Surf jargon busting

By cmjones

For the inexperienced, talking to surfers may be like arriving on a different planet.

But by following North Devon surfer Chloe Hubbard's jargon busting guide, you may stand a chance of 'fitting in'.

BARREL/PIT/TUBE: The tube-shaped air-pocket created in the bowl of the wave as it breaks. Surfers will try to get covered-up inside this part of the wave.

BOWL: The curved green-water section of the wave, closest to the white water.

DROP-IN: When a surfer steals a wave from another surfer who has the right of way on a wave — see the surfing etiquette section.

GOING-OFF: If the surf is "going-off" it means the surf is very good, i.e.: "The surf's going off".

GROCKLE: Someone not indigenous to North Devon, a non local. For instance: "Oh my god I got totally skanked by those grockles at the Marisco last night, they ran off with my chips" would mean "Oh dear, some holiday-makers were mean and nasty — they stole my chips last night in Woolacombe".

GROM/GROMMET: A young or child surfer. In surfing culture groms get a raw deal, and will often be subjected to ritual humiliation and dropping-in on. Older surfers see this as a character building exercise.

KOOK: Someone who lacks surfing ability — may be used to describe a beginner, for instance: "That kook over there just got nailed". Or similarly, when an experienced surfer is surfing poorly: "Oh my god, I'm surfing like a kook today".

LIP: The section at the crest or top of the wave which is about to curl over and break.

RIPPER: Someone who surfs well, if someone is a ripper, they rip. This derives from ripping the wave apart with a series of good quality manoeuvres — a good thing. For instance: "That girl rips" or "He's a total ripper".

SHREDDED: If a surfer shredded a wave, it means they ripped it to pieces, see above.

SICK: Commonly used in surfing to compliment a well-executed manoeuvre, or a good quality wave. For instance: "Did you see that guy pull that air, it was sick". Or "I got some sick pits today at low-tide".

SPRAY: Not the product of an un-castrated tom-cat, but the product of a well-executed manoeuvre. A surfer will create spray when they carve into the wave with their board. As a general rule, the more the spray, the more powerful the manoeuvre.

STOKED: If a surfer is stoked they are incredibly pleased about something: "I'm totally stoked to have won the contest".

WIPE-OUT/NAILED: When a surfer falls off their board while riding a wave. This could be caused by the wave knocking them off, or a personal mistake. For instance "Oh my god that guy just got nailed by the lip" would indicate the lip of the wave had knocked him off. Whereas: "I caught my rail and wiped-out, gutted" would indicate a surfer had made a mistake, and as a result fallen off.