Blogs

Nowhere is the distinction between short-boarding and long-boarding more evident than when surfers are paddling out through the impact zone to get to the line-up. These are the only times when I wish my board shorter so that I could sink its nose and duck-dive effortlessly out of harm's way. The size and volume of a long board or Mal make it unsinkable by all but the most hefty of surfers and this means learning other tricks to avoid taking a battering or finding yourself right back on the beach where you started.

GETTING THROUGH THE SOUP                                                     PHOTO CREDIT - MIKE BAIRD

Unlike short-boarding there are a variety of different methods of getting though breaking or broken waves and although many surfers will try and argue that one is definitely better than the others it really is a case of personal preference. There is one similarity between the methods you will use as a Mal rider and duck-diving a short board and that is that both take patience and practice to perfect.

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The first time I ever got successfully to the end of Daisy Looper, my beloved 9' 2'', I was so shocked I promptly fell off. I'd tried so many times and failed that when it actually happened I just wasn't ready for it. Learning to noseride can be a painful journey; lack of success normally involves graceless nosediving and being put into the vulnerable position of being in front of your bulky board - somewhere close behind is a big, sharp fin. I have surfaced to find my board nowhere to be seen and then unexpectedly dropping from the heavens, tail first. That encounter left me with an enormous bump on the head and a multi-coloured shiner which made me the butt of jokes for days.

PHOTO CREDIT - MIKE BAIRD

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