The floater

Turning and speed · 3 min read · Board: A shortboard or a fish.

Riding over the top of a section instead of through it. Good for closing sections and a first taste of lip control.

When a section of the wave is about to close out, you can ride over the top of the breaking lip instead of turning away. That is a floater.

1. Speed up toward the section, at a slight angle, and go high on the face.
2. Aim for the lip, a little ahead of where it is breaking.
3. Stay low and light as you slide onto the top of the wave, keeping your weight over the board.
4. Look where you will land, and ride down with the foam.

Mistakes

• Hitting the lip too early or too late. Watch the section, not the board.
• Bending too little. Stay low and absorb the landing.
• Staying on the lip too long. Let the board ride down with the falling water.

A guide is not a coach. If you can, take a lesson or surf with someone better than you.

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