Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer, uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on ocean shores, but can also be found as standing waves in the open ocean, in lakes, in rivers in the form of a tidal bore, or in wave pools.
Robert Kelly Slater is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time, and holds 56 Championship Tour victories. He won the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year four-times. Slater is also the oldest surfer still active on the World Surf League, winning his 8th Billabong Pipeline Masters title at age 49.
Mavericks is a surfing location in northern California outside Pillar Point Harbor, just north of the town of Half Moon Bay at the village of Princeton-by-the-Sea. After a strong winter storm in the northern Pacific Ocean, waves can routinely crest at over 25 ft (8 m) and top out at over 60 ft (18 m). Routinely, waves that break can be recorded on seismometers. The break is caused by an unusually shaped underwater rock formation.
A leg rope or surfboard leash is a urethane cord attached to the deck of a surfboard, down near the tail. It prevents the surfboard from being swept away by waves and stops runaway surfboards from hitting other surfers and swimmers. Modern leashes consist of a urethane cord where one end has a band with a velcro strap attached to the surfer's trailing foot, and the opposite has a velcro strap attached to the tail end of the surfboard. Should the surfer fall while riding a wave, the surfboard will not be swept away, thus allowing the surfer to quickly recover his surfboard and return to the take-off zone.
Lighthouse Field State Beach is a protected beach in the state park system of California, United States. It is located in the city of Santa Cruz at the north end of Monterey Bay. The beach overlooks the Steamer Lane surfing hotspot. It also contains the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, housed in a 1967 lighthouse. The 38-acre (15 ha) site was established in 1978.
North Shore is a 1987 American action drama surf film directed by William Phelps. The film is about Rick Kane, a young surfer from a wave tank in Arizona, who heads to surf the season on the North Shore of Oʻahu to see if he has the skills to cut it as a pro surfer. As he progresses on his journey, he learns the qualities he possesses are not going to pull him through alone.
The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is a museum which was established in May 1986 to document the history of surfing. With collections dating back to the earliest years of surfing on mainland United States, the museum houses a historical account of surfing in Santa Cruz, California.
The riding of waves has likely existed since humans began swimming in the ocean. In this sense, bodysurfing is the oldest type of wave-catching. Undoubtedly ancient sailors learned how to ride wave energy on many styles of early boats. Archaeological evidence even suggests that ancient cultures of Peru surfed on reed watercraft for fishing and recreation up to five thousand years ago. However, standing up on what is now called a surfboard is a relatively recent innovation developed by the Polynesians. The influences for modern surfing can be directly traced to the surfers of pre-contact Hawaii.
Steamer Lane is a famous surfing location in Santa Cruz, California. It is just off a point on the side of cliffs in the West Cliff residential area near downtown Santa Cruz, providing easy access and a good vantage point for viewing. The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is housed in a lighthouse there. "Steamer Lane" is the preferred form of the name used by the people surfing there. Steamer Lane was named by Claude Horan while he was a student at San Jose State in the late 1930s. One flat calm day he and his friend Wes Hammond thought it would be a good idea to hire steamships to cruise back and forth to generate waves for surfing. It was at Steamer Lane that the modern surfing wetsuit and the leash were mainly developed by Jack O'Neill, who had his surf shop nearby for many years.
Surfing Magazine, originally titled International Surfing Magazine, was a magazine that was founded in 1964 by Orange County, California, local Dick Graham and surf photographer LeRoy Grannis. Later the magazine was acquired by Adrian B. Lopez, a New York magazine publisher who relocated the magazine to the east coast. Eventually the title became Surfing Magazine and moved to Southern California.
The registration of the "Surf City USA" trademark inflamed a historical dispute between the California coastal cities of Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz. Both cities claimed the "Surf City" nickname, but after the Huntington Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau filed three trademark applications for "Surf City USA" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2004, a new conflict erupted, a controversy Surfer dubbed "Moniker-gate." The resulting publicity generated the equivalent of several million dollars in advertising with thousands of stories and news reports broadcast across the globe. A lawsuit was eventually settled in January 2008 which validated Huntington Beach's exclusive rights to the trademark.
The U.S. Open of Surfing is a week-long surfing competition held annually during the summer in Huntington Beach, California. Generally held on the south side of the Huntington Beach Pier, the U.S. Open is part of the qualification process for the World Surf League and is a WSL QS 10,000 event. It is the largest surfing competition in the world. It has been owned by IMG since 2000.
Christiaan "Otter" Bailey, is an American professional surfer, known for his experience as a surf safari guide and skill as a big wave surfer and skateboarder.
Peter Mel, is an American professional surfer. Mel began his surfing life in Capitola, California before moving on to Santa Cruz. He is known as a 'big wave' surfer and son of John Mel, a four time surfing National Champion.
Juice Magazine, founded in 1993 in Wilmington, North Carolina, is a skateboarding, surfing and music publication, edited, owned and published by Terri Craft. It includes interviews by skate editor, Jim Murphy, and features editors: Steve Olson, Jay Adams, Dave Duncan, Christian Hosoi, Jim O'Mahoney, and surf editors Jeff Ho, Herbie Fletcher and Dibi Fletcher. The staff includes Terri Craft, editor and Dan Levy, assistant editor. Other interviewers include Jason Jessee, Jeff Ament, Chuck Dukowski, Bill Danforth and Chris Mearkle. There are currently 76 issues of the magazine. Juice Magazine headquarters is located in the birthplace of modern-day skateboarding, Venice, California.
Jay Moriarity was a surfer from Santa Cruz, California. He was an accomplished surfer, waterman, and adventurer. As a surfer, he made his reputation surfing Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California. At age 16, he was made internationally famous when his wipeout at Mavericks was caught on film and made the cover of Surfer magazine. Although a successful competitor, Jay is remembered as a soul surfer, winning many sportsmanship awards throughout his career. A biopic of his life, Chasing Mavericks, was released in 2012.
Surfing in the United States is a popular hobby in coastal areas, and more recently due to the invention of wave pools, inland regions of the country. It contributes to a lifestyle and culture in which millions participate and which millions more have an interest. USA surfing is the governing body for the sport of surfing in the United States, with surf leagues such as the World Surf League available in the country. Surfing can be traced back to 17th Century Hawaii and has evolved over time into the professional sport it is today, with surfing being included for the first time in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Kyle Thiermann is a professional surfer, writer, podcast host, and filmmaker from Santa Cruz, California.
Richie Collins is a former professional surfer and shaper from Newport Beach, California. He established himself by winning the 1988 O'Neill Coldwater Classic in Santa Cruz and the 1989 US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach. He finished as the number eight rated surfer in the world in 1989 and 1990.
Greyson Thunder Fletcher is an American professional free skateboarder, surfer, visual artist and actor from San Clemente, California. He starred in the HBO series John from Cincinnati and his artworks have been exhibited in New York's Gagosian Gallery. His skateboard sponsors include; Element Skateboards, Independent Truck Company, OJ Wheels and RVCA.
