what to do after first lesson?

peejay01

Hey guys,
Im from Dublin and looking to get into surfing. Went down to T bay and got a lesson on the easter weekend. Was great craic despite my bits almost going inside me from the cold and popping up being a lot harder than it looks!

Was just wondering what is the best thing to do after the first lesson?

The instructor recommended renting gear and trying to imrove before buying your own gear and said most people usually wouldn't take more than 2 lessons. Driving to tramore and renting gear each time seems like it would be a bit costly to me.

Any advice would be appreciated:cool:

c - 13

Could you borrow a board and wetsuit from a friend or relative and surf closer to home ? Dublin mightnt be the best though, if conditions are consistantly flat you may bet discouraged and quit.

Lahinch and Bundoran wouldnt be too far a drive for you either I would think ? Both have a lot of surf schools and rental places too.

cue

Welcome to the water! It all depends on how often you plan on surfing. I surfed for two years on big old rented foam swell boards because I lived in Meath, had young kids, and other distractions (job etc). This meant I could only surf once a month :eek: So I figured I would stick with the hired stuff until I was felt it was time to move on and tbh that depends on things like personal ability, fitness, and attitude. I bought a bic board and a suit when I knew it was something I was going to actually keep doing regularly and the foam board was feeling too slow, but that is just me. I'm on my second board now, a fibreglass one, and it will be a while before I get another one as it is great fun trying to tame it. I was back on a rented foam board last year when abroad and I still had to push myself to get it to do what I wanted. Its all fun Enjoy

peejay01

Thanks guys,

Wish somebody I knew surfed but have found it's not the most popular sport in Dublin. I think Tramore would be the nearest for me although I plan on going to Budoran and Lahinch as it seems cheaper to rent gear.

To cue:
I plan on trying to get out at least once a month at the moment with travel (have to rely on mates) and rentals etc but if I start to improve I may look at buying gear.

Is it helpful to stroll into surf shops and chat to people about gear and what type of board would suit? Do they just go by your size and weight when recommending boards?

cue

There should not be much difference in the rental rates between everywhere. The west and northwest are great for weekends away if you can manage. Check out the east coast surf club. I think they get together for transport. I got a load of my mates with transport into surfing so we take turns in driving. Definitely talk to shop people about what would suit. Talk to surfers. Use the net. Gather information then make an informed choice. There is a broad range of experiences from people like myself to people who bought performance boards straight away. There is a wrench for every nut.

c - 13

peejay01 wrote: »

Thanks guys,

Wish somebody I knew surfed but have found it's not the most popular sport in Dublin. I think Tramore would be the nearest for me although I plan on going to Budoran and Lahinch as it seems cheaper to rent gear.

...

Theres a couple of surf shops/schools around the Tramore area that rent. IIRC Oceanic Manouvers are cheaper that the Surf Centre maybe shop around there if its easier for you to access -

Surf Centre -
http://www.surftbay.com/rental.php
€25 for everything two hours

Oceanic Manouvers -
http://www.oceanics.ie/
Prices dont seem to be listed any more ?

I think there might be another place that i'm forgetting too ...

Serbian

The Surf Store in Bundoran is €20 for rental of a board and wetsuit for the day. They have the big foam Swell boards, but they have some boards that are a good bit better than those ones too.

cjs_surf

peejay01 wrote: »

Hey guys,
Im from Dublin and looking to get into surfing. Went down to T bay and got a lesson on the easter weekend. Was great craic despite my bits almost going inside me from the cold and popping up being a lot harder than it looks!

Was just wondering what is the best thing to do after the first lesson?

The instructor recommended renting gear and trying to imrove before buying your own gear and said most people usually wouldn't take more than 2 lessons. Driving to tramore and renting gear each time seems like it would be a bit costly to me.

Any advice would be appreciated:cool:

Get an winter suit rip curl classic 5/3 is about 180 you can spend a lot more though, if you bay a bic 7'9 seconds hand expect to pay 250-275 maybe more but when you sell it you'll get that back.

If at worst you don’t take to surfing you can sell the board and you’ll have a wetsuit for other stuff snorkelling…. But I can’t see that a happening

At this time of year boots hood and gloves are a good idea but soon you won’t need them.

lightening

cjs_surf wrote: »

Get an winter suit rip curl classic 5/3 is about 180

+ 1.... great suit, I have two of them. They are like the Volvo of wetsuits, warm, safe, tough and not really very flash.

ben bennett

Hi welcome to the waves, you will always get lots of advice from a number of different opinion but i have to say get a few more good lessons, make sure you make the instructor hard, so you have all the basics right before you go renting or buying, you see it down here in Lahinch all the time, people renting and they can barely lay on the board right, dont paddle right etc. Always feel like saying just get a few lessons and you will be flying, get a lot more waves and really enjoy it. i am biased as i am an instructor but this is not a plug getting a few good lessons anywhere will really help.

if you are thinking of a board dont just jump for a Bic 7'9'', although a good beginner board, one size those not fit all, need to consider your height, weight, how much you will surf and ability. better go big and get waves and basics right and then move down in the future, your surfing will progress much quicker. hope that helps

Gone West

Lol I'd like to give a big plug out to bens surf clinic since he didn't himself! www.benssurfclinic.com
If you're progressing through your lessons and want some proper advanced instruction I'd reccommend him.

ben bennett

hi thanks for that fuzzylogic, just a little correction i meant "make the instructor work hard" rather than the other. Little slip there.

lightening

ben bennett wrote: »

make sure you make the instructor hard

LOL!!

I hope it wasn't a Freudian slip!

peejay01

Thanks for all the great advice so far. I'm definitely going to get some more lessons but maybe not in the same place- the instructor was good but I felt like he could be doing a bit more.

FuzzyLogic wrote: »

Lol I'd like to give a big plug out to bens surf clinic since he didn't himself! www.benssurfclinic.com
If you're progressing through your lessons and want some proper advanced instruction I'd reccommend him.

Is bens school any good for beginners like myself? I see that there are lessons for beginners but it looks like you need your own gear. Looks really good tho.

RedStarHardkore

I really only see bic boards recommended by the people who are selling them. I have talked to people who own(ed) them and have been told to steer clear. One of of the main problems apparently is that the plastic nose falls off, then water seeps inside making the board very unstable. For about 50 quid more I bought a Rocky Point epoxy 7"8 which did come recommended from surfers who actually own one. My 2 cents.

lightening

I am booking lessons with Ben the next time I am in Lahinch. I'm sort of stuck in a rut at the moment.

Thanks for the advice Fuzzy.

cue

How do you find that board Red?

RedStarHardkore

Well, not having experience with many boards, I can't really compare it to many. I have surfed a bic 7'9 magnum. The only bad thing I do remember was that it was hard to balance on while lying prone. Other than that it caught waves ok. I wasn't able to stand at the time though. Compared to my own Rocky Point board, I'd take my own any day. I have also tried surfing on a Quicksilver 5'10 that a friend of mine won in France while at the European Championships. Needless to say, I was crap on it. To short for a beginner like me.

I find the Rocky Point a good beginners board. It's stable and wide. Didn't break the bank either, and the guy in tubes threw the board bag in for half price. I was definetly happier with the experience of buying a board in Tubes rather than Incide. They guy in Incide kept trying to push the bic on me, then when I told him I didn't want it he told me I'd have to go for epoxy instead and it's gonna cost me over 500 euro. He told me to stay out of the pub for a weekend or two and I'd have the extra cash. I certainly wasn't impressed with his attitude. I felt like telling him to **** off and mind his own business and what I do with my money is my business. I barely even drink. I havn't been in a pub in three months (actually is 3 months today, new years eve!), and any of my income that isn't spent on bills, food, petrol, pay back loans, etc, is spent on my 3 year old son.

As for Tubes, the sales people in there are pretty sound. I bought my board and winter wettie in there from different sales people. They listened to me, then gave me recommendations. Instead of trying to push something on me, they laid my options out, gave me advice, I made my choice, then went home happy with my purchases. I got an epoxy board and a bag for circa 400euro and have no complaints about it.

I may have gone off topic here, but I suppose it could come in handy for somebody looking to buy a board. Don't get me wrong about Incide though, the other lads there could be top class, I just didn't like the insult I recieved from that sales man. I worked in sales before, and a golden rule is never talk about politics, sport, religion or a customers wealth. All touchy subjects likely to lose you your sale.