New to the sport and forum
 

Any advice for a beginner? how do i read the weather, wind and surf? and websites? my biggest question is what if i get sucked out to sea or drift to far and can't paddle back? What should i do in that situation? like its to windy an i couldn't paddle against the wind? And is a vhf necessary?

hey unlucky. i'm also a beginner. so i can't answer most of your questions. but the one i can answer is your last. "is a vhf necessary?" Honestly, I hope not. But, in my opinion, better to have and not need than to need and not have. Is your life worth a $100 for a radio that you might need the 1 time out? I'm still in the market for a radio, but i'm not going out on open water until I have one.

And bonus, from what it sounds like, it may be worth getting one just to listen to the chatter that goes on between everyone here. The entertainment from that may be worth the $$$

webcam on this site for la jolla shores, scripps pier web cam, surfline.com

95% of the time the wind is blowing back to the beach. You won't be blown out to sea unless there are Santa Ana conditions.

On the LJ Webcam page, there are some links near the bottom for surf and weather forecasts. - http://www.bigwatersedge.com/index.p...lashoreswebcam

As far as getting sucked out to sea.... well... that's just not going to happen. There are days the currents are stronger than others, just pay attention to your location by looking at landmarks.

Spend some time searching the archives here. You'll find loads of info. As for getting pulled out to sea beyond your abilities, you work on that by starting in bays or lakes and increasing your strength, endurance, experience and confidence. Mike