The different disciplines
gliding on the water
Bodysurf: surf with your body
Bodyboard: surf on a small board on which you lie
Kneeboard: surf on a board where you stay on your knees
Skimboard: surf on a wooden board that we use at the water’s edge
Longboard: surf on a large surfboard from 9 ’(over 3m)
Tandem: surfing for two on a large board
The vocabulary
Waves & Surf
A
Aerial: aerial figure. The surfer takes off with his board. The goal is to control and manage to land.
B
Beach break: wave breaking on sandy bottoms
Bar: area where the waves have already broken
C
Close-out: vague qui ferme sur toute sa longueur
D
Duck: action of diving with his board under the wave to advance towards the open sea.
F
Flat: the ocean is flat, there is no suitable wave for surfing.
Floater: Functional figure which consists in passing a section of the wave while surfing on its crest.
Frieze: part of the wave that will soon break
L
Left: wave breaking to the left for the surfer, the opposite seen from the beach
Lip: part of the wave that is breaking and is projected forward
Line up: area where the surfer is waiting for a wave
P
Peak: area where the wave begins to break
Point break: breaking wave along a point or the side of a bay
R
Reef break: wave breaking on rocky, volcanic or coral bottoms
Right: wave breaking to the right for the surfer, the opposite seen from the beach
S
Section: portion of wave breaking
Session: surf session
Shore-break: edge roll, i.e. a wave breaking directly on the sand
Shoulder: part of the wave that has not yet broken
Spot: place where surfable waves break
Set: wave series larger than the day average
Swell: the swell
T
Tail: Back of the board.
Tube: inside the wave
W
Wipe out: grosse chute du surfeur
Wave: wave, hahahaha
Closing wave: going which does not offer a smooth portion to slide, it becomes a foam.
The vocabulary
the wind
Off shore: wind coming from the earth blowing towards the waves: the best wind !!
On shore : wind from the sea
Side shore: wind coming from the side
Glassy: no wind, smooth sea
The different positions
on Plate
Regular: surf with the left foot in front
Goofy: surf with the right foot in front
Backside: surf back to the wave
Front side: surfer facing the wave
Some notions
on surfboards
Shaper: craftsman making boardsShape: general shape of the board
Shortboard: small board
Longboard: large board over 3m
Malibu: relatively easy board measuring 2m40 to 3m
Gun: board for big waves measuring from 2m30 to 3m40
Fish: small board with volume for small waves
Nose: front of the board (nose)
Tail: back of the board
Rail: edge of the board (like ski quarters)
Drift: fin under the board
Rocker: general curve of the board seen in profile
Wax: paraffin that we put on the board so as not to slip
Leash: tie cord between the board and the surfer
Foot: frequent English measure for boards 1 foot = 30.55cm