Trip Forman: Welcome to the REAL Boardloft. I'm Trip Forman. Today we have a special guest with us, Ashley Boxer. Ashley, welcome. For those of you that remember, Ashley did a great video with us here at REAL about sizing down from your longboard—like from your nose rider board, 9'0" plus—into the next step down, which was her Christenson Huntsman. We were just up in Virginia Beach at the Atlantic Surf Park for the Billabong party.
Trip Forman: Ashley was invited to come to that event because she does all of our clothing buying here, which is one of the reasons the shop always looks so good. Thank you, Ashley. Ashley was invited to the pool party to surf with all the Billabong pros and a lot of other surf shop employees from up and down the East Coast. Ashley brought her quiver, her longboard and her Huntsman, to suit the pool and the waves, then took part in the whole pool party and got her own session in.
Trip Forman: Your session started out as the intermediate wave. When you're at the Atlantic Surf Park, the scale of the waves goes novice, progression, intermediate, advanced, expert, and pro. Your session started out intermediate. Give us some insight into what was in your head headed up there with your nose rider and the Huntsman 8'0".
Ashley Boxer: It was such an awesome day. The park is so cool and the vibes were 10 out of 10. It was fun to watch everyone surf all day and see the different levels of surfing. I went for the intermediate wave. Since it was a Billabong event, I didn't get to choose which wave, but I was ready for whatever. We debated the whole week leading up which one we were going to surf, and I went with my Huntsman just to make sure the wave wouldn't be too big. I'm not super big into overhead waves; that's the whole reason I went down from a longboard to an 8'0" Huntsman.
Ashley Boxer: The intermediate wave was so fun and so easy to paddle into. It was like a two or three-paddle takeoff. It ended up being maybe chest to head high on me, and the board did so well. It was super fast. I pretty much did the exact same thing on every single wave just to try it out, since I'd never been in a pool before.
Trip Forman: But gracefully. You did the exact same thing, but gracefully.
Ashley Boxer: Every one of my videos was the exact same, but it was awesome to try it out. The best thing about it was just practicing consistently on a chest-high wave over and over, which was a dream for me. Normally here, I don't surf when it's that big or the conditions are different, so to consistently practice the wave was awesome.
Trip Forman: What sort of insight can you share? I know there are a lot of butterflies the first time you go to the park; people are often nervous. How do you explain the difference between "free surfing" in the ocean and going to the pool where you're in a lineup? With the intermediate wave, there are about five people waiting in that line. Any tips or insights on that transition?
Ashley Boxer: It was super easy. As soon as I saw it in person, I could see the little rip current to take you right out to where you sit at the very top. One person goes, then the next. It was really nice catching waves that were bigger like that without the fear of anyone dropping in on you or messing you up. Once I made the first drop, I realized I could do this 15 or 20 more times. They give you a safety meeting at the beginning and you just cruise out. You sit in a lineup where there are four or five waves per set, and between sets, it's about 30 seconds to a minute. It was really nice not having to fight other people for waves or feeling like you're in the way.
Trip Forman: When people look at the pool, they often think about the thousands of clips of people riding shortboards or air boards at the highest level of surfing. But at this event and other times we've been there, there are a lot of people riding longboards, midlengths, and funboards. As a longboarder who also rides midlengths, what was it like showing up to the park?
Ashley Boxer: I was super excited to see groups of novice and expert surfers throughout the day. I was definitely glad I brought this board just to make sure I could catch the waves I was going for. On my next session, I'm definitely going to go for the progression wave so I can longboard and nose ride. I would go for a smaller wave next time. I loved the intermediate and I loved practicing, but I think I'll do two sessions next time: a progression for my longboard and an intermediate for a shorter board.
Trip Forman: Throughout the Billabong party, your session started as intermediate, and then halfway through they turned up the volume and put it into the wave they use for the first half of the advanced session. Did you feel any difference in the size during that second half, or were you just warming up?
Ashley Boxer: It was pretty much just a warm-up through the intermediate and then right into the advanced. I didn't think it was anything wild or crazy. It was actually really nice that they did it like that. It felt like an extra set came in. It wasn't any different at all, it was just really fun.
Trip Forman: What did you think of surfing this board in the ocean versus surfing it in the pool? Do you see the ability to go smaller in the future, or did this board feel comfortable in those conditions? Some people leave thinking they could go smaller on their board, but it sounds like you want to go smaller on the wave to tune in the board.
Ashley Boxer: When I got out of the session and was talking to you, I realized I could totally do a smaller board. I used to shortboard when I was younger before I switched to only longboarding, but I think I could do a shorter board on the same size wave. I’d need to make sure I'm confident on my takeoff, but for the pool, you are pretty much shot into every wave. It's such an easy paddle-in that I think I would have no problem going with a shorter board. When I was watching my videos, I could tell it was a little squirrely and that it was too much board. The volume was okay, but the length was a little bit too big.
Trip Forman: I think you'll agree that it's good to go there with something you know. You've spent hundreds of hours on this board and your longboard, so you have that dialed before you go into this new environment.
Ashley Boxer: I was happy to start out with that and now I know for the future.
Trip Forman: I was thinking about it in the water, and an effective way to explain why you can go smaller is that when you're waiting in the pool for your wave, you're literally waiting in a two-board-length box. That's the most you ever have to paddle to get into a wave. You only need two or three paddle strokes to get into the wave effectively, which is one of the reasons why you can go smaller. You aren't having to navigate a lineup, deal with currents, or out-paddle other people.
Ashley Boxer: You're right on the peak. When it's your wave, it's your wave.
Trip Forman: Any other tips for people going to the pool for the first time?
Ashley Boxer: You can surf all the way in. I kept bailing out early when I first started because I thought I was going to get into some massive shore break, but if you ride the wave all the way, you'll hit right into the little rip that takes you back out.
Trip Forman: Just don't hit the dry concrete.
Ashley Boxer: Yes, do not hit the concrete. Once I figured that out, it was super fun. On my next session, I'll definitely do two sessions—one to try a smaller board on a bigger wave, and one with my longboard on smaller waves.
Trip Forman: It's interesting to hear that, because usually the focus is on expert or pro waves, but you're looking at a variety of waves to dial things in. It’s almost like you're getting to surf in different locations on different days but all in the same day.
Ashley Boxer: It's so fun. I love it. 10 out of 10 recommend.
Trip Forman: Thank you for sharing all that info. If you have any questions on surfing the Atlantic Surf Park, the Christenson Huntsman, or sizing your quiver for the pool, you can reach us at the shop at 252-987-6000 or look us up online at realwatersports.com/surfing. Thanks for tuning in.
