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SURF TALK
Surfing has it's own language, which many people use even though they have no idea what they are talking about. Ever wondered what those terms really mean? Well, read on
aerial - an advanced manoeuvre that involves taking off from the lip of the wave, travelling some distance in the air, then (in theory) landing back on the face of the wave and continuing the ride.
ASP - Association of Surfing Professionals, resposible for organising the annual world professional surfing circuit leading to the crowning of the world champion.
axed - hit by the lip of the wave leading to a wipeout
backhand - surfing with your back to the wave.
bank - sandbank on which waves break.
barrel - the inside of a hollow wave (same as tube)
beach break - surf breaking on a sandy beach
blank - block of foam from which a custom surfboard is made
blown out - term for choppy surf resulting from onshore winds
bombora - a deep water, offshore reef break
boogie board(also known as bodyboard) - a soft foam board ridden on the belly by those who can't or won't stand up, generally hated by all surfers as they usually get in the road.
bottom turn - a turn at the bottom of the wave face
carving - powerful high energy surfing
catalyst - ingredient used to make resin harden, very toxic
channel - deep water gap between sandbanks or reefs, or design feature on underside of a surfboard
clean - glassy, peeling waves and/or good surf conditions
clean-up - a large set that catches everybody 'inside'
close-out - a wave that breaks along it's entire length simultaneously, no good for surfing
concave - bottom design on a surfboard aimed to give extra lift
cutback - a turn on the face of the wave that takes you back towards white water
deck - upper surface of surfboard
delamination - when the fibreglass skin of a board becomes seperated from the foam
ding - a dent or hole in the surfboard
drop(to take the drop) - to take off on a breaking wave and ride dwon the face to the bottom
drop in - when one surfer takes off on a wave already being ridden by another surfer nearer the peak, very bad style and often ends in bloodshed
duck dive - method of getting through a breaking or broken wave while paddling out
eskimo roll - another method of getting through a breaking or broken wave
face - the unbroken surface of the wave (also known as green water, for obvious reasons)
forehand - surfing with your face to the wave
floater - a manoeuvre that involves launching the board off the lip of the wave onto a section of broken or breaking wave in front, unweighting, and free falling dwon the face with the breaking white water
glassy - smooth seas resulting from calm wind conditions - provides excellent surf when combined with a swell
gnarly - heavy, difficult waves, usually quite big
goofy foot - a surfer who surf with his or her right foot forward on the board (like me)
grommet - young and precocious surfer
groundswell - a clean swell with evenly-spaced lines, usually from a distant storm
gun - a big wave board - long and narrow in shape
hang five - to ride with five toes curled over the nose of the board, more common on longboards
hang ten - you should have figured this by now, it means to ride with ten toes over the nose of the board, a very stylish an very difficult longboard move (I'd like to see someone do that on a shortboard)
hollow - a cylindrical wave, common with powerful swells and offshore winds
impact zone - the point at which the swell is breaking most heavily and frequently
indicator - an offshore deep-water reef or bank. Only a big swell or big set will break on this, so it acts as a good indicator of something big approaching
inside - shoreward of a breaking wave or set (as in 'caught inside'), or an expression for life in the tube. the inside rail is the one nearest the wave face
kick-out - to make a controlled exit from a wave by riding up the face and over the top
leash - urethane cord which attaches the board to the surfer by means of a velcro strap
left-hander (left) - a wave the breaks from the left to right as viewed from the shore
line-up - the point where you sit, just outside the break, and wait to catch a wave
lined-up - term to describe an even, well developed swell
lip - the crest of a wave, which may 'throw out' to create a tube
Malibu board - another term for a long board, usually between 8ft 6in/2.60m and 10ft 6in/3.20m in length. named after the beach in Southern California
maxed-out - a break is said to be 'maxed-out' when the swell is so big it will no longer break cleanly, but will close out or 'section'
natural or natural foot - a surfer who surf with his left foot forward, which is the natural stance (or so people say but seeing as I am goofy foot, I disagree :-)
nose - the front of the board
nose-riding - technique used by longboarders who attempt to ride as close as possible to the nose of the board
off the lip/lip bash - manoeuvre whereby the board hits the breaking lip of the wave before continuing along the wave
offshore - when the wind is blowing from the land out to sea and holding up the face of the wave , will usually produce ideal surfing conditions, especially when the wind is reasonably light
onshore - the opposite, when the wind is blowing from the sea onto the land, this messes up the face of the wave and produces poor surfing conditions
outside, or out the back - the area beyond the impact zone. the outside rail is the edge furthest from the face of the wave
over the falls - to fall down the face of the wave inside the falling lip
peak - the point at which a wave breaks first, from which it ideally peels in one or both directions
peel - a wave is said to peel when it breaks away evenly and cleanly from the peak
pearl - this is when the nose of the board buries itself under water and the surfer usually goes flying over the front, most common on take-offs
pocket - the steepest and most powerful part of the wave, just ahead and under the breaking lip
point break - a break where the waves are refracted around a headland or point and then peel along the inside of the point
pop-out - a machine moulded surfboard, ideal for beginners
prone-out - dropping from your feet to your belly to ride the board into the beach
pumping - term used to decribe a good powerful swell
pumping the board - a means of increasing the speed across the face of a wave
quiver - a selection of surfboards for differing conditions
rail - the side or edge of a surfboard
reef break - waves breaking over a projection rising from the sea bed, usually a corel reef or rock shelf
re-entry - manoeuvre which involves surfing up into the lip of a breaking wave, then coming back down with it
resin - chemical used in a two part mixture with catalyst to convert fibreglass into a hard outer skin
right-hander (right) - a wave that breaks from right to left as viewed from the shore
rip - a channel of water running out to sea
rocker - the curve in a surfboard when viewed side on
sandbank - an elevation in the level of the sea floor on a beach, causing waves to break over it (but I'm sure you could figure that out)
set - a group of waves
shore break - a wave that breaks close to the shore
shoulder - the unbroken face of a wave ahead of white water
soup - the white water of a broken wave (also the stuff you heat up and eat after surfing so you don't get pnuemonia)
spin-out - when the fins of the board break loose from the waters surface
spring suit - wetsuit with short arms and short legs
stall - a manoeuvre where the board is slowed or 'stalled' to allor the curl to catch up with the surfer
steamer - a full wetsuit with long arms and long legs
stringer - the thin piece of wood running down the centre of a custom board
sucky - a hollow, oten heavy wave
switch-foot - a surfer who can surf with either foot forward
tail - the rear end of the board
take-off - the start of the ride
three-sixty(360) - spinning the board through 360 degrees on the face of the wave
thruster - a three finned surfboard
trimming - adjusting weight and position on the board so that the board retains maximum speed
tube - the inside of a hollow wave
vee - convex shape on the bottom of the board
windswell - a weak swell generated by localised winds
wipeout - (do you really need me to tell you?)
Well thats about all, you should now be able to tanslate surfer lingo into your own language.
