Surfing Sleep Facts

Surfing, the ancient art of standing on wood while water moves under you, has somehow endured from Polynesian rituals to Olympic events. From Peruvian reed boards to the chilled-out surf culture of today, it’s a long, sleepy paddle through history—perfect for bedtime stories and insomnia relief.

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast,

Where I help you learn a little and sleep a lot.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster,

And this episode is about surfing.

Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual,

A surfer,

Or two in tandem surfing uses a board to ride on the forward section or face of a moving wave of water,

Which usually carries a surfer towards the shore.

Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on ocean shores,

But can also be found as standing waves in the open ocean,

In lakes and rivers,

In the form of a tidal bore or wave pools.

Surfing includes all forms of wave riding using a board,

Regardless of the stance.

The Moche of Peru would often surf on reed craft,

While the native peoples of the Pacific surfed waves on alaya,

Pipo,

And other such watercraft.

Ancient cultures often surfed on their belly and knees,

While modern day surfing is most often stand-up surfing,

In which a surfer rides a wave while standing on a surfboard.

Another prominent form of surfing is bodyboarding,

Where a surfer rides the wave on a bodyboard,

Either lying on their belly,

Drop knee,

One foot and one knee on the board,

Or sometimes even standing up on a bodyboard.

Other types of surfing include kneeboarding,

Surf matting,

Riding inflatable surfboards,

And using foils.

Body surfing,

In which the wave is caught and ridden using the surfer's own body rather than a board,

Is very common and is considered by some surfers to be the purest form of surfing.

The closest form of body surfing,

Using a board,

Is a handboard which normally has one strap over it to fit on one hand.

Surfers who bodyboard,

Body surf,

Or handboard feel more drag as they move through the water than stand-up surfers do.

This holds body surfers into a more turbulent part of the wave,

Often completely submerged by whitewater.

In contrast,

Surfers who instead ride a hydrofoil feel substantially less drag and may ride unbroken waves in the open ocean.

Three major subdivisions within stand-up surfing are stand-up paddling,

Longboarding,

And shortboarding,

With several major differences,

Including the board design and length,

The riding style,

And the kind of wave that is ridden.

In tow-end surfing,

Most often,

But not exclusively,

Associated with big wave surfing,

A motorized water vehicle,

Such as a personal watercraft,

Tows the surfer into the wavefront,

Helping the surfer match a large wave's speed,

Which is generally a higher speed than a self-propelled surfer can produce.

Surfing-related sports,

Such as paddleboarding and sea kayaking,

That are self-propelled by hand paddles,

Do not require waves,

And other derivative sports,

Such as kite surfing and windsurfing,

Rely primarily on wind for power.

Yet,

All of these platforms may also be used to ride waves.

Recently,

With the use of V-drive boats,

Wakesurfing,

In which one surfs on the wake of a boat,

Has emerged.

As of 2023,

The Guinness Book of World Records recognized a 26.

2-meter wave ride by Sebastian Stoitner in Nácaré,

Portugal.

As the largest wave ever surfed.

During the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere,

The North Shore in Oahu,

The third-largest island of Hawaii,

Is known for having some of the best waves in the world.

Surfers from around the world flock to breaks like Backdoor,

Waimea Bay,

And Pipeline.

However,

There are still many popular surf spots around the world.

Teahupo,

Located off of the coast of Tahiti,

Mavericks,

California,

In the United States,

Cloud Break,

Tavarua Island,

Fiji,

Superbank,

Gold Coast,

Australia.

In 2016,

Surfing was added by the International Olympic Committee,

IOC,

As an Olympic sport to begin at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan.

The first gold medalists of the Tokyo 2020 surfing men and women's competitions were,

Respectively,

The Brazilian Ítalo Ferreira and the American from Hawaii,

Carissa Moore.

About 3,

000 to 5,

000 years ago,

Cultures in ancient Peru fished in kayak-like watercraft,

Mochica,

Made of reeds,

That the fishermen surfed back to shore.

The Moche culture used the caballito de Totora,

Little horse of Totora,

With archaeological evidence showing its use around 200 CE.

An early description of the Inca surfing in Callao was documented by a Jesuit missionary,

José de Acosta,

In his 1590 publication Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias,

Writing,

It is true to see them go fishing in Callao de Lima,

Was for me a thing of great recreation,

Because there were many,

And each one in a balcilla caballero,

Or sitting stubbornly,

Cutting the waves of the sea,

Which is rough where they fish.

They looked like the Tritons or Neptunes who paint upon the water.

In Polynesian culture,

Surfing was an important activity.

Modern surfing as we know it today is thought to have originated in Hawaii.

The history of surfing dates to circa AD 400 in Polynesia,

Where Polynesians began to make their way to the Hawaiian islands from Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands.

They brought many of their customs with them,

Including playing in the surf,

On paipo,

Belly bodyboards.

It was in Hawaii that the art of standing and surfing upright on boards was invented.

Various European explorers witnessed surfing in Polynesia.

Surfing may have been observed by British explorers at Tahiti in 1767.

Samuel Wallace and the crew members of HMS Dolphin were the first Britons to visit the islands in June of that year.

Another candidate is the botanist Joseph Banks,

Who was part of the first voyage of James Cook on HMS Endeavor,

Arriving on Tahiti on the 10th of April,

1769.

Lieutenant James King was the first person to write about the art of surfing on Hawaii when he was completing the journals of Captain James Cook.

Upon Cook's death in 1779.

In Herman Melville's 1849 novel,

Mardi,

Based on his experiences in Polynesia earlier that decade,

The narrator describes the rare sport at Ohono'o.

Title of chapter 90.

For this sport,

A surfboard is indispensable.

Some five feet in length,

The width of a man's body,

Convex on both sides,

Highly polished,

And rounded at the ends.

It is held in high estimation,

Invariably oiled after use,

And hung up conspicuously in the dwelling of the owner.

When Mark Twain visited Hawaii in 1866,

He wrote,

In one place he came upon a large company of natives of all ages amusing themselves with the national pastime of surf bathing.

References to surf riding on planks and single canoe hulls are also verified for pre-contact Samoa,

Where surfing was called fa'ase'e or se'galu,

And Tonga far predating the practice of surfing by Hawaiians and eastern Polynesians by over a thousand years.

West Africans,

E.

G.

Ghana,

Ivory Coast,

Liberia,

Senegal,

And western Central Africans,

E.

G.

Cameroon,

Independently develop the skill of surfing.

Amid the 1640s CE,

Michael Hemmersam provided an account of surfing in the Gold Coast.

The parents tie their children to boards and throw them into the water.

In 1679 CE,

Barbutt provided an account of surfing among Elmina children in Ghana.

Children at Elmina learn to swim on bits of boards or small bundles of rushes fastened under their stomachs,

Which is a good diversion to the spectators.

James Alexander provided an account of surfing in Accra,

Ghana in 1834 CE.

From the beach,

Meanwhile,

Might be seen boys swimming into the sea with light boards under their stomachs.

They waited for a surf and came rolling like a cloud on top of it.

Thomas Hutchinson provided an account of surfing in southern Cameroon in 1861.

Fishermen rowed small dugouts no more than six feet in length,

Fourteen to sixteen inches in width,

And from four to six inches in depth.

In July 1885,

Three teenage Hawaiian princes took a break from their boarding school,

St.

Matthew's Hall in San Mateo,

And came to cool off in Santa Cruz,

California.

There,

David Kavananakoa,

Edward Keliʻiʻahonui,

And Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole surfed the mouth of the San Lorenzo River on custom-shaped redwood boards,

According to surf historians Kim Stoner and Jeff Dunn.

In 1890,

The pioneer in agricultural education,

John Wrightson,

Reputedly became the first British surfer when instructed by two Hawaiian students at his college.

George Freeth,

1883-1919,

Of English and Native Hawaiian descent,

Is generally credited as the person who had done more than anyone else to renew interest in surfing at Waikiki in the early 20th century,

After the sport had declined in popularity in Hawaii during the latter half of the 19th century.

In 1907,

The eclectic interests of land developer Abbott Kinney,

Founder of Venice of America,

Now Venice,

California,

Helped bring Freeth to California.

Freeth had sought the help of the Hawaiian Promotion Committee,

HPC,

In Honolulu,

To sponsor him on a trip to California to give surfing exhibitions.

The HPC arranged through their contacts in Los Angeles to secure a contract for Freeth to perform at Venice of America in July 1907.

Later that year,

Land baron Henry E.

Huntington brought surfing to Redondo Beach.

Looking for a way to entice visitors to his own budding resort community,

South of Venice,

Where he had heavily invested in real estate,

He hired Freeth as a lifeguard and to give surfing exhibitions in front of the Hotel Redondo.

Another Native Hawaiian,

Duke Kahanamoku,

Spread surfing to both the U.

S.

And Australia,

Riding the waves after displaying the swimming prowess that won him Olympic gold medals in 1912 and 1920.

Marianne Hawkins,

Inspired by Duke Kahanamoku's surfing during the late 1920s,

Developed a lifelong passion for surfing.

In 1935,

Her family relocated to Santa Monica,

Providing her with opportunities to further immerse herself in surfing and paddleboarding.

On September 12,

1936,

Hawkins achieved a historic milestone by winning California's first women's paddleboard race at the Santa Monica Breakwater.

She continued to dominate the sport,

Winning numerous competitions,

Including the women's half-mile paddleboard race and the Venice Breakwater event in 1938.

Both held on the same day.

Hawkins was also a pioneer in tandem surfing,

A discipline that highlights synchronized surfing between two individuals on a single board.

She gained further recognition in 1939 when she performed exhibition paddleboarding and tandem surfing displays at various Southern California beaches,

Inspiring a new generation of women surfers.

In January 1939,

Hawkins was appointed head of the women's auxiliary group of the Santa Monica Paddle Club and rose to vice president by January 1940.

Her surfing peers frequently lauded her achievements,

With Whitey Harrison describing her as the best tandem rider.

Throughout her career,

Hawkins exemplified grace and athleticism,

Leaving an indelible mark on the history of women's surfing and paddleboarding.

In 1975,

A professional tour started.

That year,

Margo Oberg became the first female professional surfer.

Swell is generated when the wind blows consistently over a large space of open water,

Called the wind's fetch.

The size of a swell is determined by the strength of the wind and the length of its fetch and duration.

Because of these factors,

The surf tends to be larger and more prevalent on coastlines exposed to large expanses of ocean traversed by intense low-pressure systems.

Local wind conditions affect wave quality,

Since the surface of a wave can become choppy in blustery conditions.

Ideal conditions include a light to moderate offshore wind because it blows into the front of the wave,

Making it a barrel or tube wave.

Waves are left-handed and right-handed,

Depending upon the break formation of the wave.

Waves are generally recognized by the surfaces over which they break.

For example,

There are beach breaks,

Reef breaks,

And point breaks.

The most important influence on wave shape is the topography of the seabed directly behind and immediately beneath the breaking wave.

Each break is different since each location's underwater topography is unique.

At beach breaks,

Sandbanks change shape from week to week.

Surf forecasting is aided by advances in information technology.

Mathematical modeling graphically depicts the size and direction of swells around the globe.

Swell regularity varies across the globe and throughout the year.

During winter,

Heavy swells are generated in the mid-latitudes when the north and south polar fronts shift toward the equator.

The predominantly westerly winds generate swells that advance eastward,

So waves tend to be largest on west coast during winter months.

However,

An endless train of mid-latitude cyclones cause the isobars to become undulated,

Redirecting swells at regular intervals toward the tropics.

East coasts also receive heavy winter swells when low-pressure cells form in the subtropics,

Where slow-moving highs inhibit their movement.

These lows produce a shorter fetch than polar fronts,

However,

They can still generate heavy swells since their slower movement increases the duration of a particular wind direction.

The variables of fetch and duration both influence how long wind acts over a wave as it travels,

Since a wave reaching the end of a fetch behaves as if the wind died.

During summer,

Heavy swells are generated when cyclones form in the tropics.

Tropical cyclones form over warm seas,

So their occurrence is influenced by El Niño and La Niña cycles.

Their movements are unpredictable.

Surf travel and some surf camps offer surfers access to remote tropical locations,

Where trade winds ensure offshore conditions.

Since winter swells are generated by mid-latitude cyclones,

Their regularity coincides with the passage of these lows.

Swells arrive in pulses,

Each lasting for a couple of days,

With a few days between each swell.

The availability of free model data from the NOAA has allowed the creation of several surf forecasting websites.

Tube shape is defined by length to width ratio.

A perfectly cylindrical vortex has a ratio of 1 to 1.

Other forms include square,

Less than 1 to 1,

Round,

1 or 2 to 1,

Almond,

Greater than 2 to 1.

Peel or peeling off as a descriptive term for the quality of a break has been defined as a fast,

Clean,

Evenly falling curl line,

Perfect for surfing and usually found at point breaks.

Tube speed is the rate of advance of the break along the length of the wave,

And is the speed at which the surfer must move along the wave to keep up with the advance of the tube.

Tube speed can be described using the peel angle and wave celerity.

Peel angle is the angle between the wave front and the horizontal projection of the point of break over time,

Which in a regular break is most easily represented by the line of white water left after the break.

A break that closes out,

Or breaks all at once along its length,

Leaves white water parallel to the wave front,

And has a peel angle of 0 degrees.

This is unsurfable,

As it would require infinite speed to progress along the face fast enough to keep up with the break.

A break with advances along the wave face more slowly will leave a line of new white water at an angle to the line of the wave face.

In most cases,

A peel angle less than 25 degrees is too fast to surf.

Fast is 30 degrees,

Medium 45 degrees,

And slow 60 degrees.

The type of break depends on shoaling rate.

Breaking waves can be classified as four basic types,

Spilling,

Plunging,

Collapsing,

And surging,

And which type occurs depends on the slope of the bottom.

Waves suitable for surfing break as spilling or plunging types,

And when they also have a suitable peel angle,

Their value for surfing is enhanced.

Other factors,

Such as wave height and period,

And wind strength and direction,

Can also influence steepness and intensity of the break.

But the major influence on the type and shape of breaking waves is determined by the slope and the seabed before the break.

The breaker type index and Iribarra number allow classification of breaker type as a function of wave steepness and seabed slope.

The value of good surf in attracting surf tourism has prompted the construction of artificial reefs and sandbars.

Artificial surfing reefs can be built with durable sandbags or concrete and resemble a submerged breakwater.

These artificial reefs not only provide a surfing location,

But also dissipate wave energy and shelter the coastline from erosion.

Ships,

Such as Sully 1,

That have accidentally stranded on sandy bottoms can create sandbanks that give rise to good waves.

An artificial reef known as Chevron Reef was constructed in El Segundo,

California in hopes of creating a new surfing area.

However,

The reef failed to produce any quality waves and was removed in 2008.

In Kovalam,

Southwest India,

An artificial reef has successfully provided the local community with a quality,

Left-hander,

Stabilized coastal soil erosion and provided good habitat for marine life.

ASR Limited,

A New Zealand-based company,

Constructed the Kovalam Reef and is working on another reef in Boscombe,

England.

Even with artificial reefs in place,

A tourist vacation time may coincide with a flat spell when no waves are available.

Completely artificial wave pools aim to solve that problem by controlling all the elements that go into creating perfect surf.

However,

There are only a handful of wave pools that can simulate good surfing waves,

Owing primarily to construction and operation costs and potential liability.

Most wave pools generate waves that are too small and lack the power necessary to surf.

The Segaia Ocean Dome,

Located in Miyazaki,

Japan,

Was an example of a surfable wave pool.

Able to generate waves with up to 3 meter faces,

A specialized pump held water in 20 vertical tanks.

Positioned along the back edge of the pool,

This allowed the waves to be directed as they approached the artificial sea floor.

Lefts,

Rights,

And A-frames could be directed from this pump design,

Providing for rippable surf and barrel rides.

The Ocean Dome comes about 2 billion dollars to build and was expensive to maintain.

The Ocean Dome was closed in 2007.

In England,

Construction is nearing completion on the Wave,

Situated near Bristol,

Which will enable people unable to get on the coast to enjoy the waves in a controlled environment set in the heart of nature.

There are two main types of artificial waves that exist today.

One being artificial or stationary waves,

Which simulate a moving,

Breaking wave by pumping a layer of water against a smooth structure mimicking the shape of a breaking wave.

Because of the velocity of the rushing water,

The wave and the surfer can remain stationary while the water rushes by under the surfboard.

Artificial waves of this kind provide the opportunity to try surfing and learn its basics in a moderately small and controlled environment near or far from locations with natural surf.

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Reviews

Sleep was sadly elusive last night in spite of “surfing’s” efforts. A second listen did the trick thankfully! Thanks, Benjamin! 😊

I have to try this one again, Benjamin! I think I made it 2 sentences and your slow, methodical voice did the trick.