Just how long should your turn on a river wave last? Thirty seconds? A minute? Minutes? Well, it depends.
River surfing is a community thing. Majority of river waves these days are purposefully made for surfing using taxpayer funds to build them. Sure there are a handful of natural river waves, or boat chutes that happen to make for a wave as well; but, those have been for the most part discovered by more than just the handful few who used to surf them first. Truth is, we gladly share our river waves. Trick is to do so equitably.
One way, but not the only way of sharing a river wave equitably, is figuring out exactly how long your ride should be surfing a wave so the next person gets their turn to surf. To figure out how long to surf starts with the line-up, then type of surfing, and lastly, local norms. Continually assessing and sizing up the line-up should be the main factors on how long or short your rides should be.
A moderate line-up with say 5 to 10 on each side should clue you into taking shorter rides like 30 seconds at max. In other words, you should get up on the wave and as soon as possible, start getting after it with turns. Think of it as a sprint where you gas yourself-out going close to 100% of your max surfing. Your body should be telling your mental clock that you are spent after 30 seconds and it is time to kick out or bail. A fun way of staying within the 30 seconds is to ramp up your surfing and push the limits of your turns and tricks to the point of falling.
A crowded line-up of 20 plus surfers (split however on either side) means get to it! Be ready to go next after a quick glance to make sure the prior surfer is safely off the wave and secondary wave, and then don’t dilly dally on getting on the wave. Chit chat also ends when you are up next in the queue. And then for heaven’s sake, go all out and surf hard and fast with a mindset of being off the wave in 30 seconds or sooner!!!!!
A mellow crowd of a few surfers does not necessarily mean don’t use the rule of 30 seconds a ride. A minute could be appropriate, but still be aware of your fellow surfer who has inched up to the side of the wave and is looking to get another ride in before they have to bolt home for dinner or to work during a dawn session…. A minute of surfing is not too greedy, but gauge your fellow surfers before taking a full minute.
Resting on a wave…. What if you rest on a wave to catch your breath???… Well, if you are on a wave, surf hard, take a rest by straight-line standing there on the wave, and then surf some more…. you had better know your fellow surfers in the line-up pretty darn good before doing so. Resting in the middle of your run just so you can score a full minute of surfing or more can be a no-no and could appear disrespectful to the other surfers waiting patiently for their turn.
Locals mostly…. Things change a bit when you are visiting surfer. Locals surfing their home river wave are given more leeway to surf just about as long as they want within reason. For example, at Glenwood on the longboard side, locals have surfed that spot for decades and now the place gets busy when the wave is in. So a visiting surfer had better let the locals surf as damn long as they please. Bring extra quarters to feed the parking meter for you car because the locals literally surf for minutes after they get on that wave. Be cool, have fun watching them, and feed those parking meters. You can also learn to surf the shortboard side of G-wood where everyone’s rides are much shorter.
Wave Time Tips:
- Keep it to around 30 seconds if there is a line-up of any size.
- Surf to your 100% ability and then bail.
- Don’t take a rest break or breather break while riding to try to get a another extra 30 second ride in (for a total of a minute or more).
- Surf up to a minute or more if surfing with a few of your friends who appreciate your longer runs.
- Try to equal line-up wait time for each side of the wave. For example: if one side has 10 surfers and your side has 4 surfers; let two surfers go on the 10 person side before you go (and be vocal about the second person on the other side going next before you)
- Give the locals a break and they get to surf longer than you.
- Keep an eye on the eddy line for SUP surfers and kayakers who are actually in the queue but have to get a running start into the river. They know when they are next up and get regular eye contact with them to give them room in the eddy onto the wave.
- Share the surf and have fun!
Comments are open, be cool… LBK
The Denver Surf Report 