It’s another British seaside holiday this year so body boarding again, today was at Porth Ceiriad near Abersoch.

Lots of big waves at high tide today caused by swell from two different directions combining to make large but localised waves at one end of the beach. The sensible sized ones elsewhere were just breaking all at once, so I had a go at some of the larger ones whilst trying not to get in the way of the proper surfers.

Struggled on the body board to steer along the wave and not just get washed ashore. This resulted in me getting buried by waves towering above me and I got quite seriously dragged along a few times.

I think I was at a disadvantage on a body board because of ease of steering but also my face is right next to the water so I get too near to the breaking waves I came see anything or in fact breathe.

Might try Porth Neigwl tomorrow. Or maybe Coed y Brenin….

Make sure you have a board the right size for you, generally if the end is on the floor it should come up to just below your belly button.  Bodyboard HQ have a sizing guide on they’re website I think.  A larger board will be faster in a straight line but harder to steer as your need to ‘dig’ an edge into the wave and the extra buoyancy will reduce your ability to do this.  A too big a board makes it harder to duck dive on the paddle out as well.  Also a really rigid board with carbon stringers will make for a harder ride in cold lumpy British waters (there is a whole plethora of board materials and flexiness for your size and conditions/temps).

Are you using swim fins as well to get out to the proper waves rather than the small stuff, that makes a world of difference too?

You’ll get used to being trashed.

Part of the learning curve.

Or ..

Buy a bigger board.

Be careful at Porth Ceiriad! The swell / undertow is evil. I had a near-death experience there many years ago in similar circumstances (playing at the point where the two breaks meet) I swore that if I ever saw the beach again, I’d scream for the coastguard. I’ve never been so happy to be dumped from 6’ up onto gravel.

Never encountered anywhere quite as evil since.

This place has mellowed, I asked the same 5 or 6 years ago and was roundly booed and told to “evolve and learn to stand up” 😂
I might have also been called a dick dragger.

Give it 5 weeks and I’ll be back doing the same as you down in north Cornwall 🤟

I’d second the “watch the undertow” and “watch the rip”

But then, I’d expect anyone to do that before they slosh about in the briny sea.

Ask a local if you are unsure.

Not all of them will tell you to **** off.

I looked for rips carefully, didn’t see anything. Didn’t encounter much undertow myself but my daughter got scared buy it (way away from the big waves and with all the other kids) and that was scary for both of us. For me it was being caught where the waves meet at the wrong time and tossed up high and caught right in the breaking bit. The seasoned surfers knew where to go but in trying to be where they weren’t I obviously ended up in the wrong place.

Board is definitely too big. I wonder if I can trim some off the end.

I do have flippers/fins but I don’t like them. I can’t do breaststroke legs in them which I find I need to, and they constitute a bit of a liability when trying to get out of an unpleasant situation.

Any tips for Porth Neigwl?

I think the advice you got last time was use fins/flippers.

Use fins/flippers. It’ll get you into the wave and planing sooner which mean you can set up better and not just get bounced around.

Despite the name I think you’ll find Hells Mouth (Porth Neigwl) easier.

We were walking above Porth Ceiriad on Saturday and the swell was pretty impressive, but I’ve been listening to the surf at hell’s mouth all night (too hot to sleep) and we’re two miles away!

I was at Ceiriad yesterday morning, bass fishing at the very far end…. The swell was noticeable on the boat.

I’m trying with the fins but I am also having issue getting the hang of them.

They need to be those small stiff fins specific to bodyboarding, not big skindiving ones. The aim is a really short spurt of acceleration just before and as the wave lifts you, to get planing.

Second Hell’s Mouth, and you might want to have a look around the north coast on Friday when a big swell kicks in, and the southerly will make it offshore.

Wish I was there…

Mandatory on these threads is to say make sure you’re aware of surf etiquette – you simply may not know when your floundering around is potentially impinging. (Though frankly for more committed surfers tourists are an occupational hazard, it’s not the north coast of Hawaii, and they should be able to access spots that holiday makers simply won’t. But still.) One of the the derogatory terms surfers apply to bodyboaders is “speedbumps”…

Also mandatory is to say that I’m neither bodyboarder or remotely bodyboard curious, though did hire kit in france a few times before I’d properly discovered surfing. It’s good for a quick hit, but watch out that you don’t get properly bitten like I did. It’s really not worth it.

I wouldn’t advise you “trim some off the end”. I don’t think this is generally done by anyone, ever. When you look at it, bodyboarding is generally pretty inexpensive compared to most other activities, biking anyway. In the Spring I bought myself an NMD Base pro, it was about 180 pounds with the leash, but that’s a mid to high end board. What would that get you in biking world, a decent rear mech maybe? If you enjoy it, you really will get a lot value and enjoyment in buying a 50 or 60 pound board that fits, and fins. Ring a bodyboard only shop and talk to them (stay away from surf shops would be my advice). Enjoy!!

Johnx2 don’t get me started on the severe LACK of surf etiquette that a lot of surfers have towards bodyboarders 🙄🙄😡 .

but watch out that you don’t get properly bitten like I did. It’s really not worth it.

Clearly you want to sound very superior 😂😂 . No need to say that.
We are all just enjoying the water.

Johnx2 don’t get me started on the severe LACK of surf etiquette that a lot of surfers have towards bodyboarders

It’s summer, surf etiquette is suspended until at least October.

Which is why I surfed chest high waves on the south coast on my own last night rather than the better but rammed waves on the north coast.

Yeah I am highly concerned with etiquette, that’s one reason I didn’t get the good waves yesterday as I was more concerned with not bothering anyone.

What’s the difference between a cheap board and a fancy one?

I’m trying with the fins but I am also having issue getting the hang of them.

Not trying to do breaststroke would be a *really* good start.

.

but watch out that you don’t get properly bitten like I did. It’s really not worth it.

Clearly you want to sound very superior 😂😂 . No need to say that.
We are all just enjoying the water.

I had a go at bodyboarding when we (me, wife, and three kids round toddler age) were staying at a eurocamp type place in S Brittany. Someone told us about La Torche, which was about a 45 min drive. I hired the kit and was blown away. Later in the holiday was my birthday. Present to me was to go on my own, abandoning wife in tin box with offspring something I never did in those days. Had an absolute blast. Lost my wedding ring, but hey.

Thenceforth I tried similar at every holiday opportunity. Never occurred to be to try stand-up as it looked too difficult. Then we left london, foot and mouth closed the fells, climbers I’d met had bought boards and said come to scarborough. I thought if they can do it so can I. Cue a few years spending too much time in carparks of the UK wearing rubber and sleeping in vans, making career and relationship threatening last minute decisions on drives to the coast, before eventually buying a place on the coast so that kids could come too. Looked round and the kids were teenagers and weren’t coming. Teenagers who I’d also fully put off the sea.

I fully regret having spent less time with my family than I should have, and the rest. But compared to the people I know who’ve moved countries, given up careers, shed relationships etc etc really this is minor commitment.

And I’m still shite at actual surfing – you’re never going to get any good at something you start in your 30s. And the boards are getting a bit bigger now. And I wonder how many good years I have left…

So yeah, it’s definitely all just having fun in the water. And I only feel a little bit superior😂 but I mean it when I say don’t get bitten. Honestly a crack habit would’ve been easier to handly.

Main things are to not jump to que or the lineup if there is one and wait your turn – and to not drop in on anyone else. This is more simple on wedge and A frame type waves but can sometimes get confusing on beach breaks where a few groups can form and sometimes it feels everyone is spread out everywhere.

Dropping in on someone else includes if they are trying to paddle for the wave and they are closest to the barrel then they have priority, although some people seem to work off a first come first served basis 😌😏😂

My old board was a bit too stiff for cold waters so it didn’t flex all that well. My new one has much greater flex and recoil and just a good springy feeling in the bottom turn of the wave., which is what I wanted. It also has a better / faster / more durable slick bottom. New boards these days are a bit more narrow width wise which mine is, makes it much easier for paddling out, less cumbersome. It also has less depth and overall slightly less volume ( nearly one inch shorter too), but means it’ll be better on bigger waves. Will use my other board for smaller waves as it has a bat tail 😁 . My new board also has nose and tail bumbers which are a feature on more expensive boards. I’m less convinced by them though. Generally the core of the board is what you pay for.

So yeah, it’s definitely all just having fun in the water. And I only feel a little bit superior😂 but I mean it when I say don’t get bitten. Honestly a crack habit would’ve been easier to handly.

Aaaah see now there’s some perspective on it 😂🙈 . Oh dear.

Main things are to not jump to que or the lineup if there is one and wait your turn – and to not drop in on anyone else. This is more simple on wedge and A frame type waves but can sometimes get confusing on beach breaks where a few groups can form and sometimes it feels everyone is spread out everywhere.

Dropping in on someone else includes if they are trying to paddle for the wave and they are closest to the barrel then they have priority, although some people seem to work off a first come first served basis 😌😏😂

Follow those rules down here this time of year and you aren’t catching a wave anytime soon….

Well I’m usually headed out the west of Ireland so a busy day over there is probably equivalent to one of your quiet days in Devon anyway lol.