Waves almost never arrive alone but in groups of roughly three to six — a set — followed by a calmer lull. That lull is your window for paddling out.
If you can't read sets, you paddle out exactly when the biggest waves arrive — and burn the energy you'd want in the line-up. That's why every session starts the same way: spend a few minutes on the beach counting how many waves a set holds, how long the lull between sets runs, and where the biggest wave actually breaks. At big-wave spots that has grown into 15 to 20 minutes of watching before anyone goes in at all. A classic beginner's error is reflexively taking the first wave of a set: it's rarely the best one, and afterwards you're stuck in the whitewater while the rest of the set rolls over you. What often gets missed: a set is an average, not a guarantee. A rogue set, clearly bigger than the day's norm and often from a different direction, surprises locals too — which is why nobody takes their eyes off the horizon for more than a few seconds.