How to Generate Speed Surfing on a Surfboard?

Speed is the heartbeat of surfing; it’s what lets you pull off cool moves, catch more waves, and simply have a blast on the water. But if you’re just starting out, figuring out how fast can you go on a surboard might seem tough. The speed at which a surfer can go largely depends on several factors, including the size and shape of the wave, the design of the surfboard, and the skill of the surfer themselves. Generally, surfers can reach speeds of up to 20-30 miles per hour on a good wave. Learning to harness the power of the wave effectively can dramatically increase your speed.

That’s where this guide comes in. We’ve put together easy-to-follow tips and tricks that anyone can know how to generate speed surfing. Whether you’re a beginner or just looking to get a bit quicker, these straightforward strategies will help you zoom across the waves in no time.

Basic Techniques to Generate Speed Surfing

Learning to generate speed in surfing doesn’t need to be daunting. The core principles are straightforward and apply whether you’re a beginner navigating the wave’s face or an advanced surfer attempting maneuvers like airs. It’s simpler than it may appear.

1. By Using the Wave Face

When we talk about using the wave face, making the most of the wave’s entire surface. Beginners aim for the top part of the wave. From there, angle your board downwards – that’s your secret of how to generate speed surfing. For those who’ve been surfing for a while, it’s about finding your groove between the wave’s top and bottom thirds. It’s this blend of technique and feel that turns a good ride into a great one.

2. By Using Your Legs

In surfing, your legs are the ones that power and steer your board. One of the ways of how to get speed surfing is to focus on compressing and extending your legs. The lower you bend, the more push you give to your surfboard, making you go faster. Just make sure your board is tilted (on its rail) while you do this. Bending your legs and leaning at the same time can indeed pick up speed.

3. By Using Your Arms

A common mistake in learning how to generate speed surfing is not using your arms effectively. Many surfers use their arms just for balance, but they can actually help you go faster. Try to keep an eye on your trailing hand. Changing how you use your arms can really help you speed up in surfing.

How to Gain Speed Surfing with Advanced Techniques?

Let’s delve into advanced techniques to go beyond the basics and truly excel in speed surfing.

1. Choose the Right Board

Your choice of surfboard can significantly impact your speed and maneuverability on the waves. You should pick a board that matches your skill level, body type, and the prevailing wave conditions.

• Shorter boards excel in maneuverability and responsiveness, though they might pose challenges for paddling and wave-catching.
• Longer boards simplify paddling and wave-catching but may compromise agility and speed generation.
• Wider boards deliver stability and buoyancy, albeit at the cost of increased water resistance and friction.
• Narrower boards prioritize agility and responsiveness, potentially trading off some stability and buoyancy.
• Thicker boards provide enhanced floatation and forgiveness but may sacrifice precision in their maneuvers.
• Thinner boards are known for their precision and sensitivity but may compromise on floatation and forgiveness.

Clearly, there’s a trade-off between speed and stability, as well as between ease of use and high performance. Finding the right balance to suit your goals requires experimentation with different boards to understand how they affect your speed and surfing style.

2. Paddle Efficiently

Paddling directly influences how quickly you can catch waves and how many waves you can ride. Paddling efficiently involves using proper technique, timing, and strength to maximize your speed and endurance while in the water. Here are some valuable tips to enhance your paddling efficiency:

• Maintain a straight body alignment on your board, aligning your head, shoulders, hips, and feet. This minimizes drag and ensures better balance.
• Keep your head up and focus on looking ahead rather than down at your board, improving wave awareness and obstacle avoidance and enhancing posture and breathing.
• Keep your arms close to your body, striking a balance between width and narrowness, which creates more power and leverage while reducing fatigue and the risk of injury.
• Maintain a cupped hand position with fingers together, avoiding a flat or spread-out hand shape. Cupped hands generate more lift and propulsion while reducing resistance.

3. Catch the Wave Early

To boost your surfing speed, early wave catching can position yourself on the wave before it breaks or as it starts to break, which gives you a head start and more time to build speed.

• Choosing the Best Wave: Pick a wave that matches how well you surf and the type of board you have. Avoid waves that are too big or small, too steep or flat, too fast or slow, and either too crowded or empty.
• Getting in the Right Spot: To surf with good speed, stay near the top part of the wave, where it starts to break and is steepest. Position your board at a slight angle to the wave, not straight across or right along it.
• Paddling Right: When a wave is coming, paddle just hard enough to match its speed. Don’t paddle too hard or you might lose control. Your paddling should go with the wave’s rhythm, helping you to generate speed surfing, instead of fighting against it or trying to paddle faster than it.

When you catch the wave early, you get a chance to start on a steeper part of the wave, which helps you go faster thanks to gravity. Gravity pulls you and your board down the wave, making you speed up. The steeper the wave, the more gravity helps you go faster.

4. Pump the Board

To go faster on the wave, try pumping your board. This means moving your board up and down on the wave’s surface to build speed and momentum. Pumping is a common and effective way to speed up while surfing because it uses the wave’s energy and your body’s effort. Here are some tips:

• Start near the bottom of the wave, where you have more speed.
• Go up the wave by straightening your legs and swinging your arms in the direction you want to turn.
• Go down the wave by bending your legs and swinging your arms in the opposite direction of your turn.
• Keep doing this as much as you can or as long as the wave allows. It makes your movements smooth and helps you go faster and do more tricks.

By pumping your board, you can increase your speed and have more fun riding the wave, while also being able to do cool tricks.

5. Trim Your Board

Trimming your board means adjusting your position and weight on your board, creating balance and efficiency. Trimming your board determines how well you can use your board and the wave to generate speed. It requires good awareness, sensitivity, and finesse. Here are some tips to trim your board:

• Move your weight towards the front of your surfboard. This helps you catch waves better and reduces drag, making you go faster.
• Shifting your weight to the back of the board helps you control the board better, increases drag a bit, and keeps you from tipping forward.
• When you want to turn or do a trick, move your weight to one side of the board to put pressure on the edges (rails) of the board, making it easier to turn.

You can optimize your speed and efficiency on the wave by honing your board-trimming skills, ultimately enhancing your style and technique.

6. Stay Low

Staying low means keeping your body close to your board, creating stability and balance. It’s foundational to how to generate speed surfing that significantly influences your skills on the waves.

• Lower Your Stance:  Bend your knees deeply to bring your body closer to the board, enhancing stability and reducing resistance against the water.
• Position Your Arms: Keep your arms snugly by your side, ensuring more effective power generation and lessening the risk of fatigue and injury.
• Lean and Look: Adopt a forward-leaning position, keeping your gaze ahead. This aids in accelerating more swiftly, while improving your line of sight and respiratory efficiency.

Adopting a low stance boosts your speed and stability, helping to prevent falls and wipeouts.

7. Surf Rail-to-Rail

Rail-to-rail surfing means you’re using the edges of your board for powerful turns on the wave. It’s an advanced move that shows you’ve got control over your board and the wave, and it’s really important for going fast and moving easily.

• Front Rail for Climbing Waves: When you’re going up a wave or doing a top turn, press down on the front side of your board. Putting more weight on your front foot helps you speed up and turn with more power.
• Back Rail for Sharp Turns: To go down a wave or make a sharp turn, lean on the back side of your board. Moving your weight to your back foot makes your turns sharper and quicker.
• Smoothly Shifting Rails: Switch smoothly between the front and back sides of your board when you go up, down, or change direction on a wave. Doing this keeps your ride smooth and helps you go faster and turn better, teaching you how to generate speed surfing.

8. Avoid Flat Hops

Flat hops are small, bouncy jumps that some surfers use to try to speed up on their surfboards, especially on slow or flat waves. However, these jumps aren’t the best way to go fast because they can slow you down and make your ride less smooth. They also don’t look very cool, as they can seem a bit clumsy. Here’s what you can do instead of flat hops but still know how to generate speed surfing:

• Ride the Wave, Not the Air: The best way to get faster is by using the wave’s own energy. Ride along the wave itself instead of trying to bounce off the air.
• Use Your Legs More: Your legs are key to going fast. Use them to push and glide your board along the wave rather than making your board bounce up and down.
• Let Your Arms Help: Use your arms for balance and direction. Move them to help guide your board smoothly over the wave, not to try and lift yourself into the air.

By skipping the flat hops and focusing on these tips, you’ll find yourself surfing faster and smoother, and you’ll look better doing it!

9. Stay Near the Pocket

The pocket, also called the power source, is the best spot for quick and impressive moves in surfing. It’s the part of the wave where gravity and the side of your board help you speed up. Surfers on smaller boards usually stay close to the pocket. If you watch someone good on a shortboard, you’ll see they know where to go to get fast.

The main thing about surfing fast is using the wave’s power. The steepest part of the wave, especially the top third near the lip, has the most power. That’s the pocket or the curl. It’s where the pros get their boost and start their tricks. Knowing this is a big part of how to generate speed surfing.

10. Stay Relaxed

To surf well, you have to keep your body and mind at ease, which helps you move smoothly and keep a good rhythm on the waves. Many surfers don’t realize how important relaxation is for their speed and how well they surf.

11. Practice

Practicing regularly and consistently is the best way to get better at surfing. It’s a main part of how to generate speed surfing. You need dedication, discipline, and patience for effective practice. Here’s how you can practice well:

• Surf Frequently: The more you surf, the better you’ll get. Surfing often improves your skills and fitness, plus you get more used to different waves.
• Explore Different Conditions: Try surfing in various weather and at different beaches. Doing this expands your knowledge, makes you more adaptable, and introduces you to new challenges.
• Surf with Other Surfers: Surf with people who have different surfing abilities. This way, you can learn new things from others and also teach what you know, which is great for your social skills.

By putting in the time and effort to practice, you’ll get better and faster at surfing but also enjoy it more.

Choose Boost Fin to Catch More Wave

Ready to take your surfing to the next level? Look no further than the Boost Fin, an accessory that can be easily attached to any board in just 5 minutes. Here’s why every surfer should consider Boost Fin:

• Impressive Power: The Boost Fin boasts an incredible 20-pound thrust, equivalent to the power of 15 rowers in a canoe.
• Speed Boost: You can reach speeds of up to 10 mph, making it easier and quicker to catch those perfect waves.
• Extended Battery Life: Enjoy longer surf sessions thanks to the Boost Fin’s battery, which lasts between 60 to 90 minutes on a single charge.

Quick Specs:

• Lightweight: Weighing only 2.7 lbs, it won’t add significant weight to your board.
• Built to Last: Crafted from durable Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer and ABS Plastic.
• Top-Quality Battery: Equipped with a Li-ion 3500 mAh, 24 V, 84 Wh battery for extended use.
• Effortless Control: Includes a responsive 433 MHz remote control for ease of use.

Boost Fin offers an affordable way to upgrade your surfboard. While some electric fins can cost up to $1,000, the Boost Fin is priced at just $499. It’s a reliable, fast, and budget-friendly solution to make your surfing sessions more thrilling.

Generate Speed Surfing with Boost Fin

Speed is the name of the game in surfing—it means more waves, more tricks, and more fun. Yet, for beginners, the art of generating speed on a surfboard can be challenging. We’ve delved into both fundamental and advanced techniques of how to generate speed surfing to help you boost your surfing speed. Additionally, we’ll introduce you to Boost Fin, which can supercharge your performance.

Now, it’s time to put these techniques into action and see just how fast you can ride those waves. Happy surfing!