I have a friend. Let’s call him Dave. Dave decided that he was going to break into the world of surfing with the popular shortboard. Shortboards (a.k.a thrusters) range in length from 5’8” to 6’10”. They are known for they’re maneuverability. Advanced surfers use them to make sharp turns and perform tricks. They have a pointy nose, usually three fins, and a square tail.
Dave didn’t catch any waves in his debut. In fact, he was in a world of hurt the whole time. He thought since he was a decent snowboarder and skater that making the jump to surfing wouldn’t be a big deal. He was wrong. What Dave needed was the opposite of a shortboard; he needed a longboard. Longboards (a.k.a malibus) start at about 9 feet in length. As opposed to the shortboard it is much more stable when trying to stand up on a wave and it has a rounded nose. It is much easier to catch waves with this board due to its’ size.
I made my first attempts at surfing with a 7’6” funboard. A funboard is a hybrid between the shortboard and the longboard. It has a semi-pointed nose and a square tail. However I wasn’t much better off than Dave. Whenever I caught a wave the board was shaking too much for me to balance myself and stand up in time. Consequently, I wasn’t able to catch a full ride on a wave. I’m going to try my luck with a longboard and a surf instructor at Huntington Beach. I’ll describe my experience in my next post.
-Gabe Garcia
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