Surfing newbie question for baja mexico

tipafew

tipafew

Location
Grand Rapids, MI
I am going on a cruise with a bunch of friends the first week in April. We will be stopping in Mazatlan, Cabo, And Puerto Vallarta. I have never surfed before and would like to give it a try. Anyone have advice on any of these stops?
I don't want to kill myself in huge surf.
I know I am going to be wishing I had my ski with me..........I thought about heading to Oceanside for a day and trying to bum some rides on someones boat.

Chad
 
wydopen

wydopen

onthepipe
Location
Goleta the Goodland
just rent a board (something between 7'-6" and like 8'6" but wide sometimes called a "funshape" unless its super small then you should use like a 9' longboard...just watch what the other people in the water are doing and just dont get in anyones way...ive surfed in puerto vallarta or near there actually..it was either super punchy beachbreak or shallow reef...cabo may be a better spot...for your first go out id rent a bodyboard and some fins and just get a feel for being in the right spot...on a bodyboard its going to be allot easier to make the drops if its somewhat hollow..once you get a feel for the spot then rent a surfboard
 
tipafew

tipafew

Location
Grand Rapids, MI
I have done a little bit of bodyboarding on Lake Michigan.......I'm hoping between that and riding skis a lot in the waves, I will hopefully pick it up decent. Everyone warns me that it's harder than it looks though!
I'm sure I will get chewed up and spit out and be wishing I had my boat there.
 
SuperJETT

SuperJETT

So long and thanks for all the fish
Location
none
Just don't get mugged/kidnapped/killed while you're there, Matt needs to keep a riding buddy you know.
 
wydopen

wydopen

onthepipe
Location
Goleta the Goodland
haha yea its definitly harder than it looks!!...just make sure you are laying on your board in the correct spot (not too far forward, and not too far off the back so that you nose is way up in the air)..and make sure you are in the correct part of the wave when you go for it. if you are too far inside you will get pummeled or pearl (nosedive) and if you are too far out you wont catch it...as soon as you feel your board get on plane get up in one smooth motion...to start just go strait...also for you first few waves i would just catch whitewater in to practice getting to your feet
 
tipafew

tipafew

Location
Grand Rapids, MI
Thanks for the advice Jett. I will see what I can do.

wydopen, Thanks for the input. I'm hoping there are some other people to watch. Especially when it comes to paddling out and trying to dive through the waves.
Hopefully we find some nice small "starter" waves.
 
Mark44

Mark44

Katie's Boss
Location
100% one place
One of the best breaks is in Sayulita just North of Puerto Vallarta its about 45 min on the bus. You catch the bus at Wal-Mart in Puerto Vallarta I think it cost 2 bucks. The water is shallow over the reef so when you fall make damn sure its on the wave because the reef is about 14 inches below but you can expect good waves and there is also board rental right there.

If you have good balance on your ski you will get right up on a board.

Katie and I cut up out feet pretty good there but had a good time.

Mark44
 
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SuperFun

SuperFun

Location
Loomis CA
Cabo won't have surfing right where you get off the boat either. I like Cerritos about 45 minutes northwest of Cabo San Lucas, other surf spots are closer to San Jose del Cabo.

http://www.surfline.com/surfline/forecasts4/forecast.cfm?alias=sbaja&county=cabo

There's lot's of free instruction on the web.

I wouldn't bodyboard next to people on surf boards, they'll call you a sponger and laugh at you.

Having ridden a ski in the surf with prepare you better than anything else, but expect a lot more work and a lot less riding. Try to paddle around the end of breaks not through the maw. Duck diving through waves is no biggie.
 
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tipafew

tipafew

Location
Grand Rapids, MI
yeah, that's the hard part...... We will have pretty limited time at some of the ports so I'm not sure how far from port I want to go. I really don't want to miss the boat.......
 
227

227

Its all about the surf!
Location
Oceanside, CA
Danceswithsuperjet said:
I have done a little bit of bodyboarding on Lake Michigan.......I'm hoping between that and riding skis a lot in the waves, I will hopefully pick it up decent. Everyone warns me that it's harder than it looks though!
I'm sure I will get chewed up and spit out and be wishing I had my boat there.
Click to expand...

Don’t count on it Bro, Surfing and surf riding on a ski are nothing alike. I would go as far as to say if you surf regularly you could pick up surf riding on your ski rather quick, however, on the flip side just because you ride waves on your ski doesn’t mean your going to pick up surfing quickly. The reason why is this, when your riding your ski your learning the balance required to master the sport the entire length of your session because your riding the whole time. Surfing on the other hand your mostly sitting or paddling. For example, in any good hour surf session lets say you catch 10 waves. Each wave lasts between 3-10 seconds. We’ll go with 10 seconds, so your actual riding time (Practice time) is 100 seconds, or less than 2 minutes for every hour long session. I’m sure your getting the point but this is why surfing “seems” harder to pick up than other sports.
 
KR

KR

www.krlines.com
Location
San Diego, California
The best board of all time is the $100 8' foam fun board. Its wide, buoyant, not too much rocker, it will catch anything! Yeah, it looks dumb. But its way more fun to surf then to sit out in the water on a 5'8" fish and try to look good.
 
KR

KR

www.krlines.com
Location
San Diego, California
Really depends where you are. Some shops charge by the hour, $10 or so. Charged by the day, ($40-$60). Really depends on the shop and what kind of board you are using. Still, no one can argue that the foam board is the perfect learning platform. Its still my all time favorite board.

And you don't need a rash guard. Rash guards are for children on boogie boards.
 
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tipafew

tipafew

Location
Grand Rapids, MI
I have surfed behind wakeboard boats too which might help a little.
We found a place that will pick us up and return us to the boat, include board rental and lessons for $65.
It's a little more than I was hoping for, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about transportation.
 
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