Surfers are a fun-loving group of people, often times hooting and laughing as the waves roll into their specific break. But don’t let this outer layer fool you … it is not secret that surfers are territorial. Let’s face the fact that as a rule, the goal is to protect the beaches, the breaks, and the potential dangers out in the line up by policing newcomers who may serve as an instrument of injury for otherwise fun-loving water people. If you ask any regular surfer, they will always have in their quiver of stories a cache of “close calls” with unwitting newbies who almost, and at times actually, inflicted harm to a beloved surfboard, or even worse another surfer.

The crowded line-up has become more than just dangerous for surfers of all levels, it has become a powder keg for potential disaster when it comes to the sheer number of people taking up the latest and greatest in the watersports milieu. And if you are one of the many who have decided to join the surfing community, you will eventually fall into one of two distinct categories of ‘new‘ surfers - short term or long term.

Right from the beginning, it is crucial to determine which of the two separate categories of “newbies” you will fall into, as they will determine HOW you should pursue professional guidance. Yes, lessons are necessary for any beginning surfer … but which avenue of higher learning you pursue will cement whether or not surfers at a local break will chase you off, or reluctantly welcome you into the fray.

Short term surfers are often daring vacationers or reluctant volunteers, recruited into surfing by friends or slick promotional materials from TV or films. It is common in surfing communities to see tourists, and locals alike, paddling out into the great blue yonder to experience – if not just for a short time – what surfing “is all about”. Places like Hawaii’s Waikiki and Sydney’s Bondi Beach are prime locations to find short term surfers, renting foam top surfboards or the likes, or being recruited into lessons by slick surf shop “instructors”. These places are quite convenient and well suited for short term surfers, often offering one or two hour lessons to the newly initiated “surfer”, often times guaranteeing that the student will stand up and catch a wave during their first session. And honestly, what excited short term surfer could refuse such a deal?

These surf shop instructors often specialize in the quick surf lesson. Geared for beginners who more than likely will only surf at that particular break a handful of times, the lessons are pointedly aimed at standing up on the board, and staying upright during a quick ride. All too often ignored, however, are the unnecessary rules of the line up, and the ever important surfer’s etiquette outline. Understandably, there is little need for short term surfers to indulge in figuring out who has the ‘rights’ to a wave in a crowded line-up, or the required etiquette to follow when taking off on a wave. Short term surfers need to know how to stand up, stay upright, and paddle back out to the instructor standing in waist-high waves for more of the same. These surf breaks are often part of the unspoken surf factories, attracting hundreds upon hundreds of beginner surfers on a regular basis … producing short term surfers who will move on or move away, or the next category of beginner surfer, the long term beginner surfer.

This post is the first in a 2 part article about newbie / beginner surfers, surf school instructors, and the art of surfing. Part 2 is located here.

…