Noseriding is the act of riding the front end of a surfboard. It is one of the most accomplished manoeuvres in surfing. Some advanced manoeuvres include: hang ten toes, hang five toes, stretch-five, front foot/heel hang, and back foot/heel hang. Noseriding is a functional manoeuvre best performed on waves around head high or less in size. Noseriding is performed mainly on noserider-style surfboards, which are generally 275cm (9ft) or more in length, with larger surface area and higher water displacement to provide a more stable walking surface.[1]
American surfer and writer Matt Warshaw wrote, "Noseriding wasn't identified as a manoeuvre unto itself until the early 1950s, after the surfboard fin had grown big enough to really anchor the tail."[2] According to most surfing historians, the fin was invented by Tom Blake around 1935, for the purpose of anchoring the tail and giving the surfboard direction from the tail to the tip. The fin enabled skilled surfers to walk to the front of the board without the tail skipping out from the wave. In 1947, Joe Quigg recorded, in drawings and words, the noseriding skill of Rabbit Kekai on waves at "Outer Queens" near Waikiki, Hawaii. One of the first commercial surfboard manufacturers, Dale Vezy,[3] is credited as being the first to get to the nose to hang five and hang ten in the early 1950s. Noseriding is widely considered the origin of "extreme" surfing and had become such a popular trick by the late 1950s that Surfer Magazine publisher John Severson devoted a regular feature to it called "Toes on the Nose", starting with his debut issue of Surfer in 1960.[4]
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, surfboard designers experimented with a variety of components to make the nose hold up longer, and noserider surfboard designs became popularly-sold items during the 1960s. The combinations of template (outline shape), thickness, weight, rocker, rail shape, concaves, convexes, flats and fins vary with the individual surfer's style and size, and continue to be an experiment. To this day, noserider designs continue to be refined.[citation needed]
So far the knowledge bank has established certain principles: Concave under the nose creates an air pocket that helps the nose stay up longer; complementing the concave nose is a kicked-up tail that would catch water to keep the tail down. While an accomplished surfer can nose ride a narrow shortboard nose, a wide nose (about 45 to 50cm (18 to 20in) wide) is considered a better platform for stability and lift. Rail shape can significantly affect the manoeuvrability from the nose. Rail shapes vary from turned up rails, which are found in most of today's noseriders, to turned down rails. Turned-up rails allow the board to turn easier from the tip, while the turned-down rail forces the board to stay in a trim and limits the turning ability from the tip. Of course, placement of the turned up or turned down rail is important. Turned up rails work best around the nose, while turned down rails work best around the tail. How much turn-down or turn up is measured in percentages, i.e., 70/30 means 70% down and 30% up. Lighter board weights enable the board to stay higher on the water, so it can travel faster and allow the board to respond quicker, and a lighter board allows for a thinner board. Single fins are preferred, albeit, fin configurations have a wide open frontier, as are weights and thickness.[citation needed]
Noseriding is achieved mostly when the surfer positions themselves and the board where the wave is formed into the most vertical wall, just before the wave breaks. Point Break waves are ideal for noseriding because the wave travels from the point to the cove and gives the surfer a long ride where a "hook" is formed with the most vertical wall that travels down the line, like a zipper, from one end to the other. Immediately after the hook is the white water, where the wave implodes. It is best to avoid the white water but with a noserider surfboard, an accomplished surfer can ride through or manoeuvre around the imploding wave while remaining on the nose. One of the most difficult noseriding manoeuvres is to get tubed while on the tip. It is not impossible to stay on the nose while out on the flat shoulder of the wave either. A noserider surfboard with a deep concave can carry a surfer on a wave that does not have a steep wall. The surfer must be prepared to back off the nose in this flat area of the wave because it has the least air traveling under the nose, so riding onto the flat of the wave while on the nose could cause the nose to suddenly dip into the water under the full weight of the surfer.[citation needed]
In 1965, Tom Morey[19] (inventor of the "Morey-Boogie" body board) devised the first professional surf contest around timing nose rides. The "nose" area was defined as the front 25% of the board. While success at this subgenre is grossly measured in proximity to the tip of the board and time spent there, the acknowledged stylists move forward and backward fluidly on the board by cross-stepping or "walking" foot-over-foot and/or shuffling with poise and economy of movement, resolving changes in upward pressure with subtle adjustments to their centre of gravity using knees, waist and hips (upper bodies ever quiet) and position on the board; never the arms waving.[citation needed]
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.
Bodyboarding is a water sport in which the surfer rides a bodyboard on the crest, face, and curl of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore. Bodyboarding is also referred to as Boogieboarding due to the invention of the "Boogie Board" by Tom Morey in 1971. The average bodyboard consists of a short, rectangular piece of hydrodynamic foam. Bodyboarders typically use swim fins for additional propulsion and control while riding a breaking wave.
A surfboard is a narrow plank used in surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding an ocean wave. They were invented in ancient Hawaii, where they were known as papa he'e nalu in the Hawaiian language, and were usually made of wood from local trees, such as koa. They were often over 460 cm (15 ft) in length and extremely heavy. Major advances over the years include the addition of one or more fins (skegs) on the bottom rear of the board to improve directional stability, and numerous improvements in materials and shape.
Surfboard wax is a formulation of natural and/or synthetic wax for application to the deck of a surfboard, bodyboard, or skimboard, to keep the surfer from slipping off the board when paddling out or riding a wave. It is also used to increase grip on the paddle of a surf kayak or dragon boat.
George Hamilton Perkins Greenough is an influential surfer, known during the 1960s and 1970s for his work in film, and in surfboard design, fin characteristics, and other creations for the aquatic medium. The contributions of Greenough, along with Bob McTavish, to the development of short boards resulted in a number advances in surfboard shaping and other surfing technology.
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.
Tom Hugh Morey, also known by the moniker Y, was a musician, engineer, surfboard shaper, and surfer responsible for several technological innovations that have heavily influenced modern developments in surfing equipment design.
A slide is a skateboarding trick where the skateboarder slides sideways either on the deck or the trucks.
Skurfing is a towed water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat on a tow rope. The sport uses a skurfboard, which is a floating platform the user balances on, similar to a surfboard but typically much shorter, with two foot-straps that prevent falling off the board and three fins positioned on the bottom that make it easier to maneuver when the board is being towed. The word itself is a portmanteau of skiing and surfing. Skurfing is often considered the precursor to wakeboarding.
Wakesurfing is a water sport in which a rider trails behind a boat, riding the boat's wake without being directly pulled by the boat. After getting up on the wake, typically by use of a tow rope, the wakesurfers will drop the rope, and ride the steep face below the wave's peak in a fashion reminiscent of surfing. Wakesurfers generally use special boards, designed specifically for wakes.
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.
A surfboard shaper is someone who designs and builds surfboards. The process of surfboard shaping has evolved over the years, and the shaper often tailors his or her work to meet the requirements of a client or a certain wave. Surfboard shapers can be independent or work in collaboration with mass-production companies.
Woodbridge "Woody" Parker Brown (1912–2008) was an American surfer and watercraft designer best known for inventing the modern catamaran. He was also instrumental in promoting the growth of surfing in the mainland United States; among his accomplishment in surfboard shaping was an early fin design.
David Kealohalani Nuuhiwa III is a Hawaiian surfer.
A surfboard fin or skeg is a hydrofoil mounted at the tail of a surfboard or similar board to improve directional stability and control through foot-steering. Fins can provide lateral lift opposed to the water and stabilize the board's trajectory, allowing the surfer to control direction by varying their side-to-side weight distribution. The introduction of fins in the 1930s revolutionized surfing and board design. Surfboard fins may be arrayed in different numbers and configurations, and many different shapes, sizes, and materials are and have been made and used.
This glossary of surfing includes some of the extensive vocabulary used to describe various aspects of the sport of surfing as described in literature on the subject.[a][b] In some cases terms have spread to a wider cultural use. These terms were originally coined by people who were directly involved in the sport of surfing.
Bellyboarding is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a bodyboard on the crest, face, and curl of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore.
Thomas Edward Blake was an American athlete, inventor, and writer, widely considered to be one of the most influential surfers in history, and a key figure in transforming surfing from a regional Hawaiian specialty to a nationally popular sport. Assessing Blake's significance, sociologist Kristin Lawler wrote that
George Downing was an American surfer based in Hawaii. In 1951, he created the first surfboard with a removable fin.
The Olo, Olo board or Olo surfboard is a traditional long Hawaiian surfboard that was used by Hawaiian chieftains for surfing. The Olo surfboard was the largest out of the three types of traditional surfboards that were used by the Hawaiian people. The Olo is twice as long as the modern surfing longboard, measuring up to 5.18 metres (17.0 ft) long, 16.5 inches wide and nearly 6 inches thick. The board was more than 76.20 kilograms (168.0 lb) and was used for surfing large waves and even tsunamis, the boards were strictly meant for Hawaiian Chieftains and Kings.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
