|
|
|
| |
THE
PLAYING FIELD - PART ONE
Before
paddling out, always assess the conditions and know your limits. Unlike
other sports, your playing field is constantly changing. Two-foot
mushburgers one day can be 10-foot meat grinders the next. Obviously,
the most important element of this changing playing field is the waves.
Waves are created by wind and storms out at sea. How these waves hit
your local break are determined by a number of factors: bottom contour,
tides and wind. Waves break over the following bottom contours: |
| |
The all-natural
raceway: Jeffreys Bay. |
|
|
1. Pointbreaks.
Points usually occur where there's a dip in the headland, creating
a bend in the coast. This tends to be the ideal case for surfers,
since points have the potential to create perfect waves, which are
characterized by long, tapering curls. One of the world's best pointbreaks
is a spot called Jeffreys Bay in South Africa, where surfers ride
waves at high speeds for as long as a half-mile. |
| |
This is
where you don't want to be. Teahupoo, the world's deadliest
reefbreak. |
|
|
2. Reefbreaks.
A reefbreak is a wave that breaks over a rock or coral shelf. Due
to its bottom, reefbreaks are consistent in their shape and location.
Like all waves, reefbreaks vary in shape and size, but the world's
best reefbreaks, such as the Banzai Pipeline on Oahu and Teahupoo
in Tahiti, are some of the most amazing but dangerous spectacles on
Earth. As a general rule, beginners should avoid reefbreaks. |
| |
This is
where you want to be: in the slow rollers of your local
beachbreak. |
|
|
3. Beachbreaks.
Beachbreak waves break over a sand bottom and are commonly more
erratic and shifty than reef or pointbreaks. With fewer hazards
such as coral or rocks, though, beachbreaks are a good bet for beginners. |
| |
The bottom's incline, or slope, also plays a
major role in the way waves break, from soft, easy rollers to surging,
unsurfable monsters. On the opposite ends of the spectrum, you have
the following:
1. Plunging waves.
A plunging wave occurs when the swell comes out of deep water and
hits a shallow sandbar or reef. Ultimately, these are the waves
that surfers look for. But since they break top to bottom and tend
to be faster and more challenging, beginners should stay away from
them.
2. Mushy waves.
Mushy or slow-rolling waves are more desirable for beginners. Mushy
waves occur when a swell approaches a more gradual bottom contour.
Because mushy waves are softer and more forgiving, they allow for
the fastest learning curve possible. |
| |
Unfortunately,
closeouts are the rule more than the exception in most
coastal areas. |
|
Watch at
your own risk. Waimea shorebreak. |
|
|
3. Other.
Like Eskimos with snow, surfers have dozens of words to describe
waves. For starters, there are a few you should know about. First,
closeouts are waves that break all at once and, since they offer
no tapering curl or open wave face, are not sought after by surfers.
Second, reforms are waves that initially break over a shoal, back
off into unbroken swell as they pass through deep water and then
break again closer to shore. Reforms occur when a deeper trench
connects two shallower sandbars or reefs. Huntington Beach Pier
is a good place to see a textbook reform. Finally, double-ups are
when two swells converge to form a thicker, steeper breaking wave
closer to shore. Waimea Bay's shorebreak is probably the nastiest
double-up on the planet.
|
|
