The best surfers in the world have already checked their best speed records, in the 2011 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast, in Australia. The GPS tracking device has delivered data for the first waves of the season.
In Snapper Rocks, Mick Fanning is currently the fastest surfer. The Australian champion recorded a maximum speed of 39,1 km/h. In second place, Joel Parkinson stands with 34,6 km/h. Bede Durbidge is third (33,6 km/h) and 10-time world champion Kelly Slater places in fourth (32 km/h).
The benchmark can be set in the 45 km/h mark, in the near future, experts say. Also, it's interesting to check the overall distance, too. Parkinson leads the way with 3996 metres of waves already ridden.
So, it seems like speed is going to drive surfing in the next years. That's why surfboard manufacturers are investing in technologies to be embedded in the boards, so that coaches and surfers may analyze performance and correct body postures.
For example, it's been proved that the fastest moment in a wave is generally when surfers turn, by cutting back quickly. This proves that speed in surfing does not necessarily mean a straight line.
Waiting for Christchurch's sewerage system to be repaired so we can go for a surf at local beaches, mind you the epicentres of the latest aftershocks are close to Sumner, maybe reverse Tsunamis will be the order of the day. Risk, risk, risk.
Those numbers compare pretty accurately with my experience and speed tests over the years using GPS and a Speed Mate speedometer on my boards. Average speeds were 20 to 25 mph. Larger waves or more extreme takeoffs or sections would push it into the 25 to 30 mph zone. Getting above 30 mph with any consistency, in normal waves with normal boards, won’t be easy but could happen if everything comes together at perfect moments.
I am kind of puzzled that in the video you linked to, that the commentators were surprised that the top speeds were logged when the surfer was doing a top turn into a cutback. Did they think these were speed reducing maneuvers?. They may reverse direction but not not necessarily speed. A tremendous amount of energy is built up in a bottom turn. When released into a top turn, at the highest point on the wave, where the greatest amount of forward thrust exists in the pitching lip and also the highest elevation is gained from which to drop down back into the wave, it is hard to understand why they would think that going straight would be the fastest, lest they not understand where the available power is stored in a wave.
That said, in an ideal circumstance and wave, it might be possible to go very fast in a fairly straight line if one could hang extremely high up in the pocket where all that energy is available, But it would take special a wave that would be unique enough to provide that opportunity.
The highest speeds will likely be recorded on the largest, steepest, pitching waves. Unless like in Nose Riding Contests, Speed Contests, drive the development of odd ball, speed as priority, board designs. Then we may see, sustained high speeds in smaller waves.
Considering that one could then advertise that they make “the fastest boards in the world” and some clothing companies rider, rode it. It is likely that these kinds of events will emerge so that a surfer and their sponsors can claim the crown!
I think there is more to the total wave, board and surfer model then what you are accounting for.
A surfer on a wave is more like a skateboarder on a ramp that is mounted on a truck going down the road. Even if he surfer is pointing in a different direction then the was a second before, it doesn’t mean he slowed down to to so. Keep in mind that the wave is still moving in the same direction and the surfer is still being carried along with it. In a similar way, the truck didn’t stop moving down the road, even though the skateboarder changed his direction on the ramp.
When top turning, the surfer is better aligning himself with the direction of the wave’s travel and the very energetic pitching lip. Even though this may be somewhat the opposite direction from which the surfer was traveling a second ago, it doesn’t mean the surfer is going slower. A direction change, does not necessarily equate to a drop in speed.
I don’t think it would matter a whole lot where the GPS is located as the board and surfer pretty much, start and end together, throughout the ride.
thankyou for your expanation,,, but just to play the devils advocate,,,, when a surfer does a turn and I dont meen a slight variation of forward movement, I meen a wraparound when the hips are swiveled and the board may speed up but the surfer must be slowing down somewhat,, dont you think?
thats why I asked if the gps was on the board or surfer
Im a bit ingnorant in this area, and I am not argueing this, just trying to grasp it.
I'm not a very good surfer....I've never surfed in Hawaii...I don't watch a whole lot of TV. I don't care who won.
Seems to me that most really good surfers are always slowing down so they can stay in the pocket.....
Stall before a tube ride?...Longboarder stalls/set ups before running to the nose. And even sucky surfers like me do half ass cut backs because we need to slow down to surf our crappy little wave.....
And there you have it...
Time to slow down... and forget about rules for surfing.....and contests and sponsers and money and hype.
Great call! To me, competitive surfing has as much credibility as synchronised swimming! I’m not saying they’re not great surfers, but the judging criteria helps to churn out legions of surfers who all do the same turns and the same tricks. Sometimes its inspiring to see someone like Skip Frye just trim out onto the shoulder of a wave before pulling into a smooth even cutback. I personally couldn’t care who gets the best 2-wave point total, or who hits the highest gps speed. Surfing is about how it feels to me. Competitive surfing is about how it looks. I think the pro circuit has done more to harm surfing than help it.
I understand your question and also your view of how you feel each part is interacting. But go back to my truck and skateboarder. Now remove the skateboarder from the truck. The truck doesn’t slow down, it doesn’t care whether or not there is anyone on the truck. And neither does the wave. But it is still hurtling toward the beach just the same.
The GPS measures distance traveled over ground and calculates the time and distance to arrive at a speed. It doesn’t calculate the speed of the water passing under the board.
For example, a surfer on a Flow Rider staying in the same exact position, might move water under the board at 30 mph. But a GPS on him would read 0 mph.
If you put the Flow Rider on a truck and drove it forward at 30 mph, the GPS would then read 30 mph but the water would still only read 30 mph passing under the board.
If the surfer glides to the left on the Flowrider and then to the right on the flowrider… the GPS will calculate the movement of the truck forward and the movement of the surfer sideways and the apparent direction of movement will be an angled vector around which the distance and time will reveal the speed.
If the truck isn’t moving and the surfer moves side to side the GPS will only record the surfers distance side to side, the speeds would not necessarily be slower then the other even if we call left forward and right a cut back. Distance over the ground would be the same and the only difference is how quickly one covers the distance be it right or left.
If the surfer moves up and down the Flow Rider, his elevation will change as will also the distance he traveled over ground. Since his movement will be angled vertically, his actual distance forward on the horizontal, won’t read very far on the GPS and therefore won’t read as very fast. But if the truck is also moving forward at 30 mph the GPS will record a much greater speed due to the actual distance, traveled over the ground, has increased substantial. The GPS will calculate and record a much higher speed then if the surfer was doing exactly the same thing, while the truck was parked.
Assuming the surfers feet are securely attached to the deck of the board, I don’t see how you are thinking that the board goes faster then the surfer does. Certain parts of the board or surfer might be moving differently if we consider that some of the turns executed are arcs that sweep around a central pivot point. If the surfer’s head, lets say, is at the pivot point and the tip of the board is out at the farthest radius from that pivot point… Then I agree that a GPS on the surfers head and a GPS on the surfboards tip might read significantly different speeds. Just as a hammer throwers arm might read faster, compared to his more central head. In fairness, the GPS should probably be located in the center of the surfboard. Otherwise all kinds of “rule beating” techniques would eventually be employed to sling the GPS around at higher speeds.
But keep in mind, that even if the above is true, the wave (truck) is still moving forward and anytime the surfer’s movement on the wave (ramp) aligns with the wave’s (truck’s) movement, higher speeds will be recorded.
It might be more accurate to say that really good surfers are constantly moving in and out of the primary power pocket where the most amount of energy can be gained. As they absorb more power they use it to move out onto areas of the wave where there is less available power but much more space to do entertaining things. As their absorbed power begins to run out, they must move back into the primary power pocket to compile more energy again. They don’t necessarily have to slow down to get back there.
Sometimes a wave will present a power pocket that is out in front of the surfer (sections and bowls) and he can move forward to access it instead of returning back to the power pocket behind him.
Many people think that things like cutbacks are a speed reducing maneuver and surely they can be if utilized incorrectly. Inexperienced surfers slow down to do maneuvers because they need collect their wits to feel in control before doing them. This is one of the two primary reasons why inexperienced surfers catch their outside rail, when doing top turns. They simply run out of speed and energy in the middle of the turn because they don't begin the turn early enough. They tend to wait too long after the bottom turn when they slow down a bit to therefore feel more in control and comfortable doing the top turn. Which in the end fails them. Many blame this on rail shape or hard edges, but that is rarely the problem. But it is near impossible to convince people otherwise. Just ask Griffin, he knows. Hard edges are a hard sell almost 100% due to this misconception.
On the other hand...... Experienced surfers stack maneuvers gaining speed or compiling energy with each maneuver. They move to each new maneuver at the absolute peak of energy and speed generated from the previous maneuver. The don't wait for the pause like inexperienced surfers do. That pause is their enemy, not their friend.
Truly there are ways to slow down when surfing and times when it is effective. I hope you don't think I am saying that surfers never slow down from time to time. As surely they do. But how this feels and looks may sometimes not tell the true story of what it happening based on a speedometer or GPS reading.
A cut back should be a way to gain more speed and power. Not lose it. If it is executed at the top of the wave and usually it is, then the greater height should allow huge acceleration on the descent. And even though one seems to be heading the opposite direction from going down the line, this seemingly "backwards motion" doesn't mean it is or has to be done more slowly.
Even a stall accelerates one's rise up the face of the wave. It might seem slower or like one is slowing down on the horizontal plane but it is an acceleration on the vertical plane. It is a big mistake to always think of speed as only being valid when going forward down the length of the wave.
That heat was bullshit !!! Rail and tail surfing . Speed is the key.
Somehow I’ve ended up riding a Firewire Futura that I pilfered / borrowed out of the used rack at a mate’s store always wondered how they went . They say curiosity killed the cat … well this cat’s got the cream.
Had a couple of surfs and took it to Bali for a week , can’t believe I’m saying it but I ain’t giving it back , none of the composite boards I’ve made are anywhere near this thing.
I’ve got a froth up , feeling like a grom at 51 yrs. Might have to give Bert a call .
Definitely…a gps e.g. in the tail of the board would let someone like, e.g., Clay Marzo to hit [some ridiculous speed] because of his ability to throw his tail using a point very close to the nose as a pivot.
Even in the center of the board, someone could hit a pretty high peak top speed just by going off a ledge and free-falling, or by shooting their board. I think eventually these measurements will be more a tool for training than anything else, but for now it’s fun to see the readings.
Even more than fun, it would be (IMHO) a great idea for the ASP to make all the readings (with video overlays) public. Lotta knowledge to be gained…
I did some calculations and I think the 'speed' figure is more of an acceleration figure. I believe they are using accelerometers in/on the boards so when the board is whipped around in a tight arc (like a snap) the accelerometers would register a massive but momentary spike in forward movement. Except that motion is not in a straight line, but it would still register it as such.
Funny that all of the highest "speeds" are from the same 'snap' manouver ???
The most useful way of using the GPS and accelerometer data is to overlay it syncronised with video of the surfing.
I’m sure this is what they do of course, otherwise the data is pretty worthless.
Then there’s no arguments whether it is straight line speed or whatever.
These measurements definitely have their place, particularly in pro surfing as an entertainment sport. You care about who throws a zippy fast ball, right?
For the rest of us who just wanna surf, at the moment it doesn’t mean sh*t
