Bodysurfing is surfing in its purist form. All you need is a beach with waves, the ability to swim and the time it takes to master synchronizing your body's shape and speed with that of the incoming swells.
Bodysurfing is also surfing's most inexpensive form. Modern surfing equipment – including bodyboards and stand up boards - can cost close to $1000 when purchased new with accessories like protective bags and safety leashes. Depending on your strength as a swimmer and wave conditions, even fins are an optional extra when it comes to sliding down swells au naturelle.
For many decades the art of bodysurfing dominated Australian beaches. Summer's biggest crowds were generally found between the flags. Entire families flocked to that magical sanctuary between red and yellow to frolic in the waves.
Stand up surfers were banished to the boundaries where their fibreglass boards were less likely to injure anyone who got in their way. Often seen as rebels, these surfers were happy to congregate away from the watchful gaze of the lifesavers or "clubbies" whose rules and regulations were the subject of much derision.
More recently, dramatic technological advances in design and materials triggered an explosion in the number of bodyboards on Australian beaches, causing unprecedented population pressures. So much so that the vocabulary used by stand up surfers to describe the prone invaders now includes such unflattering terms as "shark biscuits", "esky lids" and "speed bumps".
But throughout this evolution a steady traffic of bodysurfers has strolled across the sand and waded out through the breakers to shoot a few waves. Sad but true, today these purists are often overshadowed by flashy stand up surfers performing bottom turns, cutbacks and re-entries. Similarly, the modern armada of bodyboarders stands out by virtue of their sheer speed across the face of the wave, often launching spectacular "barrel rolls" and other aerobatic manoeuvres.
And yet bodysurfing remains as much a part of the Australian beach scene as those iconic red and yellow flags. It is how our ironmen get back to shore in one of this nation's toughest physical tests. And it is how anyone who can swim, with a little practice, can enjoy the same exhilarating rush as a dolphin darting across the face of an ever-changing aquatic playground – free as a bird!
The first lesson in bodysurfing begins on the beach. Never venture into the surf without first checking conditions for at least 15 minutes. It is not uncommon to arrive at a beach and find it devoid of waves, only to swim out and be confronted by a "set" (sequence of three or four larger waves).
The conditions on any given day will be governed by wind direction and velocity, swell direction and size, tides and bottom conditions. Listen to radio or television weather reports to have an idea of what to expect – and perhaps save yourself a wasted trip - but ultimately you should make your own observations after arriving at the beach.
If at all in doubt seek the advice of the lifesavers on duty. They can point out dangers to be avoided: gutters - deeper channels between sandbanks; rips – tidal rushes that can carry you out to sea and dumpers – powerful waves breaking in shallow water.
Naturally, the safest and best conditions for learning to bodysurf will be found between the flags, but there may still be unseen dangers in this area, particularly to the untrained eye. A darker patch of water where no waves break may seem like a safe place to swim but it could well be disguising a gutter with a deceptively strong rip.
Good conditions for learning include an off-shore wind of up to 15 knots. On the east coast this generally means a wind from the west that sweeps the wave face clean and holds it up before whipping a feather of spray off the crest as it topples forward onto the sandbank.
The swell size should not exceed 1m and this should be monitored closely throughout your surf session. The combination of increasing wave size and rapidly changing tides can place even experienced surfers in trouble within minutes. If you are shocked by the arrival of a larger than usual wave or have difficulty maintaining a position in the lineup that was previously easy, head straight to shore and reassess conditions.
Anyone who has tried to walk on sand in fins will know how it feels to be a fish out of water. If you are a particularly strong swimmer fins will generally be an unnecessary extra when it comes to maximizing your bodysurfing pleasure. A good swimmer will usually be able to gain enough speed to catch most waves – as long as the timing is right - but more about that later.
Inexperienced bodysurfers will, however, benefit from the extra power and speed that fins can generate: the exception being days when nice waves are breaking onto a sandbank in water that is about mid-thigh in depth. When this happens leave the fins on the beach – or better still, locked in the car – and wade out to the impact zone.
In these conditions, instead of swimming to catch the wave, practice diving towards shore and down the wave face as it topples over. This is the easiest way to experience the rush of bodysurfing, but your timing will still need to be next to perfect!
On all those other days, wear your fins and swim rather than walk whenever possible. If the water is not too shallow, always duck under broken waves and hold your breath while it passes before surfacing on the other side.
Depending on swell size – and your bravado – you can choose to stay on the inner edge of the breaking zone or wait just outside for the larger set waves that break in deeper water.
You can gain invaluable experience just waiting in the lineup, drifting up the face of unbroken swells and diving under toppled crests. You will begin to get a feel for the critical, climactic point in a wave's long journey across the ocean before expiring on the shore.
In time you will sense that you need to position your body in the top third of the wave. As it reaches the sandbank the water molecules at the base of the wave begin to drag on the bottom. At the same time the top of the wave continues at its original speed, overtaking the bottom and, unavoidably, falling over.
Like most sports, one of the best ways to expedite your learning curve is to watch others more expert than yourself. Study other surfers as they position themselves and time their take-offs in synchrony with the wave.
You will see that they start swimming towards shore while carefully monitoring the wave's progress with regular glances out to sea. Some expert bodysurfers actually prefer to backstroke so they can watch the oncoming wave constantly before flipping into freestyle for the final phase.
Either way, you will need to swim powerfully at the critical moment, keeping your head and shoulders down and your bum and feet up near the surface. The biggest obstacle to successfully bodysurfing a wave is dragging your bum and feet well below the surface.
Watch a surfboard or a bodyboard planing across a wave and you will see that the board is level with the surface – not pointing at the sky like a wrecked ship about to sink to the bottom!
The second most common mistake of the novice bodysurfer occurs just after a wave has been successfully caught. With the rush of excitement – stoke! – that comes from sliding down an ocean swell, most novices lift their head and drop their bum and feet, thereby emulating the sinking ship and, naturally enough, dropping off the back of the wave.
Once on the wave it is imperative to maintain a rigid prone position to plane in front of the broken whitewater. When you master this you will be able to ride the wave all the way to the beach. The other skill that makes this possible is learning to keep your shoulders hunched over and your body prone while lifting your head for an occasional breath of air.
When you master all that you will be inducted into surfing's purist fraternity. And at that stage you'll only need to remember one thing - keep an eye out for speed bumps!
4WD
