You have mastered getting to your feet on the foam, now it’s time to hit the green waves (unbroken waves).
Catching green waves isn’t difficult as long as you are confident with your paddling and pop-up. It takes a little more practice than catching waves in the white water and there are a few more things to think about. We’ve broken catching green waves into six steps to help you learn to surf green waves.
First thing you need to do when catching a green wave is know which direction on the wave you are going to travel, left or right
As the green wave approaches from behind, it is important that you do big strong paddles to help get the speed you need to catch the wave. You need to be travelling as fast as the wave in order to be able to surf it.
When you feel the unbroken wave lift up the tail of your surfboard, do two big extra paddles making sure you are looking in the direction you want to travel on the wave.
Still looking in the direction you want to travel, now is the time to pop-up. Your body will automatically rotate with your shoulders, opening up to the face of the wave.
Once you are up on your feet, put a little more weight on your back foot to set the rail of the surfboard into the wave. This is called setting your line on the wave.
Now that your line in the wave is set, adjust your weight back onto your front foot to maintain your speed with the wave. Remember to keep looking down the face of the wave in the direction you want to travel.
➡️ Always look in the direction you want to travel towards, your shoulders and arms will follow your eyes. Your hips will follow your shoulders, your feet will follow your hips and hopefully, your board will follow your feet.
➡️ Speed is crucial. You need big strong paddles to get your speed up and also need a speedy pop-up so you don’t lose the wave.
➡️ Always play by the rules. Check out our Guide to surfing etiquette here.
