Surfing

So what actually is surfing? You've seen the dudes with the boardshorts and the huge board on the roof of their car - you've seen old movies where the guys are wobbling about in some tropical paradise like Hawaii - but what constitutes "surfing"? Well the act of surfing actually applies to the board with rider moving across the surface of the water, i.e. wave, usually following the wave in towards the beach and riding it from just under the crest until it breaks against the shore. Surfing is classified as a surface water sport because the surfer is primarily on top of the water. Within surfing there are a few subdivisions and they comprise of stand up surfing, bodyboarding - where the surfer keeps his, or her body on the board, longboarding, shortboarding and tow-in surfing - which is when a surfer is towed into a wave by something such as a jetski or small motorized boat, because the wave is too big and too fast for the surfer to meet by the usual paddling. This happens almost exclusively with big wave surfing.

There are other kinds of sports that are similar to surfing - such as paddleboarding and even sea kayaking, but they don't require waves and other forms which use a board - kitesurfing and windsurfing - are more reliant upon the wind for movement, rather than the waves.

Longboarding is using one of the long surf boards - which range in length from 8ft through 12 ft - and are usually wider and thicker with a rounded nose. These were the first kind of surfboards and originated in Hawaii where the locals used local wood and often made the boards 15ft long - but these were incredibly heavy and unwieldy. It is also where the expression "hang ten" comes from - because a skilled surfer can surf on a longboard standing right at the very nose end and curl his toes off of it......

Shortboarding is using a short surf board - which range from 5ft through 7 ft - they are usually thinner with a pointed nose. These are used by competitive surfers and those who are well experienced as their buoyancy is less than the long board, but the maneuverability is much higher.

Surfing is much more than just a sport however - for many people it is a lifestyle. There is a culture that has grown around the sport of surfing and it began in the '50's and quickly spread. It is a culture that influenced many areas of life - such as music, clothing, films and even literature. Magazines were dedicated to the lifestyle and teenagers of the time in California popularized the culture. One of the biggest things however was that this way of life required you to live by, or be close to the coast. Surfers were hostage to the vagaries of the weather also and as such, because they were dedicated to chasing the "big one" would often drop what they were doing because "the surf's up!". This gave the surfers the reputation of being "beach bums".