Hi guys…it doesn’t look like anyone has been here in a while. I hope the forum is still used.
Ok. so don’t laugh. Bucket list. When I was 12 my older CA cousins would not take me surfing with them…I was too little, too young,blah blah…so I let that dream go. For 50 years. Then last year I realized there are surfing schools all over the coast…one in particular that is run by women and focuses on women of all sizes and ages. I have decided to do this. It’s scary…but as older surfers, what should I watch out for, and do you think I am completely insane?
Aloha Jim,…We need to get Danny boy back in the water,…it’s been too long for him, it would be a mental rush …maybe Colin can tow him into knee slapper;)
Just turned 50, Me with Kala and my 7’6" Lightning Bolt I made, the bolts were done with my Dad’s ashes in honor of his one year passing. Surfed 2 weeks of pumpin Hawaiian surf before Christmas
I’m in the 60 club. Lifetime surfer, been surfing since age 14. Grew up in Huntington Beach, and worked at several of the local surf shops in teens and early twenties. Lucky enough after that to get a career in the fire service. Suffered from a back injury in my late forties that has now led to six lower back surgeries, and four fused vertebrae with eight posts and screws, and titanium rods in place.
Forced to take about 15 years off from surfing, but I am back at it, and try to surf most weekdays. Always rode a shortboard, but forced on to a long board now due to my lack of mobility and difficulty popping up. The longer board just allows me to get into the wave earlier, and the stability to get up. I’ve also found that riding a long board is a ton of fun, with as much emphasis on riding the board, as much as riding the wave. Lots of fun walking the board to trim, turn, and noseride.
Bottom line to me is, whatever you need to do to get back in the water, go for it. Get yourself in shape, and get on whatever type of board you can.
my advice would be take your time getting comfortable in the water, learn to enjoy the experience, and remember you can have just as much fun on a surf mat or a boogie board as you can on a surfboard!
if you feel the desire, then just go for it. Swim as many days a week as you can, nothing better for those paddle muscles and lung. Sign on with a good instructor in your area for some one on one lessons. Get a good fitting warm and flexible wetsuit. Stay out of the way of the more experienced surfers. Don’t get discouraged at how difficult it will seem at first. if you do find it just too damn hard, get a boggie board and fins. it’s all about the grins. Just get out there and make some for yourself!
Thanks so much to all of you. I will let you know how it goes and if I am able to get myself up. Longboard is better for starting out? For old broken people? LOL
And it if comes down to it, a boogie board would be fun too…I started out at age 8 body surfing in Bermuda before I could swim. Have always loved that rush.
I’m 51 and just moved from San Diego to Fort Worth, TX after surfing regularly for 30 years. Now my surfing is done only on surf trips, which are about 3-4 times per year. The two staple boards I shape and ride are a 7’6 hybrid and an 8’0 mini LB. I do have shortboards and guns, but the hybrid is able to ride hollow and big waves, so those boards have been collecting cob-webs as bringing more than 2 boards on a flight is a hassle. I swim, cycle and rock climb to keep in surfing shape. It’s kind of funny that I took surfing for granted so much that I thought I wouldn’t miss it, but I now find myself taking the 3 hour flight to Costa Rica whenever I can.
“But perhaps even more fulfilling was sitting with her 14 y.o. sister who is a 10 year survivor of an agressive brain cancer and building sand castles and playing in the sloughs. She is now able to walk with the aid of crutches and her speech has come back after much hard work (after having her motor and language skills clock set back to infancy at the age of 4).”
We are all such spineless wussies. THIS girl is TOUGH!
I’m north of 60 and ride a 6’4" 90% of the time. I have 6’6", 6’9" that get an occasional go. I probably should be using longer boards most of the time, find my popups are somewhat variable and timing is always interesting, but I just can’t stop taking these shorter boards out. Easier to duck dive, carry and more fun when the surf is good. (At least I think so, haven’t ridden anything long in very many years).
I stopped surfing about 25 years ago, when I was 22. Up to that point I surfed a lot, sometimes twice a day. But college, work, my wife, my daughter, my business, all got in the way. I think about it all the time. When I drive by the beach I am looking for the best spot to take off, to see the conditions, etc. It is still in my blood, but 25 years is a long time. Running my own small business allows me to dawn patrol, and to surf until 8 or 9am. So honestly, can this old body really do that again?
When I quit $350 for a custom HB Infinity quad was the rate for boards. Looks like they have really gone up. What is the cost of a decent used board these days?
The stories above are inspiring. If I plan to do this there is a pool up the street I can use to get back in shape before heading out.
I would most likely go back to HB, the cliffs to get back into it.
But you have to prepare yourself mentally, as well as physically, if you’re going to make it.
Its not like riding a bike, getting back will take some time, your body won’t respond like it used to.
Crowds are more intense now, so you have to accept that some sessions you will get very few waves, especially at first. Learn to find pleasure in the small things, like a seagull bobbing around in the water, a seal popping up to check you out, the feel of the sand in your toes, etc. Take time to chat with others at the beach, share some wax, find ways to make each session a positive even if you are not getting good rides.
I suggest getting a good used longboard, you can find them in the $300 range if you look. Get a good wetsuit too.
Dawn patrol is perfect, that’s my specialty. I love to paddle out in the pre-dawn dark, by nine o’clock I’m getting out, avoiding the UV, and letting the kids take over.
Welcome back! You will be as stoked as a grom again in no time!
