Flo

	LJCS Villa's
	Eagle Pointe, Kissimmee, Florida
	A family owned villa for family holidays

Body Boarding for Beginners

So, you have decided to go to Cocoa Beach for the day. The first thing your kids (and you!) are going to want to do is go in the waves and try to ride some.  Then you will wonder why you cannot do it.

Here are some hints and tips to help you.  If you want more detailed info there are plenty of web sites, but there is no substitute for just trying it. The real pro's at this actually kneel up on their boards - lets try lying down first shall we?

First things first.

Cocoa beach waves are pretty tame. The beach is protected by Cape Canaveral and so the locals call it Lake Cocoa. That said, the waves can get up to about 3 foot, which is plenty to learn on, but all the usual things can happen here (like rip currents and off shore winds) so PLEASE keep an eye on the little ones.

There will be surfers near the pier.  They are entitled to be there and the protocol is, if they get the wave first - you need to give way to them. They are generally very good about avoiding tourists but if you are wading out and a surfer is coming the other way, they expect that you will just duck under the water (seriously!) as this is how you avoid a collision.

Try and stay at least 20 feet away from the pier and make sure your kids do not surf under it - very dangerous.

Sun Block - make sure you have plenty on.  You will definitely burn if you do not keep topping up. For children in particular, make sure you get the back of the legs (especially behind the knees.) It will ruin the rest of your holiday if they get burnt here.

T-Shirt or Rash Vest - if you look at the locals body boarding you will notice they are usually wearing wet suits or a vest. The water is warm so why do they do that? The clue is in the name of the vest they wear. If you body board without a T-Shirt or top you will quickly develop a rash across your stomach. I don't know why but it always happens and makes continuing unpleasant.  To overcome this you can buy a rash vest quite cheaply from most of the surf shops or Wal-Mart ($20), or just wear a long T shirt.  The advantage of the Rash Vest is that your kids will feel more like surfers and (if you get the right ones) they are SPF factor 50 and prevent sunburn (don't forget you still need block on your neck and legs!) Our kids love their rash vests and we take them on every holiday anywhere in the world - I even have one which I wear when I have had too much sun.

The Board - You can buy a body board almost anywhere in Florida, so which one should you go for? The main thing to remember here is that you want a board that works - so do not buy the $5 tiny cheap boards, because your kids will just complain and complain that they cannot get on a wave. It should come up to your naval as per the picture (the reason will become clearer later.) My advice is that you need one that is at least 36" long. The one I am holding in the photograph is 42" and is superb for me. The boards usually have a name which gives you a clue as to how long it is (i.e. a Wave Runner 36 or Body Perfect 42) but ask if you are not sure.  I personally prefer ones that are slightly thinner so try not to get one that feels like a brick but that is a matter of taste. The other thing you really want is for the board to have a shiny hard white underneath. (or polypropylene slick bottom!) You should be able to get a board like this for $30 so if you plan to use it for a couple of days then it is well worth it - otherwise rent one for $10 or so.

OK - Off we go

Attach the strap to your wrist so you do not loose the board and head off into the waves.

Being Cocoa beach, you are not going to have too much trouble getting out to where the waves are breaking. Push the board in front of you and just jump whenever a wave comes! If they get bigger you will probably need to learn to duck under the waves - but that is too much for this page.

You want to get out far enough that the waves are just beginning to crest. If you think about the shape of a wave, basically it has a down slope facing the beach - that is what you are riding. What you are trying to do is slide down the front of the wave before it breaks and get some speed up - then you can ride the foam.  Catching wave that has already broken and is all white foam does not work.

You need to be on the board for this to work.  Number one mistake new people make is to hold the board out in front of them and just have their arms or chest on it.

You should hold the board with both hands near the top (I hold just above where the board starts going back in) and you need to be able to get you shoulders over your hands when riding the wave (see picture below) with the bottom edge of the board somewhere below your middle. 

I tend to start with my hands in the right place, forearms flat on the board and elbows at 90^o.  When I start to get on a wave I push up on my hands and bring my shoulders forward over the hands so that my weight is forward.

When waiting for wave you can practice floating on the board.  You should be able to balance on it by leaning forward on your elbows and having your legs out behind you. If you get the balance point right you should be able to push the nose of the board up and down by leaning a little forwards or backwards - VERY IMPORTANT FOR LATER ON.

You are now floating around happily - look back at the beach.  Ideally you want a clear channel back into the beach. Minimum make sure there is not a group of old people or small children directly between you and the beach because if you catch a wave you will mow them down!

Pick a wave. They tend to come in groups so don't necessarily grab the first one.  You are looking for a wave that is reasonably big, looks like it is will be breaking just after you and does not have a surfer already on it!

In order to catch the wave you must be moving forwards towards the beach otherwise it will pass under you and you will 'fall off' the wave. Depending on how deep you are you can do this by either

(a) paddling as fast as can towards the beach with you hands and feet (takes practice) until you catch the wave or

(b) run a little towards the beach and jump onto the board. 

If you go for option (b) make sure that you get actually onto the board far enough that you can assume the 90^o angle bit with your arms because.....

• To speed up you should push down on the nose of the board (not so far that you flip over!)
• To slow down, you should pull up the nose of the board. To get off the wave all together pull the front up out of the water.
• To steer - just lean on the hand in the direction you want to go.

With practice you will be whizzing all the way to the beach to the amazement of friends and family :-)

If you are struggling to get a wave think about this:

• Are you far enough on the board?  If you take you feet off the bottom and the nose flips up, you need to get further onto the board.
• Are you moving fast enough towards the beach before the wave? You need to get some momentum up to catch a wave.
• Are the waves any good?  Look at the 'real' surfers.  If they are not catching anything, don't be too hard on yourself :-)

A Good Game with the kids

Explaining all of the above to anybody under 12 just does not work so this is what I do:

• Take a child - making sure first they can swim and have signed appropriate disclaimers.
• Tow them on the board out to where the waves are.
• Get them to float on the board with their hands near the front and their elbows in the right position.  You should be able to take your hands off them, and they should balance on the board with the weight slightly forward.
• Point them towards the shore, making sure they have a route into the beach.
• Wait for suitable wave.
• As the wave approaches, tell the child they are going and count to three.
• As the waves starts to pass you, give them a solid push on the back edge of the board. This will give them lots of forward speed.
• Watch them ride the wave all the way into the beach, laughing.
• Occasionally they will get too confident and 'wipe out'.  Put them straight back on the board and do it again.

They will be the envy of all the other kids on the beach as they whiz by and will not stop talking about it for weeks.

Be careful:

• Do not launch them in waves too big otherwise they will wipe out and could get into serious problems. You really only want to be doing this in waves that are a few feet tall and do not go over your head as you launch them.
• Be prepared to swim after the child in case they do wipe out while still reasonably deep. It is better of you have a partner or other adult somewhere shallower to help them if they get in difficulty because if they catch the wave, they will be 50 feet away from you very quickly.
• Be aware of how tired you and the child gets.
• Watch out for other boarders and surfers.  Your back will be turned to the waves so just be aware of what is around you.
• Do not launch the child towards large groups of people.  They are very solid and you do not want your child hitting them head first!!
• Watch the other surfers.  If they get out of the water - so do you.

It is very good  fun though so as long as you pay attention and know your limits, this will be an experience you and you children will remember forever.

Postscript:

I got this photo back of Connor and just had to post it! - Lee