Looking to catch some waves? Here's what you needed to know before you surf in New Jersey

If you're looking to get on a board this summer, now's the time.

There are over 80 spots among New Jersey's nearly four dozen beach communities where surfers can spend their summer catching waves, but what should a beginner look for when swimming out to the shore? Start small, for one.

“The best places to surf are probably the worst places to learn how to surf,” said Kyle Murray, a surfer and employee at Brave New World Surf Shop in Point Pleasant Beach.

From late spring to the middle of summer is the ideal time for a new surfer to learn and practice the sport. Waves are generally smaller this time of year, making it better for the inexperienced surfer.

Late summer and autumn is when more experienced surfers enjoy the larger waves brought on by hurricane season.

The location of the beach tends not to matter too much in New Jersey for beginner surfers. That’s because most New Jersey beaches have beach breaks — where the waves crash onto a sandy shore.

Beach breaks are the easiest for beginners to handle, whereas point breaks and reef breaks can offer more of a challenge for experienced surfers.

Although most beaches tend to have similar breaks in New Jersey, how and when waves break onto a beach is something surfers need to be aware of.

The waves at some beaches can break in a surf-friendly way at all times in some places, like the ever-popular Belmar Beach and Manasquan Inlet. Others, like Avon Beach, only break on swells from the south. Those unfamiliar with the breaks and swells of their local beaches can find this info on surfing information websites, like wannasurf.

While knowing what to look for and what conditions are right to surf in can present a challenge to those first starting their surfing careers, what can hinder new surfers more than anything else in New Jersey is simply other surfers.

Darby Tarrant is the co-owner of Eastern Lines Surf Shop in Belmar. Tarrant says Belmar Beach’s biggest issue for beginners isn’t the waves or how they break, but the amount of people on them.

“Our biggest problem [in Belmar] is overcrowding,” Tarrant said. “You have 10 to 15 people taking off on one wave and they’re just running each other over.”

This can present a problem to even experienced surfers, but for those first starting out, this overcrowding can be a real danger.

“I've seen where other surfers had had to literally save people because they're drowning and they just didn't have the experience,” Tarrant said.

Kyle Murray is an avid surfer and employee at Brave New World Surf Shop. Murray learned how to surf on a small beach when no one else was around and urges new surfers to do the same.

One of these places is the Manasquan Inlet. The Manasquan Inlet has become one of the most popular surfing spots in New Jersey. Because of the way the inlet is positioned, waves are directed in a way that makes it ideal for surfing. But as more and more people flock to it to experience its ideal break and consistent waves, it makes it harder and more dangerous for the surfers riding the waves.

“If you go out there and you're new at surfing, you know you're surfing with probably 100 other people and that can either get dangerous quick or get you yelled at quick,” Murray said.

While surfers and the surfing community can be very welcoming to newcomers, they can also be highly territorial to their surf spots, which beginners should remember when starting out. Murray said that he knows a great beginner spot where he himself learned how to surf, but won’t tell just anyone where it is.

Luckily for beginners, there are plenty of trainers and instructors to help guide them on their way. Jasmine Barzin is a Monmouth University student and beginner surfer who just started surfing last Fall. Barzin was shocked to hear about the some of the hostility in the surfing community as her experience alongside her instructor has been nothing but supportive.

"I didn't even know [the hostility] was a thing," Barzin said. "My instructor was super nice, helpful, and boosted my confidence."

Despite some gatekeeping from the community, now more than ever is a great time to get emerged in the surfing community.

"There's nothing really secret about surfing anymore," Murray said. "Most of it's pretty clear."

While some surfers still prefer to keep their spots secret, there are plenty of online resources that beginners can use to find great spots for them to surf.

"Don't get discouraged," Murray said. "It's a large learning curve, and it's very difficult... Once you're standing up on a surfboard, on a wave, that's basically the easiest part. Everything that happens before that is the difficult part."

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Surf's up! Here's how to get started surfing on NJ beaches