Surf Glossary

Blown out - Non-surfable conditions caused by strong winds.

Bottom Turn - A turn made at the bottom, or well below the crest of a wave.

Break Line - The line where waves begin to break.

Climbing and Dropping - Sliding up and down the face of a wave, as an interesting maneuver and also to slow the kayak down.

Close Out - A wave that breaks all along its length at the same time and thus cannot be ridden. Also used when a whole bay is useless for surf as the waves are too big, broken, etc.,

Crest - The top of the wave

Curl - The top of a wave that is spilling and breaking next to the shoulder.

Cut Back - Turning back towards the shoulder

Dumper - Waves that are too steep to ride owing to a steeply shelving beach

Face - The smooth unbroken front of a wave

Humper - Large, unbroken wave.

Inside - The area between the break-line and the shore.

Left Run - Riding a wave, the surfer moving to his left.

Line Up - The place where surfers wait to catch a wave

Locked In - Unable to pull-out over the top of a wave. Used in two senses: a) When a wave closes out and traps the surfer inside. b) When the surfer is in a good position in a tube. Used as "in the slot".

Outside - The area of sea beyond the break-line. When shouted, indicates a large set of waves approaching. A warning, as "fore" in golf.

Peak - The highest point of the wave

Pearl - The nose of the kayak burying in the water.

Pull out - Ending a ride by turning up and over the wave crest to paddle out again. (Also kick-out, cut-out, in board surfing.)

Rail - The sharp angle between the flat hull and the deck of a surf kayak. Really the gunwale line. A slalom kayak has the softest of rails. Surf kayaks have hard rails.

Right Turn - Riding to the surfers right.

Rip - Water traveling seaward in a well defined river, usually quite narrow but moving at several knots. Usually quite narrow but moving at several knots. Useful to a surfer, but dangerous to a swimmer.

Rocker - Lengthwise curve of a kayak hull.

Set - A group of waves usually bigger than normal.

Shooting the Tube or Curl - Riding high on the wave, close or in the tube of curl.

Shorebreak - Dumpers on a steep beach unsuitable for surfing.

Shoulder - The unbroken portion of the wave next to the white water

Slot - "In the slot". Surfing in just the right place on the shoulder.

Soup - The white water after a wave has broken.

Stall - Slowing the kayak either by leaning backwards or pointing up the wave.

Take Off - The start of the run.

Trim - The balance of a kayak to give maximum speed and stability.

Trough - The lowest part between waves.

Tube - The hollow formed in the crest of a wave when off-shore winds force the break to leap forward without touching the face of the wave, forming a tube. Sometimes big enough to ride in.