Why Clean Waves Matter More Than Big Waves When Learning to Surf

If you've never surfed before, there's a good chance you'll have the same reaction as many of our guests.

As we drive along the Marginal towards Carcavelos, there's a first moment when you can properly see the ocean from the road. Quite often, someone in the van looks outside and says something along the lines of: ''The waves look really small...´´ or ''It's completely flat!''.

Sometimes you can immediately feel the disappointment.

Bica, our former Head Coach, has a simple answer whenever this happens: "If, by the end of the lesson, you didn't have fun or don't think it was worth it, come and talk to me." Sometimes he even adds that we'll give the money back if the session really wasn't worth it.

It's become a bit of a Surf Cascais classic, and our coaches still use versions of it today.

The reason is simple. It's very easy to judge a surf session from the beach, and wave size is usually the first thing people notice. Once the lesson is over, however, the conversation is normally about something completely different.

Bigger waves don't necessarily mean better surfing

It's understandable that people associate bigger waves with better surfing. Surf films, competitions and social media naturally show the most spectacular side of the sport. Bigger waves look more exciting and challenging, so it seems logical to assume they will also provide a better surf session.

For beginners and intermediate surfers, that's often not the case.

Surfing is a technical sport and a big part of progression comes through repetition. Every wave is another opportunity to work on paddling, positioning, wave selection, timing, take-off, stance and weight distribution. As you progress, you start adding things like generating speed, choosing a line and turning the board with more control.

This is why a clean 0,5m wave or even smaller can be much more useful than a messy 1.5m wave. In clean and predictable conditions, you have time to understand what's happening. You can make a mistake, receive feedback from your coach and try to correct it on the next wave.

When conditions become too challenging for your level, much more energy goes into paddling, getting through the white water, recovering from wipeouts and simply trying to be in the right place.

You're still surfing, of course, but you're not necessarily learning more.

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The right wave depends on the surfer

This is one of the reasons we don't simply choose the beach with the biggest waves.

Wind speed and direction, swell direction, period, tide and sandbanks can completely change the quality of a surf spot from one day to another. But the level of the group matters just as much as the forecast.

A Level 1 surfer, still learning the basics and building confidence in the white water, needs very different conditions from a Level 2 surfer who is progressing to green waves, learning how to reach the outside, position in the lineup and improve wave reading. A Level 3 independent surfer will naturally need different and often more challenging conditions to continue progressing.

Sometimes the right choice is Carcavelos. Sometimes it's Guincho or another beach along the coast. And sometimes it means deliberately choosing smaller waves when bigger ones are breaking somewhere else.

The objective is simply to match the conditions to the surfers in the water that day.

This also means trying to maximise the number of good opportunities each surfer gets. Surfing has a relatively low repetition rate compared with many other sports. You can spend several minutes paddling and positioning yourself for a wave that you will surf for only a few seconds, so every good opportunity becomes particularly valuable when you're learning.

In clean, consistent conditions, a student can catch a wave, receive one correction and have another opportunity to apply it shortly afterwards. Over the course of a lesson, those small corrections start adding up.

Confidence is part of progression

Choosing the right conditions isn't only about technique. Confidence has a huge influence on the way people surf.

A surfer who feels comfortable with the conditions will usually paddle harder, commit more confidently to the take-off and have enough mental space to think about what they're trying to improve. When someone feels overwhelmed, hesitation starts appearing and much of their attention goes towards dealing with the conditions instead.

That doesn't mean avoiding difficult conditions. Learning to surf also means gradually becoming comfortable in situations that initially feel challenging. The important part is introducing that challenge at the right moment.

This also comes through consistently in what our guests say after their lessons. In their reviews, people talk about progressing faster than expected, moving from struggling with the basics to catching green waves, and feeling more confident in the water. Patience, individual feedback and technical coaching are also recurring themes.

What they rarely talk about is how big the waves were.

Back to the van

This brings us back to that first drive along the Marginal.

Someone sees Carcavelos and thinks the waves look too small. Bica makes his usual promise, everyone gets changed and goes surfing.

A couple of hours later, the conversation is normally different.

People talk about the first green wave they caught, a take-off that finally worked, a surprisingly long ride, a funny wipeout or simply how much fun they had.

This doesn't mean smaller waves are always better. As surfers become more independent, different and more challenging conditions become an important part of progression. More size and power eventually teach skills that small waves simply can't.

But for beginners and intermediate surfers, clean and consistent waves will often offer something much more valuable than size: more opportunities to surf, more useful feedback and the confidence to keep progressing.

So the next time you arrive at the beach and the waves look smaller than you expected, give them a chance before deciding whether they're good or bad.

Bica's offer still stands.

Judge them after the lesson.