Surfing lingo in Kuta Bali

Bali has a very strong surf culture with people coming from all over the world to enjoy the almost year round dependable waves.

The monthes of June-Aug are the best but its almost guaranteed that with the swells that come off of the Indian Ocean and the unique geography of Bali’s south coast that you will find waves breaking somewhere.

In guest houses, warungs and internet cafes you can hear surfers discussing how yesterday’s surf was, how its supposed to be today and the peculiarities of their board.

For a non surfer who is in Bali and is thinking of giving it a go here’s a guide to some of the jargon you might hear.

Barrel : A wave that is breaking and forms a tube large enough for a surfer to ride inside.

Beach Break: Waves that come into shore and crashes in front of the beach. Not the best for experienced surfers but a good starting point for beginners.

Bukit: The huge limestone plateau that juts out at the bottom end of Bali. This is where the best breaks are found and places like Uluwatu, Padang Padang and Bingin are legendary.

Closed Out: A wave that crashes quickly and is not worth trying to surf. Beach breaking waves tend to close out early as they come in very straight.

Ding: Dent in the surfboard.

Dropping In: This is a touchy subject and people have their own attitudes and stories on this. Basically if a surfer gets on a wave in front of where its breaking it is bad manners to ‘drop in’ in front of him’.

Face: The front of the wave that the surfer uses.

Fins: The rudder-like objects in the rear of the surfboard. These hold the board steady in the water and come in single, twin or tri’s. ‘Glassed in’ fins cannot be removed whereas FCS fins are removeable and better for transporting.

Glassy: Waves that are perfectly shaped and have a ‘glassy’ look to them.

Left hander: These are waves that breaks to the surfer’s left.

Leg Rope: The rope that joins the surfboard to the surfer’s ankle. A vital piece of equipment.

Lip: The top of the wave that is the first part that starts to crash.

Nose: Front end of the surfboard.

Offshore Winds: Winds that blow from the land to the ocean. These are desirable as they blow the wave face bigger.

Onshore Winds: Winds that blow from the ocean to the land. These are not desirable as they fold waves over making them harder to surf.

Rail: Side of the surfboard. Can come in various shapes and affects how the board will perform in the water.

Rash Vest: A stretchy shirt with polo neck that protects against the rubbing of the board and the sun. Comes in long and short sleeves. Best to get a reasonably tight fitting vest so as not to get saggy when in the water.

Reef Break: Waves that break over a coral reef. Only experienced surfers should surf on a reef.

Right handers: Waves that break to the surfer’s right.

Rip Tides: A flow of water that goes straight out from shore. Impossible to swim against it is created when water flows between 2 sandbars. If you get caught in a ‘rip’ swim parallel to the beach until you are out of it. They are usually not very wide.

Rocker: The amount of upward curve in the nose and tail of the surfboard. A flatter board will travel faster across the water, a more curved board will handle better on a reef break.

Sneaker Sets: Decent waves that come out of nowhere. In Karangasem the surf can come out of nowhere and sneaker sets are possible.

Tail: Back end of the surfboard.

Three Sixty: When a surfer does a complete turn on a wave.

Tube: Same as a barrel.

Walling: When a surfer surfs the face of a wave.

Wax: Board wax that surfers apply to the top of the surfboard to help give grip when standing.

The best way to get into surfing in Bali of course is to take a 1,2 or 3 day class. After you’ve figured out how to get on a wave and stand up you are ready to run down to Kuta Beach and grab a hire board.

Kuta Beach has lifeguard stations and the fact there are so amany people mean you are fairly safe. There is a small surfing only area indicated by the red and yellow flag. Red flags indicate the ’swimming only area’. Outside of that its a free for all. Try not to hit anyone in the water with your board and if you think you are about to be hit by another board duck under, it should go over the top of you.

There are a couple of things you should know first though. One is you should get yourself a board 2 feet taller than yourself if you are a beginner like me. The bigger the board the easier it is to paddle and also to stand up on. The second thing is to check what the tides are doing. High tide on Kuta Beach is the time to go as the conditions are better and safer for surfing. You will notice that at high tide that waves look better and there are many other surfers in the water.

Lastly don’t forget to use plenty of maximum strength sunblock as the tropical sun takes no prisoners.

You might like to check out the recent local action on BaliWaves website, they have some nice photos, info and video. For an insight into the local upcoming surfers in Bali pick up a copy of Magic Wave, the free surf-community paper.

Related Posts

• Riding big waves in Bali
• Beginning surfers in Bali
• Buying your first Surfboard in Bali: Tips and Hints
• Big surf in Bali
• Bali Surfboards: What’s here?

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