Sport of riding waves
This article is about stand-up ocean surfing.
For other uses, see Surfing (disambiguation)
"Surfer" redirects here.
For other uses, see📉 Surfer (disambiguation)
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a📉 board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer📉 towards the shore.
Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on ocean shores, but can also be found in standing waves📉 in the open ocean, in lakes, in rivers in the form of a tidal bore, or in wave pools.
The term📉 surfing refers to a person riding a wave using a board, regardless of the stance.
There are several types of boards.
The📉 Moche of Peru would often surf on reed craft, while the native peoples of the Pacific surfed waves on alaia,📉 paipo, and other such water craft.
Ancient cultures often surfed on their belly and knees, while the modern-day definition of surfing📉 most often refers to a surfer riding a wave standing on a surfboard; this is also referred to as stand-up📉 surfing.
Another prominent form of surfing is body boarding, where a surfer rides the wave on a bodyboard, either lying on📉 their belly, drop knee (one foot and one knee on the board), or sometimes even standing up on a body📉 board.
Other types of surfing include knee boarding, surf matting (riding inflatable mats) and using foils.
Body surfing, in which the wave📉 is caught and ridden using the surfer's own body rather than a board, is very common and is considered by📉 some surfers to be the purest form of surfing.
The closest form of body surfing using a board is a handboard📉 which normally has one strap over it to fit on one hand.
Three major subdivisions within stand-up surfing are stand-up paddling,📉 long boarding and short boarding with several major differences including the board design and length, the riding style and the📉 kind of wave that is ridden.
In tow-in surfing (most often, but not exclusively, associated with big wave surfing), a motorized📉 water vehicle such as a personal watercraft, tows the surfer into the wave front, helping the surfer match a large📉 wave's speed, which is generally a higher speed than a self-propelled surfer can produce.
Surfing-related sports such as paddle boarding and📉 sea kayaking that are self-propelled by hand paddles do not require waves, and other derivative sports such as kite surfing📉 and windsurfing rely primarily on wind for power, yet all of these platforms may also be used to ride waves.
Recently📉 with the use of V-drive boats,[clarification needed] Wakesurfing, in which one surfs on the wake of a boat, has emerged.
[citation📉 needed] As of 2023, the Guinness Book of World Records recognized a 26.
2 m (86 ft) wave ride by Sebastian📉 Steudtner at Nazaré, Portugal as the largest wave ever surfed.[1]
During the winter season in the northern hemisphere, the North Shore📉 of Oahu, the third-largest island of Hawaii, is known for having some of the best waves in the world.
Surfers from📉 around the world flock to breaks like Backdoor, Waimea Bay, and Pipeline.
However, there are still many popular surf spots around📉 the world: Teahupo'o, located off the coast of Tahiti; Mavericks, California, United States; Cloudbreak, Tavarua Island, Fiji; Superbank, Gold Coast,📉 Australia.[2]
In 2016 surfing was added by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as an Olympic sport to begin at the 2020📉 Summer Olympics in Japan.
[3] The first gold medalists of the Tokyo 2020 surfing men and women's competitions were, respectively, the📉 Brazilian Ítalo Ferreira and the American from Hawaii, Carissa Moore.[4][5]
Origins and history [ edit ]Peru [ edit ]
About three to📉 five thousand years ago, cultures in ancient Peru fished in kayak-like watercraft (mochica) made of reeds that the fishermen surfed📉 back to shore.
[6][7] The Moche culture used the caballito de totora (little horse of totora), with archaeological evidence showing its📉 use around 200 CE.
[8] An early description of the Inca surfing in Callao was documented by Jesuit missionary José de📉 Acosta in his 1590 publication Historia natural y moral de las Indias, writing:[9]
It is true to see them go fishing📉 in Callao de Lima, was for me a thing of great recreation, because there were many and each one in📉 a balsilla caballero, or sitting stubbornly cutting the waves of the sea, which is rough where they fish, they looked📉 like the Tritons, or Neptunes, who paint upon the water.
Polynesia [ edit ]
Hawaiians surfing, 1858
In Polynesian culture, surfing was an📉 important activity.
Modern surfing as we know it today is thought to have originated in Hawaii.
The history of surfing dates to📉 c.
AD 400 in Polynesia, where Polynesians began to make their way to the Hawaiian Islands from Tahiti and the Marquesas📉 Islands.
They brought many of their customs with them including playing in the surf on Paipo (belly/body) boards.
It was in Hawaii📉 that the art of standing and surfing upright on boards was invented.[10]
Various European explorers witnessed surfing in Polynesia.
Surfing may have📉 been observed by British explorers at Tahiti in 1767.
Samuel Wallis and the crew members of HMS Dolphin were the first📉 Britons to visit the island in June of that year.
Another candidate is the botanist Joseph Banks[11] who was part of📉 the first voyage of James Cook on HMS Endeavour, arriving on Tahiti on 10 April 1769.
Lieutenant James King was the📉 first person to write about the art of surfing on Hawaii, when he was completing the journals of Captain James📉 Cook (upon Cook's death in 1779).
In Herman Melville's 1849 novel Mardi, based on his experiences in Polynesia earlier that decade,📉 the narrator describes the "Rare Sport at Ohonoo" (title of chap.
90): "For this sport, a surf-board is indispensable: some five📉 feet in length; the width of a man's body; convex on both sides; highly polished; and rounded at the ends.
It📉 is held in high estimation; invariably oiled after use; and hung up conspicuously in the dwelling of the owner.
"[12] When📉 Mark Twain visited Hawaii in 1866 he wrote, "In one place, we came upon a large company of naked natives📉 of both sexes and all ages, amusing themselves with the national pastime of surf-bathing."[13]
References to surf riding on planks and📉 single canoe hulls are also verified for pre-contact Samoa, where surfing was called fa'ase'e or se'egalu (see Augustin Krämer, The📉 Samoa Islands[14]), and Tonga, far pre-dating the practice of surfing by Hawaiians and eastern Polynesians by over a thousand years.
West📉 Africa [ edit ]West Africans (e.g.
, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Senegal) and western Central Africans (e.g.
, Cameroon) independently developed the📉 skill of surfing.
[15] Amid the 1640s CE, Michael Hemmersam provided an account of surfing in the Gold Coast: "the parents📉 'tie their children to boards and throw them into the water.
'"[15] In 1679 CE, Barbot provided an account of surfing📉 among Elmina children in Ghana: "children at Elmina learned "to swim, on bits of boards, or small bundles of rushes,📉 fasten'd under their stomachs, which is a good diversion to the spectators.
"[15] James Alexander provided an account of surfing in📉 Accra, Ghana in 1834 CE: "From the beach, meanwhile, might be seen boys swimming into the sea, with light boards📉 under their stomachs.
They waited for a surf; and came rolling like a cloud on top of it.
But I was told📉 that sharks occasionally dart in behind the rocks and 'yam' them.
"[15] Thomas Hutchinson provided an account of surfing in southern📉 Cameroon in 1861: "Fishermen rode small dugouts 'no more than six feet in length, fourteen to sixteen inches in width,📉 and from four to six inches in depth.
'"[15]California [ edit ]
A woman holding her surfboard about to surf in Morro📉 Bay, California
In July 1885, three teenage Hawaiian princes took a break from their boarding school, St.
Mathew's Hall in San Mateo,📉 and came to cool off in Santa Cruz, California.
There, David Kawānanakoa, Edward Keliʻiahonui and Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole surfed the mouth📉 of the San Lorenzo River on custom-shaped redwood boards, according to surf historians Kim Stoner and Geoff Dunn.
[16] In 1890,📉 the pioneer in agricultural education John Wrightson reputedly became the first British surfer when instructed by two Hawaiian students at📉 his college.[17][18][19]
George Freeth (1883–1919) is often credited as being the "Father of Modern Surfing".
He is thought to have been the📉 first modern surfer.[20]
In 1907, the eclectic interests of the land baron Henry E.
Huntington brought surfing to the California coast.
While on📉 vacation, Huntington had seen Hawaiian boys surfing the island waves.
Looking for a way to entice visitors to the area of📉 Redondo Beach, where he had heavily invested in real estate, he hired a young Hawaiian to ride surfboards.
George Freeth decided📉 to revive the art of surfing, but had little success with the huge 500 cm (16 ft) hardwood boards that📉 were popular at that time.
When he cut them in half to make them more manageable, he created the original "Long📉 board", which made him the talk of the islands.
To the delight of visitors, Freeth exhibited his surfing skills twice a📉 day in front of the Hotel Redondo.
Another native Hawaiian, Duke Kahanamoku, spread surfing to both the U.S.
and Australia, riding the📉 waves after displaying the swimming prowess that won him Olympic gold medals in 1912 and 1920.[21]
In 1975, a professional tour📉 started.
[22] That year Margo Oberg became the first female professional surfer.
[22]Surf waves [ edit ]
Surfer getting tubed at Sunset on📉 the North Shore of Oahu
A large wave breaking at Mavericks
Swell is generated when the wind blows consistently over a large📉 space of open water, called the wind's fetch.
The size of a swell is determined by the strength of the wind,📉 and the length of its fetch and duration.
Because of these factors, the surf tends to be larger and more prevalent📉 on coastlines exposed to large expanses of ocean traversed by intense low pressure systems.
Local wind conditions affect wave quality since📉 the surface of a wave can become choppy in blustery conditions.
Ideal conditions include a light to moderate "offshore" wind, because📉 it blows into the front of the wave, making it a "barrel" or "tube" wave.
Waves are left-handed and right-handed depending📉 upon the breaking formation of the wave.
Waves are generally recognized by the surfaces over which they break.
[23] For example, there📉 are beach breaks, reef breaks and point breaks.
The most important influence on wave shape is the topography of the seabed📉 directly behind and immediately beneath the breaking wave.
Each break is different since each location's underwater topography is unique.
At beach breaks,📉 sandbanks change shape from week to week.
Surf forecasting is aided by advances in information technology.
Mathematical modeling graphically depicts the size📉 and direction of swells around the globe.
Swell regularity varies across the globe and throughout the year.
During winter, heavy swells are📉 generated in the mid-latitudes, when the North and South polar fronts shift toward the Equator.
The predominantly Westerly winds generate swells📉 that advance Eastward, so waves tend to be largest on West coasts during winter months.
However, an endless train of mid-latitude📉 cyclones cause the isobars to become undulated, redirecting swells at regular intervals toward the tropics.
East coasts also receive heavy winter📉 swells when low-pressure cells form in the sub-tropics, where slow moving highs inhibit their movement.
These lows produce a shorter fetch📉 than polar fronts, however, they can still generate heavy swells since their slower movement increases the duration of a particular📉 wind direction.
The variables of fetch and duration both influence how long wind acts over a wave as it travels since📉 a wave reaching the end of a fetch behaves as if the wind died.
During summer, heavy swells are generated when📉 cyclones form in the tropics.
Tropical cyclones form over warm seas, so their occurrence is influenced by El Niño & La📉 Niña cycles.
Their movements are unpredictable.
Surf travel and some surf camps offer surfers access to remote, tropical locations, where tradewinds ensure📉 offshore conditions.
Since winter swells are generated by mid-latitude cyclones, their regularity coincides with the passage of these lows.
Swells arrive in📉 pulses, each lasting for a couple of days, with a few days between each swell.
The availability of free model data📉 from the NOAA has allowed the creation of several surf forecasting websites.
Tube shape and speed [ edit ]
The geometry of📉 tube shape can be represented as a ratio between length and width.
Tube shape is defined by length to width ratio.
A📉 perfectly cylindrical vortex has a ratio of 1:1.
Other forms include:Square: <1:1Round: 1-2:1Almond: >2:1
Peel or peeling off as a descriptive term📉 for the quality of a break has been defined as "a fast, clean, evenly falling curl line, perfect for surfing,📉 and usually found at pointbreaks."[24]
Tube speed is the rate of advance of the break along the length of the wave,📉 and is the speed at which the surfer must move along the wave to keep up with the advance of📉 the tube.
[25] Tube speed can be described using the peel angle and wave celerity.
Peel angle is the angle between the📉 wave front and the horizontal projection of the point of break over time, which in a regular break is most📉 easily represented by the line of white water left after the break.
A break that closes out, or breaks all at📉 once along its length, leaves white water parallel to the wave front, and has a peel angle of 0°.
This is📉 unsurfable as it would require infinite speed to progress along the face fast enough to keep up with the break.
A📉 break which advances along the wave face more slowly will leave a line of new white water at an angle📉 to the line of the wave face.[25][26]
V s = c s i n α {\displaystyle V_{s}={\frac {c}{sin\alpha }}} [25]Where:
V s📉 = {\displaystyle V_{s}=} c = {\displaystyle c=} α = {\displaystyle \alpha =}
In most cases a peel angle less than 25°📉 is too fast to surf.
[25]Fast: 30°Medium: 45°Slow: 60°
Wave intensity [ edit ]
The type of break depends on shoaling rate.
Breaking waves📉 can be classified as four basic types: spilling (ξ b <0.4), plunging (0.
4<ξ b <2), collapsing (ξ b >2) and📉 surging (ξ b >2), and which type occurs depends on the slope of the bottom.[25]
Waves suitable for surfing break as📉 spilling or plunging types, and when they also have a suitable peel angle, their value for surfing is enhanced.
Other factors📉 such as wave height and period, and wind strength and direction can also influence steepness and intensity of the break,📉 but the major influence on the type and shape of breaking waves is determined by the slope of the seabed📉 before the break.
The breaker type index and Iribarren number allow classification of breaker type as a function of wave steepness📉 and seabed slope.[25]
Artificial reefs [ edit ]
The value of good surf in attracting surf tourism has prompted the construction of📉 artificial reefs and sand bars.
Artificial surfing reefs can be built with durable sandbags or concrete, and resemble a submerged breakwater.
These📉 artificial reefs not only provide a surfing location, but also dissipate wave energy and shelter the coastline from erosion.
Ships such📉 as Seli 1 that have accidentally stranded on sandy bottoms, can create sandbanks that give rise to good waves.[27]
An artificial📉 reef known as Chevron Reef was constructed in El Segundo, California in hopes of creating a new surfing area.
However, the📉 reef failed to produce any quality waves and was removed in 2008.
In Kovalam, South West India, an artificial reef has📉 successfully provided the local community with a quality lefthander, stabilized coastal soil erosion, and provided good habitat for marine life.[28]📉 ASR Ltd.
, a New Zealand-based company, constructed the Kovalam reef and is working on another reef in Boscombe, England.
Artificial waves📉 [ edit ]
Surfing a stationary, artificial wave in Southern California
Even with artificial reefs in place, a tourist's vacation time may📉 coincide with a "flat spell", when no waves are available.
Completely artificial wave pools aim to solve that problem by controlling📉 all the elements that go into creating perfect surf, however there are only a handful of wave pools that can📉 simulate good surfing waves, owing primarily to construction and operation costs and potential liability.
Most wave pools generate waves that are📉 too small and lack the power necessary to surf.
The Seagaia Ocean Dome, located in Miyazaki, Japan, was an example of📉 a surfable wave pool.
Able to generate waves with up to 3 m (10 ft) faces, the specialized pump held water📉 in 20 vertical tanks positioned along the back edge of the pool.
This allowed the waves to be directed as they📉 approach the artificial sea floor.
Lefts, Rights, and A-frames could be directed from this pump design providing for rippable surf and📉 barrel rides.
The Ocean Dome cost about $2 billion to build and was expensive to maintain.
[29] The Ocean Dome was closed📉 in 2007.
In England, construction is nearing completion on the Wave,[30] situated near Bristol, which will enable people unable to get📉 to the coast to enjoy the waves in a controlled environment, set in the heart of nature.
There are two main📉 types of artificial waves that exist today.
One being artificial or stationary waves which simulate a moving, breaking wave by pumping📉 a layer of water against a smooth structure mimicking the shape of a breaking wave.
Because of the velocity of the📉 rushing water, the wave and the surfer can remain stationary while the water rushes by under the surfboard.
Artificial waves of📉 this kind provide the opportunity to try surfing and learn its basics in a moderately small and controlled environment near📉 or far from locations with natural surf.
Maneuvers [ edit ]
A surfer going for the tube
Catching waves at a surfing contest📉 on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii
Standup surfing begins when the surfer paddles toward shore in an attempt to match📉 the speed of the wave (the same applies whether the surfer is standup paddling, bodysurfing, boogie-boarding or using some other📉 type of watercraft, such as a waveski or kayak).
Once the wave begins to carry the surfer forward, the surfer stands📉 up and proceeds to ride the wave.
The basic idea is to position the surfboard so it is just ahead of📉 the breaking part (whitewash) of the wave, in the so-called 'pocket'.
It is difficult for beginners to catch the wave at📉 all.
Surfers' skills are tested by their ability to control their board in difficult conditions, riding challenging waves, and executing maneuvers📉 such as strong turns and cutbacks (turning board back to the breaking wave) and carving (a series of strong back-to-back📉 maneuvers).
More advanced skills include the floater (riding on top of the breaking curl of the wave), and off the lip📉 (banking off crest of the breaking wave).
A newer addition to surfing is the progression of the air, whereby a surfer📉 propels off the wave entirely up into the air and then successfully lands the board back on the wave.
The tube📉 ride is considered to be the ultimate maneuver in surfing.
As a wave breaks, if the conditions are ideal, the wave📉 will break in an orderly line from the middle to the shoulder, enabling the experienced surfer to position themselves inside📉 the wave as it is breaking.
This is known as a tube ride.
Viewed from the shore, the tube rider may disappear📉 from view as the wave breaks over the rider's head.
The longer the surfer remains in the tube, the more successful📉 the ride.
This is referred to as getting tubed, barrelled, shacked or pitted.
Some of the world's best-known waves for tube riding📉 include Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu, Teahupoo in Tahiti and G-Land in Java.
Other names for the tube include📉 "the barrel", and "the pit".
Hanging ten and hanging five are moves usually specific to longboarding.
Hanging Ten refers to having both📉 feet on the front end of the board with all of the surfer's toes off the edge, also known as📉 nose-riding.
Hanging Five is having just one foot near the front, with five toes off the edge.
Cutback: Generating speed down the📉 line and then turning back to reverse direction.
Snap: Quickly turning along the face or top of the wave, almost as📉 if snapping the board back towards the wave.
Typically done on steeper waves.
Blowtail: Pushing the tail of the board out of📉 the back of the wave so that the fins leave the water.
Floater: Suspending the board atop the wave.
Very popular on📉 small waves.
Top-Turn: Turn off the top of the wave.
Sometimes used to generate speed and sometimes to shoot spray.
Bottom Turn: A📉 turn at the bottom or mid-face of the wave, this maneuver is used to set up other maneuvers such as📉 the top turn, cutback and even aerials.
Airs/Aerials: These maneuvers have been becoming more and more prevalent in the sport in📉 both competition and free surfing.
An air is when the surfer can achieve enough speed and approach a certain type of📉 section of a wave that is supposed to act as a ramp and launch the surfer above the lip line📉 of the wave, "catching air", and landing either in the transition of the wave or the whitewash when hitting a📉 close-out section.
Airs can either be straight airs or rotational airs.
Straight airs have minimal rotation if any, but definitely no more📉 rotation than 90 degrees.
Rotational airs require a rotation of 90 degrees or more depending on the level of the surfer.
Types📉 of rotations:
180 degrees – called an air reverse, this is when the surfer spins enough to land backwards, then reverts📉 to their original positional with the help of the fins.
This rotation can either be done frontside or backside and can📉 spin right or left.
360 degrees – this is a full rotation air or "full rotor" where the surfer lands where📉 they started or more, as long as they do not land backwards.
When this is achieved front side on a wave📉 spinning the opposite of an air reverse is called an alley-oop.
540 degrees – the surfer does a full rotation plus📉 another 180 degrees and can be inverted or spinning straight, few surfers have been able to land this air.
Backflip –📉 usually done with a double grab, this hard to land air is made for elite-level surfers.
Rodeo flip – usually done📉 backside, it is a backflip with a 180 rotation, and is actually easier than a straight backflip.
Grabs – a surfer📉 can help land an aerial maneuver by grabbing the surfboard, keeping them attached to the board and keeping the board📉 under their feet.
Common types of grabs include: Indy – a grab on the surfers inside rail going frontside, outside rail📉 going backside with their backhand.
Slob – a grab on the surfers inside rail going frontside, outside rail going backside with📉 their front hand.
Lien – A grab on the surfers outside rail frontside, inside rail going backside with their front hand.
Stalefish📉 – A grab on the surfers outside rail frontside, inside rail backside with their backhand.
Double grab – A grab on📉 the surfers inside and outside rail, the inside rail with the backhand and the outside rail with the front hand.
Terms📉 [ edit ]
The Glossary of surfing includes some of the extensive vocabulary used to describe various aspects of the sport📉 of surfing as described in literature on the subject.
[31][32] In some cases terms have spread to a wider cultural use.
These📉 terms were originally coined by people who were directly involved in the sport of surfing.
Learning [ edit ]Learning to surf
Many📉 popular surfing destinations have surf schools and surf camps that offer lessons.
Surf camps for beginners and intermediates are multi-day lessons📉 that focus on surfing fundamentals.
They are designed to take new surfers and help them become proficient riders.
All-inclusive surf camps offer📉 overnight accommodations, meals, lessons and surfboards.
Most surf lessons begin with instruction and a safety briefing on land, followed by instructors📉 helping students into waves on longboards or "softboards".
The softboard is considered the ideal surfboard for learning, due to the fact📉 it is safer, and has more paddling speed and stability than shorter boards.
Funboards are also a popular shape for beginners📉 as they combine the volume and stability of the longboard with the manageable size of a smaller surfboard.
[33] New and📉 inexperienced surfers typically learn to catch waves on softboards around the 210 to 240 cm (7 to 8 ft) funboard📉 size.
Due to the softness of the surfboard the chance of getting injured is substantially minimized.
Typical surfing instruction is best-performed one-on-one,📉 but can also be done in a group setting.
The most popular surf locations offer perfect surfing conditions for beginners, as📉 well as challenging breaks for advanced students.
The ideal conditions for learning would be small waves that crumble and break softly,📉 as opposed to the steep, fast-peeling waves desired by more experienced surfers.
When available, a sandy seabed is generally safer.
Surfing can📉 be broken into several skills: paddling strength, positioning to catch the wave, timing, and balance.
Paddling out requires strength, but also📉 the mastery of techniques to break through oncoming waves (duck diving, eskimo roll also known as turtle).
Take-off positioning requires experience📉 at predicting the wave set and where it will break.
The surfer must pop up quickly as soon as the wave📉 starts pushing the board forward.
Preferred positioning on the wave is determined by experience at reading wave features including where the📉 wave is breaking.
[34] Balance plays a crucial role in standing on a surfboard.
Thus, balance training exercises are good preparation.
Practicing with📉 a balance board, longboard (skateboard) or swing board helps novices master the art of surfing.[35]
The repetitive cycle of paddling, popping📉 up, and balancing requires stamina and physical strength.
Having a proper warm-up routine can help prevent injuries.
[36]Equipment [ edit ]Waxing a📉 surfboard
Surfing can be done on various equipment, including surfboards, longboards, stand up paddle boards (SUPs), bodyboards, wave skis, skimboards, kneeboards,📉 surf mats and macca's trays.
Surfboards were originally made of solid wood and were large and heavy (often up to 370📉 cm (12 ft) long and having a mass of 70 kg (150 lb)).
Lighter balsa wood surfboards (first made in the📉 late 1940s and early 1950s) were a significant improvement, not only in portability, but also in increasing maneuverability.
Most modern surfboards📉 are made of fiberglass foam (PU), with one or more wooden strips or "stringers", fiberglass cloth, and polyester resin (PE).
An📉 emerging board material is epoxy resin and Expanded Polystyrene foam (EPS) which is stronger and lighter than traditional PU/PE construction.
Even📉 newer designs incorporate materials such as carbon fiber and variable-flex composites in conjunction with fiberglass and epoxy or polyester resins.
Since📉 epoxy/EPS surfboards are generally lighter, they will float better than a traditional PU/PE board of similar size, shape and thickness.
This📉 makes them easier to paddle and faster in the water.
However, a common complaint of EPS boards is that they do📉 not provide as much feedback as a traditional PU/PE board.
For this reason, many advanced surfers prefer that their surfboards be📉 made from traditional materials.
Other equipment includes a leash (to stop the board from drifting away after a wipeout and to📉 prevent it from hitting other surfers), surf wax, traction pads (to keep a surfer's feet from slipping off the deck📉 of the board), and fins (also known as skegs) which can either be permanently attached (glassed-on) or interchangeable.
Sportswear designed or📉 particularly suitable for surfing may be sold as boardwear (the term is also used in snowboarding).
In warmer climates, swimsuits, surf📉 trunks or boardshorts are worn, and occasionally rash guards; in cold water, surfers can opt to wear wetsuits, boots, hoods,📉 and gloves to protect them against lower water temperatures.
[37] A newer introduction is a rash vest with a thin layer📉 of titanium to provide maximum warmth without compromising mobility.
[clarification needed] In recent years, there have been advancements in technology that📉 have allowed surfers to pursue even bigger waves with added elements of safety.
Big wave surfers are now experimenting with inflatable📉 vests or colored dye packs to help decrease their odds of drowning.[38]
A variety of surfboards
There are many different surfboard sizes,📉 shapes, and designs in use today.
Modern longboards, generally 270 to 300 cm (9 to 10 ft) in length, are reminiscent📉 of the earliest surfboards, but now benefit from modern innovations in surfboard shaping and fin design.
Competitive longboard surfers need to📉 be competent at traditional walking manoeuvres, as well as the short-radius turns normally associated with shortboard surfing.
The modern shortboard began📉 life in the late 1960s and has evolved into today's common thruster style, defined by its three fins, usually around📉 180 to 210 cm (6 to 7 ft) in length.
The thruster was invented by Australian shaper Simon Anderson.
Midsize boards, often📉 called funboards, provide more maneuverability than a longboard, with more flotation than a shortboard.
While many surfers find that funboards live📉 up to their name, providing the best of both surfing modes, others are critical.
"It is the happy medium of mediocrity,"📉 writes Steven Kotler.
"Funboard riders either have nothing left to prove or lack the skills to prove anything."[39]
There are also various📉 niche styles, such as the Egg, a longboard-style short board targeted at people who want to ride a shortboard but📉 need more paddle power.
The Fish, a board that is typically shorter, flatter, and wider than a normal shortboard, often with📉 a split tail (known as a swallow tail).
The Fish often has two or four fins and is specifically designed for📉 surfing smaller waves.
For big waves, there is the Gun, a long, thick board with a pointed nose and tail (known📉 as a pintail) specifically designed for big waves.
The physics of surfing [ edit ]
The physics of surfing involves the physical📉 oceanographic properties of wave creation in the surf zone, the characteristics of the surfboard, and the surfer's interaction with the📉 water and the board.
Wave formation [ edit ]
Ocean waves are defined as a collection of dislocated water parcels that undergo📉 a cycle of being forced past their normal position and being restored back to their normal position.
[40] Wind causes ripples📉 and eddies to form waves that gradually gain speed and distance (fetch).
Waves increase in energy and speed and then become📉 longer and stronger.
[41] The fully-developed sea has the strongest wave action that experiences storms lasting 10-hours and creates 15 m📉 (49.
2 ft) wave heights in the open ocean.[40]
The waves created in the open ocean are classified as deep-water waves.
Deep-water waves📉 have no bottom interaction and the orbits of these water molecules are circular; their wavelength is short relative to water📉 depth and the velocity decays before reaching the bottom of the water basin.
[40] Deep water waves are waves in water📉 depths greater than half their wavelengths.
[citation needed] Wind forces waves to break in the deep sea.
[clarification needed]
Deep-water waves travel to📉 shore and become shallow-water waves when the water depth is less than half of their wavelength, and the wave motion📉 becomes constrained by the bottom, causing the orbit paths to be flattened to ellipses.
The bottom exerts a frictional drag on📉 the bottom of the wave, which decreases the celerity (or the speed of the waveform), and causes refraction.
Slowing the wave📉 forces it to shorten which increases the height and steepness, and the top (crest) falls because the velocity of the📉 top of the wave becomes greater than the velocity of the bottom of the wave where the drag occurs.[40]
The surf📉 zone is the place of convergence of multiple waves types creating complex wave patterns.
A wave suitable for surfing results from📉 maximum speeds of 5 metres per second (16 ft/s).
This speed is relative because local onshore winds can cause waves to📉 break.
[41] In the surf zone, shallow water waves are carried by global winds to the beach and interact with local📉 winds to make surfing waves.[41][42]
Different onshore and off-shore wind patterns in the surf zone create different types of waves.
Onshore winds📉 cause random wave breaking patterns and are more suitable for experienced surfers.
[41][42] Light offshore winds create smoother waves, while strong📉 direct offshore winds cause plunging or large barrel waves.
[41] Barrel waves are large because the water depth is small when📉 the wave breaks.
Thus, the breaker intensity (or force) increases, and the wave speed and height increase.
[41] Off-shore winds produce non-surfable📉 conditions by flattening a weak swell.
Weak swell is made from surface gravity forces and has long wavelengths.[41][43]
Wave conditions for surfing📉 [ edit ]
Surfing waves can be analyzed using the following parameters: breaking wave height, wave peel angle (α), wave breaking📉 intensity, and wave section length.
The breaking wave height has two measurements, the relative heights estimated by surfers and the exact📉 measurements done by physical oceanographers.
Measurements done by surfers were 1.36 to 2.
58 times higher than the measurements done by scientists.
The📉 scientifically concluded wave heights that are physically possible to surf are 1 to 20 m (3.3 to 66 ft).[41]
The wave📉 peel angle is one of the main constituents of a potential surfing wave.
Wave peel angle measures the distance between the📉 peel-line and the line tangent to the breaking crest line.
This angle controls the speed of the wave crest.
The speed of📉 the wave is an addition of the propagation velocity vector (Vw) and peel velocity vector (Vp), which results in the📉 overall velocity of the wave (Vs).[41]
Wave breaking intensity measures the force of the wave as it breaks, spills, or plunges📉 (a plunging wave is termed by surfers as a "barrel wave").
Wave section length is the distance between two breaking crests📉 in a wave set.
Wave section length can be hard to measure because local winds, non-linear wave interactions, island sheltering, and📉 swell interactions can cause multifarious wave configurations in the surf zone.[41]
The parameters breaking wave height, wave peel angle (α), and📉 wave breaking intensity, and wave section length are important because they are standardized by past oceanographers who researched surfing; these📉 parameters have been used to create a guide that matches the type of wave formed and the skill level of📉 surfer.[41]
Table 1 shows a relationship of smaller peel angles correlating with a higher skill level of the surfer.
Smaller wave peel📉 angles increase the velocities of waves.
A surfer must know how to react and paddle quickly to match the speed of📉 the wave to catch it.
Therefore, more experience is required to catch low peel angle waves.
More experienced surfers can handle longer📉 section lengths, increased velocities, and higher wave heights.
[41] Different locations offer different types of surfing conditions for each skill level.
Surf📉 breaks [ edit ]
A surf break is an area with an obstruction or an object that causes a wave to📉 break.
Surf breaks entail multiple scale phenomena.
Wave section creation has microscale factors of peel angle and wave breaking intensity.
The micro-scale components📉 influence wave height and variations on wave crests.
The mesoscale components of surf breaks are the ramp, platform, wedge, or ledge📉 that may be present at a surf break.
Macro-scale processes are the global winds that initially produce offshore waves.
Types of surf📉 breaks are headlands (point break), beach break, river/estuary entrance bar, reef breaks, and ledge breaks.[41]
Headland (point break) [ edit ]
A📉 headland or point break interacts with the water by causing refraction around the point or headland.
The point absorbs the high-frequency📉 waves and long-period waves persist, which are easier to surf.
Examples of locations that have headland or point break-induced surf breaks📉 are Dunedin (New Zealand), Raglan (New Zealand), Malibu (California), Rincon (California), and Kirra (Australia).[41]
Beach break [ edit ]
A beach break📉 is an area of open coastline where the waves break over a sand-bottom.
They are the most common, yet also the📉 most volatile of surf breaks.
Wave breaks happen successively at beach breaks, as in there are multiple peaks to surf at📉 a single beach break location.
Example locations are Tairua and Aramoana Beach (New Zealand) and the Gold Coast (Australia).[41]
A group of📉 surfers surfing a beach break in Juno Beach, Florida.
River or estuary entrance bar [ edit ]
A river or estuary entrance📉 bar creates waves from the ebb-tidal delta, sediment outflow, and tidal currents.
An ideal estuary entrance bar exists in Whangamata Bar,📉 New Zealand.
[41]Reef break [ edit ]
A reef break is conducive to surfing because large waves consistently break over the reef.
The📉 reef is usually made of coral, and because of this, many injuries occur while surfing reef breaks.
However, the waves that📉 are produced by reef breaks are some of the best in the world.
Famous reef breaks are present in Padang Padang📉 (Indonesia), Pipeline (Hawaii), Uluwatu (Bali), and Teahupo'o (Tahiti).[41][44]
Ledge break [ edit ]
A ledge break is formed by steep rocks ledges📉 that make intense waves because the waves travel through deeper water then abruptly reach shallower water at the ledge.
Shark Island,📉 Australia is a location with a ledge break.
Ledge breaks create difficult surfing conditions, sometimes only allowing body surfing as the📉 only feasible way to confront the waves.[41]
Jetties and their impacts on wave formation in the surf zone [ edit ]
Jetties📉 are added to bodies of water to regulate erosion, preserve navigation channels, and make harbors.
Jetties are classified into four different📉 types and have two main controlling variables: the type of delta[clarification needed] and the size of the jetty.[45]
Type 1 jetty📉 [ edit ]
The first classification is a type 1 jetty.
This type of jetty is significantly longer than the surf zone📉 width and the waves break at the shore end of the jetty.
The effect of a Type 1 jetty is sediment📉 accumulation in a wedge formation on the jetty.
These waves are large and increase in size as they pass over the📉 sediment wedge formation.
An example of a Type 1 jetty is Mission Beach, San Diego, California.
This 1000-meter jetty was installed in📉 1950 at the mouth of Mission Bay.
The surf waves happen north of the jetty, are longer waves, and are powerful.
The📉 bathymetry of the sea bottom in Mission Bay has a wedge shape formation that causes the waves to refract as📉 they become closer to the jetty.
[45] The waves converge constructively after they refract and increase the sizes of the waves.
Type📉 2 jetty [ edit ]
A type 2 jetty occurs in an ebb-tidal delta, a delta transitioning between high and low📉 tide.
This area has shallow water, refraction, and distinctive seabed shapes that create large wave heights.[45]
An example of a type 2📉 jetty is called "The Poles" in Atlantic Beach, Florida.
Atlantic Beach is known to have flat waves, with exceptions during major📉 storms.
However, "The Poles" has larger than normal waves due to a 500-meter jetty that was installed on the south side📉 of St.Johns.
This jetty was built to make a deep channel in the river.
It formed a delta at "The Poles".
This is📉 a special area because the jetty increases wave size for surfing when comparing pre-conditions and post-conditions of the southern St.
Johns📉 River mouth area.[45]
The wave size at "The Poles" depends on the direction of the incoming water.
When easterly waters (from 55°)📉 interact with the jetty, they create waves larger than southern waters (from 100°).
When southern waves (from 100°) move toward "The📉 Poles", one of the waves breaks north of the southern jetty and the other breaks south of the jetty.
This does📉 not allow for merging to make larger waves.
Easterly waves, from 55°, converge north of the jetty and unite to make📉 bigger waves.[45]
Type 3 jetty [ edit ]
A type 3 jetty is in an ebb-tidal area with an unchanging seabed that📉 has naturally created waves.
Examples of a Type 3 jetty occurs in "Southside" Tamarack, Carlsbad, California.[45]
Type 4 jetty [ edit ]
A📉 type 4 jetty is one that no longer functions nor traps sediment.
The waves are created from reefs in the surf📉 zone.
A type 4 jetty can be found in Tamarack, Carlsbad, California.[45]
Rip currents [ edit ]
Rip currents are fast, narrow currents📉 that are caused by onshore transport within the surf zone and the successive return of the water seaward.
[46][47] The wedge📉 bathymetry makes a convenient and consistent rip current of 5–10 meters that brings the surfers to the "take-off point" then📉 out to the beach.[45]
Oceanographers have two theories on rip current formation.
The wave interaction model assumes that two edges of waves📉 interact, create differing wave heights, and cause longshore transport of nearshore currents.
The Boundary Interaction Model assumes that the topography of📉 the sea bottom causes nearshore circulation and longshore transport; the result of both models is a rip current.[46]
Rip currents can📉 be extremely strong and narrow as they extend out of the surf zone into deeper water, reaching speeds from 0.5📉 m/s (1.
6 ft/s) and up to 2.5 m/s (8.
2 ft/s),[47][48] which is faster than any human can swim.
The water in📉 the jet is sediment rich, bubble rich, and moves rapidly.
[47] The rip head of the rip current has long shore📉 movement.
Rip currents are common on beaches with mild slopes that experience sizeable and frequent oceanic swell.[48]
On the surfboard [ edit📉 ]
A longer surfboard of 300 cm (10 ft) causes more friction with the water; therefore, it will be slower than📉 a smaller and lighter board with a length of 180 cm (6 ft).
Longer boards are good for beginners who need📉 help balancing.
Smaller boards are good for more experienced surfers who want to have more control and maneuverability.[43]
When practicing the sport📉 of surfing, the surfer paddles out past the wave break to wait for a wave.
When a surfable wave arrives, the📉 surfer must paddle extremely fast to match the velocity of the wave so the wave can accelerate him or her.[43]
When📉 the surfer is at wave speed, the surfer must quickly pop up, stay low, and stay toward the front of📉 the wave to become stable and prevent falling as the wave steepens.
The acceleration is less toward the front than toward📉 the back.
The physics behind the surfing of the wave involves the horizontal acceleration force (F.
sinθ) and the vertical force (F.
cosθ=mg).
Therefore,📉 the surfer should lean forward to gain speed, and lean on the back foot to brake.
Also, to increase the length📉 of the ride of the wave, the surfer should travel parallel to the wave crest.
[43]Dangers [ edit ]Drowning [ edit📉 ]
Surfing, like all water sports, carries the inherent risk of drowning.
[49] Although the board assists a surfer in staying buoyant,📉 it can become separated from the user.
[50] A leash, attached to the ankle or knee, can keep a board from📉 being swept away, but does not keep a rider on the board or above water.
In some cases, possibly including the📉 drowning of professional surfer Mark Foo, a leash can even be a cause of drowning by snagging on a reef📉 or other object and holding the surfer underwater.
[51] By keeping the surfboard close to the surfer during a wipeout, a📉 leash also increases the chances that the board may strike the rider, which could knock them unconscious and lead to📉 drowning.
A fallen rider's board can become trapped in larger waves, and if the rider is attached by a leash, they📉 can be dragged for long distances underwater.
[51] Surfers should be careful to remain in smaller surf until they have acquired📉 the advanced skills and experience necessary to handle bigger waves and more challenging conditions.
However, even world-class surfers have drowned in📉 extremely challenging conditions.
[52]Collisions [ edit ]
A surfer exiting a closeout
Under the wrong set of conditions, anything that a surfer's body📉 can come in contact with is a potential hazard, including sand bars, rocks, small ice, reefs, surfboards, and other surfers.
[53]📉 Collisions with these objects can sometimes cause injuries such as cuts and scrapes and in rare instances, death.
A large number📉 of injuries, up to 66%,[54] are caused by collision with a surfboard (nose or fins).
Fins can cause deep lacerations and📉 cuts,[55] as well as bruising.
While these injuries can be minor, they can open the skin to infection from the sea;📉 groups like Surfers Against Sewage campaign for cleaner waters to reduce the risk of infections.
Local bugs and diseases can be📉 risk factors when surfing around the globe.[56]
Falling off a surfboard or colliding with others is commonly referred to as a📉 wipeout.
Marine life [ edit ]
Sea life can sometimes cause injuries (Bethany Hamilton) and even fatalities.
Animals such as sharks,[57] stingrays, Weever📉 fish, seals and jellyfish can sometimes present a danger.
[58] Warmer-water surfers often do the "stingray shuffle" as they walk out📉 through the shallows, shuffling their feet in the sand to scare away stingrays that may be resting on the bottom.[59]
Rip📉 currents [ edit ]
Rip current warning sign
Rip currents are water channels that flow away from the shore.
Under the wrong circumstances📉 these currents can endanger both experienced and inexperienced surfers.
Since a rip current appears to be an area of flat water,📉 tired or inexperienced swimmers or surfers may enter one and be carried out beyond the breaking waves.
Although many rip currents📉 are much smaller, the largest rip currents have a width of 12–15 m (40–50 ft).
The flow of water moving out📉 towards the sea in a rip will be stronger than most swimmers, making swimming back to shore difficult, however, by📉 paddling parallel to the shore, a surfer can easily exit a rip current.
Alternatively, some surfers actually ride on a rip📉 current because it is a fast and effortless way to get out beyond the zone of breaking waves.[60]Seabed [ edit📉 ]
The seabed can pose a risk for surfers.
If a surfer falls while riding a wave, the wave tosses and tumbles📉 the surfer around, often in a downwards direction.
At reef breaks and beach breaks, surfers have been seriously injured and even📉 killed, because of a violent collision with the sea bed, the water above which can sometimes be very shallow, especially📉 at beach breaks or reef breaks during low tide.
Cyclops, Western Australia, for example, is one of the biggest and thickest📉 reef breaks in the world, with waves measuring up to 10 m (33 ft) high, but the reef below is📉 only about 2 m (7 ft) below the surface of the water.
Microorganisms [ edit ]
A January 2018 study by the📉 University of Exeter called the "Beach Bum Survey" found surfers and bodyboarders to be three times as likely as non-surfers📉 to harbor antibiotic-resistant E.
coli and four times as likely to harbor other bacteria capable of easily becoming antibiotic resistant.
The researchers📉 attributed this to the fact that surfers swallow roughly ten times as much seawater as swimmers.
[61][62]Ear damage [ edit ]
Man📉 wearing protective ear plugs
Surfers sometimes use ear protection such as ear plugs to avoid surfer's ear, inflammation of the ear📉 or other damage.
Surfer's ear is where the bone near the ear canal grows after repeated exposure to cold water, making📉 the ear canal narrower.
The narrowed canal makes it harder for water to drain from the ear.
This can result in pain,📉 infection and sometimes ringing of the ear.
Ear plugs designed for surfers, swimmers and other water athletes are primarily made to📉 keep water out of the ear, thereby letting a protective pocket of air stay inside the ear canal.
They can also📉 block cold air, dirt and bacteria.
Many designs are made to let sound through, and either float and/or have a leash📉 in case the plug accidentally gets bumped out.
Surf Rash [ edit ]
Surf rash appears in many different ways on the📉 skin, commonly as a painful red bumpy patch located on the surfer's chest or inner legs.
A rash guard will lessen📉 the incidence of surf rash caused by abrasion or sunburn.
Healing ointments such as petroleum jelly can be used to treat📉 irritated skin.[63]
Spinal cord [ edit ]
Surfer's myelopathy is a rare spinal cord injury causing paralysis of the lower extremities, caused📉 by hyperextension of the back.
This is due to one of the main blood vessels of the spine becoming kinked, depriving📉 the spinal cord of oxygen.
In some cases the paralysis is permanent.
Although any activity where the back is arched can cause📉 this condition (i.e.yoga, pilates, etc.
), this rare phenomenon has most often been seen in those surfing for the first time.
According📉 to DPT Sergio Florian, some recommendations for preventing myelopathy is proper warm up, limiting the session length and sitting on📉 the board while waiting for waves, rather than lying.[64]
Surfers and surf culture [ edit ]
Surfers represent a diverse culture based📉 on riding the waves.
Some people practice surfing as a recreational activity, while others make it the central focus of their📉 lives.
Surfing culture in the US is most dominant in Hawaii and California, because these two states offer the best surfing📉 conditions.
However, waves can be found wherever there is coastline, and a tight-knit yet far-reaching subculture of surfers has emerged throughout📉 America.
Some historical markers of the culture included the woodie, the station wagon used to carry surfers' boards, as well as📉 boardshorts, the long swim shorts typically worn while surfing.
Surfers also wear wetsuits in colder regions and when the seasons cool📉 the air and water.
During the 1960s, as surfing caught on in California, its popularity spread through American pop culture.
Several teen📉 movies, starting with the Gidget series in 1959, transformed surfing into a dream life for American youth.
Later movies, including Beach📉 Party (1963), Ride the Wild Surf (1964), and Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) promoted the California dream of sun and surf.
Surf📉 culture also fueled the early records of the Beach Boys.
The sport is also a significant part of Australia's eastern coast📉 sub-cultural life,[65] especially in New South Wales, where the weather and water conditions are most favourable for surfing.
The sport of📉 surfing now represents a multibillion-dollar industry, especially in clothing and fashion markets.
Founded in 1964, the International Surfing Association (ISA) is📉 the oldest foundation associated with surfing formed to better improve surfing and recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the📉 leading authority on surfing.
National and international surf competitions began in 1964.
In addition, The World Surf League (WSL) was established in📉 1976 and promotes various championship tours, hosting top competitors in some of the best surf spots around the globe.
A small📉 number of people make a career out of surfing by receiving corporate sponsorships and performing for photographers and videographers in📉 far-flung destinations; they are typically referred to as freesurfers.
Sixty-six surfers on a 13 m (42 ft) long surfboard set a📉 record in Huntington Beach, California for most people on a surfboard at one time.
[citation needed] Dale Webster consecutively surfed for📉 14,641 days, making it his main life focus.[citation needed]
When the waves were flat, surfers persevered with sidewalk surfing, which is📉 now called skateboarding.
Sidewalk surfing has a similar feel to surfing and requires only a paved road or sidewalk.
To create the📉 feel of the wave, surfers even sneaked into empty backyard swimming pools to ride in, known as pool skating.
Eventually, surfing📉 made its way to the slopes with the invention of the Snurfer, later credited as the first snowboard.
Many other board📉 sports have been invented over the years, but all can trace their heritage back to surfing.[citation needed]
Many surfers claim to📉 have a spiritual connection with the ocean, describing surfing, the surfing experience, both in and out of the water, as📉 a type of spiritual experience or a religion.
[66]See also [ edit ]References [ edit ]
