Hi Paloma,

I agree with Graham- the major drawback of a shortboard is missing more waves. With that said, a short board enables you to take off later and duck dive giving you more confidence to sit in position and ride steeper waves.

I switched to a short board a few years in (16 years ago!) and never looked back. I wondered why I struggled to paddle out on a 7ft for so long! It is most definately easier to turn and more responsive but also less stable. I had no problem riding waves once I caught them. If you do other board sports, the balance might already be there for this part. However, I was living by the ocean and was comfy taking off and trimming by then.

When I switched, I used to miss waves lots with short boards and chalked this down to weak female arms and paddle power, but after doing OMBE training, I don’t have this issue now and know better!

As Clayton has pointed out, it’s a matter of preference on board thickness - people seem to love these ultra short ultra fat boards- I’ve ridden tons of short boards over my 20years and I am not a fan myself. As a female with less upper board strength/weight, I prefer a bit more length (6,0- 6,4) and a thinner, narrower board that’s easier to duck dive (less volume in nose to burry and my legs are strong to kick the tail) and easier to rail to rail with small feet and more feeling from the wave.

Takes some trial to discover your preference! If you can loan some different short boards to give it a try- might be worth a shot!

Thanks for the early heads up! I’ll have to see if I can make something workout 🙂

This is awesome! Super helpful! “Push the bush” golden 😂😂😂

I’m going to use this for my stance issues I’m making progress on!!!

Also, the sitting on the shoulder speaks to me- this can still be an issue for me if I’m intimidated. I’m using “Fck it I’m going” in big waves now too!

If your team was ever down for a challenge, I’m a slow learner with 20 years of bad habits and a fear of some big waves (but a love of the ocean). I usually travel to surf totally independently with no tour, guide or coach, but would be really interested in a coaching trip with OMBE to challenge myself!

I have to book vacation a year in advance in healthcare 😕 but if I could make it work and afford it, I think it could be a great challenge for me!

Nice wave! And nice height at the start of the turn! It looks like you fall as you are extended to much at the top of the wave, rather than compressing again at the top to come back down. First turn looks good though. Would love to visit J bay too!

Super helpful series! Same challenge! I noticed I do one type of turn if there’s not much space to turn when I croutch my body low and let the board go up…. It looks more leaned than the ones where I cardboard slide across the wall, but not like the video and may arms starts doing funky things. Let me know how you get on!

5 people taking turns sounds ideal! I never went to lighthouse, but I enjoyed whisky point in the area. I was surfing Aragum bay over a decade ago, and when I was there, 2 people got into a fight in the water on more than one occasion which really put me off 😱!!! Guessing not the norm and it was just the tourists there at the time! I met some really friednly locals there who ripped though!

Imagine it’s even busier now!

That sounds disappointing! Messy and weak is not optimal! Hope you got some duck diving practice at least!

Mark Hind if it’s Aragon bay I could really see why 🤣. That was a busy, and aggressive vibed point when I was there (nout to do with locals!) compared to anywhere I’ve been! This is relatable for me- I did the same when there. I sat on the shoulder, only venturing to the main peak in the midday blow out when it was empty. Overcoming this is tough and I am glad you got there!

These are good advice comments! I got the fuller deck with a tail and a nose- I know people like if for dropping into bowls, but I find I need to be more careful with foot placement as if my foot is too far forward, it can clip and throw me forward- so pros and cons but I’d actually go for one with a narrow nose now!

Noooo! I’m actually visiting the uk this week too. Thanks for the heads up!