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the open secret about surfing is that most people only try surfing once--usually on vacation. this is because to be a "surfer", (a) you have to live within a 2
by awl130 11y ago
the open secret about surfing is that most people only try surfing once--usually on vacation. this is because to be a "surfer", (a) you have to live within a 20 mile proximity of a very select area of coastline; and (b) it takes many different sessions, spread out over a long period of time, in order for you to become proficient. this is largely due to the fact that you need to paddle out to the wave.
compare this to snowboarding. your first time on a mountain, you will absolutely "snowboard". there's a lift that carries you directly to the top of the mountain.
surfing is like going skiing or snowboarding without a lift. you'd have to hike up a mountain every time you wanted to ski. think of how many people would end up being proficient.
that is why this $99 surfboard has really taken off. there may be 2.7 million surfers as the article states (which i find highly doubtful--this is way too high a number), but there are many more times that inland people that try surfing on their holiday and then never go again.
- the_watcher 11y ago> this is way too high a number I assume you've never lived in Southern California? You'd be astounded at the number of casual surfers (by that, I mean someone who surfs at least once a month) who own surfboards. And that's just one high concentration surf area.
- giarc 11y agoAnd the other 4x states that don't have a coastline don't really contribute any data.
- awl130 11y agoi live in socal but on second thought 2.7mm is pretty realistic i guess. hard to get a baseline. there are around 30mm golfers in the us; but for surfing, 1/3 of the usa lives on the coastline (123mm people); maybe 1/3 of that is surfable (basically ca, fl, hi, and then maybe or, wa, nc, va); so anyway 1/9 of golfers? makes sense
- the_watcher 11y agoBasically every state with a coastline has some amount of surfers. All the Pacific and Gulf states have well-known breaks, as do the southern Atlantic coasts. The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast have fewer "quality" surf spots, but they're all surfable. Even Alaska has a well known break, though AK's population limits its contribution to total surfers.
- grecy 11y ago> Compare this to snowboarding. your first time on a mountain, you will absolutely "snowboard". there's a lift that carries you directly to the top of the mountain. Surfing is like going skiing or snowboarding without a lift. you'd have to hike up a mountain every time you wanted to ski. I'm a snowboard instructor, and I surf. To expand on your explanation, the other main difference is that when you fall over skiiing or snowbarding, you can settle yourself for 10 seconds, then stand right back up again and get more quality practice time. "Falling" down the mountain for your first time might take 30 minutes, of which 25 minutes is good practice time standing up. So you get a high ratio of "stand up practice time" to "time invested learning", which means you can pick it up in a short about of elapsed time. In contrast, when you fall over surfing, you're at square one again and have to spend all the time and energy getting back out to the waves. In your first 30 minute session, it's likely you'll only spend a maximum of a minute or two on your feet practicing. This makes the ratio very low, so you have to spend tons of elapsed time to learn. The same applies to wake boarding (wait for the boat to come get you), kite surfing (untangle the kite) and a few others.
- spaceflunky 11y agoI surf frequently (live near a select coast and all that). Waiting in the lineup for waves gives you a lot of time to think. I often think about the fact that I might spend 2.5 hours in the water, but my total standing time might only be 5min total. And that's on a good day! Heres the math: ~3.5min paddle out, ~10min waiting for my wave (more time if it's crowded), ~30 seconds setting up and paddling to catch the wave, 30sec wave ride time (assuming a good wave). Rinse and repeat from step 1. Roughly about 15min per 30 second wave (assuming again, a good day). Or about 2min of riding per hour. Of course there are lots of variables here and lots of ways to be more efficient with time/energy, but I think the gist of it is there.
- grecy 11y agoAnd that's why I have no interest in surfing anywhere there is a lineup. Growing up in Australia spoiled me, no doubt.
- rasz_pl 11y agoare you saying the next big thing in surfing will be a board with buildin electric motor? Im guessing my post will launch at least 3 hardware startups :)