I have been in southern California for about 5 years. In that time, I’ve only been surfing once. Luckily, I had checked out a Groupon for Surf Diva that offered two afternoons of surfing on a weekend!
It was a great introduction to surfing, and I felt it was a safe environment. There were 5 other girls that came out and the surf school outfitted us with foam boards and rashguards. There was one instructor for all of us and they did a great job going through all the details of how to hold and handle the board, popping up, surf stance, surf etiquette, just the basics.
I believe I took that class back in 2012. According to this article, you’re never too old to learn to surf! Fast forward to August 20, 2015, when my bf was eager to help teach me how to surf. We headed out to Swami’s with a longboard, and he helped me catch three waves! I was so excited… as was he! In fact, he may have been more stoked! Because I had such a great time, I’m on a mission to learn as much as I can so we can surf together!
After reading several sites, I think the funboard is the way for me to go. It seems pretty versatile for a beginner board with some room for more maneuverability as I improve. YouTube vid: 4 tips for picking a surfboard (for beginners).
Learn how to read a surf forecast so you can actually go catch some waves!
Websites I found useful:
- Reddit surfing page
- SurfScience
- TidalPush
- SurfingHandbook.com
- Surfing-waves.com
- The Inertia
- YouTube: My Surfing Playlist
- YouTube: Surf Coaches
- SurfGirl mag
So you want to get a board…
- Board sizes, more board sizes
- Volume Calculator
- Beginner’s guide to buying a surfboard
- Choosing the right board: a must read!
- Things to think about when purchasing a surfboard
- Good summary to get a beginner surfboard
- Beginner boards to think about; more ideas
- Fin Setups
Getting into surf shape:
Blogs for motivation:
- Surf Girl Mag
- Surfing for New & Average Surfers
- The Surfing Sumo
- Over the Dune
- Surfer Magazine
- The Surfer’s Diary
- Surfing Reddit
- Surf Simply
- Drift Surfing
- Surfd
- Surfragette
- Kernowsurfgirl
- Broad on a board
- Float stories
- Barefoot Surf Travel
- Mushburger: Collective surf blogs
My Equipment:
- Rip Curl women’s flash bomb chest zip 4/3 size 8 (I’m 5’7″, 130lb) – 2015
- Roxy syncro round toe wetsuit boots – 2015
- 8’10” borrowed longboard – 2015
- 8’4″ BIC Magnum – 2016: 8’4″, 23.25″, 3 1/8″ thick, 72L, 17lb, US Center box + sides
- 7’6″ Firewire ADDvance TimberTek – 2017: 7’6″, 23.5″, 3 1/4″, 69.6 L, Swallow tail, FCS II thruster setup
- Rip Curl women’s dawn patrol back zip 3/2 size 8 – 2017
- Women’s tropical reef booties 2mm – 2017
- Surf travel bag – 2018 – Pro-lite Rhino Travel Bag
Love. Laughter. Life. Medicine. 
Hope you’re still surfing! Fun boards are great first boards. I haven’t surfed Cali, but my husband surfed San Diego his first time out. He was on a business trip, rented a board, went out cold turkey, busted his nose, and went out later with locals who offered to help show him what to do. 😊 Great, informational post!
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Hi there!!! My fiancé has been so amazing and has really helped get me out on the water. If you want to know some great surf spots out here, let me know and I’ll have him list out some spots!! It’s been a great adventure! Omg your poor husband! Glad he was alright and was able to get back out there!!! Thanks for commenting! I’m definitely enjoying the process (and trying to learn more — that’s how I found your blog!).
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