3 questions from a surfing beginner.?

1. Malibu- Malibu Surf Shack - Shop 22935 Pacific Coast Hwy Malibu, CA 90265 phone: 310.456.8508 I'm sure they rent boards, or they can at least direct you to a place that would. Same with Venice Beach. I don't live near there so sorry I'm not more help. 2. I think I can help here though. I am almost your same height and similar build. Rent some boards again before you buy. Buying a long board is expensive.. Make sure this is what you really want to do! What size board did you rent before when you surfed the other two times? Did that work? Did it feel too big? Too small? I'm assuming it was a longboard... Not knowing what you have ridden before, I would say rent anywhere from an 8'0 board to a 9'0. Anything over that is really overkill because you are small enough where you can ride a smaller longboard and have it work. Rent a longer board, then go smaller and see if you can handle it. Then figure out what type of surfing you want to do. Do you want to be a longboarder? Riding small, slow waves and just gliding across them? Maybe be able to nose ride one day? Or do you want to get into shortboarding? Do you want to be able to do cutbacks, riding a more performance type board? If you want to longboard, see how you did with the softtops rentals and buy a real surfboard that is similar. If you can ride the 8'0 board, then buy an 8'0 board. You don't want it to be too thick because then you will be floating on top of the water too much and won't be able to turn it well. And keep in mind, the wider it is, the more stable it will be. But again, you don't want it to be too wide because again, it will be harder to control. If you want to shortboard, realize that it is harder than longboarding. No one really rents shortboards, but find the smallest board they have for rent and try it out. I ride a 6'0 x 18 1/4 x 2 1/8. Don't go smaller than 6'0, at least at first. With either a longboard or shortboard, look into buying used. This will save you a lot of money. Make sure it's in decent condition so that you don't end up throwing it away after a few surfs. There's plenty of used boards out there, you can find one you think you might like and see how it goes. 3. Yes, go into a surf shop and tell them the car you have. They will give you the correct racks. Remember there are two kinds, soft racks, and the kind that you have to permanently attach to the roof of your car. The soft racks are cheaper and removable, and the hard racks are expensive and permanent. Sorry if that was too long or if I was rambling on. But feel free to contact with with more questions.