SUP,Surf

[mtb]

hi all,

this is incredible! i remember in summer 2016, coming off a tofino trip and feeling inspired, i wondered if there was any way to surf in vancouver if conditions aligned just right. i had no technical knowledge whatsoever and just searched the internet to see evidence of ppl doing it. i found an old pic of a-side from 08 and some vague blog posts. i remember finding this site but never dug into it at all. eventually wrote the idea off, thinking the investment of my own board wasn't worth 2 or 3 days of sub par surfing a year that i assumed was surfing here in van. settled for my annual surf trip (my fiancé and i travel all over, usually somewhere we can surf) and forgot about it.

fast forward to now, just coming back from a trip to oahu. even poor conditions in waikiki got me stoked all over again. hooked more than ive ever been. we ended the trip in the north shore where i didn't dare try my luck, so i had lots of quiet time to myself. started to get really excited about planning a tofino or washington trip asap when i remembered potentially surfing here. decided to look into it more and dig a little deeper; found some videos from some of you guys and found this forum/gold mine. im blown away. ive read 40+ pages of this forum re: SUP and surf, taking notes with my mouth hanging open. i hopefully have most of this info burned into my brain. just wanted to share that little story and express my gratitude!

im very serious about surfing here in vancouver. i live in kits, 5 min drive from wreck. i usually only surf a few days a year, and rent 8-9ft longboards. that's all ive ever used. of course i want to buy my own asap, and im eyeing this one: https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/spo/6458591210.html
smaller than ive used but fully prepared to learn. what do you guys think?

getting fomo researching all this and want to get in the water asap! i also have a friend, kits as well, who is in on this and hopefully will join someday when he can find the gear.
outside that i don't plan to tell my friends im surfing here. keeping it a secret!

can't thank you guys enough for all the info and look forward to seeing out there in the near future!

sincerely,
matt

[Slappy]

I'm a big fan of softtops, even if you already know how to surf. In our conditions with logs and debris in the water they can take a lot of abuse. I've also washed up on the rock reef a few times chasing waves at Wreck.

I would recommend you get a Catch Surf Log or Plank 7-0 ($350+$50 USD) or a Wave Bandit EZ Rider 7-0 ($250 USD). You can have them shipped to Point Roberts, $50 from Catch Surf or free via amazon.

They just came out with the 6-0 Log this year too, has a lot of potential. I think 7-0 is the right call for you though.

https://www.amazon.com/Catch-Surf-Bandi ... ave+bandit

[mtb]

thanks for the info! going to look into them.

no problem with a soft top, to be honest id probably prefer it. but, although i get your point about the board getting banged up, the craigslist board is decently used so im not too concerned about that. hard to beat that $140 price tag. main concern is that the measurements check out. im almost 6'1, 160lbs.

[gabrielb]

random forecast shows some SE Friday. Tide 12ft to 5 ft from 12 noon. bound to be a break. PR

fRIDAT.JPG (64.72 KiB) Viewed 14294 times

[mtb]

what about saturday morn 8-10am? long way off but sisters looks good. high tide is at 11am might be good for wb

sat.jpg (75.04 KiB) Viewed 14282 times

[shadymorels]

Hi Matt, and welcome! Love your stoke.

I would not recommend that board for local conditions. I've been surfing for 13 years, and I probably wouldn't catch many waves on that thing!

You want your first board to have plenty of volume, and be much wider in the nose and tail areas. This will help with stability and wave catching ability!

You can never go wrong with a wavestorm, which would be a great first board, and one that you will always be glad to have in your quiver at any surfing level. They'll start selling them at Costco in Nanaimo in the coming months.

See you out there!

[gabrielb]

Thx Tom , nice to know you are still surfing

We are using wasapp but still all posted applies... sessions are less than past years.

Because you like a punchier wave ill post when 1mhb is in forecast . PR has a better wave than WB but next to marina on SE

[gabrielb]

Friday (foreacast still holds) and Saturday (early morning). SE and NW.
2 sessions there... if saturna over 25 knots, and HB over 0.9m for NW.

WB 645am-8amSat.JPG (74.39 KiB) Viewed 14214 times

[mtb]

hey shady,

thanks for the info! there has been some very exciting but expensive developments in my life recently; i had planned to buy a new soft top similar to what you linked there, either exactly that or a wave bandit. it's gunna be a few paycheques before i can scoop one up, probably lining up with when those boards starting selling in nanaimo, so thanks.

decided to pick this one up anyways. got it w/ a leash and bag for $120. nothing else came close for the price. he was originally selling for $260 but he's moving and had to drop the price big time. it'll be a challenge for sure in local waves, but i'm up for it. i'll want to make the switch to smaller boards eventually anyways. if i'm a complete failure on it i'll grab a soft top asap, and then when the time comes for a smaller board i'll be good to go!

it's definitely wider than it appears, i think the black sides make it look deceptively skinny. it's less than 2 inches wider than a wavestorm. volume is good too, and i'm very light for my height.

really appreciate all the advice.

[shadymorels]

Hey Gabe, still surfing but mostly on VI. I surfed JR last Sunday at it was epic!!

I'll be eyeing up a session today if HB ramps up soon.