Ask Carroll

[BA]

Nick, there's been a lot of shark attacks lately. Being a respected surf journalist, could you maybe submit an article to News Limited stating that everyone should give up surfing as it is a very dangerous sport and you may very well get eaten alive? Maybe say that the Northern Beaches is well overdue for a spate of attacks?

Thanks.

[Surfnsmurf]

Nick. . .im concerned about andy
I appreciate his parents like send him too the movies so they can have some respite
But don't u think we should tell him there's a big difference from watching a movie to being in one?
I mean...he struggling so
Should we let hang onto that dream
Should we email make a wish foundation so his delusion could become a reality
The poor cnut

his parents are dead

[rmb]

Gday Nick,
Hope all is well, Looking for location to travel to for an intermediate surfer to stay for a month to surf good waves and try and improve and work on surfing more quality break's depending on progression where would you recommend? Can be in Aus or Overseas.

Cheers

[andy2476]

oh dear Ronnie's on the piss with a full sack again.

pathetic abo slant ? what does that even mean ?

[Nick Carroll]

Nick, there's been a lot of shark attacks lately. Being a respected surf journalist, could you maybe submit an article to News Limited stating that everyone should give up surfing as it is a very dangerous sport and you may very well get eaten alive? Maybe say that the Northern Beaches is well overdue for a spate of attacks?

Thanks.

Nah but I might consider writing a self important article on an "intelligent" surf related website, sheeting home the blame for all these attacks on the commercialising of surfing by the surf industry.

I mean it's them who encouraged everyone to surf and the sharks are just doing what Nature intended them to do.

So really it's their fault.

[Nick Carroll]

Nick. . .im concerned about andy
I appreciate his parents like send him too the movies so they can have some respite
But don't u think we should tell him there's a big difference from watching a movie to being in one?
I mean...he struggling so
Should we let hang onto that dream
Should we email make a wish foundation so his delusion could become a reality
The poor cnut

Well from my own brief experience of working around movie sets I would say there is very little difference between watching a movie and being in one.

Dare to dream I say.

[Nick Carroll]

Gday Nick,
Hope all is well, Looking for location to travel to for an intermediate surfer to stay for a month to surf good waves and try and improve and work on surfing more quality break's depending on progression where would you recommend? Can be in Aus or Overseas.

Cheers

Well there are many alternatives here, you could go and stay at one of the less exy places in Indo, Simuelue might be a good thing, a lot of different kinds of waves and over a month in May or Sept you'd get a shit load of variety.

Or mainland Mexico, the numerous right points and beachies down past Salina Cruz, machine like waves ideal for repeating turns etc and Puerto Escondido etc not far away for good beach breaks if it goes small for a while.

In Oz, jeez just surf anywhere and watch the maps and go to Bells/ Western Vic when it's on, flight and car etc are pretty cheap and you could do that three times in a month for what it'd cost to go to Indo or Mex. even watch for Fiji and fly over for several days on a swell.

[138cfh]

Hey Nick, would you mind sharing your thought on this vid? What to watch for, try to do next time in the water, etc.

http://vimeo.com/29630744

Not a fan of the surfer, but that's some damn good small wave surfing there.

My thought on that is it's a long time ago. Kolohe is a different surfer now, much bigger and stronger.

Here he is surfing like a 17 year old can, very light footed and limber, way more so than it even looks, like T-street is the most gutless wave on earth.

What you might want to watch here is the shift of weight through hips and knees which eliminates the need many surfers seem to have to wave their arms and shoulders while trying to develop speed. Also the importance even in this farcical slop of maintaining a good position high on the wave face, from where you can gain speed quickly and easily.

Thanks Nick!

[rmb]

Gday Nick,
Hope all is well, Looking for location to travel to for an intermediate surfer to stay for a month to surf good waves and try and improve and work on surfing more quality break's depending on progression where would you recommend? Can be in Aus or Overseas.

Cheers

Well there are many alternatives here, you could go and stay at one of the less exy places in Indo, Simuelue might be a good thing, a lot of different kinds of waves and over a month in May or Sept you'd get a shit load of variety.

Or mainland Mexico, the numerous right points and beachies down past Salina Cruz, machine like waves ideal for repeating turns etc and Puerto Escondido etc not far away for good beach breaks if it goes small for a while.

In Oz, jeez just surf anywhere and watch the maps and go to Bells/ Western Vic when it's on, flight and car etc are pretty cheap and you could do that three times in a month for what it'd cost to go to Indo or Mex. even watch for Fiji and fly over for several days on a swell.

Cheers Mexico sounds good

[PeepeelaPew]

...

[Indo dreaming]

@Nick

People often say water temperature affects surfboard buoyancy, but there is virtually nothing i can find online related to water temp on surfboard buoyancy.

Whats the general thoughts between top shapers or pro surfers is it a factor taken into account, as its a topic that must have been discussed as pro surfers are often surfing in much different water temps.

Obviously science says water temp affects water density, but is there a big enough difference between say 13 degrees Vic water to 30+ degrees tropical water for it to play a part?

Cheers

[Scroty]

Do you think it is possible to improve in average conditions?

Young family duties kybosh any travelling to decent breaks, and I feel my surfing is stagnating. I only get out once every 1 or 2 weeks on the nthn beaches. I've been surfing 20 years but I'd rate myself at the lower end of intermediate ability.

On Sat morning I got one decent, large wave that peeled right for a while. It was such a treat to have time to think about positioning and what turn I might do. It made me think about how most waves I get are short close outs or crappy that makes it hard to improve.

I also find that I get most of my waves in the first 30 mins, I think I unconsciously position myself for the set waves, so that probably doesn't help.

Or should I just resign myself to being a member of the mediocre masses and try to keep out of the way of the good surfers?

[Nick Carroll]

@Nick

People often say water temperature affects surfboard buoyancy, but there is virtually nothing i can find online related to water temp on surfboard buoyancy.

Whats the general thoughts between top shapers or pro surfers is it a factor taken into account, as its a topic that must have been discussed as pro surfers are often surfing in much different water temps.

Obviously science says water temp affects water density, but is there a big enough difference between say 13 degrees Vic water to 30+ degrees tropical water for it to play a part?

Cheers

I don't know! I will have to read about it a bit or just ask alakaboo

My own sense of it is that it's an illusion caused by the difference between paddling and surfing in a wetsuit and the same without.

A wetsuit these days will add around two to two and a half kilos to an average surfers weight and will also cause a drop in paddling efficiency.

I know quite a few shapers who work mostly in colder climate surfing tend to add a bit more foam to pretty much anything they make, to help adjust for these factors.

From my own experience I've never felt a buoyancy difference between tropic and temperate waters and feel that differences in surf conditions, even minor ones, would count for way more in the bigger scheme of things.

[Nick Carroll]

Do you think it is possible to improve in average conditions?

Young family duties kybosh any travelling to decent breaks, and I feel my surfing is stagnating. I only get out once every 1 or 2 weeks on the nthn beaches. I've been surfing 20 years but I'd rate myself at the lower end of intermediate ability.

On Sat morning I got one decent, large wave that peeled right for a while. It was such a treat to have time to think about positioning and what turn I might do. It made me think about how most waves I get are short close outs or crappy that makes it hard to improve.

I also find that I get most of my waves in the first 30 mins, I think I unconsciously position myself for the set waves, so that probably doesn't help.

Or should I just resign myself to being a member of the mediocre masses and try to keep out of the way of the good surfers?

I do think its possible to improve in average conditions.

The biggest factor by like a billion percent in surf skills improvement is time in the water. The next biggest factor is waves caught per hour. Spend a lot of time in the water and catch a lot of waves and you'll be doing the most you can to improve.

Average conditions can be super great for this since average conditions often mean a lot of waves are coming through - shit waves but a lot of them.

Trouble with that is it doesn't fit everyone's lives. An older surfer with a range of responsibilities may not be able to afford three hours a day every day for six months. Plus such a surfer may not be psychologically prepared for a long period of struggling with boards, fitness, reaction time, etc etc, while surrounded by uber quick flexible mini grommets.

I suggest you play somewhat to your strengths. You have a young family - they won't be young forever. See if you can engage your kids in water sports. They'll become your best allies when it comes to getting more water time. If you just stepped your surfing up to three a week, you'd see changes over time.

Being an adult you may also have greater financial resources than most grommets. Maybe a trip a year to a high quality surf destination might be the kind of motivation you could use to tackle more shit days at home. I see a lot of my friends for whom this has become true over time, as their lives have begun to loosen up post young kids, the annual surf trip becomes a reason to stay fit and surf savvy.

[alakaboo]

@Nick

People often say water temperature affects surfboard buoyancy, but there is virtually nothing i can find online related to water temp on surfboard buoyancy.

Whats the general thoughts between top shapers or pro surfers is it a factor taken into account, as its a topic that must have been discussed as pro surfers are often surfing in much different water temps.

Obviously science says water temp affects water density, but is there a big enough difference between say 13 degrees Vic water to 30+ degrees tropical water for it to play a part?

Cheers

I don't know! I will have to read about it a bit or just ask alakaboo

The difference in density of seawater between 10 and 30 degrees is about 0.006 kg/l
Average pro shortboard might be about 25l? So about 0.15l of buoyancy difference.
So you'll get a poopteenth more buoyancy in cold water, easily swamped by the wetsuit weight.

Salinity will normally make more difference than temperature.

[still here]

cold water hits harder .... it has to be more dense

[alakaboo]

That's what I said.

[8]

Surface tension decreases as temperature increases.