Surfing lingo nonsense

caml started the topic in Tuesday, 15 Dec 2015 at 10:42 am

Are there words surfers use that dont really always make sense ? The word release is probably my favorite one that I find hard to really understand what someone means . Its often used when describing surfboard function , rails , rocker , fins , etc . The next one is raw , often used to describe the waves , swell or conditions . That one is quite a common word that to me seems to describe the persons attitude just as much as the surf conditions . Would like to know what others think about it anyways . Also what other ones can be strangely used ?

caml Tuesday, 15 Dec 2015 at 10:44 am new

Geez thats a meaty looking board , got heaps of beef in it .

goofyfoot Tuesday, 15 Dec 2015 at 11:31 am new

Check turn, building house, nose pick, rock and roll float....
Pretty much anything Pottz and Joe Turpentine say in there broadcasts

zenagain Tuesday, 15 Dec 2015 at 05:38 pm new

High-line wrap....

braudulio Tuesday, 15 Dec 2015 at 06:39 pm new

Park it...

caml Tuesday, 15 Dec 2015 at 07:42 pm new

Yeah right , ok these are new phrases from the wsl commentry . Paid to entertain & make up words . I hadn't thought of that . What about words that you have heard for years & you hear at your local beach or in your travels that you dont really understand ?

wellymon Tuesday, 15 Dec 2015 at 09:32 pm new

SWH or Hs:)

poo-man Tuesday, 15 Dec 2015 at 09:33 pm new

That board has got daggy rails! Don't really know what it means but one local guy keeps using the term. Another guy describes all his boards as "fast and loose". As if anyone would want anything that was slow and stiff?

caml Tuesday, 15 Dec 2015 at 09:52 pm new

Haha yep & strong & light glassing !

southey Tuesday, 15 Dec 2015 at 10:14 pm new

zenagain wrote:

High-line wrap....

Is that like " hot line bling" . Sorry that's all that enters my head . That and this hysterical piss take .
"

"

southey Tuesday, 15 Dec 2015 at 10:17 pm new

Oh yeah . Morning sickness .
I fully understand it and often use it . BUT not many people understand me .

caml Tuesday, 15 Dec 2015 at 11:21 pm new

Yep for sure southy morning sickness is a description a bit like raw , often it's how someone is feeling or a vague description that might mean wind condition or more

caml Tuesday, 15 Dec 2015 at 11:24 pm new

caml wrote:

Geez thats a meaty looking board , got heaps of beef in it .

Or beefy looking board got heaps of meat in it .
You ride big boards eh ? ( as im taking out a 6"4 )

floyd Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 07:04 am new

That's what you get in the bay ... meaning the waves in the bay are mostly slow, fat, crowded and full of grumpy old mal riders, hipsters/kooks unless its mega or cord to the horizon

back when we were groms set waves could be horri darkie meaning they were so big they were darkening out the horizon haha

maddogmorley Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 12:02 pm new

When describing the waves at Victor Harbor we often use the term 'messy but clean'. If you've ever surfed down that way you know what I mean :)

Craig Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 12:14 pm new

Morning sickness and raw gets used by me a bit. Raw is quite a good one, like when a strong new swell is filling in but along with some windswell contamination, or it's just not being groomed clean or lining up well. 

Raw generally is lots of hard work, sets on the head and trying to find that diamond in the rough.

thermalben Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 12:20 pm new

Craptacular. Don't use it often but always a pleasure to whip out (usually when I'm back at Victor).

caml Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 01:00 pm new

Craig wrote:

Morning sickness and raw gets used by me a bit. Raw is quite a good one, like when a strong new swell is filling in but along with some windswell contamination, or it's just not being groomed clean or lining up well. 

Raw generally is lots of hard work, sets on the head and trying to find that diamond in the rough.

Craig - thanks , I want to learn this one , truly don't know what it means . Your definition was news for me . Im sure theres other meanings .so I could say it / learn that its ; Raw- like needs a bit more cooking - swell needs more time to fill in - new swell , waiting for the period to drop

harold Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 05:41 pm new

"Fun" surf. Ive heard it used in the carpark to describe grinding 5-6 ft death-pits, and on forecasting sites to predict lame 3ft windswell. Which is correct? all subjective,ofcourse. Just sayin'.

tworules Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 06:56 pm new

Do we have to listen to the Banzai commentary?

wally Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 07:43 pm new

I'm treading over sodden ground, and you have a separate thread about it Caml, but the most senseless surf lingo is wave size.
If you asked a surfer you didn't know how big was the surf and he said 4 foot, that could be anything from chest high to at least double over head.

chin Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 10:17 pm new

"Release" was one that I couldn't work out and thought I needed to understand it because it's commonly referred to by many shapers.
"Morning sickness" is another one.
Both are apparently legit terms that have been explained by someone who knows.
Even after the very technical and helpful description, release is still a mystery to me. Something to do with board (and fin) design and performance, I dunno.
Morning sickness however, makes sense. In a tropical setting it's when the sea is still kind of bumpy first thing in the morning when it's apparently glassy, because it needs the offshore wind to tidy it up. No offshore winds in predawn hours means the swell bouncing off the reef has caused some bump and that's the main influence with no wind.
Alternatively, in Australia the sea breeze blowing all night causes some bump which remains in the morning even though it has apparently glassed off. No offshore to clean it up = morning sickness.

caml Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 10:53 pm new

wally wrote:

I'm treading over sodden ground, and you have a separate thread about it Caml, but the most senseless surf lingo is wave size.

If you asked a surfer you didn't know how big was the surf and he said 4 foot, that could be anything from chest high to at least double over head.

Wally what do u mean by " im treading over sodden ground and you have a separate threas about it " ?

caml Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 10:55 pm new

chin wrote:

"Release" was one that I couldn't work out and thought I needed to understand it because it's commonly referred to by many shapers.

"Morning sickness" is another one.

Both are apparently legit terms that have been explained by someone who knows.

Even after the very technical and helpful description, release is still a mystery to me. Something to do with board (and fin) design and performance, I dunno.

Morning sickness however, makes sense. In a tropical setting it's when the sea is still kind of bumpy first thing in the morning when it's apparently glassy, because it needs the offshore wind to tidy it up. No offshore winds in predawn hours means the swell bouncing off the reef has caused some bump and that's the main influence with no wind.

Alternatively, in Australia the sea breeze blowing all night causes some bump which remains in the morning even though it has apparently glassed off. No offshore to clean it up = morning sickness.

Yeah release is the one , what does it mean ?

caml Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 10:58 pm new

Just to clarify that I am familiar with morn sickness as it was used in g.land where I understood what it means .

penmister Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 11:05 pm new

Aqua bog..letting one out then it floats onto some one then they start paddling but it keeps following them...

caml Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 11:18 pm new

Not to be used for ding repair pmister

penmister Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 11:23 pm new

Lol....

Jamyardy Wednesday, 16 Dec 2015 at 11:32 pm new

There was a period(s) when sarcasm was used in describing waves. A couple I recall were Filth and Sick (not as in morning sickness), a couple (maybe more) of surf vids were named this way like Filthy Habits and Sik Joy (sick pits everywhere!). Chunder was another term we used for a heavy close out.

wally Thursday, 17 Dec 2015 at 10:09 am new

caml wrote:

I'm treading over sodden ground, and you have a separate thread about it Caml, but the most senseless surf lingo is wave size.

If you asked a surfer you didn't know how big was the surf and he said 4 foot, that could be anything from chest high to at least double over head.

Wally what do u mean by " im treading over sodden ground and you have a separate threas about it " ?

Should have said 'well-trodden' ground. Just saying I wasn't doing anything new by identifying 'wave size' as a problem term and anyway, you have the other thread currently discussing it.

wally Thursday, 17 Dec 2015 at 10:41 am new

I'll have a go at describing Release.
'Release' is the yin to the yang of 'drag'.

Surfboards creates frictional drag with the water as the board moves along.
The water molecules are doing their own thing and then the board comes along and grabs the water molecules and drags them. Drag slows the board, but drag is not all bad. Without drag, there would be no steering. Fins and rails are higher drag points that enable controlled turns and to hold a line.

Release is the water being set free. Being released from being dragged by the board. Release is just a way of thinking about water flow and paths of low frictional drag across the board as the board moves and turns.

caml Thursday, 17 Dec 2015 at 10:52 am new

Wally that threads been buried for days , nobody is discussing anymore . that thread was about the jaws comp having traditionally sized 25ft plus waves & not 15-20 ft as written on a SN report , It was a clear undercall So I created a thread to rave on why the calibration should be reset because I noticed it continued to happen by inexperienced judges in the sport of xxl big wave surfing , Not what I would call a lingo discussion .
Your welcome to discuss as always and your opinion or info is often good This one is about words like "release " or "raw" or whatever other words that seem funny ways to describe surfing terms

caml Thursday, 17 Dec 2015 at 10:55 am new

Ahg u posted before I finished writing to you wally ! But your description is fantastic thank u

nochaser Thursday, 17 Dec 2015 at 01:11 pm new

Martin Potter has one word for everything... 'wow'.

I hate the WSL commentators that use the word when a surfer has a move they can do at will described as 'on lock' really? When you stomp something skating it's 'bolts' that makes sense but 'on lock' WTF

caml Saturday, 19 Dec 2015 at 08:03 am new

A mate gave me the full description of the word release yesterday while we were out surfing . Reckons its the way you turn , usually in maneuvers and break free sortof slide . His hand movements showed a turn or twist type thing . It really proved he didn't know what the boards design features did

blindboy Saturday, 19 Dec 2015 at 10:04 am new

In a turn water wraps around the rail towards the back of the board. This water flows up and diagonally across the deck. When the board is unweighted coming out of the turn the rail is "released" and water no longer wraps around and over it. In the classic sequence the surfer bottom turns, releases the inside rail and engages the other rail at the top of the wave.

caml Saturday, 19 Dec 2015 at 10:41 am new

Yeah when he told me bb he made me think about it for a wave or 2 as we surfed , then a realization that everything about it was opposite , as if the focus was the water , and then , my focus has been the board & how it holds or if the fins drive , or the outline or rocker make a board stiff or loose . So I had never acknowledged it was a valid explanation for talking about board design, cos thats what it is right ? Board design ?

blindboy Saturday, 19 Dec 2015 at 01:21 pm new

Absolutely caml the release characteristics of a board are fundamental to its performance. The great shapers/designers can work rail profile, plan shape and rocker together to produce the performance characteristics they want.

blindboy Saturday, 19 Dec 2015 at 01:22 pm new

......oh and fin placement and design!

caml Saturday, 19 Dec 2015 at 02:06 pm new

So one word substitutes a whole lot of details and just explains all in one package "release" so the shaper can keep hidden his understanding to make it look like he knows something even though computer shaping has made it so simple

caml Saturday, 19 Dec 2015 at 02:14 pm new

So it explains how badly a board works by focusing on its failures ie spin out , break free . etc

batfink Saturday, 19 Dec 2015 at 02:57 pm new

Craig wrote:

Morning sickness and raw gets used by me a bit. Raw is quite a good one, like when a strong new swell is filling in but along with some windswell contamination, or it's just not being groomed clean or lining up well. 

Raw generally is lots of hard work, sets on the head and trying to find that diamond in the rough.

Same Craig. Whenever I have read it, or used it, I have usually been referring to a new swell that isn't lined up, still wonky, but clearly lots of energy in the water. You wouldn't use it referring to a new 3' swell, to me it refers to something untamed and wild.

Morning sickness, well a few places experience it regularly. Often used to describe a certain break at the Central Coast, where ridiculously it is more often than not bumpy and unwieldy for the dawn patrol, but cleans up as the day wears in, often enough perfect by 9 or 10 am, when all the sleeepyheads arrive. I think I have heard that Manly can be like that too. Is that true Craig or am I making that up?

In the sense that I have heard it used, it is about local conditions, variable winds and alignment of beach which at some beaches is a regular phenomenon, therefore morning sickness.

But no doubt others have used it to mean something else, hence this thread Mr Caml!

wally Saturday, 19 Dec 2015 at 03:40 pm new

Drag and Release. Surfboard rail profiles are all about that, as the rail shape affects how the rail moves in and out of the water.
Dave Parmenter uses both terms here talking about modern surfboard rails.
"Most surfboard rails in use today represent some variation of the down rail (hard rail). This type of rail best suits the modern surfboard, as the soft, round part of the rail grants holding power in turns. The drag and suction of the water wrapping around the rails keep the board from spinning out easily. The tucked-under bottom edge (tucked refers to the rail which is a combination of the soft and hard rail) enables the board to plane faster when driving down the line, as the water flow off of the bottom has a harder time bending over and around the firm edge; it releases straight off at that point, thereby reducing drag."

udo Saturday, 19 Dec 2015 at 03:45 pm new

Caml, have you spoken to Joske re the Outer Island flextails...flex and release ?

caml Saturday, 19 Dec 2015 at 05:16 pm new

wally wrote:

Drag and Release. Surfboard rail profiles are all about that, as the rail shape affects how the rail moves in and out of the water.

Dave Parmenter uses both terms here talking about modern surfboard rails.

"Most surfboard rails in use today represent some variation of the down rail (hard rail). This type of rail best suits the modern surfboard, as the soft, round part of the rail grants holding power in turns. The drag and suction of the water wrapping around the rails keep the board from spinning out easily. The tucked-under bottom edge (tucked refers to the rail which is a combination of the soft and hard rail) enables the board to plane faster when driving down the line, as the water flow off of the bottom has a harder time bending over and around the firm edge; it releases straight off at that point, thereby reducing drag."

Well thats the sort of description I can understand , the word used to describe a specific action . Rather than a whole lot of things at once . Thanks wally

caml Saturday, 19 Dec 2015 at 05:19 pm new

udo wrote:

Caml, have you spoken to Joske re the Outer Island flextails...flex and release ?

A little bit of talk yes udo but can't remember if the release word got used . I doubt it with him , he says things like it went really good , you can turn hard on it , etc

blindboy Saturday, 19 Dec 2015 at 08:33 pm new

caml wrote:

So one word substitutes a whole lot of details and just explains all in one package "release" so the shaper can keep hidden his understanding to make it look like he knows something even though computer shaping has made it so simple

Computer shaping makes it easier to be precise and to adjust single factors while keeping e erything else the same so in that sense it makes design easier.......but if you look at some of the boards on the market it doesn't make up for poor understanding.

groundswell Monday, 21 Dec 2015 at 08:21 pm new

Squirt, not sure what it means seems like its either about turning speed or maybe its about spray, but i didnt really hear or use that one much. Heard it in the 90's a couple of times.
I think its regarding fins but could be about rocker...anyway confuses me a bit.

batfink Tuesday, 22 Dec 2015 at 10:32 am new

"It is what it is."

Some friends use it, one mate hates it.

I tend not to use it.

I know what they're saying, but yeah, surfing lingo nonsense. :-)

caml Tuesday, 22 Dec 2015 at 11:49 am new

Yeah squirt is another one f sure but at least simple , fast might be the translation

Blowin Tuesday, 22 Dec 2015 at 07:36 pm new

I think squirt is more about acceleration than speed Caml.

Release can be a sweet feeling.

Hooking in the pocket and sliding sideways down the face after intentionally losing traction of your fins.

Ill tell you what's got me fucked, that's the oft quoted " You only need one good one, why be greedy ?"

One good one ?

Go in then mate and I'll catch the next thirty sets till Im so fatigued I can't windmill my arms....then I've had enough.