Monday, February 28, 2011

Kook Cord, Leash, Ankle Strap

Refers to a surfboard leash. Some longtime surfers used to refer to a leash as a kook cord since they felt an experienced surfer shouldn't need a leash. Today a leash is a standard part of the equipment and provides safety for others in the water. In fact, today, if you don't use a leash, you're referred to as a Kook (or worse).
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Sunday, February 27, 2011

Drilled

When someone gets hit by the lip of a breaking wave. Same as "hammered".
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Saturday, February 26, 2011

Wave Hog

A surfer who takes the majority of the waves at a break. This doesn't mean they're cutting other surfers off, they're just aggressively taking every single wave they can without letting others in the lineup get some of the action.
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Friday, February 25, 2011

Dope Rope

A derogatory term for an ankle leash.
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Thursday, February 24, 2011

Lineup

The place where the waves are breaking for a given surf spot. Everyone essentially "lines up" to catch the waves here.
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Planing

When a board (with a surfer riding it) is skimming across the water under its own power (i.e. not while riding a wave), like after kicking out of a wave and continuing to ride the board's momentum across the water.
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Launched

When both surfer and board are hurled some distance.
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Monday, February 21, 2011

Leash

Refers to a surfboard leash - the cord that attaches from a surfers ankle to the surfboard and keeps the board from getting too far away after a wipeout or a big kick out.
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Sunday, February 20, 2011

Log

Refers to a longboard – a surfboard usually 9 feet or more in length.
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Saturday, February 19, 2011

Lip

The very top edge of a wave.
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Friday, February 18, 2011

Impact Zone

The point where a wave is breaking. If you're in the impact zone, you're probably getting clobbered by the waves.
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Thursday, February 17, 2011

Glass-on Fin

This is when a fin is permanently attached (fiberglassed) to the board – i.e. it's not the kind you can slide in and out of a fin box.
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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Hot Coat

One of the final coats of resin when building a surfboard. The “hot” portion of this term refers to the heat generated by the resin and a higher amount of catalyst (aka hardener) mixed in to produce a quick setting/drying coat. This coat is lightly sanded, and then final gloss coat is applied, though some surfers prefer to use a board with just the hot coat as the final coat of resin to get the lightest board they can.
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Switch Stance

Riding the surfboard with the opposite foot forward than the surfer's normal stance. If the surfer normally rides with their left foot forward and right foot back (aka regular stance), then a “switch stance” for them would be riding with the right foot forward and left foot back (aka a goofy foot stance).
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Monday, February 14, 2011

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Grommet / Grom

Pronounced "graw' met". An older term used to describe a newbie surfer. Gremmie is the same thing.
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Saturday, February 12, 2011

High Surf Conditions

Usually means some larger than usual, possibly dangerous, waves.
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Friday, February 11, 2011

Baby Gun

A short board with the shape of a large gun board (defined earlier).
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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Gnarly

Pronounced "nar'-lee". A situation or maneuver that is extreme, and has an element of being dangerous or treacherous. This has become used excessively to pretty much describe anything outside of “normal” or “standard”.
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Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Fin Box

The receiving end for a fin on a surfboard. The fin slides into the box on the bottom of the board.
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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Goofy (footed)

A surfer who rides on the board with their right foot forward is said to be a “goofy foot”. Have seen a few notes stating the origin of this goes back to Goofy the Disney character, and him being drawn in cartoons with his right foot out in front during surfing.
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Monday, February 7, 2011

Punch Through

As in punching through a wave (piercing the face and going through the wave to exit out the back).
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Sunday, February 6, 2011

Tail Slide

A maneuver where the surfer slides the board by making the fins break loose of the water, thus allowing the board to slide in a non-forward manner.
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Saturday, February 5, 2011

Wave Height

Two very different measurements. The original style (also referred to as “Hawaiian style”) is to measure the back of the wave – which was then multiplied by 1.5 or 2.0 to get the size of the wave's face (surfing side). The other method (sometimes referred to as “California style”) is to measure the front of the wave – the part surfers are more interested in anyway.
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Friday, February 4, 2011

Steep Takeoff

Refers to the steepness of a wave's face. Some faces are very mellow and flatter – so they're easier to stand up on because the board isn't changing position much from the takeoff (the point where the wave is caught) to where the surfer is standing up riding the wave. Others are very steep and may even provide a bit of a drop before the board can be positioned to riding the face.
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Thursday, February 3, 2011

Acid Drop or Free Fall

When a surfer catches a wave, but then the bottom of the wave face just drops out and the surfer and board fall down the face.
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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Gun or Big Gun

A large board for big waves, but different than a long board. A gun is narrower and pointier in the nose and tail.
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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Ground Swell

Large swell originating from storms far away – as opposed to those produced by local winds. Distinction is that ground swell waves are a bit more powerful and maybe a bit larger.
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