Variety Of Portugal Surf Camp And Surf College

9. Know some of the unwritten rules of the line up.

10. Have fun surfing is a blast!

1. Choose the right surfboard & wetsuit

You do not want to start on a super thin high performance short board, or any short board for that matter. When you are learning, you need to start on a surfboard that has some width and thickness to it, yes a long board. How long depends on a how big you are, the bigger the person the bigger the board should be. If you do not want to be a longboarder that's okay, but you will get a lot better faster if you use the long board. A longer board will help you to get the basics down. From there you can scale down in size as you progress, think of it in steps. A short board is super wobbly and unstable if you are inexperienced. Starting on a bigger board will help you progress faster, ride more waves, ride the waves you do catch further, and have more fun! Along with choosing the right surfboard is choosing the right wetsuit. You will want to check with your local surf shop about the wetsuit thickness for your area. Your average water temperature will determine what wetsuit thickness you should purchase or rent. You can also ask the local surfers what they wear.

2. Go to the right spot!

You will want to go to a beginner friendly surf spot. If you do not know of one, ask your local surf shop where the best beginner spots are. The weather conditions can make a beginner friendly spot into a dangerous place quickly. Stay away from; heavy shore break beaches, reef breaks, and point breaks. You want a mellow sandy bottom spot, with slow peeling mushy waves, and a small crowd. You want to learn to surf, not get beat up, held down and thrashed around. Do your homework and this will make the difference between having a good first experience or a bad one!

3. Go surfing on the right day!

As mentioned above every day is different, you need to respect the ocean. It may be your first day off in a month, but if the current conditions are 14' W swells @ 13 seconds, it may not be the right day. Unless you are surfing a protected cove that is blocking most of that swell and does not have rip currents. Waiting for a better day may be difficult, but you want to be safe. When the surf is big there is a lot more water moving around. Rip currents are generally stronger under these conditions. It is also difficult to surf in poor conditions because you will be wasting all your energy battling the current. Again check with your local surf shop, or check your local surf report. Some surf shops (like ours) have a surf report right on their websites.

4. Know what rip currents are, and how to get out of them.

A Rip Current is a strong narrow current heading from shore back out to sea. Returning the water seaward that is pushed in from the waves, wind, and the tide. If you get caught in a rip current, don't panic, it wastes energy. Do not paddle directly against it, you will get exhausted.