Surfing types of waves

The difficulty of the waves and the pirouettes on it are measurable in the World Surfing Championship. The difficulty of this sport lies in both the speed and the size and shape of the waves. The waves suitable for surfing navigated style are those that evolve and develop the wall and break the foam progressively to the right or left.

To identify suitable conditions for surfing, use the description of various elements or parts of the wave:

Wall is the part of the wave that rises up above the horizontal line of the water surface at various angles or even vertically. It is the part of the wave on which the surfer browses.

Lip is the part of the wall where foam falls immediately on top of the stretch of the wall, and just on that section.

Arm: (English shoulder, shoulder) is the volume of water contained on the wall, i.e., the length of the wave that can be surfed.

Hole: parts of the wall and the arm that takes on a concave presence, which can be projected rapidly on the body of the surfer to go to the table on them.

Tube: hollow space folded under the fall of a curly lip moving forward and following the break of the wave.

Crest: top of the wave.

Appointing several types of wave in response to your form:
Shorepound waves break very close to shore and are dangerous, especially against the background of collisions.

Hollow is the adjective that waves receive whose form rises cylindrically creating a section where the force vectors configuration allows a stronger navigation above the table.

Tube wave is a hollow breaking wave curling over itself so that it defines a full cylindrical space within which it can still control the navigation on the table under the lip of water falling from the top of the wall of the wave.
Fofa: in Spain, is named after the hollow waves that break, or those that are almost all foam.

Barra is the wave that breaks large portions of the lip to fall at the same time, closing the wall abruptly, making them unsuitable for surfing waves.

They are classified according to size (in the majority of surfing locales):

Less than 1.50 meters to 2 meters high walls are considered small waves, and “comfortable;” that is, common height.

Up to 2 meters waves are considered medium or “normal.”

From 2 meters of wall is considered big-wave surfing. Then the proportion is defined by adjectives of a different scale, whose highest levels are exceeded in several tens of feet.

The size of the waves on surf is measured depending on the culture where one surfs:

Behind them, the classic style as in Hawaiian Islands;

On the front: from sea level with the highest point of the ridge, as is usual in the rest of Spain;

Compared with human body parts: (wave of shoulders, waist, wave, wave of man and a half). On the north coast of the Iberian Peninsula, often the word “metro” is used for a similar measure of a man upright and bent, i.e., the average height of a surfer in action on the wave.

The behavior of the waves varies greatly with the background on which they break:

On the sand. These waves are usually less violent, since the forms of shoals or taro are rarely prosecuted, constantly shaped by the action of tides, currents and waves, and consequently offer less resistance to the blows of the sea and the waves. The sandbanks are not completely stable and the waves of sand from some sites are not the same every year.

Rocky reefs (surf rock). These are the most stable, when sea conditions bring good waves, close to the reef.

Coral reefs. These are reputed to be the best waves, as the constant action of hard corals and sponge animals living under these breakers form a barrier that fits the wave in an almost magical motion. They are usually hollow and strong, and are popular for surfing.

The adequacy of either type depends on each location, and upon the nature of tides, currents and sea winds received in an area.

In depth: coral reefs and rock are the most dangerous.
On the sand banks, depending on the type of coastal topography, the proximity of rocks favors or not the formation of banks, the presence of bays, currents, and so forth due to the closeness of the reef to the shore or coastal cliffs.

Current trends

In the twenty-first century, interest in surfing has greatly increased, and now everything in surfing is taking the extreme: air, big waves, maneuvers in general, variants of surfing (stand up paddle), mutant waves, competitions, etc.

Even the styles are improving; surfers like Jordy Smith are combining styles with more polish than ever seen before and performing seemingly impossible maneuvers. Another very progressive surfer is Clay Marzo, whose tailslide and tubes are some of the best ever seen.

In short, the tendency is to take everything to extremes, which makes surfing an increasingly spectacular sport. This in turn attracts more and more people, both as spectators and as participants.