Surf

When it all goes quite behind my eyes.

Ocean

It helps to know a thing or two about what is going on out there.

• Swell Height // Wave height in open ocean.
• Surf Height // Wave height when breaking.
• Wind Swell // A swell generated relatively close (for San Diego, think Baja).
• Ground Swell // A swell generated relatively far (for San Diego, think Japan).

The swell height to surf height depends on wave period and (the tricky part) local spot characteristics. But in any case, all the water moving in a swell piles up on itself when it breaks and makes the surf height significantly bigger than the open water swell height.

Wind swells are shorter in period than ground swells. This means they don’t feel the bottom of the ocean as much. They are peakier when they break and may not wrap around points very well.

Ground swells travel much further than wind swells. This cleans them up and increases their period. This can cause them to break all at once at a beach break and close out. So might need a point or some reefs to carry a big ground swell.

tides

Every break has it’s favored tides, which is mainly due to it’s bathymetry. However, most spots favor a ‘low going high’ when the tide is on the rise, or filling in. This is the fabled “tidal push” which may help the forward momentum of waves. An outgoing tide may instead counter the incoming momentum of waves to a very small degree.

• Spring Tide // When moon and sun are lined up, pulling in the same direction creating high high tides and low low tides. Happens twice a month.
• Neap Tide // Moon and sun are working against each other, creating low high tides and high low tides. Happens twice a month.
• King Tide // A super spring tide when the moon is also at its closest to Earth. Happens only a few times a year. There are super neap tides too, but that means high and low tide are very similar, which is boring.

el niño and la niña

Usually the “trade winds” blow west along the equator, but sometimes that gets disrupted by El Niño or La Niña (ENSO – El Nino-Southern Oscillation). Episodes of El Niño and La Niña typically last nine to 12 months, but can sometimes last for years. El Niño and La Niña events occur every two to seven years, on average, but they don’t occur on a regular schedule. Generally, El Niño occurs more frequently than La Niña.

• El Niño // Weakens the trade winds, amplifies Pacific storm track. Bigger swell.
• La Niña // Strengthens the trade winds. Smaller swell (but less wind!).

north county

There is pretty much a name for every 100 yards of beach in San Diego. Here are a few of them. Surfers generally don’t think too hard when they name a break, usually based on the first thing they see when they look back toward shore.

* San Onofre
  * Trestles
* Oceanside
* Carlsbad
  * Tamarack
  * Terra Mar // Little point break.
  * Dip in the Road
  * North Ponto
  * South Ponto
* Leucadia
  * Grandview
  * Avocados // Consistently inconsistent. Keeps the crowds away!
  * Round House // In front of a house which can only be described as "round".
  * Beacons
  * Stonesteps // At the end of S El Portal.
* Encinitas
  * Moonlight
  * D Street
  * Boneyards // I Street viewpoint looks out over Boneyards.
  * Swamis
* Cardiff (San Elijo/Campgrounds)
  * Brown House
  * Pipes
  * Traps
  * Turtles
  * 85s
  * Suckouts
  * Cardiff Reef
* Solana Beach
  * Seaside
  * Tabletops // Entrance is at the end of Solana Vista.
  * Pillbox
* Del Mar
  * Beachbreaks
  * 15th Street
  * 11th Street
  * 8th Street
* La Jolla
  * Blacks

From north to south

buoys

For San Diego, look out for Point Conception wind swells (4-12 seconds, 275-330), the window of opportunity will be smaller than a big ground swell, but any waves are better than no waves.

• Harvest - Point Conception
• Torrey Pines Outer

Skill

What I talk about when I talk about surfing.

pop up

Seven steps to success. But also some pros in slomo to show there isn’t just one way.

1. Position // Paddling into position is much more efficient than paddling hard. Go deeper into the wave.
2. Plane // Lower chest for final paddles to help plane and keep momentum.
3. Set the Line // Set the line and angle the takeoff. No changin last moment else lose all momentum. Look down the line where you want to go (top of the wave).
4. Pause // Take a second and gain speed. Keep it planing, cobra position, or the tail becomes a brake. High speed makes it easier to balance, so easier pop up and take off and in general look like you know what you are doing.
5. Smooth // Smooth slide up. Don’t “jump”, or dare I say pop, to a stand position, keep it smooth and low center of gravity, goal is to land feet in right spots without losing speed. Focus on getting front foot all the way up to in-between hands.
6. Forward // Rotate the hips, front foot side down, in order to stay low and balanced into bottom turn.
7. Pressure // Keep pressure on the inside rail throughout pop up, this is a speed generator, but the board needs to be flat during the pop up (don’t turn too hard).

duck dive

Plan is to go with the momentum of the natural “tumble” of white water and use it to go under the wave. If the wave is big enough, you will feel turbulence no matter how perfect the duck dive. At all points just remember the goal, get this board on the other side of the wave, that will help guide the motions.

1. Push Down // Face where you want to go and do a push up.
2. Flatten // Backfoot pushes down hard on the tail to flatten the board. It’s not 2 separate motions, cause if you take too long you lose the forward momentum and end up bobbing butt up.
3. Forward // Move the board forward just a bit. This keeps momentum in the right direction (forward, past the wave).
4. To Board // Pull yourself to the board, elbows to board.

trimmin and carvin

Trim gets down the line, “up the wave”. Rail-to-rail for speed, not pumping up and down. Carve needs to lift the nose to pivot on the back, else catch a rail.

• Front hand over rail to keep shoulders open and balanced. Face down the stringer.
• Back foot pivot’d forward, so not a complete 90 degree with stringer. Helps allow back knee to bend forward.
• Bend knees towards each other, shift weight back and forth.
• Capture speed from your own energy, squat before a turn, stand up out of it.

cut back

Get back into the good section of the wave, instead of lost ahead of the wave out on the shoulder. Watch Tom Curren’s perfect form from before I was born.

• Gotta carve, back foot back. Front side have to sit the butt through the turn.
• Leading hand where you want to go (touch the water).
• Top of the wave target after turn.

floater

Go over the white wash to keep up speed and get past a bad section.

• Make sure nose on top of whitewash.
• Wheely by lifting hands and pulling weight off front foot.

single fin style

No one better than the Mikey February.

• Single fin sittin parallel to the stringer minimizes drag.
• Wide arc’d turns vs. tight.
• Cannot generate as much speed rail-to-rail as a thruster or twinny.

Equipment

Every aspect of a board is a trade off between speed (which brings stability) and control (maneuverability). Surfboards and airplane wings share a lot of the same physics, but only one has been scientifically studied over the past one hundred years…and that would be airplane wings. Surfers do things by ~*~feel~*~.

boards

Surface area brings drag and stability. The engaged rail has more of an influence than overall surface area. Shorter rail line will have less drag, less wetted area, and accelerate more quickly. Reaction time from rail-to-rail is directly related to width (narrow is faster).

• Foil // Is the placement of the thickness through the board (e.g. thicker up front).
• Outline // Straight brings more drive (moving water) versus curvy which is loose.

rails

Surfboards grip a wave with the rail. Thicker rails help keep you “on top” of the water in small waves, but are more sluggish in turns. Soft rails give speed boosties down the line. A high line will engage the rail at a steep angle producing more speed.

• 50/50 // Soft rails, more buoyancy.
• 60/40 // Medium rails, more control.

hull contours

Fluid attaches itself to a curved surface known as the Coanda Effect. Board have a mix of surfaces, generally want speed up front for paddling, something like a single concave. Want control in back for turning (rail-to-rail) so vee or double concave.

• Flats // Match water line, for speed, no control.
• Convex // Sink “below” the water line (as in away from the board). Rail-to-rail rolling. Creates drag, reduces hold of “tracking”.
  • Vee // Fast response rail-to-rail. Less planing area, slower.
• Concave // Rise “above” the water line (as in towards the board). Add lift and speed.
  • Single concave // Creates a channel, moving more water to tail bringin lift and speed. “Tracks”, as in, sticks to the same line. Adds grip on rail, increasing speed.
  • Double Concave // Doesn’t track as much as single concave, better rail-to-rail.

rocker

Small, mushy and weak waves, choose surfboards with less rocker. Good, powerful and steep waves, choose surfboards with more rocker.

• Front rocker // More rocker makes it easier to maneuver. Helps late takeoffs in hollow waves.
• Tail rocker // More pivot, slower.

tail

Wider tails offer more stability and float, and will give you a faster planing speed. Narrower tails are going to make rolling from rail to rail a little easier. They can also help hold a board steadier on a steeper faced wave. The shape of the tail’s edges make a difference too. A tail that has rounder angles or no angles at all, is going to help you ‘hold’ the water for a little longer. This means that you will have more control of the board. When a tail has harder angles, more water will “release” and you will have a looser, more snappy feel to the board.

Pin or rounded pin offers hold as well as flexibility in bigger waves, but the lack of volume makes it tougher to catch waves.

core material

• PU // Polyurethane. Traditional.
• EPS // Expanded Polystyrene.
• PS // Polystyrene.

glassing

1. Fiberglass
   • Layers of fiberglass cloth, 6oz or 4oz, to strengthen board.
   • Standard is 2 layers on top (4+4), one on bottom (4).
2. Hot Coat
   • Fiberglass is soaked in resin to fill the gaps, either polyester or epoxy, and then sanded.
   • Poly is cheap and quick, turns yellow, can’t be used on eps.
   • Epoxy is better, but way more expensive.
3. Gloss Coat
   • Final coat is not required, but can be gloss or sanded, sanded a little lighter/faster.
   • Gloss is heavier, old school, but protects a little more than sanded.

groveler, daily driver, and step up

• Groveler // Speed for the little days.
  • Low rocker, something that has a lot of lift, and can generate speed easily.
  • Shorter and wider, so slower rail to rail.
• Daily Driver // Well rounded for the average days.
• Step Up // Control for the big days.
  • More rocker for control.
  • Foam under the chest gives you a little extra paddle power for earlier take offs.
  • Added length to help match your paddle power.

fins

Fins serve two functions stability and lift. Both increase drag. Lift is towards the wave-face, giving more hold/control.

Formations

• Single // Stability and pivot point.
• Twin // Provide lift (rail engagement), less pivot points than thruster so looser.
• Thruster // More pivot points with rail engagement, more drag.
• Quad // Theoretical best of both worlds. The closer and further back the fins are, the more like a thruster. Higher and further apart, more like a twin fin.

Characteristics

• Size // Larger has more hold and control, smaller is looser less drag.
• Base // Longer is more control, shorter is looser.
• Rake // Arc of the fin, more arc is good for big strong days, small arc good forweak chop.
• Foil // Aerodynamic shape.
• Cant // Degree of outward angle, more control and less speed.

quiver

• Pyzel Gremlin // Groveler // 5'8" x 20" x 2 1/2" | 31.60L
  • Feels a little slow for some reason, but have taken it out in everything and been successful.
  • The bottom runs from single to double concave, with a nice bit of vee running of the tail.
• CI Fish // Daily Driver // 5'8" x 20 1/2" x 2 5/16" | 31.6L
  • “Performance fish” – narrower than classic fish.
  • Thin 4+4/4 glass “ultra light”.
  • Can catch 2ft swell at grandview with this thing, wide tail must help.
  • Same volume as the Gremlin…little wider, little thinner.
• Rusty Sista Brotha // Daily Driver // 5'10" x 19.75" x 2.4" | 30.81L
  • Wave catching machine, good placement of volume.
  • 5-6ft waves is its happy place.
• Chilli Faded 2.0 // Step Up // 6'2" 19 1/2" 2 5/8" | 32.50L
  • 7-8ft+ waves.
• Stubbie Single Fin // Alternative // 5’10” x 20.25” x 2.5”
  • mandala
  • 7.5" Greenough 4A fin
• Zen LoFi Single Fin // Alternative // 6'3" x 20 5/8" x 2 11/16"
  • Needs at least 5ft, the pintail is a big break for paddle power.
  • NVS Ola 8.5" fin
• Twin Keel Fish // Alternative // 5’6 20 7/8 x 2 7/16 32.38L

retired

• JS Lowdown // 6'2" x 19" x 2.375" | 28.4
  • Struggled with this one in big surf, so it was time to go, too little volume or just poorly placed?