1. Choose the right gear.
Boogie Board
Most boogie boards are pretty similar at the beginner level, we recommend starting off with a standard board when starting out.
Size of boogie board
A common rule of thumb is having a boogie board that reaches near your belly button from the ground.
Swim Fins
Swim fins can be helpful in getting out to waves quicker and provide a bit more control while riding, but we don’t recommend this for a beginner. It’s best to learn how to boogie board before trying out the swim fins.
Leash
Most boogie boards come with leashes already in them, but if not this is something you will need to get. Having the leash on the boogie board is one of the most, if not most, important item to have. The leash is what will keep the board tied to you and without the board, you would be stuck without a flotation device.
Water Proof Clothing
Rash Guard: A rash guard is clothing that will help prevent chafing and rashes from friction with the board. On top of that, rash guards help protect you from harmful UV rays. Make sure it is clothing that fits. If your britches are too loose, the waves will take them right off.
Wet Suit: Having a wet suit isn’t mandatory as a beginner getting started. But having one can be really helpful. A wet suit is a big help when it comes to colder temperatures. You can get a long wet suit where it covers most of your body or a shorter one for warmer temperatures.
Goggles
These can be helpful, especially if you’re new to boogie boarding and haven’t done many duck dives before.
Wax
Applying wax to your boogie board is helpful, but not mandatory as a beginner. The point of applying wax is to help keep the board from slipping away from you. This can happen often when paddling out to the waves, especially if you’re using both hands to paddle. The last thing you need is to slip off the boogie board when you’re about to catch the wave.
| Wax Type | Temperature:(1) | Locations: |
| Cold Wax | < 58 ℉ < 14.4 ℃ | Pacific North coast: Oregon, Washington, Alaska |
| Cool Wax | 58 – 68 ℉ 14.4 – 20 ℃ | Most of California |
| Warm Wax | 68 – 78 ℉ 20 – 25.6 ℃ | Most of central/northeast coast during warmer months: New York, New Jersey, Virginia Beach |
| Tropical Wax | > 75 ℉ > 23.9 ℃ | Florida, Pacific Islands, Hawaii |
Sun Screen
Use sun screen for the areas of your body that are not covered by the rash guard or wet suit that you chose to wear.
2. Prepare.
Know how to swim
Knowing how to swim before going out to boogie board is very important. You can’t rely on having your boogie board by you at all times to hold you up. Don’t go boogie boarding until you know how to swim. And don’t go out to further waves unless you’re comfortable swimming without the assistance of the boogie board.
Be aware of rip currents, how to spot one, and what to do if in one and undertow
What is a rip current?
A rip current is a narrow current that flows outwards from the beach through the surf outwards further into the sea. They can move as much as fast as 8 feet per second and take even the best swimmers out to sea.
How to spot a rip current
You can spot a rip current by noticing an area where no waves are breaking and you can see sandy water or white foam heading back out to sea. Additionally, waves interacting with each other can also cause rip currents.
What to do if you’re in a rip current
- If in a rip current, make sure to get attention from someone on shore to come help.
- Do not fight it. Fighting the rip current will waste your energy and you need your energy to stay afloat.
- Focus on staying afloat and remaining calm.
- It is best to swim a short distance parallel to the beach to get out of the rip current before heading back towards the shore.
- Once out of the rip current, swim back towards the shore at an angle away from the rip current.
Rip Currents vs. Undertow
A rip current and an undertow are different from one another
Undertow is the flow of the waves that have just broken returning back to the sea. The waves returning back downhill after coming uphill to crash on the shore. As long as the beach doesn’t have a steep incline, the undertow likely won’t be very strong.
A rip current is much more dangerous. It is current on the surface of the water and can extend far beyond the shore. In the USA, according to NOAA SciJinks, about 100 people drown in rip currents and lifeguards rescue nearly 30,000 swimmers from rip currents each year.
3. Learn the correct technique.
Stay centered on the board
You should have the bottom of the board nearly intersecting with your hips
Raise your chest
Doing so will put your body in an upright position on the board. The more upright and forward on the board you are, the faster the board you will go.
Hold the front of the board up
Try to hold the front of the board up with your inside hand, while using your outside hand to hold the outer side of the board slightly up pushing you into the wave.
Keep your legs straight when riding a wave
The less of you in the water, the less drag you will create, and the faster you will go. It is okay if your foot or parts of your legs are in the water. But by focusing on having your legs straight, this will force you into the correct form.
Keep your elbows on the board
This will prevent any unnecessary traction in the wave that will slow you down.
Point your eyes in the direction you want to go
It may sound far-fetched but directing your eyes in the right path you want to go, helps direct the body to follow.
4. Learn how to read a wave.
Avoid close out waves.
These are waves that crash all at once and don’t allow the boarder to ride the wave. You can identify a close out wave by noticing if the wave is completely horizontal at the top.
Learn to identify the direction you should ride a wave
First, find the part of the wave where it is the tallest. This is where the wave will first begin to break. This is where you want to be at the start.
Determine which direction the waves are breaking
The side of the wave that is the steepest is where the wave will begin to break.
If the wave is starting to crash from the right to the left, then you will want to ride in that direction – towards the left. So in the below example, you would want to ride towards your left when in the wave.
5. Learn how to ride a wave.
Stay in front of the wave.
The wave will pull you closer to it until it fully crests and begins breaking. This is when the wave will push you forward with it. Sometimes the wave may pull you towards it but you reach the top of the wave too early and miss the break. And so you end up having to wait until the next wave. This will inevitably happen. The more it does, the more you’ll get a better feel for when to time the waves just right.
Learn how to ride the wave by trimming
Trimming a wave means finding the right path to ride the wave so you can ride through it at the speed the wave is crashing. This way you will be going at the fastest pace possible and won’t get caught going slower and against the current.
Ride the right parts of the wave
You can lose speed if you’re riding the trough or crest of the wave. Instead, focus on riding slightly above the halfway point height of the wave. By doing this, you will be optimizing your speed through the wave.
6. Find a good spot.
The best location will depend on how advanced of a boogie boarder you are. For beginners, it’s best to fight areas that are relatively shadow with smaller waves to learn in. A great example for this on the east coast is Virginia Beach. On the West Coast, Santa Cruz is a beginner friendly spot.
7. Plan ahead based on the tides and weather conditions.
What tide is best
What tide is best depends on the specific location where you’ll boogie board. Each beach is different and as a result different tides produce different wave formations. Some beaches are best during high tide, whereas others are better during low time. However, its recommended for beginners to boogie board during low tide as you will have more control while you learn.
What you should look for the weather to be
The best conditions are when there is no wind for the boogie boarder. However, if there is wind, the direction matters. Offshore wind is better than onshore wind. This is because offshore wind will be blowing away from the shore and towards the crashing waves, slightly holding them up. Onshore wind causes waves to break earlier preventing them from growing into steep large waves. Generally you don’t want wind to be too high as it’ll make it tougher for you to move in the water once the waves break.
Check the National Weather Service for Rip Current Statements and Surf Zone Forecasts
It is recommended to check the National Weather Service for rip current statements and surf zone forecasts beforehand. This will be a great resource to use when a planning a trip.
8. Learn and practice wiping out.
Don’t fight the wave if you’ve wiped out. Let the wave take you and you’ll have an easier time when you surface.
Learn to duck dive. Duck diving is a method to go under approaching waves instead of trying to go over it before it crashes on you. Duck diving is done by dipping the front of your board (the nose) below the water, shifting your grip to about two-thirds height of the board on the side rails, putting your knees on the back of the board, and swimming further underwater while the wave crashes above. The idea behind it is to make sure you get the board and yourself underwater as quickly as possible before the wave crashes on you.
9. Practice.
Like with all things in life, practice makes perfect. With enough practice, you’ll get the hang of boogie boarding in no time!
10. Have fun!
Boogie boarding is an exciting activity to learn and get the hang of. Enjoy the excitement and thrill that comes with boogie boarding. You can encourage your friends to join in the fun alongside you as you learn.
Boogie Boarding vs. Body Boarding
Finally, it is worth addressing the two similar terms, boogie boarding and bodyboarding. Long story short, they mean the same thing. However, there is more to it than that. When Morey originally created the Morey Boogie, it became so popular that other companies sought to make similar boards. However, the only way they could legally do this was by calling them bodyboards instead. On top of the historical significance, bodyboarding has come to be associated with the more competitive side of the sport whereas boogie boarding represents the recreational boarder. One last point to emphasize here is that bodyboarding differs from body surfing. Body surfing is surfing the wave without a board at all.
