surfing but not able to swim?

kumate_champ07

I cant swim, never been good at it. I have a problem with breathing. Id like to try surfing at some stage but I reckon not being able to swim would be a little bit of a problem. would the board be attached securely to my ankle so I would always have access to a floatation device?

esskay

Yes, the board will be attached to your ankle, but more importantly you'll be wearing a wetsuit which will keep you afloat on its own.

I'd suggest you first go for a swim in the sea wearing a wetsuit to get the feel of it and get comfortable with how you can move around in the water wearing it. You'll spend a lot of time falling in to the water and if your not used to it it could be quite a daunting experience. Getting the feel for how buoyant you are in the wetsuit and being comfortable in the water without a board to hang on to will make it a lot easier for you.

I remember the first time I fell and tried to stand up and couldn't, it took me a few seconds to realise the board was over me and preventing me from standing up. I am a very confident swimmer and this freaked me out until I realised I just had to push the board to the side and stand up, the water was just over waist deep

Anyway, it shouldn't be a problem as long as you are confident and keep trying. My wife is not a good swimmer and is qualified to Scuba dive

Hope you enjoy it,

Esskay

kumate_champ07

esskay wrote: »

Yes, the board will be attached to your ankle, but more importantly you'll be wearing a wetsuit which will keep you afloat on its own.

I'd suggest you first go for a swim in the sea wearing a wetsuit to get the feel of it and get comfortable with how you can move around in the water wearing it. You'll spend a lot of time falling in to the water and if your not used to it it could be quite a daunting experience. Getting the feel for how buoyant you are in the wetsuit and being comfortable in the water without a board to hang on to will make it a lot easier for you.

I remember the first time I fell and tried to stand up and couldn't, it took me a few seconds to realise the board was over me and preventing me from standing up. I am a very confident swimmer and this freaked me out until I realised I just had to push the board to the side and stand up, the water was just over waist deep

Anyway, it shouldn't be a problem as long as you are confident and keep trying. My wife is not a good swimmer and is qualified to Scuba dive

Hope you enjoy it,

Esskay

brilliant thanks! Ive been to California a few times but never followed thru on getting surf lessons, last summer by the time I had got to San Diego all my money was gone, so it will have to be the west coast of Ireland some time! Im hoping to end up in Cali sometime next year so I could get the chance there again. I hear the surf is good in Ireland so it will be good to be able to do it here also.

the amtrack train that goes from san diego up to LA passes by miles and miles of coast line and you see miles and miles of surfers no matter how big or small the waves are, its beautiful

cornbb

esskay wrote: »

you'll be wearing a wetsuit which will keep you afloat on its own.

No it won't. That's a pretty reckless thing to say. The wetsuit will add some positive buoyancy but its not a substitute for knowing how to float or swim. I wouldn't say surfing without knowing how to swim is impossible, but it would certainly be more dangerous and difficult to take up surfing if you can't swim. Would you be able to cope if you suddenly found yourself out of your depth and 5-10 feet away from your board with waves crashing on your head?

OldGuysRule

If you can't swim, think long and hard about going surfing. What happens if your leash snaps (and they do) and you are out of your depth?

Get lessons for swimming first, good winter project. They are run all over the country.

spaceHopper

When you take a lesson it will be in shallow water and the instructor is usually a qualified life guard but you will the knocked about and end up under water so you need to competent and comfortable in the water more than being a strong swimmer.

But if you want to surf you need to be able to swim, wet suits give you extra buoyancy but won't keep you alive.
You will get pulled out by currents and end up in deeper water.....

Also leashes are for convince they are not life saving devices they can easily break either because they are old or because they get cut by the fin or power of the wave breaks them. I've broken 2 and even and the plug attaching leash to the board come out of the board and that happened in small waves. You have to be able to swim on, go to the pool and get lessons you are missing out on so much by not being able to swim.

hopalong85

What some of the other posters said. I'd completely discount the wetsuit keeping you afloat comment. To the poster who said that, you should think a bit more before putting stuff like that out there to a novice.

If I was you I'd take swimming lessons and wait til you're a bit more comfortable with the prospect of possibly having to swim. As was said above, leashes do snap, rip currents can pull you out etc.

gerk86

I know you'll be learning in shallow whitewater for a while but if you ever do end up going out back to the unbroken waves you really, REALLY need to know how to swim.

Earlier this year my leash broke while out back in big enough waves. Long swim back and held under a bit by the set waves while I was swimming back through the inside. It can be scary.

thehangtenguy

If you can't swim, don't try and surf. Your asking for trouble!

loctite

Agree with the trend above.

As for the wife who scubadives, IMO not being a strong swimmer, although not ideal, it is more about being comfortable in the water when diving.

Surfing is not like that at all. You need to be able to swim. A board is not a flotation device, like other posters say, when you need the board the most (as a flotation device) is when it is most likely to abandon you (snap a leash).

Learn to swim... its not that hard.

kodute

Get yourself to the local pool and sign up for some of those 8 week lessons advertised all over the place. You'll learn, among other things, front crawl and breaststroke. Then go and practise these in a pool until you can do min 400m non stop.

Now go and get yourself some surf lessons and come join us in the sea! Its great fun!

c - 13

Agree with the above posters.

Why not take a lesson or two to see if you enjoy surfing first - these are generally doen in shallower water anyway where swimming wont be as much of a requirement.

If you do get bitten by the bug then proceed with the swimming lessons. Even ig you dont decide to stick with surfing its a good thing to know.

brendansmith

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

I cant swim, never been good at it. I have a problem with breathing. Id like to try surfing at some stage but I reckon not being able to swim would be a little bit of a problem. would the board be attached securely to my ankle so I would always have access to a floatation device?

No i think you are asking for trouble

ThOnda

I would suggest the surfing lessons, because they are most of the time in the waist deep water. That's what I did.
However, I think that I am good swimmer, but I came from inland where there are no waves and first few times in the sea (or the ocean) when trying to surf in waves, I felt quite uncomfortable when the waves kept on coming over my head. And I am used to swimming and free diving (well, swimming under water).
You could do the lessons, but getting some experience in swimming would be definitely an advantage giving you more security in the sea and also giving you more space for concentration on the surfing itself. It is like driving. If you spent 100% of the time behind the steering wheel only concentrating how to shift gears, you would hardly enjoyed the countryside.
So if you don't have to spend all your time and concentration on keeping your head above the water, you might have some time for surfing itself.

kumate_champ07

I hate swimming pools but I love the ocean. Im not afraid of being in the water. If I had to swim to shallow water I could do it no problem, but I struggle to do 1 length of a swimming pool as I mess things up when I take a breath.
I was actually training to be a swimming coach as part of a fitness instructor course but I just couldnt get the hang of anything , not even a front basic stroke and I quit the course due to health problems.

Im sure its alot different in the ocean with waves but it wouldnt have to look pretty if I had to swim to safety, nobody is going to be judging my technique!

cornbb

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

I struggle to do 1 length of a swimming pool as I mess things up when I take a breath.

I think you should think long and hard about going surfing if this is the case as you sometimes won't have a say when you get to take a breath or not. At the very least, take lessons in shallow water and tell the instructor you can't swim so they can keep an eye on you and advise you accordingly.

kumate_champ07

cornbb wrote: »

I think you should think long and hard about going surfing if this is the case as you sometimes won't have a say when you get to take a breath or not. At the very least, take lessons in shallow water and tell the instructor you can't swim so they can keep an eye on you and advise you accordingly.

ye Ill make sure to tell them, I almost drowned in a pool when I was 11. not sure if it effected me in any way

CptMackey

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

I cant swim, never been good at it. I have a problem with breathing. Id like to try surfing at some stage but I reckon not being able to swim would be a little bit of a problem. would the board be attached securely to my ankle so I would always have access to a floatation device?

Never rely on your board to keep you afloat.
I would suggest getting swimming lessons before you head off and try it.
I would consider my self a strong swimmer and I have had some scares in my time.

tedshredsonfire

I think the op has hopefully gotten the message that learning to swim would be a good idea but regardless how good a swimmer you are the ocean could always take you, just your giving yourself a far far greater margin of making it back should something untoward happen. A calm head is sometimes more important than your swimming ability.

seachto7

It would also be good to learn how to get out of rips.
I wouldn't consider myself to be a great swimmer, I can tread water, swim from A to B, but would have to tread water again, then swim again so this thread has put a thought in my head to maybe improve it over the winter.
I would rarely go out of my depth, usually up to my neck, but noticed last Sunday in Lahinch, I would have to go out of my depth to get out back to the clean waves, but I was a little apprehensive....