[alanw]

First time out I brought one pole but left it in my car. Took the yak out of baby beach in the harbor, leaned on it, sat sideways, tried standing up, found out how far I can lean over before it dumped me, basically got familiar with the yak. Then I got my pole from the car and did a little fishing in the harbor. I got some experience with handling small boat wakes, ventured to the harbor mouth and got comfortable with some swells. After that I spent a few days fishing semi-protected areas outside the breakwall, easy to do in Dana Point. Then spent some time getting used to open water swells. Next comes surf launch and landings. I think this was ideal for a beginner rather than jumping straight into the surf zone.

But there's something to be said for going straight for the surf, and I might have thought about it if I was younger. Getting your experience in the surf might make everything else afterwards seem easy in comparison.