March
6

The Long and Short of It

Waves, waves, waves. Over the past couple of months we have learned a lot about waves; how waves are made, wind conditions, where and what direction waves break, and swell direction. Now what board do is best for you?

Surfboards. They are not all created equal. Long, short, fun, fish, mini…choosing and riding the right board can get quite completed. Let’s start with the basics.

  1. A Longboard ranges from 9′-10’+. Mini-longboards are in the 8′ range and “Fun” boards in the 7′ range. Shortboards are in the 6’s to as short of a “stick” that you can ride.

    Surfboard Evolution

  2. When you just start surfing, a longer board is better. Like 9 + feet. We know, this may seem contrary to what you thought, “Isn’t a longboard harder to control?” Technically yes, but a longboard offers more stability and it’s easier to catch more waves, two keys for beginner surfers. AND if you decide to stick with using longboards, you can start to do some fancy footwork called cross-stepping like Team Rider Kristen below!
  3. As you progress in surfing, you can start “stepping down” and playing around with board length. Smaller boards are easier to carry, you can duck dive with them, and you have the ability to do stronger turns. But with a shorter board, you have to work harder to paddle and catch waves, and your wave take-off point is closer to the peak - which takes an adjustment. Don’t sacrifice wave catching ability only so you can say you surf a shorter board! Sure, the smaller board may be easier to carry down the beach and travel with, but if you are catching fewer waves in the water because your board is too short, then you are missing out on the fun!

    Longboards, shortboards, funboards, oh my!

  4. Wave size and conditions help dictate what board in your “quiver” you should use. For example, Tamarindo is a great longboard wave vs Playa Grande, a couple miles down the beach, is a better short board spot. This is because Tamarindo tends to have more of a rideable shoulder, is not as a fast breaking wave as Playa Grande, and smaller wave size.

Sound confusing? We like to say, “keep it simple.” Chose one board and ride that board until you get comfortable on that board. Each board has a “sweet spot”, and switching out boards every day just gets too confusing!

 

January
30

Surf Science: Swell Direction

Izzy Poulin in the Dominican Republic. Photo by @jake_of_all_trades

In our other Surf Science posts, we’ve covered how waves are made, where and what direction they break, and wind conditions. Now we have to consider where the waves are coming from, swell direction.

Swells come from all different directions (North, South, East, or West), depending on where you are located in the world and where the storm that is generating the swell. Swell direction is also further forecasted in degrees on a compass. For example, a South West swell is coming from the South West (and heading to the North East) and you can see from the diagram that the angle would be 225 degrees (numbers on the outside edge).

A quick break down on degrees is:

North Swell (0 Degrees) = Heading South

East Swell (90 Degrees) = Heading West

South Swell (180 Degrees) = Heading North

West Swell (270 Degrees) = Heading East

Then we need to consider what direction your beach faces (North, South, East, or West). For example, our home break Tamarindo faces North-West. The best waves usually are generated from a North or West swell. These swells typically come from Alaska during the Northern Hemisphere winter at 265°- 310°. If you cross the river mouth here in Tamarindo and surf Playa Grande which faces South-West, the best swells come from the South at 170° – 240°. These swells are usually generated during the Southern Hemisphere winter.

Tamarindo during a North swell. Photo by team rider Kristen Brown.

So what happens if you live in Tamarindo and there is a South swell??? There is potential for the swell to refract and still produce waves in Tamarindo (in general the swell angle needs to be greater than 210°). The waves will be smaller since the swell is not a direct hit to Tamarindo, BUT some waves are better than no waves! And, at times the swell can be too powerful and direct for Playa Grande, so more surfable waves happen to be in Tamarindo.

Sound a bit confusing? Don’t worry, just like weather forecasting, surf forecasting can be wrong. Our rule of thumb is to just show up and the beach, paddle out and have some fun!

 

September
5

Wave Science

What a week of waves! Last week, the East and West coast in the US saw great waves thanks to hurricanes. Our Facebook and Instagram newsfeed were full of pictures and videos that made us salivate! It’s rare that both coasts in the US get swell at the same time, so what happened?

Newport. Photo by Rick Loomis

Malibu. Photo by Rick Loomis

Malibu

Hurricanes. That’s what. Surfers love hurricanes. (As long as they can benefit from the waves, and not get their houses flooded.)

Southern California lit up, especially Malibu and Newport Beach, with swell generated by Hurricane Marie. And on the East coast, surfers scored too; Hurricane Cristobal generated major waves.

Photo: Lusk

Photo: Lusk

We hear California is gearing up for even more waves. Here in Costa Rica, we are stoked to see the swell building into the weekend. When we get waves like this, everyone is out surfing (if they can handle the size.)

With all these waves, we thought we would share a simplified version of how waves are formed. (Many thanks to this site and Surfline, where we got a refresher.)

How are waves formed?

Waves are made when wind transfers its energy from the air to the water. Three factors influence how big the waves get.

  • Speed of wind: The faster the wind is traveling, the bigger a wave will be.
  • Distance of wind: The farther the wind travels against the wave, the bigger it will be.
  • Time of wind: The longer the length of time the wind is hitting the wave, the bigger it will be.

As waves grow larger, the distance between waves will grows too.

The biggest waves are created by storms out at sea [like Hurricane Marie and Cristobal last week]. They start out as huge, choppy waves and gradually become strong, smooth peaks (swell). The swell drags against the ocean floor as it gets nearer to the beach. That dragging causes friction, which causes the wave to grow taller, slow down and eventually break.

The shape of the ocean floor and the direction of the wind are the two main factors that cause a wave to break (crash). The best surfing waves are usually caused by sand bars, rocky points breaks or reefs. These underwater features cause the ocean floor to rise steeply, and they create the hollow tubes that surfers love. For an extreme example, look at this image from Surfline of Teahupo’o. Thousands of miles of Ocean and energy meet a really abrupt coral reef shelf… and create an amazing tube (and a devastating wipeout!)

Waves break more gently and farther out if the slope of the ocean floor is gradual. This is why certain beaches and surf spots are better than others.

Got it? That is the basics of how waves are formed. Then throw in swell direction, wind conditions, and tide, and you have the basics for surf forecasting for your surf break.

Now #getoutthere and go surf!

 

Our weekend plans…