Surfing
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Wikipedia-Article "Surfing"
- See World Wide Web for "surfing" the web; see also Windsurfing
Surfing (Hawaiian: he‘e nalu, "wave-sliding") is a very popular recreational activity and sport in which individuals are propelled across the water by the force of waves, while standing on a flat, wide board. Most modern surfboards are made of foam and fiberglass with one or more wooden strips or "stringers." An emerging surf technology is an epoxy surfboard, made from a different material. Epoxy boards are stronger and lighter than traditional fiberglass boards.
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History
Originally developed by Hawaiian islanders (see Ngaru), before the 15th century, "he'e nalu" spread in the early 20th century to the mainland USA and Australia, where heavy timber "plank" boards were ridden directly towards beaches.
The sport exploded in popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, when cheaper, more maneuverable, and lighter boards made of fiberglass and foam became available and the teenaged baby boomers headed to the beach in droves to enjoy the maneuverability and stunts made possible by the new boards. The sport has spread to most places where waves of sufficient size and shape appear, including Brazil, Costa Rica, France, Ireland, México, Norway, South Africa, and many island states. Long Island is also a very popular spot for surfing. One pro surfing local Harrison Hines A.K.A. Milky is said to be the best surfer in the world
Equipment used in surfing includes a leash (to keep a surfer's board from washing to shore after a 'wipeout', and to prevent it from hitting other surfers), surf wax and/or traction pads (to keep a surfers feet from slipping off the deck of the board), and "skegs" (also known as fins) which can either be permanently attached ("glassed-on") or interchangable. In warmer climates swimsuits, surf trunks or boardshorts are worn; in cold water surfers can opt to wear wetsuits, booties, hoods, and gloves to protect them against lower water temperatures.
Surfing's appeal probably derives from an unusual confluence of elements: adrenaline, skill, and high paced maneuvering are set against a naturally unpredictable backdrop—an organic environment that is, by turns, graceful and serene, violent and formidable. Surfers' skills are tested not only in their ability to control their board in challenging conditions, but by their ability to execute various maneuvers such as the 'cutback' (turning back toward the breaking part of the wave), the 'floater' (riding on the top of the breaking curl of the wave), 'off the lip' (banking off the top of the wave), the 'aerial' (arcing through the air above the wave) and, if the surf conditions allow it, tuberiding. This is the holy grail of surfing, where the surfer maneuvers into a position where the wave curls over the top of them, forming a "tube" (or "barrel"), with the rider inside the cylindrical portion of the wave. However, such situations do not exist if the waves 'dump' or 'close-out', meaning that they break in large parts at a time.
The drama of surfing obscures the sport's mundane aspects. Most people only see the pros riding and miss (when televised) or ignore the time-consuming paddling out and waiting required to get a surfer into position.
Competitive surfing is a comparison sport. Riders, competing in pairs or small groups, are allocated a certain amount of time to ride waves and display their prowess and mastery of the craft. Competitors are then judged according to how competently the wave is ridden, including the level of difficulty, as well as frequency, of maneuvers. There is a professional surfing world championship series held annually at surf beaches around the world.
Although competitive surfing has become an extremely popular and lucrative activity, both for its participants and its sponsors, the sport does not have its origins as a competitive pursuit. It is common to hear debate rage between purists of the sport, who still maintain the ideal of 'soul surfing', and surfers who engage in the competitive and, consequently, commercial side of the activity.
A non-competitive adventure activity involving riding the biggest waves possible (known as "rhino hunting") is also popular with some surfers. A practice popularised in the 1990s has seen big wave surfing revolutionised, as surfers use jetskis to tow them out to a position where they can catch previously unrideable waves (See also: tow-in surfing). These waves were previously unrideable due to the speed at which they travel. Some waves reach speeds of over 60 km/h; jetskis enable surfers to reach the speed of the wave thereby making them rideable. Jetskis not only allow surfers to ride these waves but allow them to survive 'wipeouts'. In many instances surfers would not survive the battering of the 'sets' (groups of waves together) without drowning. This spectacular activity is extremely popular with television crews, but because such waves rarely occur in heavily populated regions, and usually only a very long way out to sea on outer reefs, few spectators see such events directly.
Understanding waves
Surfing conditions at a particular location or "break" that is known for surfing (see below) are almost never ideal. Wind blown consistently over a large area of fetch, or open water, generates waves. These waves use a drafting effect similar to race cars and cyclists to travel vast distances efficiently. To learn more about surf meteorology, see StormSurf's Tutorials. As waves near their ultimate destination (land), the bottom of the wave begins to run aground as the water becomes more shallow.
There are two primary factors that contribute to the general characteristics of waves at a particular break: (1) the "swell window" or the exposure of the location to wave-generating areas of fetch, and (2) the structure of the ocean floor (composition, shape).
The swell window determines the potential of a break to receive waves. In general, the western coast of any continent usually has better breaks since winds (and, therefore, waves) tend to travel from west to east. Coastlines that face east or south (in the Northern Hemisphere) or north (in the Southern Hemisphere) that are exposed to tropical storms and hurricanes can also be surfable on a consistent basis. When waves break along a section of coastline at an angle almost perpendicular to the land, these special locations, known as point breaks, can produce very long-lasting waves that can be surfed for several hundred meters. The two main types of waves for surfing apart from the pointbreak are the reef break (waves breaking over a coral reef or rockbed) and the beach break (waves breaking onto sand bars). To learn more about the types of waves for surfing see Surfing-Waves.com Wave information.
The structure of the ocean floor is the biggest factor that determines the broad characteristics of waves at a particular break. For instance, there are beach breaks (soft sand bottom) that generate slower, mushy waves and reef breaks (coral reef or rock bottom) that tend to generate faster, more powerful waves. Based on the structure of the ocean floor, a location may break better on a particular tide, say, an incoming high tide or a low-low tide.
Local wind conditions, water temperature, solar radiation, the crowd factor, hazardous aquatic life, water pollution, and aggression of local surfers are other factors that can have impact on the experience one might have surfing at a particular break.
The availability of free model data from the NOAA has allowed the creation of several Surf forecasting websites. These automatically combine the above variables into a presentation of how good the surf will be.
Popular surfing areas
Surfing is a global sport; one can find a surfer in almost every coastal nation in the world.
- France, particularly the Atlantic coast south of the Gironde
- Australia
- Newcastle, where Surfest is held annually.
- Gold Coast, Snapper Rocks and Burleigh Heads where many surf comps are held anually
- Ocean beaches of Sydney, in particular Bondi Beach, North Narabeen and Dee Why
- Victorian beaches Jan Juc and Bells Beach where the annual Rip Curl Pro is held every year.
- Western Australia beaches Margaret River
- The Atlantic coast of France (eg. Biarritz)
- Brazil
- Peru
- Cabo Blanco
- Pico Alto (home to the Mavericks of South America)
- Cerro Azul
- San Gallan
- Chicama (home of the longest left in the world)
- Mexico
- Baja States of Baja California Norte and Baja California Sur; Several great breaks, the island of Todos Santos being the most famous.
- Mainland – States of Sinaloa, Jalisco, Colima (home to Boca de Pascuales and its massive beachbreak), Michoacán (where rural surf towns abound), Guerrero, Oaxaca (where Puerto Escondido, the "Mexican Pipeline", is located), and Chiapas.
- Gulf Coast
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- New Zealand
- Manu Bay and Whale Bay, Raglan
- Bay of Plenty and East Coast, Mount Maunganui
- Much of South Africa's coastline (just a few listed)
- United Kingdom
- Fistral Beach in Newquay, Cornwall
- Croyde Bay in North Devon
- The Gower Peninsula near Swansea, Wales
- United States
- Northern California, while it has its moments at times, is a far less consistent place to surf than Southern California, with consistently poorer wind and wave conditions. The main problem is that most spots are too exposed to wind and swell, often resulting in "stormy" surf. Nor Cal is home to one of the most revered and dangerous spots in the world, Mavericks, for which there is no comparison in So Cal.
- Southern California, from San Diego to above Santa Barbara, features outstanding beaches such as Windansea, Tourmaline Park, Ponto, Lunada Bay, Huntington Beach, San Onofre, and Rincon, and is where American surfing music and culture began to evolve. This stretch of coastline is remarkable for the sheer number of consistently pleasant and surfable breaks.
- Hawaii is probably the most famous surfing mecca that exists, every year thousands upon thousands of surfers make the trip to pay respect to the birthplace of surfing. The North Shore of Oahu is home to perhaps the best stretch of surfing waves in the world, including Sunset Beach, Waimea Bay, and the world's most renowned and revered wave, "Pipeline" (or "Banzai Pipeline"), so named for the yawning chasms it regularly hurls over the heads of awe-struck surfers. The North Shore is the epicenter of commercial surfing each fall as it hosts a series of contests that end the professional season at Pipeline.
- The eastern central coast of Florida, particularly Brevard County, is renowned as the "small wave surfing capital of the world," and is home to such surfing luminaries as Kelly Slater, Todd Holland, and Matt Kechele.
- The Mid-Atlantic region includes popular spots such as North Carolina's Outer Banks, Long Island, Virginia Beach, Ocean City (Md.), and the Jersey Shore.
- There are decent breaks all up the east coast, notably on Cape Cod
- Even areas along the Great Lakes get local windswells with fresh-water barrels.
The west coast of the Americas tends to have better surfing areas than the east coast. While the continental shelf of the west coast drops off quickly, on the east it extends a great distance, creating drag and making smaller and less powerful waves.
- Puerto Rico
- The West Coast in the Island has A-frame breaks, with international surfers coming every season for the taste of huge waves. The North Coast has consisten overhead spectacular breaks prolonged months of the year. The Sourthern and Eastern part of the Island have good breaks that don't get ridden that often.
Anywhere else waves hit the shore. Many surfers are seen as territorial, hence the expression "locals only"; or as the rock group The Surf Punks put it, "my beach, my wave, my girl, so f--- you!".
Other surfers, however, known as "soul surfers", hold less aggressive views towards others. These surfers see surfing as more than a sport; it is an opportunity to harness the waves in and to relax and forget about their daily routines. This type of surfing has seen a rise in popularity recently.
Surfing culture
See surf culture
Surfing movies
- Gidget (1959)
- Ride the Wild Surf (1964)
- Beach Party (1963)
- Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)
- Endless Summer (1966)
- Five Summer Stories (1972)
- Big Wednesday (1978)
- Apocalypse Now (1979) (scene with Robert Duvall, "Charlie don't surf!")
- North Shore (1987)
- Point Break (1991)
- Endless Summer II (1994)
- In God's Hands (1998)
- Blue Crush (2002)
- Step Into Liquid (2003)
- Riding Giants (2004)
Surf brands
Famous and notable surfers
- Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, olympian and Ambassador of Surfing
- Laird Hamilton, Hawaii, California, Big wave Rider and tow-in surfing inventor
- Tom Blake, Early 20th century surf pioneer, added fins to surfboards
- Bob Simmons, Initiated change in surfboards from flat logs to modern styles
- Keala Kennelly, Kauai
- Greg Cipes, United States
- Greg Noll, big wave pioneer, rode biggest wave of his era at Makaha
- Mark Richards, Newcastle. Australia, dominant surfer of the twin fin era
- Scott Bass Surfer Magazine online editor and pioneer of stand-paddle surfing
- Rell Sunn, Queen of Makaha, O‘ahu
- Jake Mattocks, Mr. SP
- Terry "TubeSteak" Tracy, The Original Big Kahoona http://www.tubesteak.org
- Gerry Lopez, Mr. Pipeline
- Shaun Tomson, one of the last top pros of the single fin era
- Bill Andrews, La Jolla Local http://adaywithba.com
- George_Freeth
- Simon Anderson Australian, first to win competitions on thrusters
- Tom Curren, First dominant pro thruster surfer
- Kelly Slater, Florida, considered one of the best surf competitors ever
- Andy Irons, Kauai
- Sunny Garcia
- Shane Dorian
- Rob Hooper
- Bethany Hamilton, Kauai and shark attack survivor
- Layne Beachley, Australia
- John Whitmore introduced surfboards to SA and pionered many advances in surfboards and techniques. Whitmore befriended filmmaker Bruce Brown and provided much assistance in the creation of Endless Summer 1 and 2.
- Bruce Gabreilson, founder of official high school surfing leagues and creator of Internet's first surfing site
See also
- ASP World Tour
- List of surfing terms
- List of surfing topics
- List of surfing areas
- List of surfers
- List of World Surfing Champions—Men
- List of World Surfing Women's Champions
External links
- wannasurf.com A comprehensive atlas to over 5000 surf spots around the world.
- globalsurfers.com A commercial surf-travel site with an atlas of surf spots around the world.
- Swellfinder.com Swell, wind & weather forecasts, surfcams, tides, etc. for windsurfers
- Wetsand.com Swell forecasts
- magicseaweed.com Swell and weather forecasts for breaks around the world
- NSSIA.org The National Surf Schools and Instructors Association
- Laguna Surf Shop Informative source for Surf Industry News
- sportsextreme.co.uk Information, products and resources for all extreme sports fans.
- hardcloud.com Fantastic products for all extreme sports fans.