If you are surfing in warm weather the only clothing you really need is a pair of boardshorts. Legally ,on most beaches, for men anyway that's a minumum! For women board shorts with a bikini top will suffice.

Make sure the shorts aren't baggy around the waist. When you fall in, and you will, you don't want to find your shorts are suddenly around your ankles, or worse, floating away from you!

You'll want to make sure they have got a drawstring waist that you can tighten up and don't be too concerned about pockets - if you are using the pockets to store stuff in chances are they will fall out when you are under water. Its hard enough sometimes keeping hold of your paddle and getting your board back so the last thing you want is to be checking your pockets to make sure that your keys/money/jimmies are still in there!

If you are doing distance paddling and are reasonably confident that you won't fall in you too often will probably want a small rucksac hydration system on your back. These are great devices but create a new problem in that the straps over the shoulders can cause chafing when you paddle. For this reason you will want to wear at least a T-shirt or ideally a rash vest.

Whatever you are wearing make sure you put on enough sun cream, especially if you aren't wearing a top and make sure its waterproof. A hat is a good idea to keep the sun out of your face and off your neck - its possible to get wide brimmed hats that float such as the world famous Tilley Hat.

For the feet its very much a matter of personal opinion. Generally, if you are surfing in boardshorts you probably won't want anything on your feet. The direct feeling of the soles of your feet pressing against your board gives you more control in manouvering the board in the surf. If you are doing a distance paddle , especially if you suffer from poor circulation you might want a small pair of wetshoes - these are used by all manner of watersports people and have a thin rubber sole and light stretchy material uppers which dry out just as quickly as they get wet. They are more handy if you are stopping midway through the paddle for lunch or if you have to walk to where the transport is picking you back up from.

With all clothing its very much a matter of personal preference so try out some of the suggestions above and see what works for you best in the different conditions.

Happy Paddling!