Wave types

Beach break

A beach break is waves breaking over a sandy bottom. This is the most common break type in the world and the best place for almost everyone to learn. The bottom is soft, so falling is far less scary, and if you get pushed onto the sand it forgives you.

The trade-off is consistency. Sand moves. Storms and tides reshape the sandbanks constantly, so the peaks shift around, sometimes day to day, and the same good wave rarely happens in the same place twice. This makes beach breaks a little shifty, you have to re-read the bank each session. But for learning, that unpredictability is a small price for a bottom that will not cut you open.

• ·Forgiving to wipeouts, because the bottom is sand.
• ·Peaks shift after every storm, so positions change.
• ·The most common and most beginner friendly break type.

Point break

A point break is where waves wrap around a point of land (a headland, a jetty, a rocky outcrop) and peel in one direction for a long, long way. Because the bottom shape is fixed, the waves are consistent and predictable, and the rides can be very long, sometimes a hundred meters or more. Point breaks are the stuff of surf films: long, clean, stylish walls.

The catch is that this quality draws crowds. A good point break is often packed, and because everyone is riding the same long wall in the same direction, the priority rules from Lineup Etiquette matter even more. Point breaks are wonderful for an improving surfer, because the long predictable wave gives you time to practice, but the crowd and the often rocky entry make them less ideal for a first ever session.

Reef break

A reef break is waves breaking over a rock or coral reef. Because the bottom does not move, the wave shape is extremely consistent, often hollow, powerful, and beautifully formed. Many of the most famous waves in the world are reef breaks. They are also the least forgiving. The bottom is hard and often sharp, the water over it can be shallow, and a bad wipeout can mean hitting reef.

Reef breaks are not the place for your first session, or your tenth. They demand experience, respect, and usually local knowledge about where and when it is safe. If you are a beginner looking at a reef break, admire it from the beach and go find sand. There is no rush, and the reef will still be there when you are ready.

River mouth and sandbar

A river mouth break forms where a river deposits sand and builds a sandbar that shapes long, hollow waves. When it works it can be magic, combining some of the length of a point with the shifting nature of sand.

Two cautions. River mouths can have strong currents from the river outflow, and in some parts of the world they are known for sharks, drawn by what the river carries out. Do your research on any specific river mouth before paddling out. As a category it is more of an intermediate curiosity than a beginner destination.

How break type changes your choices

Waves that break gradually in one direction, giving you a clean face to ride, are described as peeling. Waves that break all at once along their whole length, giving you nothing to ride, are called close-outs. Part of reading a break type is learning whether it tends to peel (good) or close out (frustrating), which brings you right back to Reading the Ocean.

• ·Where you go. As a beginner you want a sandy beach break with a gentle wave, ideally with a lifeguard. You are avoiding reef and heavy river mouths entirely.
• ·What board you bring. Softer, mushier beach break waves reward a floaty, high volume board. Exactly what the Board Matcher steers a beginner toward.
• ·How much risk you accept. Sand forgives, reef teaches, and it teaches hard. Match the break to your level honestly, with no ego.