Surfing TR - Here you go Scotsman!

Personally, I think these turns are as legit as the other TAY posts. We just need a way to measure vertical feet ridden. The rules would be a little different. Some equation like: Swell Height X Swells per minute X number of minutes spent in surf. Due to multiple swells coming in at once let's just go for the top five swells and their heights. Now that's just bobbing up and down.

How shall we calculate vert for actually riding a wave? Any ideas?

Essentially I'm lobbying for a quantifiable way to legitimize surfing 5 long rights as a legit qualificaition for the TAY certification of "riding all year".

Now we must tackle the "how much vertical" question.

How about this: Average rate of falling body times time spent on wave...

Now the question is, is there a way to calculate average vertical velocity of the surfer? Would the horizontal speed of the wave get close?

Now we must tackle the "how much vertical" question.

How about this: Average rate of falling body times time spent on wave...

Now the question is, is there a way to calculate average vertical velocity of the surfer?  Would the horizontal speed of the wave get close?

Maybe I can shed some light here from my experiences. This is how it works the higher the face of the wave the faster you go dropping in. Dropping into the face of the wave is pretty much the fastest you go which feels like maybe 40mph on overhead faces. Coming off the bottom can be very fast as well especially after a long drawn out bottom turn, and riding in the trim position to set up for the tube is also very fast, but the drop is always the fastest, and the hairyest, and quite often the most difficult part to control on a large face.
In respect to vertical I would say that the length of the ride could be used in a comparable sense, which is why point breaks are so much fun as the ride is long and the shape of the wave is usually near perfect in the way it breaks. A good way to judge the size of the wave is to compare it to the heighth of the person riding it as in "the waves were overhead today," which would mean that the faces were higher than the surfer when he made his turn after dropping in. Old school surfers and Island surfers estimate the size of waves from the back of the wave, because that's the way it was done so in this respect a six foot wave would actually have a face that might be five or six feet over head, but now I think everyone calls a wave from the front.

Old school surfers and Island surfers estimate the size of waves from the back of the wave, because that's the way it was done so in this respect a six foot wave would actually have a face that might be five or six feet over head,   but now I think everyone calls a wave from the front.

True. Hawaiian standards are about double normal "states" standards. An 8' Hawaiian wave (measured from the back of the wave) is going to be a 16' wave in the states (measured from the face of the wave.

I've never counted my surfing turns as "Turns All Year" turns, although I agree that they could be. I prefer to count my ski turns all year, and try to shoot for my water turns all year too if I can.

As far as measuring vert and such...well, there's a hell of a lot of waiting for the right period swell, and then there's the mishap takeoff and wipeouts. I guess I've just always said if I get my 5 really good rides in for the day, it was a good day.

man i hope ski season starts up soon, otherwise even more frustrated skiers are gonna start making the westport commute

fyi, if any of y'all ever are looking for a place to surf and earn your skiing turns...Pacific City, OR has a mighty fine dune right next to the surf break that is good for sand skiing.

Spending alot of time in the ocean verses the mountains this season. I was down at the jetty the weekend prior.

More surf stoke:


Rich








My reward for paddling out with a fever