doing this, a new sport was born.

The Leash, invented at the beginning of the seventies, was not really accepted amongst hardcore surfers first. Nowadays, mostly every surfer uses a leash.

In 1982, various surf associations set up the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals).

On the World Qualifying Series (WQS), surfers can qualify for the World Championship Tour (WCT). In the contests of the WCT, also known as the Top 44, every year the World Champion gets crowned.

Founded in 1964, the ISA (International Surfing Association) organizes exclusively amateur competitions.

The most successful competitive surfers are Layne Beachley (AUS) and surfing’s superstar Kelly Slater (USA).

Safety Rules

1. Beginners only enter the water with an experienced surfer.

2. Orientation: Where am I (watch out for currents)? Where are the others (keep distance)?

3. Never enter the water behind other surfers.

4. Hold on to your board! Uncontrolled boards are the safety hazard number one in the water.

5. Keep Distance! In case of loosing your board, you still have enough distance not to endanger the safety of others. (Pic. 1)

6. Never position your board between you and the wave.

7. If you want to paddle to the line up, follow the current through the channel. Then approach the peak from the side. Thus, there is more space for everybody. (Pic. 2)

8. Only one surfer per wave! The person nearer to the curl has priority. (Pic. 3)

9. Surfers paddling to the line up have to leave enough space to the surfer on the wave. (Pic. 4)

10. Safety First! Whether right of way or not, never endanger the health of other surfers by doing daring manoeuvres.

Surfing technique

The biggest dangers in surfing are inexperience and misjudgement of the ocean. These two factors lead to dangerous situations again and again. Therefore, inexperienced surfer should only enter the water with an experienced attendance.

Do not go into the water if you have misgivings about it. To watch currents and tides is essential. The fundamental rule in this regard is: In the area where waves brake, the current moves you to the shore. Somewhere aside, in the deeper channel, the current pulls you back out. If you are not sure about how a spot works, ask a local surfer. (Pic. 2)

For beginners, it is best to train the different moves in the whitewash on the inside. (Pic. 1)

In the actual line up it is much more difficult to catch a wave and beginners lose control while taking off on green waves mostly. A severe hold down could be the consequence. Furthermore, to observe all the rules is not that easy.

Generally it is best to surf on the inside at low tide. By contrast, it is normally much easier to catch the first unbroken waves on the outside at high tide. Caution: There can be dangerous shore-break during high tide! (Pic. 3-4)

All the advices mentioned above are listed for safety reasons. In practice, there are some more points that have to be considered:

• Board control: Your hands should stay away from the rails. Use them to produce speed while paddling! You should control the board with your whole body, from the lower ribs until your knees. (Pic. 5)
• Take Off: Never use your knees while taking off. Your stance should be shoulder wide, maybe even a bit wider. Your centre of gravity should be preferably low and over your board. (Pic. 6)
• Paddling and wave handling: Never forget that you are doing something with the wave, not the other way round. 
• Take Off on a green wave: Try to get a feeling for the moment when a take off becomes possible. When you are actually riding a green wave, timing is the most important thing. (Pic. 7)
• Stance: Putting more weight to your front foot produces more speed. Putting more weight to the back foot stalls the board but makes it also looser. It is all about the dosage. (Pic. 8)
• First manoeuvres: If you have found the right balance and speed you can try to do first small turns. (Pic. 9)Detailed practical explanations of the surfing technique would be very extensive. Therefore, we recommend visiting a surf school for your first surfing attempts. The staff there will provide you with all the important theoretical and practical information.

Furthermore, you can rely on the surf school choosing the appropriate conditions for you. Everything you have to do is to improve your surfing.  

Equipment

Surfboards

As a beginner, you should use rental equipment, which nowadays you can get all over the world. Airplanes often charge a significant amount of money for the transportation of boards, and there is always the danger that they will arrive damaged.

If you want to buy a surfboard anyway, you should not pay attention to all the nice shortboards in the rack, even if they would be more handily. Typical beginner boards are so called “Malibus”. Their nose is wide and rounded, which grants for a lot of stability and enough uplift. The following rule of thumb might be helpful: Be upright and stretch your arms over your head. The distance from the floor to your fingertips will be a good reference for the length of your “Malibu”. 10 or 20 centimetre more length is not as dramatic as board which is too short.

Surfboards are measured in foot and inches. One foot equals 30.5 cm or 12 inches. 1 inch is 2.54 cm. Boards with a length of more than 9 foot are called longboards. From 7-9 foot, surfboards with a wide nose are characterised as “Malibu”. Boards with 7 foot or less fall in the category of shortboards or so called fishboards.

By any means, be careful with used or rental equipment and always make sure that they do not feature any holes in their lamination. Damaged boards normally will get heavy and unstable by sucking a lot of water in their foam. You can also hurt yourself badly on the sharp edges of the fibreglass.

Are you already an advanced surfer and would you like to ride your first individually shaped board? In this case, you have to take your personal experience and your skills into account. Talk to a friend and ask him for an honest answer. Then you should think about how often you surf and where you intend to catch the next waves. Your shaper will know what kind of board suits best to you.

With a little bit more experience, you can also try smaller boards. But you always have to keep in mind that you will not surf as many waves as with a beginner friendly “Malibu”. Especially in crowded line ups, you will get much more waves with a large-volume board. Just see your new, shorter board as an additional board to your regular “Malibu”, and try it in the right conditions or whenever you feel like.

Surf Wax
To avoid slipping, surf wax is applied to the top side of every surfboard, although some people prefer putting traction pads on the tail or in the middle of their board. Depending on the surfing region and the water temperature, different types of wax are used. You can choose between cold-, cool-, warm- and tropic-water wax.

Often, you can recognize kooks already on the beach, because they let their wax melt in the blazing sun. Embarrassing wipeouts will follow for sure…Always be careful with sand on melted wax. This combination will maybe provide good grip, but your fingers and legs will get hurt. Besides, an accurate wax job does not have to be changed after every session. By and by, you will get a feeling when it is time to wax your board again. (Pic. 1)


Leash
The Leash connects you with your surfboard. Always be anxious for it to be in good condition. Never forget: Your leash is your life insurance! If you lose your board, you will be totally exposed to the raw power of the ocean. Swimming, you are much slower than paddling, and you will have to fight against currents and waves. And when you get tired, there is nothing to hold on. 

If you want to rent a surfboard, it is advisable to attach your own leash to it, especially in third world countries. Otherwise, it can happen that only a clothesline connects you with your board. 

Important: Never open your Leash in the water. Always keep the hook-and-loop fastener clean and do not make knots in your leash! (Pic. 2)

Wetsuit
For hygienic reasons, it is more important to buy a wetsuit before getting your own board.

The thickness of a wetsuit is always measured in millimetres. You can for example buy a 3/2 wetsuit for water temperatures between 15 and 22 degrees Celsius. Or you can get a 4/3 wetsuit for cooler water. The first number always indicates the thickness of neoprene on chest and back, the second one of arms and legs. In general, the choice of the correct wetsuits depends on your individual sensitivity to cold, the water temperature, the wind conditions and the wetsuit itself.

If you intend to by your own wetsuit, always try 2 or 3 different brands. Every brand has its own sizing. Apart from being a perfect protection against cold water, the wetsuit is also a brilliant sun protection, a lifting body and prevents you from getting too many bruises. (Pic. 3)