What do I need to do before I start?

Before starting to learn to surf, you must be able to swim. The importance of this cannot be overemphasized. Consider that surfboards are usually built mainly to ride waves, occasionally mainly to catch waves. In neither case have they been built to be lifesaving devices. It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not endanger your own life, or the lives of others who may be forced to come to your rescue, should you be forced to swim.

Whats the best exercise to do to prepare me for surfing?

Swimming. You can't beat swimming as a preparation for surfing. Swimming will exercise many of the muscles you will use to paddle your board, it will improve your aerobic fitness, and it will increase your water confidence. Just watch the faces of your non-swimming friends as you easily paddle past them to catch your second wave while they are still paddling out to catch their first!

What is the drop-in rule?

The drop-in rule is the unwritten rule that governs who has the right to ride any given wave. The unwritten law that gives rise to the drop-in rule is "One wave, one person" - in other words there should never be more than one person taking off on any wave (unless by prior agreement). The drop-in rule has two versions, both of which have the object of ensuring one wave, one person.

The first (and I think older) version of the rule is "first person to their feet has right of way on the wave". This version worked fine while everybody stood, and everybody had more or less equal equipment. Now that the lineup is awash with standups, kneeboarders, bellyboarders and other things, it's not quite so workable. The basic thrust is still relevant though - if someone else is already riding the wave, don't try and catch it yourself - remember, one wave, one person.

Surfers who drop in a lot (ie take others' waves) will find they have no respect and may suffer the consequences, ranging from a friendly talking to, through verbal abuse to physical violence. So the golden rule is DON'T DROP IN.

What sort of surfboard should I buy?

OK, as a beginner, you need a long, thick, wide board. The objective is to get something that will easily allow you to catch waves and be stable and forgiving when you are learning to stand.

Single fins and thrusters (3 fins) are fine, but don't get a twin, quad or 5-fin board - these are usually built to be highly manuverable and hence are not as stable. Of course many thrusters and single fins are also unstable. That's why you need to go for length, width and thickness - ease of paddling and stability.

How long should your board be? At least one foot longer than you are tall. How thick should it be? Many of the latest thrusters are very thin and very narrow, completely unsuitable for beginners (No, you don't want a board exactly like Kelly Slater's, you want a board like Kelly Slater learned on - long, thick, wide). Try looking for second hand surfboards that are a bit older - they're more likely to be thicker and wider.

If you have surfshops in your area try getting the staff to show you some beginner's boards - don't buy the first one you see, shop around, it pays. If you only have one surf shop you're probably better off taking their advice than guessing.

Don't be concerned that your big board may seem unresponsive, you will learn to trim and turn properly and end up being a much more powerful surfer than if you learn on a 5'6" twinfin! When you want to buy a small wave board you'll also have a good idea of what you want after your experience riding the bigger board. Finally, another surfing watch-word - it's better to be over-gunned than under-gunned. If in doubt, buy the longer board.

How are wave heights measured?

This is a very grey area! OK, the vast majority of surfers measure wave size in feet down the face of the breaking wave. Some surfers measure the wave height down the back of the wave.

OK, so how do you judge how big the wave is down the face? The easiest way is to watch someone riding the wave standing up, make the assumption that he/she is 5'8" - 6'0" tall, wait 'til they stand fairly straight, and call it by their height eg. if the wave looks to be as high as their head, it's a 5 - 6' wave (remember the surfer will rarely stand fully upright, so lop off a foot in your estimate to compensate). Simple!

The other variable is the steepness of the wave face - a wave can be 6' high but so flat it's barely rideable, or it might be 4' high but hitting a reef and pitching forward 3'! This is why you'll hear people say "fat 6'" or "hollow 4".

So generally speaking, just compare it to the height of someone up and riding, lop off a foot to compensate for them crouching, if it's looks scary lop off a couple of feet to compensate for the fear factor, and you'll be somewhere around a figure your peers will accept!

Where should I surf?

Generally speaking you should stick to beachbreaks, ie. waves that break over sand, rather than waves that break over rock/coral. Some beachbreaks are very dangerous though, so you need to exercise some common sense. You also need to be aware that the seas are dynamic, often rapidly changing places - what may be perfect for beginner surfers now may not be in six months, next week, tomorrow or even an hour from now. Keep your wits about you and take the advice of any lifeguards or experienced surfers around.

OK, what kind of beach break are you looking for? Places where the waves roll towards shore (known as spilling or surging waves), rather than rearing up and breaking violently. Plunging waves can be quite dangerous, even over sand bottoms. When you have become expert plunging waves are the ones you will seek out, but in the early stages, avoid them.

Nor do you need the waves to be particularly good - remember you're just learning the basics of catching waves and being balanced on your chosen board, and to learn those basics any wave will do. You're probably better off staying away form the better waves initially, as the more experienced surfers will take them all anyway (and remember, you don't want to drop in!), and you may be on the receiving end of some verbal if you get in their way. Staying with waves the experts ignore will pay off big time in the first stages of your surfing career - you'll get all the waves you want and will therefore advance much more rapidly to the stage where you can paddle out with the experienced surfers and be accepted.

Wherever possible surf with a friend. Some people think that it's best to surf with another beginner (and spur each other on), some think it's better to surf with a more experienced surfer so that you can learn from them. In either case you will learn from the other surfer, and increase the chances that there'll be someone who can help you should things go wrong.

What are the dangers in the water?

By far the most dangerous thing in the water (apart from pollution) is your own surfboard - you are far more likely to come into heavy contact with it than anything else in the water, including rocks etc. The next most dangerous thing in the water is other people's surfboard.

Forget sharks, seasnakes, rocks, stingrays etc etc. You'll probably never see any dangerous animals in the water until you've been surfing for quite a while, so just forget about them. As for rocks, you'll soon discover that you're usually washed around and past them rather than being driven into them, even when it looks like hitting them will be unavoidable.

So in the beginning concentrate on avoiding being hit by your own and other peoples equipment. When you wipe out cover your head and face with your arms and hands, which will help to protect against really nasty injuries. You'll soon develop a sense of where your board is during a wipe out, but to start with at least when re-surfacing keep your head covered in case your board is travelling toward you at great speed on the surface.

As for other people - try and stay out of the way of anyone actually riding the wave. This is both safer and improves the other persons ride - something you will appreciate yourself when you are riding. In the end though, because you can't control other peoples actions, sooner or later you'll collide with someone. Keep your head covered and on re-surfacing check to see that the other person is not injured or needing help. If the collision was your fault, be very apolegetic!