Day 2: Reading the beach

Day 2: whitewater, green waves, where the waves break and how to spot currents before you go in.

1. Spend five minutes watching before you paddle out. The ocean tells you where to go.
2. Whitewater is the foam after a wave has broken. It is where beginners learn, close to the beach, standing in waist-deep water.
3. Green waves are the smooth faces that have not broken yet. You will ride them once you can stand up easily in the whitewater.
4. A rip current looks like a calm, darker channel where waves do not break. It pulls out to sea: avoid it, and if it catches you, paddle parallel to the beach.
5. Pick a landmark on the beach so you notice if you drift.

Tomorrow: paddling like a surfer.

Next lesson: Paddling well ›