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Main Room - General New York Surf and New Jersey Surf Discussions / Re: Big article on artificial wave parks. NJ will be one of the first locations...

« on: December 20, 2013, 01:40:28 PM »

It's allegedly going to be built in the Meadowlands area, and by American Wave Machines:
http://www.theinertia.com/surf/american-wave-machines-set-to-build-largest-wave-pool-in-history

I'm pretty sure the waves they make are more like "stationary waves", as opposed to the more traditional looking artificial waves of a place like Wave Garden.., but still, it would be a cool option to have.

Anybody ever surf one of these flowboard waves?

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Tips, Technique, and Style - The Definitive NY NJ Guide to Surfing / Re: Surfing 101: Improving your cutback (Vid - click to view)

« on: December 20, 2013, 12:06:56 AM »

Ha! Sorry, didn't mean to lecture! I just wanted to toss out a couple of my observations about cutbacks. Lord knows I've screwed up plenty of 'em.

Having your back foot farther back without question makes it easier to pivot your surfboard, but I think using that kind of leverage is more useful for throwing nice hacks. For a cutback, I think things go better if you focus more on easing into your rail to create a smooth line.

Sigh.


And for a fraction of a moment, I had deluded myself into believing I knew what I was doing...or at least what I was attempting to do.


Thanks for the lesson, T-Table. I'll keep your words in mind next time I'm out there.

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Tips, Technique, and Style - The Definitive NY NJ Guide to Surfing / Re: Surfing 101: Improving your cutback (Vid - click to view)

« on: December 19, 2013, 09:13:29 PM »

Great reference video. Cutbacks are one of those tricks you never stop improving.., or else you're probably not doing them too smooth.

Doing a nice shallow turn as a set-up is important for gathering enough speed, but I've found personally that "leaning into the rail for longer" is the main thing that helps regardless of how far up or back your backfoot is... However, what isn't mentioned is that when you're cutting back from your frontside, the way you lean into that heelside rail requires more delicate footwork than other surfing maneuvers.

A lot of people lift their toes up on their front foot to lean into their heel, but I've had more success by folding my foot over slightly to apply more controlled pressure into the rail. Almost like your pressing into someone's face with the back of your hand. Also, if I feel like I'm not transferring the weight fast enough, I pull up on the rail manually and whip into the cut. Works like a charm for a regular cutty, but throws you off a bit if you're trying to finish off with a roundhouse foam climb.

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The Health and Fitness Center - Surf Crosstraining, Fitness, Food and Injury Rehab Guide for the NY NJ Surfer! / Re: Achilles tendon tightness and surfing

« on: November 27, 2013, 11:11:30 PM »

Stretching prior to a workout seems to be the standard practice, but I've found that stretching immediately AFTER is much more beneficial. Obviously, both is best; and whenever you can during is also helpful.

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Main Room - General New York Surf and New Jersey Surf Discussions / Re: definitely needed a bigger board today

« on: November 27, 2013, 10:56:35 PM »

6'2 should be plenty for days like today in my opinion. It was definitely on the bigger side, but I still used my main board which is only a 5'4 and surfed well (I weigh about 160lbs.)

Maybe you just need a shape with more rocker? Or a different type of tail? Or even a different set of fins to switch to for bigger days?

It's all about individual preference though. Personally, I feel less comfortable switching to a dramatically different sized surfboard than using a smaller trusty craft.

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Tips, Technique, and Style - The Definitive NY NJ Guide to Surfing / Re: generating speed backside?

« on: August 09, 2013, 08:25:02 AM »

Tom Carroll kills it but surfing backside at sunset on a 8' gun doesn't actually require speed generation.... he's trying to bleed speed in that vid....

Totally true, but the idea was more to show how backfooted his maneuvering is. He basically surfs with the whole front half of his surfboard not touching the water, and his front foot rarely goes farther than 2/5th's towards the nose.

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Tips, Technique, and Style - The Definitive NY NJ Guide to Surfing / Re: generating speed backside?

« on: August 09, 2013, 12:17:09 AM »

Surf more off your backfoot when going backhand. This lets you climb the wave more comfortably (and quickly,) and will give you more opportunities to slide back down into your front foot- which is where you're gonna gain most of your speed from trim and drag motions. 

And maybe try watching some old videos of
Tom Carroll surfing. Doubt there's ever been a more backfooted surfer. Great guy to try to copy if you wanna be able to throw loose style turns with even a stiff board.

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Shaper's Shack: Surfboard Repair, Restoration and Shaping Tips / Re: Figuring out thickness of board

« on: March 09, 2013, 10:34:06 PM »

Couldn't hurt to get it in the water at least once to gauge the feel of it. The resell value will be the same either way as long as you don't put any dings or bumps on it. Plus, you might end up liking it.

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Buy and Sell: The Surfboard Exchange on NYNJSurf.com / Re: Looking for a big guy Rusty Dwart

« on: March 01, 2013, 11:30:32 PM »

Not sure how heavy the guy is, but 6'2 seems like it'd be a crazy amount of foam for a Dwart...

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Tips, Technique, and Style - The Definitive NY NJ Guide to Surfing / Re: Just when you think you're not half bad at riding waves...

« on: February 28, 2013, 03:16:33 AM »

Ha- I think we've all experienced something like that. Some kind of mental distraction is usually the culprit...


 It's easy to forget how complicated surfing is when you've been doing it regularly for years, and I could see somebody tossing themselves into a drop-in in the middle of some kind of deep unrelated contemplation (which is super common when floating out in a quiet lineup), and then suddenly being like "WAIT WTF AM I IN THE MIDDLE OF DOING?"

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Main Room - General New York Surf and New Jersey Surf Discussions / Re: Are 'most' winter suits 3 mill in the arms and legs? The 4/3 as winter suit investigation.

« on: February 23, 2013, 02:58:16 AM »

I wear a 5/4/3 suit in the winter, and the 3mm in the arms is totally fine. Probably the only part that never feels cold. I'd maybe be worried about my legs in nothing but 3mm rubber in February though...


That said, the Cypher is a pretty solid suit. Fully taped out with a chest zip, so the water flow should be pretty minimal. I'd say the deciding factor is really the accuracy of the fit on you. If you know your size in Quik suits matches up nicely with your body, then you should probably be able to manage. Worse case scenario, you could beef up the thickness of your hood and booties to compensate the difference for a little extra toast.

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Main Room - General New York Surf and New Jersey Surf Discussions / Re: Nicaragua??? Ever Been??

« on: January 10, 2013, 10:14:41 PM »

buena onda is nice and they sometimes get really good food, but i don't know what their policy is on serving non guests.. (also they have a half pipe at their back gate right on the beach.)


then there's magnificent rock (the big maroon building on the cliff,) which has good food as well. I know they serve anybody who walks in. plus their hangout/bar/restaurant is the best view in the area, and there are some good looking australian girls working there (at least there were last time I went.)


surf sanctuary is a cool place too. they do nice frozen margaritas and more american style food, AND their bar plays ball games if you're following sports.

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Shaper's Shack: Surfboard Repair, Restoration and Shaping Tips / Re: Hulls

« on: January 09, 2013, 10:34:26 PM »

I'm with oldskool. If you have a typical hull, the tail will probably be sliding out when you try to turn on anything over head high. However, at 4-6+, you have a good chance of the wave being the perfect size for a hull. A nice chest high wedge? Definitely bring it with you.

If your fins aren't glassed on, you can also try bringing a set of larger fins. I feel a noticeable difference in hold on wider tailed boards when I beef up the skegs.

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Main Room - General New York Surf and New Jersey Surf Discussions / Re: Nicaragua??? Ever Been??

« on: January 09, 2013, 10:20:09 PM »

Rancho's a cool place, but the crowds seem to have gotten to it. Also, January/February are not the best months there surfwise, but hopefully you'll get lucky.


My advice would be:
If you get there and Rancho's not working, but Popoyo is- don't hang back and relax by the pool. Take the long walk to Popoyo and get the waves in while you can (even if it's packed). Because of the three times I've been to that area, only once did I go in January, and there was no surf at all the whole second week of the trip. Anywhere. I thought I knew the waves there too well, and expected Rancho to fire up again, and I let a few days the first week go by because it was only working at Popoyo and I: don't like that wave as much, didn't feel like walking around the Magnificent Rock Cliff, and it was PACKED.


When it's on, Rancho's left (especially right off the cliffrock) is awesome. Fast and powerful barrel sections. Popoyo is a softer, fatter, but usually bigger wave. It's a reefbreak with much clearer water than Rancho, so if you're gonna do a long session at Popoyo- use some sunscreen. It feels sort of like a southshore Hawai'i spot (Popoyo.) It's got blue water, that reefy smell, and long rolling soft waves that you can really dig into, with a nice easy inside pocket under the lip.


Have fun dude!

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Shaper's Shack: Surfboard Repair, Restoration and Shaping Tips / Re: Fin Suggestions

« on: January 03, 2013, 08:59:10 PM »

I like the True Ames sidebites, but some of their regular thruster sets feel sort of plain- not that plain is bad.

If you don't feel loose enough, but don't want to buy a whole new set of fins, you could always try a super twin setup, by switching out only the center fin with something smaller. The other thing to consider for stiff turns is you might just need to put more weight into your back foot (which would probably also need to go farther back on the tail) as you're pulling your turn.

How do you like that 5'6 sweet potato by the way? I was just looking at the dims for that board- seems like a ton of foam.