Surf culture
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Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion and life surrounding the sport of modern surfing.
The culture began early in the 20th century, spread quickly during the 1950s and 1960s, and continues to evolve. Touching fashion, music, literature, films, jargon, and more, its basis is the love of surfing, the hunt for great waves, the desire for the ultimate ride, and life in and around the ocean. Localism or territorialism is often a large part of surf culture in which individuals or groups of surfers designate certain key surfing spots as their own. Surfers, who come from many walks of life, are generally bound by an intense love of the sport.
The fickle nature of weather and the ocean, plus the great desire for the best possible types of waves for surfing, make surfers slaves to rapidly changing conditions. Surfer Magazine, founded in the 1960s when surfing had gained popularity with teenagers, used to say that if they were hard at work and someone yelled "Surf's up!" the office would suddenly be empty. Also, since surfing has a restricted geographical necessity (i.e. the coast), the culture of beach life often influenced surfers and vice versa. Aspects of 1960s surf culture in Southern California, where it was first popularized, include the woodie, bikinis and other beach wear, such as boardshorts or baggies, and surf music. Surfers developed the skateboard to be able to "surf" on land; and the number of boardsports and spin-offs has grown ever since.
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[edit] Background
Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (June 2008)
Surfers have often been associated with being slackers or beach bums (with women being known as beach bunnies). Though surfers come from all walks of life, the basis of the stereotype comes from that great enthusiasm that surfers can have for their sport. Along with the rarity of truly perfect surf conditions (plus the bliss that is associated with them) and the inevitable hunt for great waves, surfers often become dedicated to their sport in a way that precludes a more traditional life in a capitalistic society. Surfing instead, becomes their lifestyle.
This has left a long history of surfers veering off the beaten path, and foregoing the traditional goals of first world culture in the hunt for a continual stoke, in harmony with life, their surfing, and the ocean. This is part of the definition of a "Soul Surfer" whose goals are certainly not that of every person who indulges in the sport, but a vibrant and long-standing sub-group.
Competitive surf culture (centered around surf contests and endorsement deals) is often seen in opposition to this, since it embraces more traditional capitalistic ideals. Since its inception there has always been debate about whether or not surfing for money and prizes is truly compatible with the surfing lifestyle. Though this debate has lessened in recent decades, since many of today's pro-surfers, seem to be able to straddle both worlds: the competitive surfer and "free surfer".
The historic surf village of Ocean Beach, San Diego, California, is a good example of a place devoted to the surfing lifestyle having been introduced originally by OB Lifeguard George Freeth, probably by what is now the north jetty, by the soon-to-be-washed-away Wonderland Amusement Park.
The Northern California Surf Village of Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz, California, still retains many of the cottages that the surf pioneers, such as Van Dyke, once knew.
Swell is generated when wind blows consistently over a large area of open water, called the wind's fetch. Surfers refer to a good series of waves when saying such things as "There was an awesome swell the other day." or "Dude, the swell at crooks cove was the best!" although The size of a swell is determined by the strength of the wind, the length of its fetch and its duration. So, surf tends to be larger and more prevalent on coastlines exposed to large expanses of ocean traversed by intense low pressure systems.
Local wind conditions affect wave quality, since the ridable surface of a wave can become choppy in blustery conditions. Ideal surf conditions include a light to moderate strength "offshore" wind, since this blows into the front of the wave.
The factor which most determines wave shape is the topography of the seabed directly behind and immediately beneath the breaking wave. The contours of the reef or sand bank influence wave shape in two respects. Firstly, the steepness of the incline is proportional to the resulting upthrust. When a swell passes over a sudden steep slope, the force of the upthrust causes the top of the wave to be thrown forward, forming a curtain of water which plunges to the wave trough below. Secondly, the alignment of the contours relative to the swell direction determines the duration of the breaking process. When a swell runs along a slope, it continues to peel for as long as that configuration lasts. When swell wraps into a bay or around an island, the breaking wave gradually diminishes in size, as the wave front becomes stretched by diffraction. For specific surf spots, the state of the ocean tide can play a significant role in the quality of waves or hazards of surfing there. Tidal variations vary greatly among the various global surfing regions, and the effect the tide has on specific spots can vary greatly among the spots within each area. Locations such as Bali, Panama, and Ireland experience 2-3 meter tide fluctuations, whereas in Hawaii the difference between high and low tide is typically less than one meter.
In order to know a surf break one must be sensitive to each of these factors. Each break is different, since the underwater topography of one place is unlike any other. At beach breaks, even the sandbanks change shape from week to week, so it takes commitment to get good waves (a skill dubbed "broceanography" by a few California surfers). That's why surfers have traditionally regarded surfing to be more of a lifestyle than a sport. Of course, you can sometimes be lucky and just turn up when the surf is pumping. But, it is more likely that you will be greeted with the dreaded: "You should have been here yesterday." Nowadays, however, surf forecasting is aided by advances in information technology, whereby mathematical modelling graphically depicts the size and direction of swells moving around the globe.
The regularity of swell varies across the globe and throughout the year. During winter, heavy swells are generated in the mid-latitudes, when the north and south polar fronts shift toward the Equator. The predominantly westerly winds generate swells that advance eastward. So, waves tend to be largest on west coasts during the winter months. However, an endless train of mid-latitude cyclones causes the isobars to become undulated, redirecting swells at regular intervals toward the tropics.
East coasts also receive heavy winter swells when low pressure cells form in the sub-tropics, where their movement is inhibited by slow moving highs. These lows produce a shorter fetch than polar fronts, however they can still generate heavy swells, since their slower movement increases the duration of a particular wind direction. After all, the variables of fetch and duration both influence how long the wind acts over a wave as it travels, since a wave reaching the end of a fetch is effectively the same as the wind dying off.
During summer, heavy swells are generated when cyclones form in the tropics. Tropical cyclones form over warm seas, so their occurrence is influenced by El Niño & La Niña cycles. Their movements are unpredictable. They can even move westward, which is unique for a large scale weather system. In 1979, Tropical Cyclone Kerry wandered for 3 weeks across the Coral Sea and into Queensland, before dissipating.
The quest for perfect surf has given rise to a field of tourism based on the surfing adventure. Yacht charters and surf camps offer surfers access to the high quality surf found in remote, tropical locations, where tradewinds ensure offshore conditions. Since winter swells are generated by mid-latitude cyclones, their regularity coincides with the passage of these lows. So, the swells arrive in pulses, each lasting for a couple of days, with a couple of days between each swell. Since bigger waves break in a different configuration, a rising swell is yet another variable to consider when assessing how to approach a break.
[edit] Localism
Even though waves break everywhere along a coast, truly great surf spots are rare. A surf break that forms great surfable waves may easily become a coveted commodity, especially if the wave only breaks there rarely. If this break is near a large population center with many surfers, territorialism often arises. Regular surfers who live around a desirable surf break may often guard it jealously, hence the expression "locals only." The "locals only" expression is common among many beach towns. For instance, many locals from the Jersey shore use the expression "shoobie" to refer to non-locals. These sayings are consistent with the territorialism that drives the beach culture and those that live on the coastal territories year round. Localism is expressed when surfers are involved in verbal or physical threats or abuse to deter people from surfing at certain surf spots. This is backed by the belief that fewer people equals more waves per surfer. Other surfers, however, sometimes known as "Soul Surfers", hold less aggressive views towards others. These surfers see surfing as more than a sport; it is an opportunity to harness the waves and to relax and forget about their daily routines.
However, local surfers have been known to be violent when it comes to protecting their surf break from tourists or outside surfers. [1] Some locals have been known to form loose gangs that surf in a certain break or beach and fiercely protect their "territory" from outsiders. These surfers are often referred to as "surf punks" or "surf nazis." The local surfer gangs in Malibu and on Hawaii, known as da hui, have been known to threaten tourists with physical violence for invading their territory. In Southern California, at the Venice and Santa Monica beaches, local surfers are especially hostile to the surfers from the San Fernando Valley whom they dub "vallies" or "valley kooks". The expression "Surf Nazi" arose in the 1960s to describe territorial and authoritarian surfers, often involved in surf gangs or surf clubs. The term "Nazi" was originally used simply to denote the strict territorialism, violence and hostility to outsiders, and absolute obsession with surfing that was characteristic in the so-called "surf nazis." However, some surfers reclaimed and accepted the term, and a few actually embraced Nazism and Nazi symbolism. Some surf clubs in the 60's, particularly at Wind'n'Sea in La Jolla, used the swastika symbol on their boards and identified with Nazism as a counter culture (though this may have just been an effort to keep out or scare non-locals.)
[edit] Big Wave culture
A non-competitive adventure activity involving riding the biggest waves possible (known as "rhino hunting") is also popular with some surfers. A practice popularized in the 1990s has seen big wave surfing revolutionized, as surfers use personal watercraft to tow them out to a position where they can catch previously unrideable waves (see tow-in surfing). These waves were previously unrideable due to the speed at which they travel. Some waves reach speeds of over 60 km/h; personal watercraft enable surfers to reach the speed of the wave thereby making them rideable. Personal watercraft also allow surfers to survive wipeouts. In many instances surfers would not survive the battering of the "sets" (groups of waves together). This spectacular activity is extremely popular with television crews, but because such waves rarely occur in heavily populated regions, and usually only a very long way out to sea on outer reefs, few spectators see such events directly.
[edit] Surf terminology
Surfing (particularly in Southern California) has its own slang, which has coincided with Valspeak. Words like "tubular", "radical", and "gnarly" are associated with both. One of the main terms used by surfers around the world would be the word, "Stoked". This refers to a feeling of happiness and is used pretty much in every acceptance speech in any surfing contest.
[edit] Issues affecting surfers
Global warming, environmental damage, and increasing riparian development may continue to increase pressure on the sport. Oil spills and toxic algae growth can threaten surfing regions. And, many wealthy homeowners have tried to prevent free access to beaches in violation of English and American common law traditions, in which "the strand" is not private property.
Some of these stresses may be overcome by building of artificial reefs for surfing. Several have been built in recent years (one is at Cables in Western Australia), and there is widespread enthusiasm in the global surfing community for additional projects. However, environmental opposition and rigorous coastal permitting regulations is dampening prospects for building such reefs in some countries, such as the United States. A major big wave cultural group in northern Australia is called "clarkey", and are known for their aggression and passion.
[edit] Spirituality
Australian surfer Nat Young tried to register surfing as a religion, but to no avail. Many surfers combine their love of the sport with their own religious or spiritual beliefs. In Huntington Beach, California for example, a local Christian, non-denominational church occasionally meets on the beach for Sunday early-morning services. After the closing prayer, the minister and his congregation paddle out for a morning session. In addition, many surfing communities organize and take part in memorial services for fallen surfers, sometimes on the anniversary of passing such as the Eddie Aikau memorial service held annually at Waimea Bay, Hawaii. Participants in the memorial service paddle out to a suitable location with flower leis around their necks or with loose flowers (sometimes held between their teeth)., The participants then get into a circular formation, hold hands, and silently pray. Sometimes they will raise their clasped hands skyward before tossing their flowers or leis into the center of the ring. Afterward, they paddle back toward the beach to begin their surf session. Often these services take place at sunrise or sunset. In locations with a pier, such as Huntington Beach, Orange County, California, the service can take place near the end of the pier so that any non-surfers, such as elderly relatives, can watch and participate. Often the participants on the pier will throw down bouquets of flowers into the center of the ring.
Each year, June 20th is known as International Surfing Day - a global day of celebration of the sport of surfing and surf culture.
[edit] Surfing music
Surf culture is reflected in surf music, with sub-genres such as surf rock and surf pop. This includes works from such artists as Jan and Dean, The Beach Boys, The Surfaris ("Wipe Out!"), Dick Dale, The Shadows, and The Ventures. The music inspired dance crazes such as The Stomp, The Frug, and The Watusi. While the category surf music helped popularize surfing, most surfers at the time, such as Miki Dora, preferred R&B and blues. A newer wave of surf music has started in the acoustic riffs of artists such as Jack Johnson and Donavon Frankenreiter, who are both former professional surfers. The rise of surfers creating their own music and new style of surf rock has started.
[edit] Surf rock
[edit] Surf pop
[edit] Instrumental
[edit] Fashion
Surfwear is a popular style of casual clothing, inspired by surf culture. Many surf related brand-names originated as cottage industry, supplying local surfers with boardshorts, Ugg boots, wetsuits, surfboards or leashes. Today, its popularity extends so far beyond the surfing community, that some of its most high profile brands are listed on the Stock Exchange. These companies gain exposure through sponsoring professional surfers and the contests in which they compete.
[edit] Other surfwear labels
[edit] Events
[edit] Festivals
Some events include the Surf Film Festibal[2], Saint Jean de Luz Surf Film Festival[3], and Wavescapes Surf Film Festival[4], or the Nude Night Surfing Sydney Fringe Festival, Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia. International Surfing Day celebrates the sport and lifestyle on June 20.
There are some trade shows of note, including ASR[5], Surf Expo[6], and Italia Surf Expo[7].
[edit] Surfing contests
Competitive surfing is a comparison sport. Riders, competing in pairs or small groups, are allocated a certain amount of time to ride waves and display their prowess and mastery of the craft. Competitors are then judged according to how competently the wave is ridden, including the level of difficulty, as well as frequency of maneuvers. There is a professional surfing world surfing championship series held annually at surf breaks around the world.
Although competitive surfing has become an extremely popular and lucrative activity, both for its participants and its sponsors, the sport does not have its origins as a competitive pursuit. It is common to hear debate rage between purists of the sport, who still maintain the ideal of "soul surfing", and surfers who engage in the competitive and, consequently, commercial side of the activity.[2] An organisation called the Spirit of Surfing has chosen not to accept surf label sponsorship, since an association of that sort could detract from the sentiment they wish to promote.
[edit] Surfing organizations
[edit] Spin-offs & influences
[edit] Boardsports
Surfers developed the skateboard to be able to "surf" on land. Later came windsurfing (also known as sailboarding), bodyboarding, wakeboarding, skimboarding, snowboarding, riverboarding, kiteboarding, sandboarding, mountainboarding, carveboarding all now competitive sports. Another fast growing boardsport is skurfing a mix of surfing and more conventional water sports in which the participant is towed behind the boat. Pineboarding and sandboarding are recreational boardsports.
[edit] Conceptual metaphor
The word "surf" is polysemous; having multiple, related meanings. "Surfing" the World Wide Web is the act of following hyperlinks. The phrase "surfing the Internet" was first popularized in print by Jean Armour Polly, a librarian, in an article called "Surfing the INTERNET", published in the Wilson Library Bulletin in June, 1992.
[edit] Branding
[edit] Surfing in multimedia
[edit] Films about surfing
The surf culture is reflected in film. Bruce Brown's classic movie The Endless Summer glorified surfing in a round-the-world search for the perfect wave. John Milius's homage to the Malibu of his youth in Big Wednesday remains a poignant metaphor for the similarities between the changing surf and life. Beach movies such as the Gidget series and Beach Party films like Beach Blanket Bingo are less reverential depictions of the culture.
[edit] Fictional surfers in film
[edit] Television shows
[edit] TV commercials
[edit] TV documentary series
[edit] TV episodes featuring surfing
Indonesian Surf Culture: Indonesia is also known for its surf its reefs and its culture this is a surfing mecca with breaks like:Desert point, Mawi, Kuta(Bali), Kuta (Lombok),Uluwatu ( well known for its historic temple and great surf this is th most populat break in Indo and Bali), Nusa Dua, apocalypse, Scar reef (simbawa) , bingin ( near Uluawatu), airports left and right ( near Jimbaran airport), Sengigi, G-land ( hosts the Quiksilver pro) and Padang Padang( hosts the Ripcurl Cup), the surf culture is becoming bigger each year, Indo is hosting the ripcurl search this year 2008 ( a very big surfing event). Since the 1980s Indonesia has become bigger with its culture. But their was a stut in 2002 at Kuta beach in Bali there was a bombing killing over 80 Aussies R.I.P dude, this made a huge impact on the tourists and lost tourists for a yaer or 2 but then they all came back again.Indonesia is also a very popular place for Surf camps there are afew theres scar reef,Lombok, Uluwatu and Apocalypse or otherwise 3 palms. Image:MMW106.jpg Padang Padang
[edit] Fictional surfers in TV
Ginger: What skin.
Mary Ann: And what bones.
â€[edit] Internet
[edit] Surfing portals
[edit] Surfing Blogs
Blogs have become an increasingly popular expression of Surf culture in recent years. Surf Blogs cover every aspect of the surf experience from advice for new surfers to the technical details of board construction and finishing. The blogs below are representative of the hundreds of surf blogs created since 2002.
[edit] Live surf cams
[edit] Surf forecasting
- Thousands of sites offer surf forecasting and reporting, from single beaches to the entire world. Some of the larger, more popular and reliable ones are: