Want to Start Surfing A Smaller Board?
If you want to start surfing a smaller board, the difference between success and getting tossed and tumbled over the falls will lie heavily on your ability to make that smaller surfboard paddle fast.
The wave isn't slowing down for you, so it's up to you to match the speed of the wave you wish to catch. We talk regularly about the importance of catching earlier. Equipment is one way to help ensure the best odds of regular success, but the other factor is FREE, and you can put it into practice tomorrow—dig deeper and paddle faster.
You'll be amazed at how much your surfing will improve if you really make it a point to paddle powerfully and efficiently into waves.
Learn to match the speed of the wave you wish to catch, and you'll be catching waves earlier, even on a small board.
Here is Drew Meseck enjoying the fruits of paddling his 5'2 (29L) Special Recipe Fish into a left-hander in Newport recently.
Photos: Jeffrey Allee