Hi,been surfing for years on a 6,4 thruster.In the last two years had to back of surfing due to babies.Have been getting back in the water more now but my wave count was down and im not getting any younger (54) so i got my self a 7,2 mini mal.This was suppose to help me get back in to surfing again but to me the board is a log.The board is a standard of the rack mini mal (3 fin) my problem is my wave count is still down and when it does catch a wave it just wants to go in a straight line.Has any one got any ideas…?? I have all ways been a thruster rider and Do Not want to get into mals ( would rather stop surfing all together)What can i do to get the feeling back as feeling very low about it all and need to get fired up again…
I think of a mini-mal as a beginner shape - easy to catch waves, easy to get up, and that's about it. They have their place, but you are not a beginner. I rode an 8 foot mini-mal soft top when I was first getting back into surfing. Here's a photo of me at Leo Carrillo. I borrowed the board, caught some waves at Leo, and was stoked that I could still get up and ride! That one day was the only time I rode the board, and it served its purpose, for me.
I can tell you what worked for me, but you have already set roadblocks for yourself before you even get started.
When I returned to surfing a few years back, at age 54 (after 23 years away from surfing, and getting out only sporadically), I was frustrated with my wave count, and my inability to regain any proficiency. When I stopped surfing all those years ago I was riding a 5-11 Lis style fish, and loved that board. I tried several shapes / sizes - fish, retro fish, eggs, with limited success.
When things really started getting fun was when I built a nine footer single fin, and started seriously applying myself to learning how to surf it. I had to overcome my prejudice against longboards, borne of 15 years of surfing shorter boards. I also started running a mile a day, several times a week.
Now that my wave count is back up, and I'm having fun, I'm working into shorter boards again - just shaped a 7-4 and love it for certain waves. Sure, its a bit of work to adjust, after 6 months of surfing nothing but my longboard. I notice that my longboard surfing has improved my sense of trim, and I tend to move around more on the board, too. For certain waves, I'll probably always want a longboard.
But that's just me. If you would rather stop surfing than ride a mal, it wouldn't work for you. =)
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My latest board is my first thruster - hah!
so the conclusion is… DON’T STOP SURFING
I think if you're really a core surfer, it will never stop being a part of you. Life may throw some obstacles up, but inside you will always be that person who loves surfing. I never ever doubted I would get out in the water again, I just didn't know how or when it would happen. I didn't give it a lot of thought, I just pushed it to the back of my mind, and went about my life.
Then one day an old surfing buddy showed up with boards on top and said I have an extra board, an extra wetsuit, and I'm not taking No for an answer. That was all it took.
Greg Noll doesn't get out in the lineup anymore, but yet he is making some of the best boards of his life right now. Surfing is in his blood, and once it gets there, it never leaves.
One of the hard things about being 54, the age of the original poster in this thread, is that you are witnessing your physical prowess going backwards. You don't have the stamina and the strength you did when you were younger, your reflexes are slower, you body less flexible. You don't heal as easy, or spring back from injuries or downtime as fast as you once did.
It can be a challenge to keep up the stoke, if you dwell on what is lost. The key is to dwell on what you still have, and how you can use what you have. If, for me, that means longboarding, then longboarding it is. The original poster said he'd rather quit surfing than ride a mal. I don't think he really meant it. I know for a fact, I'd rather ride a mal than quit surfing!
I've posted this video before, but its worth putting up again. If these old farts don't look like they're having fun, then yeah, quit surfing instead of riding a mal. But it this looks like something you could enjoy doing, then you might consider giving a mal a try! Just saying.
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_wJgeozZck]
[quote="$1"]
Hi,been surfing for years on a 6,4 thruster.In the last two years had to back of surfing due to babies.Have been getting back in the water more now but my wave count was down and im not getting any younger (54) so i got my self a 7,2 mini mal.This was suppose to help me get back in to surfing again but to me the board is a log.The board is a standard of the rack mini mal (3 fin) my problem is my wave count is still down and when it does catch a wave it just wants to go in a straight line.Has any one got any ideas..?? I have all ways been a thruster rider and Do Not want to get into mals ( would rather stop surfing all together)What can i do to get the feeling back as feeling very low about it all and need to get fired up again....
[/quote]
Mccoy nugget.
I don't know how open minded you are to other shapes (excluding mals, LOL), or how much research you're willing to do on the subject, but here are links to several threads that bear on your question. I'll try to find some pics from the threads to whet your appetite...
http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/stoker-v-machine
http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/older-guys-shortboard
http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/big-guy-shortboard-help
http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/big-guy-looking-to-go-shorter-wider-my-new-daily-driver
http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/mini-simmons-and-long-simmons-what-about-between-simmons
