Surfing Waves

Well, waves are what surfing is all about. And what makes surfing waves so much fun while at the same time challenging is that every wave is different; surfers always have to keep on their toes. First of all, there’s the beach break, where waves break on a sandy seabed. These are good surfing waves for beginner surfers. Then there is the point break (yes, like the movie), when waves break onto a rocky area. Finally, there is the reef break, where a wave breaks over a rocky seabed or a coral reef. They are nearly perfect waves, and possibly the biggest surfing waves around.

A surfing wave can then be classified as either a left wave or a right wave, depending on which way the wave breaks from the point of view of the surfer riding the wave. For example, if the wave is breaking from right to left while the surfer is paddling into the wave, the wave is classified as a left. A peak, instead, is a wave that actually breaks in such a way that it can be ridden in both left and right directions, by two separate surfers.

Many factors play a role in what makes a surfing wave great. Wind starts the process, creating waves. Friction on the sea bed and any obstacles in its path will drain the energy of the wave and cause it to become smaller. Local conditions, including things like local weather, the geography of the site and tides, then, will play significant roles in determining how big a wave will be once it reaches a surf break.

Surfers surf waves that are at the end of their journeys; once a wave hits a break, it will increase in size, increase its steepness, form a sort of C-shape and then fall over. Surfers can catch a wave between the time that it increases its steepness and the moment it fall over. Beginning surfers can actually try to catch the wave once it has already fallen over, for practice; waves still have quite a bit of power at this point.

If you’re a beginning surfer, or if you’re simply a surfer who wants to try new things, you can try surfing wave pools. Not many people like these structures, though, with their artificial surf waves. Plus, a surfing wave pool can in no way compete with the massive surfing waves that big wave surfers crave; the biggest surfing wave in a surfing pool will always be smaller than a large surfing wave that you can catch in the ocean.

You can find pictures of surfing waves online, to get an idea of how different they really are. Some pictures are accompanied by surfing waves tips, to help out all the newbees. Some sites will add a surfing waves cartoon set to further explain how waves are made and how to catch them.