Surf Institute Fuerteventura
LONGBOARD SURF COURSE
Surf Institute Fuerteventura

L.I.B - LONGER IS BETTER

Whoever brakes, wins! Welcome to the longboard surf camp.


Longboarding is more complex and delicate than many surfers realise. There are some technical components to consider, because longer does not mean easier. During your longboard surf course, you will be provided with boards from 9.0 feet. When longboard surfing, you should pay attention to the different shapes of the longboards. These are decisive for handling and the respective surf style. All mid-length boards up to 8.10 feet are referred to as Malibu or Mini-Malibus. We talk about longboard surfing from a length of 9.0 feet.

There are two different types of longboard surfing:


Performance Longboarding

  • Sharper rails and partly available as a 2 + 1 fin system or thruster
    (3 fins) available
  • Narrow boards in teardrop shape, reduced towards the tail
    and usually no thicker than 2 3/4 inches.
  • Riding style is similar to shortboarding, top-to-bottom surfing
  • with tight turns, but also in combination with classic moves such as noserides and cross steps
  • Rail-to-rail surfing


Classic longboarding


  • Single fin
  • Soft rails, soft rails shaped at different angles, 50/50 or 60/40
  • The widest point of the board is usually more centred towards the
    centre or towards the tail over the centre (called PigsTails)
  • The surf style is soft, easy to turn, but these boards are ridden more over the centre fin (single fin) due to the unstable shape of the rail.


If you want to take a longboard surf course for the first time, the shape of the board doesn't matter at first. As a longboard beginner, the board should not be too long (approx. 9.0 feet to max. 9.6 feet). If you want to feel your way around first, we also have softboards in this size available.

OUR LONGBOARD SURF CAMP


In your longboard surf course, we will work on your posture and cross steps. Timing plays a particularly important role in longboard surfing. This starts with the take-off and is just as important for the cross steps (steps on the board). We work with you on your general understanding of timing, as well as trimming and braking. We will teach you the specific take-off that you can do with different hand positions and foot positions. The theoretical part of your longboard surf course includes an overview of the different board shapes and fin set-ups. What you have learnt can then be put directly into practice and tested.


  • Cross steps and posture

  • Take off with different hand and foot positions

  • Understanding trimming, braking and timing

  • Timing the cross steps

  • Correct paddling technique

  • Board shapes and fins: Theory and practice


What surf skills do we expect if you want to do a longboard surf course? You should have a solid beginner's surfing level beforehand, either on a softboard or hardboard. On our Skill'O'Meter, this is roughly between beginner and intermediate.


For your first attempts at a longboard surf course, we'll start by looking for a small wave. We basically differentiate between two levels of the longboard course. Level 1 is for beginners and anyone who would like to try out longboard surfing. Level 2 is the advanced masterclass. The focus here is either on performance longboarding or classic longboarding, possibly also in larger waves. As longboard surfing is a very technical form of surfing, the main focus at both levels is on technique.


We offer longboard surfing courses for at least 2 days of 3 hours each (without travelling to the beach). A 2-day course costs
165 Euro per person. Each additional day costs 80 euros per person.