Hey Zuz, I am confused: Is a zero wave count normal?

Oh, the shame. The paddle of shame and all. We’re dealing with one of our reader’s most embarrassing wave counts. 

Hey Zuz — I am confused

I went out and I caught zero waves. Is this normal? Am I normal?

Dear reader!

There’s no such thing as normal surfing. So… don’t fret. And any day in the ocean is a good day. Feeling better? Great. Let’s get into it.

Are you sure you caught nothing? Absolute sweet nothing? A big fat zero? I’m only asking because when a surfer says they caught “no waves,” they usually mean one to three. They just didn’t think they were “good enough” waves, or they don’t count because they caught them on the shoulder. Or it was an already breaking wave and the whitewash gave them a push.

Okay—no waves whatsoever, then. Nada. Zilch.
Unlucky. There are many reasons that could’ve happened, and since we don’t know your exact circumstance, let’s go through a few of them.

It was flat. Flat as a pancake. No one was catching any waves. It happened to me once at Cowell’s in Santa Cruz. I simply didn’t believe the surf report when it said flat. And that was my penance.

Or maybe it was too big. It might’ve looked totally doable from shore but didn’t work out in the water. Classic. The fear kicked in, and you sat so far outside there was no way you could possibly catch a wave. No matter the wishful thinking.

Hold on—did you just switch boards? Going from a longboard to a shortboard is a humbling experience. And a super common one, even for experienced surfers.

Did you even get to the back? Maybe you got stuck paddling in the whitewash. Or you did get to the lineup, but it was so crowded and competitive you just lost out on the waves.

Or maybe you were too slow. The peak kept shifting and you were running after it like a dog after a sausage, but never quite biting into it.

It could’ve been the paddling, too. Arms like overcooked spaghetti doing a windmill with conviction, but never quite getting it right to catch a wave.

But honestly? I bet it was the mental thing. It just wasn’t your day. And there will be many of those.

No reason to stop surfing, though.

Author: The Wipeout Weekly team