Surf glossary

Aéreo — an aerial: the surfer moving in flight, above the crest of the wave.

Agueiro — a rip current that pulls from the land out to sea. It is usually spotted because sand comes to the surface, and because that stretch of water has more movement and more activity.

Backside — the surfer travels sideways, with their back to the wave.

Beachbreak — a wave that breaks over a sandy bottom.

Bico-de-pato — a duck dive, inspired by the way ducks dive under waves. It lets you stay in the same position and be dragged little, or not at all, by the waves.

Blank — a prefabricated block of polyurethane plastic from which the shape is made (the inside of the surfboard).

Chop — also known as a strap or a leash: a urethane cord that attaches the surfboard to the surfer.

Cortar a Onda — the surfer travels along the wave, parallel to the beach, "ahead of" the whitewater.

Curvas S — subtle touches from one rail to the other, made to create speed.

Cutbacks — prolonged turns on the rail, made with speed and control.

Deck — the top of the surfboard: the place, or surface, where the surfer puts their feet.

Direitas — right-hand waves: waves that break from right to left, from the point of view of someone on the beach.

Dropar a onda — the drop: coming down the wave at the exact moment it is about to break.

Drop-in — also dropinar: interference when a surfer takes off farther from the critical section, stealing the wave from the opponent who did the take-off in the more critical section.

Esquerdas — left-hand waves: waves that break from left to right, from the point of view of someone on the beach.

Estilo — style: an individual's way of interpreting how manoeuvres are performed.

Feeling — the sensation that comes from catching a wave and flowing with its energy.

Freesurf — surfing done outside competition.

Frontside — the surfer travels sideways, facing the wave. A goofy surfer, right foot forward, rides to the left. A regular surfer rides facing forward, to the right.

Fundo (da prancha) — the bottom of the surfboard: the surface in contact with the water. For example, "a double concave bottom is what Ana prefers on her surfboards."

Glass — sea and weather conditions in which there is no wind at all.

Goofy — a person who surfs with the right foot forward. They ride frontside on left-hand waves and backside on right-hand waves.

Grommet — a young, dedicated surfer.

Heat — a round in competitive surfing. It lasts 20 minutes, and the surfer is scored on their two best waves of the heat.

Inside — the breaking zone closest to shore; the area where the smaller waves break.

Interferências — a penalty given to a surfer who, during a heat, breaks one or more of the competition rules of respect for opponents.

ISA — International Surfing Association.

Juiz — a judge: a professional who, in contests, scores surfers according to the high-performance criteria of the World Surf League (WSL).

Lip da Onda — the lip of the wave: its crest.

Longboard — a large surfboard, generally for small waves, over 9'0 feet, with a rounded nose.

Mar a fechar — a closeout: waves with a less than perfect shape, with potential for only one or two manoeuvres.

Painel de Juizes — a judging panel: a group of people who score surfers from 0 to 10 during a contest.

Pointbreak — a wave that breaks over a rocky bottom, with one predominant direction. For example, Buarcos is a right-hand pointbreak.

Power — the force with which manoeuvres are performed on a wave, generally measured by the amount of water the surfer projects off the surfboard.

Projecção — projection: the speed at which a manoeuvre is made, so as to set up the next one.

Quilha — a fin: a piece used to steer the surfboard. It comes in several sizes, shapes and positions on the surfboard, from a single fin (one fin on the surfboard), to a twin (two fins), to a thruster (three fins), to a quad (four fins), to a bonzer (five fins).

Rail — the edge of the surfboard (where the thickness of a surfboard is measured).

Reefbreak — a wave that breaks suddenly over a bottom of rock or coral.

Regular — a person who surfs with the left foot forward.

Shaper — the architect: the person who gives a surfboard its shape and defines all of its dimensions.

Swell — waves created by winds on the open sea, very far from the coast. For example, "today I saw on Beachcam that the swell will be from the west at two metres."

Tail — the lower end of the surfboard. Examples: swallow, squash, round pin, pin, bat, fish.

Top Turns — fast turns made on the upper, more critical parts of the wave.

Tubos — the tube, the ultimate manoeuvre in surfing: the surfer is placed inside the wave and moves through it at high speed.