Surfing And Surfboards:
Surfing is a phenomenal sport that can literally be picked up by almost anyone at nearly any age. A few surfing lessons can have just about any water bug hurling down the waves in no time flat, and finding out through first hand experience what all the fuss is about. Of course, there are certain terms that might confuse a beginner, and picking out your first board might seem a bit overwhelming. So let's just take a quick look at a few boards, what they are designed for, and who should buy them.
Longboards are the easiest surfboards to learn the art of surfing. Longboards are more stable than shortboards, and catch waves with less effort on the part of the beginner surfer. Some people swear by longboards for their entire surfing career, claiming that they are faster and simply more fun. And that's the whole point, right? Others feel that longboards are great for learning, but after a year or two, a "no longer newbie" surfer can get more out of shortboard or a fish or a fun board.
A fun board is also called an egg, named for its egg-like design. The fun board, as the name implies, is designed specifically for just hanging about in the waves and having a good time. It will not perform miraculous feats of trickery, but it will pick up the waves easily and provides a good deal of stability down the crest.
The fish is a little smaller than a fun board, with a tail called a swallow tail and fins known as twin, it can perform some feats of water based amazement and is mildly less stable down the crest when compared to the longboard or the fun board. It was used by famous surfers during the late 90s and early 2000s, making it more popular than it was in the 70s when it was first introduced.
The gun is a distinctive board. It resembles the longboard in length but it is thinner, less stable, and (also called the Thruster) likes large, intimidating waves. The gun can perform tricks when used by highly skilled surfers, but for a beginner, the gun would need waves that most beginners would find overpowering.
Each variation of the surfboard was designed for particular types of waves, surfing conditions, and skill level. Longboards were originally the only type of surfboard available, and an entire generation learned to do some pretty radical things while handling these gigantic boards. Shortboards and fun boards were designed with the average surfer in mind, and are definitely a design specifically for East Coast conditions. The gun is a very special board that requires more than average skill and more than average waves. Of course, anyone who wants to master more than the basics can sign up for a few more surfing lessons. Finding out every tidbit of information available about surfing and surfboards is not only beneficial to the surfer or potential surfer, but it's a great deal of fun.
