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Author: Kai Nakamura

  • Beginner’s Guide to Your First Surf Lesson

    Every surfer you see threading barrels and carving turns started in the whitewater. The beginning is awkward, humbling, and absolutely worth it. Here is what to expect from your first lesson.

    Your instructor will start on the beach, walking you through the pop-up motion: lying flat, hands beside your chest, pushing up and planting your feet in one fluid movement. Practice this on land until it feels automatic. In the water, everything happens fast.

    The first waves you catch will be whitewater — broken waves that push you toward shore with forgiving force. Focus on your stance. Feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent, arms out for balance, eyes looking forward. Do not look down at the board. Ride it out to the sand and do it again. And again. The ocean is a patient teacher if you let it be.

  • The Art of Reading Ocean Swells

    Understanding wave formation separates good surfers from great ones. A wave is not just water — it is energy that has traveled hundreds of miles across the open ocean, shaped by storms, underwater topography, and the angle of the seafloor as it approaches shore.

    Groundswells, generated by powerful distant storms, produce the long-period waves that California surfers dream about. Wind swells, created locally, tend to be choppier and less consistent. Learning to distinguish between them — using buoy data, wind charts, and simple observation — is the foundation of session planning.

    The key metrics to track are wave height, period (the time between waves), and direction. A 6-foot swell at 18 seconds of period will be dramatically more powerful and better-shaped than 6 feet at 8 seconds. Pair that with a favorable tide and an offshore wind, and you have the recipe for a session worth waking up early for.