Surfing Dictionary V-Z

Chill were on Hawaiian time...Cool Clothing

Wedge
A wave condition in which two waves converge together and merge in from the sides to create a more powerful A-frame type of wave. A wedge can be created by a reflected wave bouncing off an obstacle like a jetty, rock, or wall and then merging with the original part of the wave that came straight in. A wedge can also be created by a portion of the wave refracting or wrapping in from deeper water like a channel or underwater canyon to merge with the original part of the wave coming straight in. Wedges create good shaped waves with rights and lefts, along with more powerful waves than normal, which naturally attract good surfers.

Wetsuit
Typically made of a synthetic rubber called neoprene, wetsuits are worn by surfers for protection from the oft-chilly waters in which they plunge for pleasure. Contrary to what people in Nebraska think, the suits do not work by keeping the surfer dry, but are instead designed to let water in. The water is then trapped between surfer and suit and subsequently warmed by body heat and, when nature calls, pee-pee. For more see Surfing A-Z

White caps
Ocean chop created by winds over 12 knots. As the wind increases the chop height also increases to a point where the chop becomes so steep and unstable the crest crumbles and breaks creating white water. Choppy conditions with white caps are bad for surfing.

Wide point
The point on a surfboard where width is greatest (see width).

Width
A term referring to the surfboard's dimension from rail to rail, measured at several key points by the designer.

Wind barbs
A graphical symbol of measurement used on weather charts to display wind direction and speeds. The barb points to the direction toward which the wind is blowing. On the tail of the barb are lines and flags to indicate the wind speed. A half line extending off the tail of the barb represents 5 knots; a full line is 10 knots; and each flag is 50 knots. The combinations of these lines and flags represent the sustained wind speed at the barb location.

Wind duration
In wave forecasting, the length of time the wind blows in the same direction over the swell generating area, or the fetch. Duration is one of the three key elements in the fundamental wave generation formula-along with wind velocity and fetch length-used to determine wave heights and wave periods in a storm or wave generating area.

Wind surge
The increase in mean sea level caused by the "piling up" of water on the coastline by wind.

Windswell
A type of swell with a swell period of less than 11 seconds between successive waves. As a rule, the harder the wind blows, and the longer it blows over a longer distance of ocean, the bigger the swell will be and the longer the swell period will be between successive waves. The longer the swell period, the deeper the swell energy extends below the ocean surface, which interacts more with the ocean floor, or the "ground" so to speak. Wind swells are typically "shallow water" swells because they are always generated by local winds with brief duration and over a limited distance of ocean. Wind swell energy doesn't extend very deep below the ocean surface due to the shorter swell period. As such wind swells wrap (refract) very little into spots compared to ground swells which have longer swell periods and can wrap greatly into spots.

Wind velocity
In wave forecasting, the speed of the wind as it blows in the same direction over the swell generating area, or the fetch. Wind velocity is one of the three key elements in the fundamental wave generation formula - along with wind duration and fetch length ¨¢ used to determine wave heights and wave periods in a storm or wave generating area.

Wind Waves
The combination of short period waves initially developed by the wind blowing over the ocean surface. The combination of these wind waves is called sea state, which is the mix of wave heights, periods and wavelengths.

Wing
A cutaway in the tail outline, generally credited to Terry Fitzgerald of Australia in 1971, designed to break the rail line in turns at speed. Later reborn as the "Clayton wing", a bump in the outline of some modern shortboards around the front fins.

Wipeout
The classic term of falling off a surfboard while surfing a wave. Surfing A-Z

Z
Zipperless
Often considered the "holy grail" of wetsuits, as zippers-no matter how tightly made-will always let water through. Invented in '89 by Body Glove, the first zipperless wetsuits were actually way too stiff for surfers to use; by '93, the Japanese came out with another model that was still too stuff, but by '95, most wetsuit companies offered a high end zipperless suit. Advantages include flexibility and warmth; disadvantages include short lifespan (due to super stretchy rubber) and difficult entry/exit.

Zonal
Weather pattern term which means that all of the storm activity in one particular region is moving in a consistent west-to-east pattern along the same latitude. While this can happen anywhere in the world it is usually associated with the Southern Ocean (around Antarctica) and is caused by large ridges of high-pressure in the mid-latitudes 'pancaking' the active storm track into the upper lattitudes. Since most of the swell energy in these storms will only travel the direction the fetch is pointed it means that all of the swell is also going west-to-east. For most of the eastern half of the Pacific (California, Baja, Mainland Mex, and Central America) zonal activity in the SPAC is bad for swell production -- good for an area in its path like Chile -- but bad for the rest of us.

Zulu
Same as GMT or Greenwich Mean Time. Zulu Time is used on weather charts which may display 12Z for 1200 GMT, or 00Z for 0000 GMT. See GMT.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

V
Vee
A bottom shape in which the stringer is lower than the rails when viewed from the side. Originated in the tail area during the late 1960s by Australian designer Bob McTavish and several contemporaries, it allows a board to roll positively from rail to rail in turns. Tail vee was a design standard until the early 1990s, when experiments with concaves and reverse vee (see reverse vee) virtually eliminated it from small wave equipment. Still the preferred bottom contour in many medium to large wave designs.

Velcro
Patented hook and loop fastener, used mainly in zipperless suits to connect overlapping panels and in zippered suits to tighten neck gasket.

Victory at Sea
A surf condition in which the waves are very choppy and windblown. Derived from the old classic "Victory At Sea" TV shows in the 60's, in which the intro showed US Navy destroyers plowing through huge stormy seas in the open ocean.

W
Wahine
Hawaiian word for a female; used to describe a female surfer.

Warranty (for Wetsuits)
Depends on manufacturer; often one year on materials and lifetime on seams, but as suits get more flexible, many only last one season before they start falling apart.

Waterman
A person boasting total mastery of all oceanic endeavors, the revered waterman can fish, dive, surf, windsurf, kayak, bodysurf, interpret complex weather data, save the odd drowning man, etc. Generally built like a tank and typically soft-spoken (choosing to let his actions do the talking), loner watermen fear neither tempest nor shark and rarely head for higher ground. If need be, he can survive entirely on self-harvested ocean bounty, spearing his food from the nearby reefs he'll surf over when the swell is up. Surfing A-Z

Wave decay
As waves move out of the storm area where they were created, they decrease greatly in size within the first thousand miles (more than 60 percent) and slowly thereafter. This is caused by three factors: short-period waves and chop dissipating rapidly once outside of the wind-generation area; directional spreading of waves as they move away from the storm at different angles and the separation of waves as they travel forward at different speeds after leaving the storm area.

Wave Height
The vertical distance between a wave crest and the trough.

Wave Length
The distance between successive wave crests.

Wave Period
The time in seconds between successive wave crests as they pass a stationary point on the ocean surface, such as a buoy.

Wave Spectrum
The mathematical equation showing the distribution of wave energy in the different wave frequencies or wave periods. By analyzing the wave spectrum with LOLA, Surfline forecasters are able to separate the wave trains at a specific location like a buoy or a point on a swell model. This allows us to filter out unimportant wave and swell energy, so we can isolate the important wave and swell energy, which will greatly affect the accuracy of the surf forecast for a specific location.

Wave Steepness
The ratio of the wave height to the wavelength. A term used by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) to describe the dominant sea state at a buoy. For a given wave height, steep waves represent a more serious threat to capsizing vessels or damaging marine structures than broad swell.

Wave Train
The independent swell or waves in the wave spectrum, which have originated from the same storm or fetch of wind, and are moving in the same direction. At a single location like a buoy, there may be a combination of different wave trains present, which have each originated from separate areas of generation. As an example, there may be a swell from the South, a swell from the West, and a local wind wave out of the Northeast. Each of these wave events are separate wave trains, which combine to constitute the wave spectrum at that location.

Wave
A ridge of energy on the surface of the water, caused by a disturbance, which then progresses from one point to another. Wind waves are generated by friction between the wind and the water that transfers energy to the water in the form of waves. As the waves grow larger with continued wind, the energy will also transfer deeper below the ocean surface. As the waves move out of the storm area, the stronger waves with more energy below the ocean surface (longer period waves with greater wavelengths) will maintain their strength over distance and will be characterized as deep water waves or swell. Smaller, shorter period waves generally limited to the ocean surface will tend to decay more rapidly after leaving the wave generating area. As the waves eventually arrive along the coast they will shoal over shallower water and break, becoming surf.

Wax
A substance rubbed on the top or deck of a surfboard for traction. Needed due to the slippery nature of a board's original fiberglass surface. Surf wax comes in many different varieties: softer wax for colder water temperatures, and harder wax for warmer water temperatures. Different textures like stickier wax or wax that creates a bumpier surface. NOTE: It's thought that the use of wax on surfboard decks stems from a Palos Verdes surfer of the 1940s who took his Mom's floor wax and used it for the purpose. Surfing A-Z

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