yeah i agree for sure
ankle snapper
knee benders
waist -ed
shoulder high
head high
overhead
double overhead - doh
these are terms i can relate to
why measure from the back?? for all the non-surfing people?
how longs a nautical mile?
its “surfer feet” part of the language of our culture
deal with or be forever blowhard
its not measured from the back!
its measured by the buterflies in your stomach. the hold downs and the adrenalin and the lack of other butt sniffers
if you dont got that shit its 1 to 3
4 to 5 is fun for a lot and challenging for many others
5 to 6 is scary and can be dangerous
6 to 8 is big fckin nads
8 plus is the realm of legends
I have no desire to be a part of a culture that falsely pumps up its own ego by under-exaggerating wave heights!
I call it as I see it. If that makes me a blowhard, so be it.
Why not just make up some new measurement, like hogsheads, or cubits or something equally meaningless?
I agree with Wouter, the best measurement is head high, knee high etc!
Nope, if you’re gonna use feet, then figure out how long a foot is and start from there!
you just joined a club and tried to start changing it before your even initiated
been that way since single fins
the way it is
the status qou
the accepted and agreed apon rules of surfing
its cool if you dont want to participate in the gang
just dont be saying(around real surfers)its six foot when its head high or you will be burned and ignored and laughed at
this is some free and friendly advice
"I have no desire to be a part of a culture that falsely pumps up its own ego by under-exaggerating wave heights!
I call it as I see it. If that makes me a blowhard, so be it."
the aussie in me really wants to say " fck off then blowhard"
but im trying to nurture a more understanding and aproachable side to my personality to improve NZ US relations.
so i can say only this " there are plenty of other subcultures that have there little idiosyncrasys and strange behavioural patterns and language. To be an accepted part of these subcultures, requires a newly initiated individual to accept and adopt these manerisms so as to indentify with and be accepted by established members and elders. Many of these cultures whether they be of a sporting club and nature or image or fashion etc, have an established hiarachy. The abilities, self image and recognised and accepted statusof these members are improved by showing OFF. A new members need to either train and improve there personal abilities or image or create an illusion of such, showing OFF to gain recognition and acceptence in the subculture.
the aussie in me wants to say
“what the fck are you doing here anyway”
the new me will say
“are you either milking the information cow or you genuinly want to be part of the surfng subculture??”
the aussie says
“the day when everyone on swaylocks calls headhigh 6 ft is the day i know that surfing and the industry has been entirely taken over and run by kooks trying to make money and will be the last time i ever come to the site”
new me
“”
hmmm
Silly says that 6 foot is NOT head high
6 foot = 1m 82cm 7mm
Silly must be a DWARF since 6 foot is obviously DOH…
That would make Silly the next Laird Hamilton !
please stop wouter
think of it as in you have a mile and you have a nautical mile
you have a feet and you have surfer feet
that might make it a bit easier for you to accept or maybe you can go down the wharf and tell all the fisherman they are fckheads and dont know what a mile is
Silly man, just serving it the way you like it
actually, you have several feet…
ill stop now since i am at work
i just cant refrain from trying to reply to you the way you write yourselves 
corecting typos is not what id call intellectual jousting
its like corecting or making fun of a speech imediment
The more water you push around, the more energy is exchanged. In surfing you can gain energy via this process during certain modes of planing, but you'll loose energy when doing anything else.*
… snowboarding?
The physical principles do overlap, but surfing isn't snowboarding. Carving what, powder? Powder is less dense than water. If you're carving powder you'll need a heck of a lot more surface area to make the same turn than you would in water. My guess is that maybe you really aren't referring to powder, but that denser compacted stuff underneath that you ultimately interacting with – which, in general, ain't a fluid. (By the way, that's not to say you can't carve powder.) It [the compacted stuff] may shear, but it's characteristics are very very different than those of water - unless you moving at a very high velocity, or the compacted stuff is slushy. In general, though not truly accurate, the denser the medium, the less bottom surface you'll have to bring to bare when turning.
... pushing off?
The same considerations for 'pushing off' the bottom. Water shears. Compacted snow does too, but not nearly as easily. Both water and compacted snow push back of course, but compacted snow is able to transfer the forces in play right down to the ground, virtually instantaneously. The same transfer mechanisms are in play with water, but hardly with the same timing or consequences.
... only so far?
If you haven't the extra energy to burn, during a turn say, design isn't going to produce it for you. Good design tends to take away all the bits that aren't worth having in the long run for a given set of average conditions or application - all with respect to surfing technique. If you've got less to work with in terms of waves, go with less in term of you're surfboard (how revolutionary is that!). This of course assumes that your surfing. If you want to factor in paddling around and catch waves then this simple axiom has to be modified. Just remember you'll pay for the 'additions'. If possible always use less in terms of board, and more in terms of technique, which includes paddling around and catching waves. Which by the way, introduces a big factor here, that of surfing style, or at least where you want to take your style, and you haven't said much about it.
...here's a thought.
I'd suggest you start with something akin to a modern skimboard and then add the minimum necessary to get you up and going, the smallest amount of foam for float, some tiny quads, etc. As for rail design, remember if its not a hard rail then when you turn and dig it, you'll be redirecting some the reaction forces generated in directions other than perpendicular to the bottom.
kc
*, You can gain energy when falling through a gravitational field, but as soon as you bring water into the mix you start loosing energy again.
First off, I’m an Aussie.
Second, I’ve been surfing for thirty years.
I still think its a wank to call a DOH wave 6 foot.
I got into surfing to get away from chest-beating boys clubs like football etc. The fact that you obviously think showing off is essential tells me you’re probably one of that sort thats come over fairly recently so, sorry but I’ll continue to call wave by their actual (and not imaginary) height!
what you think and “what is” are two diferent things
so if your surfing 30 years does that make you about 42?
so your a 42 year old aussie thats calls head high 6ft?
i think you are more likely from over the rainbow
Apologies for joining the thread hijack.
I’ll put a dollar each way.
When the surf is small (like around Perth all the time and Sydney often) I much prefer the surf to be measured in feet, because I want to know if its 2, 3, 4, 5 or even 6 feet. When I’m somewhere where its usually bigger, I want to know if its overhead or double overhead. If someone said it was overhead I would expect waves with 5-10 foot faces, double 10-15. Overhead is pretty much my limit, so I really want to know if its bigger than that.
Dave
Hey kcasey!
Great post, I never thought of the shearing properties of water and snow.
Yes you can carve in powder, just need a longer and wider board, but I was refering to the compact stuff on the slopes. When that goes icy and nearly rock hard, if the edges are tuned right you can do very tight turns with no tail slip at all, while pushing against the board very very hard. But the balance has to be perfect, the bindings at specific distance appart and a certain distance from nose and tail, correct angles of front and back foot. Combining these board settings with a good technique results in greater harnessing of speed thats additinal to gravity. No matter how good your technique is, if those bindings are too far back (you’ll spin out) or too far forward (need superhuman strenghts to turn/carve) or off centre, your life will suck.
I think the same goes for the surfboard. Since the surfboard has no adjustable parts (fins maybe to a limited degree), the initial design is very important to balance the various biases (such as weight transfer and foot positioning) of a surfer. Yes you can probably adjust to the surfboard design, and do ok in various waves (i have) same goes with the snowboard settings, but a bad set up of a snowboard or non favourable disign of a surfboard will not compliment the riding.
Don’t get me wrong, on my 6’3" i can complete the first turn, all i have to do is stand there and keep my balance and wait for the thing to go around. And it makes it around more often than not, but i’m just along for the ride not able to use my weight to generate more speed, knowing that if i push, the nose will just dive and bog down.
Sorry im rambling.
[img_assist|nid=1042589|title=Wave|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=640|height=300]
These are the type of waves we often get, a wedgy fatty shifty and cold. I would call this particular one an 7-8 foot? Looks overhead as well!
Maybe people call it overhead or DOH if it barrels, on an OH barreling wave the barrel is can be 4ft, so not many can stand straight in it. But who knows, at this point im just talking poo!
Whenever there’s a discussion about calling wave size I always quote something I heard Conan Hayes say. “There’s three sizes of waves- small, overhead and big.” He was being asked about a certain wave at Cloudbreak which had to be TOH. “That one’s definitely big.” It made perfect sense to me.
The one in your pic is solid overhead, but not quite big. Looks like the surfer is riding a standard shortboard. You don’t ride your standard shortboard in BIG waves, unless you’re Kelly Slater or some other WCT pro. In my area waves get big once or twice a year, or like this year, not at all.
Another story about calling waves isze- it was my second trip to Hawaii, Maui. I’d surfed Hookipa . It was about 2-3 overhead. It was my first day in the Islands and I was kind of spooked. Especially because you could see the reef when taking off. So I ask my freind who lives there, “OK so how big you call that?” His answer, “I don’t even say anymore.” A few minutes later on the car radio we hear the surf report. “Hookipa- 2 feet and trying.”
Hawaiians have f…king big feet!