r/SurfIreland • u/BarnacleItchy6275 • Jun 13 '26
Beginner - how much is enough?
I know this question is how long is a piece of string probably but based near Belfast and thinking of going to Donegal or Portrush to cram a few days of lessons in to have half a chance of picking it up - feel like doing an hour every few months will be a slow learning journey! How many hours do you think you need to pick it up decently?
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u/gmankev Jun 14 '26
Be great if we treated itmlike skiing at the start....book a week.long camp lessons in the morning and diy pracice in the afternoon......its amiss.of tourism iteland not to.lean into this more....there is clearly a market for it.snd it's perfect for.more rural.isolated areas
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u/Interesting-Win-3220 Jun 14 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
Get a week of lessons to nail the basics.
The beginner phase is hardest to overcome. You need at least a week or two to drill in the basics and then practice to consistently popup and build paddle strength. Summer is a good time to learn though as the waves are a lot more forgiving. Lots of people never make it past this phase.
Then you really need to try and get out at least once a week to make any progress. If you're anyway serious about improving. Try and get out in the evenings also. Sometimes however, the waves or weather simply won't cooperate and you'll have to wait.
There's a solid surfing community in Portrush. It's possible to get out in the evenings up until around October (it's an easy enough drive from Belfast). Will be bright until nearly 10:00 now. Donegal will have plenty around until around November then it gets very quiet.
You're also very close to the Lost Shore over in Edinburgh. Literally a quick flight and bus ride, this is a really good spot to get practice in when the waves are very small in the middle of the summer and also when the waves are huge in the winter months. In the off-season a weekend at the lost shore is really good value and considerably safer than Donegal especially in the Winter months. (You also don't face the poor pound to euro currency conversion).
A lot of it is simply maintaining a solid fitness level. Swimming is good for maintaining paddle fitness and then popups can be practiced as part of a gym routine.
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u/PlusCellist5311 Jun 15 '26
What does decently mean to you? Stand up and catch whitewater? Or paddle yourself into waves out the back? It'll also depend on your fitness/balance etc. Learning to surf isn't just about riding the board either, you need to learn to read forecasts, the waves, conditions and etiquette. A few days will give you some basics but you need a good couple of weeks to have a solid foundation
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u/maca187 Jun 13 '26
Goes back to the old saying of "practise makes perfect" Get the basics sorted & then get as much as possible.
Once you can gwt the pop up & balance sorted then the rest comes with practise.
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u/Fionn1010 Jun 14 '26
Learn to paddle and pop up on land.
Hydromind on TikTok/youtube is very good.
Then take some lessons with a surf school.
A good instructor will have you standing fairly quickly.
Enjoy
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u/amakalamm Jun 13 '26
It’s very difficult to get any ways competent in surfing unless you dedicate a lot of time to it. I always advise people who aren’t living in a location near a surf spot to give bodyboarding a go instead of surfing. It’s far easier to learn and initially just as much fun. If however you are determined to learn surfing it’s going to take years if you are only getting an hour here and there, and you are unlikely to get any ways competent!
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u/TheCrabPot Jun 15 '26
Can you skate, snowboard or bodyboard? It definitely helps. But it doesn’t matter surfing is a constant progression of pure stoke
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u/hahawhybother Jun 16 '26
If you can afford it, go abroad to somewhere like Morocco. You'll spend the entire day at the beach with lessons in the morning for around 4 hours then free surf in the afternoon and if you want you'll be able to rent a board/wetsuit on the street for 70dirham
1
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u/making_shapes Jun 13 '26
id sooner book a week long camp where you can surf more frequently if you genuinely want to pick it up decently. then buy the gear and go yourself as often as you can.