Quick guide of Finnish surfing for the beginners

Start with the right equipment

In Finland you can surf with relative ease, comfort, and safety as long as you have the right equipment, right location, and suitable conditions for surfing.

First of all, you need preferably a big floatable longboard or “softboard” with a leash. In addition, you should have a wetsuit suitable for the cold waters of the Baltic Sea (in summer 3 to 4 mm in thickness, in other season at least 5 mm in thickness) and depending on the water temperature possibly boots, hoods, and gloves. During the coldest seasons it recommended wear a wetsuit with a fixed hood.

Safety first

For the beginners practicing in waveless conditions and with the guidance of an experienced surfer can make the learning curve easier and faster. The most important thing is to choose a place suitable for your skill level – and to know when it is reasonable to go surfing.

A few essential surfing safety tips for the beginners:

• Do not go surfing alone
• Choose a beach with a shallow sand bottom without strong currents
• Surf only in a mild weather as the waves are not too high
• Take others into account (other surfers, windsurfers, boaters)

Know the conditions

The sea area surrounding Finland is relatively small and the conditions for surfable waves must be precise. This means that there must be enough strong winds from the right direction for long enough to create waves. To check the wind forecasts we recommend following sites:

www.foreca.com/weathermap/wind
https://aaltopoiju.fi

Learning and interpreting the right conditions can be quite difficult for the beginners. To make it easy to go surfing we give here two easy and safe options with optimal wind conditions in Yyteri area.

Beach of the Yyteri Hotel & Spa

Beach of the Yyteri Hotel & Spa is possibly the best place to start surfing in Finland. The beach is a shallow sandy beach without rocks and almost non-existent currents. The waves break just near the beach, so it is easy to hop into the water easily and safely. In addition, the beach is in the vicinity of the hotel and services, so it is easy to lend the equipment and after surfing you can go eat, bathe in sauna, or to sleep.

Waves form on the beach of the hotel when the wind blows evenly from the west and northwest at 11 to 14 metres per second for at least 3 to 4 hours. The significant wave height of the Bothnian Sea wave buoy is usually over 1.4 metres at that time.

The Dog Beach

Another good surfing destination for the beginners in Finland is the Dog Beach in Yyteri with a shallow sandy beach without strong currents. The safest area for surfing is on the southside of the big rock, on left from the beach. It is recommended to pay attention at the deeper part between the beach and the wave breaking point.

Waves form on the Dog Beach when the wind blows evenly from the west and northwest at 11 to 14 metres per second for at least 3 to 4 hours. The significant wave height of the Bothnian Sea wave buoy is usually over 1.4 metres at that time.

“Trying out the surfing in Yyteri was one of the highlights of the last summer holiday. Our 7-year-old son got the first experience of surfing with his friend in the best possible conditions” The crew of the surf bus welcomed kindly the young ones. The tutoring was friendly, professional while taking the safety of the children into account all the time. Yyteri is perfect for practicing, and we are planning to return there next summer. We turned surfing a new hobby for the entire family.”

Mika Makkonen