It’s Always Head High

It’s summer on the East Coast, which means small waves and warm water temps. We have had a somewhat surprising July in the respect that we did have waist to chest high swell for a couple of weeks earlier in the month. Even more surprising is the fact that I've ended up body surfing more than stand up surfing during this time.

Currently I only have one car, so any surfboard that I bring to the beach has to go on the roof racks. This time of year, my family usually wants to go to the beach too. So basically, if I go to the beach with my family and the waves suck, I now have to deal with dragging the surfboard around.

My daughter is to blame for all of this though. She had a friend who had a body surfing hand board. I remember seeing old school versions being made out of ply wood like materials, but this was a new take on it. She ended up getting one for her birthday. Then I used her board, wanted one too and then got one for myself. I already had swim fins, just like my daughter did, but the hand board made body surfing so much more fun.

You are able to ride waves better with the hand board. It allows you to plane up more, which means you can catch waves earlier, keep your head up out of the water, ride directional lines, and ride for longer. By the way, you’ll need a good pair of swim fins to make this setup work, as the fins give you enough propulsion to catch waves and then act as planing surfaces once you are riding. Body surfing purists may say that fins and/or a hand board are cheating, but I’ll let them contemplate that because for me body surfing isn’t fun without this gear. The gear was the unlock for me.

One of the things I like most about the body surf set up how easy it integrates. We keep our swim fins and the hand boards together in a satchel about the size of a back pack. It’s easy to throw them in the car because they take very little room, but they do ensure that you will be able to catch waves for the day without the hassle of dragging surfboards around. I think this is what I like most about them. I know that within three seconds I can throw this bag in the car and I will essentially ensure that I can get in the water and catch some waves that day.

So basically, this is my solution to dragging a surf board around on questionable surf days when I know I will be spending time at the beach with my family. If the surf is unquestionably good, I’m probably heading out early in the morning solo (hopefully meeting up with friends) and getting on it before the wind does. Otherwise, the body surf setup allows me to spend time with family, catch waves, and I’m able to do so with minimal extra work. Stoked.