Lingo - surf terminology

surf terminology

• air - getting airborne
• aerial - airborne manoeuvre
• amped - charged up - stoked - fired
• backdoor - to pull into a tube from behind the peak
• backside - surfing back to the wave - going backside
• bail - to abandon a board - jump off - without regard to your board old school says contolling your board at all times is part of surfing and you should always surf like you don't use a leash.
• bail out - of a wave
• bake - a closeout
• bashing - body surfing
• boost - getting airborne off the lip
• brah - from bruddah, hawaiian pidgin for brother
• bro - brother, buddy, friend
• bra - how the kewl kids say bro
• bucket - helmet
• bump - a swell
• bumps - the build-up of wax on a surfboard deck.
• carve - symmetrical, fluid turn
• cheater five - five toes on the nose - keep your weight back on the board to maintain trim and speed, squat down and extend one foot forward
• clucked - afraid, intimidated by the wave
• crew - a group of surfers defined by break or area
• dogging - going backside in the pit.
• drop - as in dropping from the crest of the wave to the pit
• dropping in - catching a wave that is already occupied ... taking off on the shoulder while someone is taking off deeper
• drop in late - catching the steepest part of a wave
• dune - a big peaky wave
• falls - the pitching lip of the wave - don't get sucked into this
• fan - a fan of spray off a turn such as a water skier throws
• fluff - spray off the lip
• falls - top of the wave pitches out and throws a waterfall shoreward.
• frigged - snaked.
• frontside - surfing facing the wave - going frontside
• fully - with commitment and intensity
• full on - with commitment and intensity
• gash - very sharp turn
• gnarly - awesome and intimidating
• going off - a break under optimum conditions
• goofy foot - left foot back is the power foot, right foot forward
• gouge - sharp, fast turn
• gremmies - grem or gremmie is short for gremlin - sixties us term for young, possibly or probably mischievous surfer, pre-adolescent surfer
• green room - inside a full cover-up tube
• grommet - adolescent surfer
• gunned - undergunned or overgunned refers to the size of your board in relation to wave conditions
• heelside - the rail [side] that your heels point at
• hiddie - from hideous, intense
• hoot - howling and yelping approval and encouragement to buddies
• jag - retreat after getting worked
• nipped - nipples rubbed raw by board or suit
• noodle - exhausted, overall condition or specific as in noodle armed
• meatball flag - black with a yellow dot in the middle, means no surfing today
• pop - kickout
• pit - the hollowest portion of a breaking wave
• pitch - throw - angle of any run to rise
• pitted - being in the pit of the wave
• pearl - to go pearl diving, the nose of you board submerges and usually the wave pushes the rest of the board over the nose, you too
• poser - a non-surfer playing the role of a surfer
• pucker factor - the effect an intimidating wave has on ones ability to remain relaxed
• puff - a spitting wave.
• pumping - above average large swell
• quiver - a surfer's collection of boards, a board bag that holds several boards
• regular foot - right foot back is the power foot, left foot forward
• rip - to surf to the height of one's abilities
• repechage - in competition, especially amateur, the runners up from a heat compete against each other in a repechage round. The winners advance to the final rounds.
• room - inside a large barrel.
• schlong - thick, long, old style single-fin surfboard
• squid - unlikeable individual
• scab - a reef or rock
• scabbed - getting damaged by a reef or rock
• shred - ability to execute rapid repeated turns - shortboard term
• sick - excellent, top notch - describing a surfer, stunt, manoeuvre or conditions
• sideslip - when your board stops tracking forwards and moves sideways
• slam - bounce off the lip as it begins to pitch
• slash - cutback.
• snake - paddling around behind someone who is in position and stealing their wave. effectively the snake is taking ownership of the wave by being the closest rider to the breaking portion of the wave.
• stink-eye - hard, cold, menacing stare
• stoked - geared up, wound up, full of enthusiasm
• stylie - with good form - with grace
• surfer's knots - large bumps on the tops of feet and on knees caused by callusing where one continuously contacts a board
• stuffed - getting driven under the water by a wave coming down on you
• swish - a meek or fearful surfer
• thrashed - when a wave lays a beating on you
• throwing tail - sliding the tail in a turn, breaking the grip of the fins
• toeside - the rail [side] that your toes point at
• tow-ins - getting towed into waves that are too large to paddle into
• trim - adjusting your position on a board so that it planes, and achieves its maximum speed
• tube - the cylindrical or cone shaped hole created when the lip pitches out far and clean enough to create a space between the wave and the falls
• vertical - turn straight up the wave
• waffling - rapidly working the board back and forth
• wannabe - wan-na-be, someone who wants to be
• wax - paraffin + colour + scent + additives to make it apply at specific temperatures. used on deck of boards for traction
• whack - as in whack it off the top [of the wave], hit the lip hard
• wipe out - a fall, particularly a spectacular fall
• worked, getting - the action a wave plays on you. it feels like being in a large washing machine.

Lingo - board terminology

board terminology

• bodyboard - aka boogie boards, sponge, a paipoboard modified in 1971 by tom morey to ride dangerous shallow reefs safely. lay prone and augment with swim-fins
• cant - angling the outside fins toward the rail so that the inner angle is 90 degrees + some number. cant really puts the fin in a place where it needs to be. as when you are doing a bottom turn ,the inside fin is angled more toward the rail and is in a better position to hold the board in, especially now that you have 1 or more fins out of the water. this makes the board handle better on its rails
• concave - soft chine indentation running lengthways on the bottom of a board, believed to create lift
• bonzer - in australia, bonzer is equivalent slang for "bitchen". the term was adopted by the campbell brothers of southern california in the 70's for their 5 fin surf board.
• down rail - the deck curves down to meet the flat bottom at a hard edge
• egg - refers to the slow rounded shape of a nose, tail or rail
• fish - short board with added width and thickness, designed to improve wave catching capability while maintaining performance, a shorboard for small conditions
• flick nose - an increase in the rate of rocker near the nose
• fun board - mid size board designed for ease of ride in small conditions,
• gun - a board for big waves they are long, narrow, and pointy both at the nose and the tail for maximum rail contact. usually thick and heavy and ranging in length from 7'to 10'
  aka "elephant gun", "rhino chaser" so named because you take it with you when you are hunting big game...
• hybrid - hybrids range from 7'-9' and attempt to give some of the floatation and paddling of a longboard as well as the performance of a shortboard.
• hard rail - sharper edge to grab a wave
• kneeboard - aka kneelo
• leash - a line attaching the board to the riders ankle (shortboard), calf just below the knee (longboard) or wrist (bodyboard). before the mid seventies we used surgical rubber tube. modern leashes have little elastic property, in line swivels to stop fouling, and optional quick release pins at the ankle.
• log or stick - slang for surf board
• longboard - longboards are usually over 9' in length. because of their size they are easier to paddle and get into waves sooner. on the downside, they are less manoeuvrable and can get pretty unwieldy in steep waves.
• mal - a longboard most places except america
• magic board - there are exceptional boards and sometimes exceptonal matches between board & rider that can make this claim
• mini-mal - mid size board with longboard characteristics
• paipoboard - hawaiian wooden bodyboard
• pin tail - pointed tail, aids in stability of board
• quad - four fin board, two normal size fins with two smaller fins in line behind them
• rail - side edge of a board,
• rhino - a gun - a board for big waves they are long, narrow, and pointy both at the nose and the tail for maximum rail contact. usually thick and heavy and ranging in length from 7'to 10'
  aka "elephant gun", "rhino chaser" so named because you take it with you when you are hunting big game...
• rocker - the arc of the tail that bends up, more rocker = easier turning & less speed
• shortboard - shortboards are the most common, they range in length from 5' to 7'6", and tend to be used for high-performance contest-style surfing. shortboards usually have pointed noses and three fins, although other configurations are common. a shortboard sacrifices paddling and floatation for the sake of performance.
• skimboard - glassed plywood disc or oval for riding shallow beaches on the waters' edge.... run - throw it down - hop on
• soft rail - rounder edge so the board is looser
• spoon - concave in the underside nose of a longboard. increases lift for nose riding
• square tail - with the introduction of multi fins, it became a advantageous to loosen the board up with a clean profile tail design
• squash tail - wide, rounded tail, introduced after the advent of advanced fin systems to loosen the board up
• swallow tail - double pointed tail with an indentation in the center. functional on single fin boards to aid in the holding characteristics of the board.
• tail kick - an increase in the rate of rocker near the tail
• tanker - longboard
• thruster - three similar size fins
• toe in - pushing the front of the fins in, for some boards they would put the toe in such that a string from the nose of the board to the fin was the alignment for the fins--toe-in. of course this represents a lot of toe-in! toe-in causes pressure on the outside of the fins to be greater than on the inside, ie., making the board want to swivel to either side with a little surfer input, this eliminated tracking on the earlier twin fins, and makes for a looser more responsive board.
• tri fin - three fin board, one large and two smaller fins
• twin - two fin board
• twinzer - four fin board, two normal size fins with two smaller fins mirrored a few inches outside and forward of them
• reverse v - hard chine protruding ridge running lengthways on the bottom of a board

Lingo - wave terminology

wave terminology

• ground swells - waves formed over vast distances, well formed and powerful, mackers
• wind swells - waves formed close to the shore by local wind conditions, unorganised, tendency to be slop
• reef breaks - wave is formed over an underwater reef or rock, consistent
• beach breaks - wave is formed over sand and sand bars, can shift seasonally and from storm to storm
• point breaks - wave forms in reaction to the land form, consistent
• river mouth breaks - wave forms on the sediments deposited at the river mouth, similar to beach breaks but sometimes more susceptible to change~ ~ ~
• backwash - flood of water returning off the foreshore against incoming waves
• cnoid waves - as waves come in to shallow water their shape changes to something called a 'cnoid' which has a short, steep crest and a long shallow trough - those are what we see as lines of corduroy.
• channel - a channel of deeper water where excess water, piled up by waves, flows out to sea
• clean - faces are unrippled - usually offshore or no wind
• face - clean, smooth wall on the shore side of a wave
• fetch - determines the size of a wave. wind speed X time X distance
• frequency downshifting - the increase of wave period within a fetch .... a decrease in frequency is an increase in period.
• impact zone - the point where the waves break for the first time
• inside - where waves continue to break, reform, and break again if it's big enough
• lip - curling lip at the top of a wave
• line-up - just beyond the impact zone where you wait to catch waves
• outside - offshore, beyond where the waves break
• pitch - the act of the lip throwing out in front of the wave
• period - time between waves. wind swell less than about 10 seconds /approx/ 12 seconds and longer is ground swell (the energy / power of a wave is proportional not only to its height but its period.)
• section - any appreciable length of wave that has common characteristics and timing
  ie: breaking in sections - sectiony
• shore-dump / soup / slop - unorganised sloppy foam, no good for nothing
• sine waves - in deep water swells are very well-approximated by pure sine waves.
• steep - refers to angle or pitch of wave face

A couple of good online surfing video analysis resources

Here's a couple of good online surfing video analysis resources, with breakdowns of what surfers are doing by maneuver.

Surf Coach - http://www.surfingaustralia.com/surfcoach/category/surfing-solutions/

Surfing Tricks & Tips - http://www.surfingvancouverisland.com/surf/tricktips/

Waxing your surfboard

You need wax on your board in order to surf unless you have a full deck grip which is unlikely. Wax comes in all shapes and sizes and different formulas for surfing in cold or hot water temperatures.

We obviously don't use much tropical wax over in the UK so you'll be asking for cold water wax but most shops will automatically sell you this so you don't need to ask. Popular brands are 'Mrs Palmers' and 'Dr Zogs' . It's a personal preference which one you use at the end of the day. Recently I've found 'Might Mounds' from Mrs Palmers to be rather good and it smells great!

Applying: Starting from scratch on a new board - I normally mark out with lines where I want to wax up to. You don't need to wax the whole board, just from the rear foot area up to about two thirds of the way up the board.

If you're unsure, take out your fins or sink them into the sand carefully. Lie on your board and have a look where your chest is on the board when as if you were paddling. This is where you need to wax up to.I use the tip of the wax block and draw a line showing where I'll stop waxing. I then draw a grid pattern either diagonal or criss cross all over the deck of the board.

Once this is done I start building up the wax, using a circular motion from rail to rail all over - think Karate Kid - 'wax on, wax off'. After a while you'll notice the wax is forming little circular beads of wax which is what you're aiming for.

Build them up nice and high if you want them to last and not smudge so easily. Apply evenly and concentrate on the areas where your feet will go. Most surfers opt for a rear deck grip nowadays in which case, you'll only need to wax the middle and never need to worry about waxing the back again!

If it's particularly cold outside, a good way of making the wax go on easier is to drop it into a cup of hot water. The wax will become warmer and instantly easier to apply! Similarly if your wax is too warm and slips everywhere, dunk it in some cold water before waxing.

If travelling abroad, to say Mexico for instance, make sure you buy tropical wax and apply to your board before you go (clean the old wax off first) as you'll quickly find that your old wax simply melts off in warmer waters. Check in the surf shop that it actually says tropical on it!

I wax my rails(sides) where my legs go when sitting and where my hands go when duckdiving. You don't need much, just drag the bar of wax up both sides and it's done. It's entirely up to you but i find it stops me slipping off when sitting, especially on a new board!

Removing wax off your surfboard

Removing the wax can be time consuming, or can take just a couple minutes. A plastic scraper (typically found on the back of a wax comb) can be used to remove the wax in large chunks. It is not recommended to use heat, blow dryer or the sun, as this can be damaging to the foam of the board. Residual wax that has not been removed by scraping can be dealt with using a soft cloth, either on its own or in combination with (for example) coconut oil. Various commercial are also available. Solvents, however, are usually avoided as they can damage the surface or paintjob of the board.

Another method that many surfers prefer is to let their board lie in the sun with the deck side up. After about ten minutes, beach sand is spread onto the melted wax and the sand is then rubbed. This method enables surfers to take all the wax off at once. The board is then left smooth and ready to be stored away or to be re-waxed.

Preventing Leash Tangles

It’s happened to the best of us.  You’re in perfect position with a beautiful a-frame peak headed straight for you.  You paddle in, leap to your feet, and then realize in horror that your leash is wrapped around your legs like a boa constrictor, eliminating any chance for a clean ride.  It’s happened to every surfer, and although it’s impossible to prevent 100%, here are some tips on stopping the leash from getting wrapped around your ankles and caught between your toes.

• Don’t wrap your leash around your board.  A lot of people love to do this, and it seems convenient, but wrapping your leash around the tail of your board just above your fins only puts kinks in the leash.  The material the leash is made of has a memory, and this and causes it to want to coil around your leg.  Leave the leash free when you store your board.  It’s not convenient anymore when you’re blowing waves.

• Make sure your leash is long enough.  Generally it should be as long as your board, rounding up.  If you’ve got a 7’6″ board, get an 8′ leash.  If you’ve got a 6′ shortboard, get a 6′ leash.

• If you’ve got a leash that does nothing but coil around your leg while you’re in the water, one solution is to pull the leash taut.  Attach one end to a doorknob or other sturdy structure and pull it out, stretching the leash a bit.  Hang the leash uncoiled for a few days to allow it to straighten it out.

• If your leash is really annoying you and doesn’t seem to straighten out, buy a new one.

• Wear your leash on your trailing foot (duh!) and make sure that the leash/cuff connection extends out to your side – to the right for regular and to your left for goofy.  Don’t have the leash extend from the cuff towards your back or heel, instead position it so that when you’re standing on your board the leash/cuff connection is pointed towards the tail of your board.

• Use a comp leash if you’re in average sized, 6 foot and under surf.  You don’t need such a thick leash.  Comp leashes are strong enough and will give you less drag.  They also seem to coil and get tangled a lot less than regular thickness leashes.  And if you’re that worried about your leash breaking you shouldn’t be out there in the first place.

• Give one of those XM Tangle Free leashes a try.  I can’t endorse this as I haven’t tried it out yet, but it seems like a good idea in theory.

• Don’t wear a leash.  Ok, maybe I shouldn’t have included this tip, but honestly if you’re in small surf and can hold on to your board, give it a try.  This is NOT suitable for people surfing in areas where there are kids playing in the shorebreak nearby, or if you’re riding in a very crowded lineup.  Sorry, even the best surfers lose their boards.  You don’t want the liability of having your fin go through someone’s eye.  Enough about consequences, though–surfing without a leash is incredibly fun and liberating.  And in small waves you don’t have a leash giving you extra drag.

So hopefully these tips will keep your leash tangle-free and put an end to those horrible wave ruining cases of tanglefoot.  If you’ve got any other ideas or home remedies post a comment below and fill us in!