Do you like bigger surf?
- Thread starter mightyrime
- Start date
Jc Nelson
Well-Known Member
its all about the extreme tail rocker with buzz guns. currently have a 7-7 x 19.75 x 3 quad swallow tail that i ride when its in the 10-15' and barreling range. works great at 6-1 185lbs despite my age. not good in the slopey stuff. given the rocker, i would be careful about going too short. sounds like 7-4 will suit you well esp in the wave range youre after.
nineohtoo
Well-Known Member
^That's a relief to hear. I was worried it would only work on the lower end of serious winter here. But this means I might still have room in the quiver for a 6'6"+ 2x4 lol.
For sure
Years ago I was in Portugal and we surfed the wave in the pic. We never surfed that spot before and we did ask one of the locals where to get in and out. On purpose or not but he neglected to mention that on the higher tide the exit dissapeared.
From the waves we had to latch onto this sharp rock and climb a couple meters almost straight up. We all had damaged hands, feet and surfboards.
The left looks better but breaks directly on some slab
Unfamiliarity is definitely another layer for sure.
Hats off to the pioneers in the decades gone by, puts it into perspective. Just getting in and learning on the hoof is a formidable thing... No leashes, no mobile phones, often miles away from medical care.
The story of Cloud break in Barbarian Days is pretty incredible, just to think of one example.
Hats off to the pioneers in the decades gone by, puts it into perspective. Just getting in and learning on the hoof is a formidable thing... No leashes, no mobile phones, often miles away from medical care.
The story of Cloud break in Barbarian Days is pretty incredible, just to think of one example.
nineohtoo
Well-Known Member
No need to name spots, but was this in the Faro region? I had a sketchy high tide incident at a spot that that wasn't even that big, maybe 6-8ft and slightly hollow? I was on a rental 5'10" HPSB and made it back to a channel to safely get back in, but a friend got trapped on another side of the beach, unsuccessfully navigated a "cave", and ultimately had to wait out some lulls to paddle back out and back down the beach the way I did.
TonyPR
Well-Known Member
As said earlier it’s all relative. Today I went out to catch a few on my mat (no leash) out on an outer reef which I know very well, been surfing there for 35 yrs (damn I am getting old)… waves were overhead+1/2 and mushy. Felt super confortable as I know those reefs like the back of my hand. If it were hollow I would have been on my bodyboard. Real hollow waves above that size (8’ faces) are dangerous in my opinion, hitting a 3’-4’ deep reef with your head can be game over. At 2XOH I prefer deep water waves with a channel on my HP longboard. Taking into account rips and exit strategies, as mentioned earlier is super important. Haven’t done 3XOH or more in many years, reason being is I have been lazy with my fitness, giving that another try, just ordered a 14’ prone and started working out again, most importantly at my age (45) also started a consistent stretching routine, this is very important to help avoid injuries…
A 2XOH deep water wave will not hold you down for a long time so with a good mental game and experience you can get away with being not so fit, 3XOH-20’ is another story, those hold you down for longer so apnea training and having less mass to oxygenate is a must plus being real and knowing you’re not in shape can really screw up your mental game and you DO NOT want to panic or hesitate in waves of that size… Having a board that paddles well, handles drops and offers control when surfing that size is definitely necessary but we must not forget our most important piece of equipment, our body.
Surfing waves of that size that are top to bottom is nuts and I have no desire to risk breaking my neck… maybe if I didn’t have a wife and daughter, who knows… now if I was in good shape, big Wilderness is a lot of fun, hence the prone paddleboard…
Finally, swimming and water confidence is also a must. To sum it up, what I was taught at a very young age still resonates: “if you don’t feel confident swimming out there without your board, don’t paddle out, leashes break…”
A 2XOH deep water wave will not hold you down for a long time so with a good mental game and experience you can get away with being not so fit, 3XOH-20’ is another story, those hold you down for longer so apnea training and having less mass to oxygenate is a must plus being real and knowing you’re not in shape can really screw up your mental game and you DO NOT want to panic or hesitate in waves of that size… Having a board that paddles well, handles drops and offers control when surfing that size is definitely necessary but we must not forget our most important piece of equipment, our body.
Surfing waves of that size that are top to bottom is nuts and I have no desire to risk breaking my neck… maybe if I didn’t have a wife and daughter, who knows… now if I was in good shape, big Wilderness is a lot of fun, hence the prone paddleboard…
Finally, swimming and water confidence is also a must. To sum it up, what I was taught at a very young age still resonates: “if you don’t feel confident swimming out there without your board, don’t paddle out, leashes break…”
No, its on the west side around Peniche somewhere
I also agree with what TonyPR states. Thats why I have been doing apneu training.
But having the right board is also essential. Due to my period of singlefin infatuation I ended up with a few gaps in my quiver. Surfing large bumpy waves on JC Nelson hully boards is not ideal. My mind was blown when I surfed a gun for the first time. So much hold and solidity. I was making all these drops where I was already committed to wiping out.
