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Table of Contents
Regional Terminology
Here are some local words and slang from prominent paddling communities around the world - to add some flavor - but that is by no means meant to be comprehensive in any way.
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Australia
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Arvo
Australian slang for “afternoon”
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Bombora (aka bommie, bombie, bommy)
An indigenous Australian term for offshore areas with reefs or shallows that can cause ocean swell to jack up into large breaking waves. The term may be used to refer to the waves caused by the shallows or refer to the reefs themselves. More about waves...
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Cracker
Australian slang used to describe something as “great”. That was a cracker downwinder, mate. 1) “Corker” and “Ripper” can be used similarly.
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Frother
- A Frother is someone who is fully amped or excited about something. Term comes from WA Australian surfers.
- “Froth it ” In Australian slang, means to be extremely excited, enthusiastic, or passionate about something. If someone says they are “frothing for it” or they “froth it,” it means they really like an idea, a plan, or an activity.The term comes from the visual of a freshly poured beer or a wave breaking—meaning you are “foaming” with excitement. It is commonly used in surf, skate, and general Aussie lifestyle culture.
- …
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Hawaii
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Aloha
Commonly used for “hello” and “goodbye” in Hawaii but traditionally also used to convey more. “Talofa” in Samoan is a similar word of greeting that also has a much richer context of community and affection. “Mahalo” is Hawaiian for “thank you”, but similarly to aloha in greater context is also used to express deep appreciation, respect, and gratitude. But the wiki is not going to do justice to the rich cultural context of these terms. If you are curious, please look further into the meanings of these terms and the cultural heritages of traditional paddling communities.
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Da Kine
(pronounced dah-KYNE) is a famous Hawaiian slang term that means “the kind,” “whatchamacallit,” or “thingamajig”. It serves as a versatile, all-purpose filler word used when you forget the exact name of a person, place, or object.
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Howzit
“Hello” or ““How are you?” - casual, friendly greeting in Hawaii and South Africa
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Brother/Dude variations
You may want to spend some time around the locals before you adopt these expressions. They can be in or out of favor or have different meanings depending on your location or the context for using these terms.
- Bro - often used in a negative context these days. Coming from surfing culture. Endless variations - “broheim”, “broski”, “Charles Brokowski”, “brofessor”, “brotato chip”, etc.
- Bra, Brah - Hawaiian - may be somewhat out of date now
- Brada - Hawaiian
- Bru, Bruh - South African
- Bruz can be okay or negative in Australia
- Buraz Serbian
- Less Common - Breh, Bruv, etc. etc.
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Latin America
Cayuco
Latin American Spanish term for a small canoe. In Puerto Rico “cayuco” is an idiomatic term for a difficult situation: “Esto està cayuco” = “this is a big mess”. A popular annual multi-day race in Panama is the Ocean to Ocean Cayuco Race through the Panama Canal (crocodiles are a protected species in the Panama Canal).
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South Africa
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Growler
A “growler” Is a big wave. Not sure about the origin of this but we have heard it used by South Africans. Elsewhere “growler” is also used to describe smaller chunks of ice that break off of glaciers (smaller than icebergs).
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Howzit
“Hello” or ”“How are you?” - casual, friendly greeting in Hawaii and South Africa
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Kiff (Kif)
“Cool”, great, fantastic, etc. - from South Africa
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Kuckelikusurfutmaningen
Swedish for “Cock-a-doodle-do Surf Maneuvers” or daybreak downwinding/surfing.
Kuckelikusurfutmaningen
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Lekker (lekka)
South African English slang meaning “cool”, “sweet”, or “very excellent”. Derived from Afrikaans/Dutch where it means something more like “tasty” or “luscious”.
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Ocker
A typical or average Australian male. Ocker is also used as an adjective meaning characteristically Australian (also occa, okker) (Can be used to describe someone uncouth, etc., but we're sticking with the more positive definition here, mate, because the Aussie surfskiers we have met are a lekker bunch.)2)
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Oke
South African term for “person”, “guy”, “bloke” - male or female
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Ono
Translates to delicious, tasty, or savory in Hawaiian. It is primarily used to compliment food or describe something that is highly enjoyable. Locals frequently use the phrase “so ono” to describe a great meal. Ono is also a name for wahoo fish.
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Outrigger Terms
- ama - (“ah-mah”) Polynesian term for an outrigger float. Used for the ones on the side of an OC and a Va'a and also commonly used when referring to the outside floats on catamarans and trimarans. With canoes amas are usually mounted on the left but can be mounted on the right (which surfing OCs do in Hawaii to catch “rights” while avoiding digging in with their amas and flipping)
- iako - (“yah-koh”) Hawaiian term for a pole (2 per canoe) that connects an ama to an outrigger canoe (Polynesian term is “aka”, Samoan term is “kiato”)
- huki - (“hoo-kee”) from Huki.com: “Huki means “pull” in Hawaiian and is sometimes shouted by steerspeople as a command to commence paddling at the start of a race”
- huli - (“hoo-lee”) term commonly used by outrigger paddlers to mean tipping one's boat (usually flipping) and falling in the water which can be a little more dramatic in an OC given the two boat parts. In rough water OCers sometimes manage to huli boat over ama. Huli is becoming more common in usage with other types of boats to also refer to falling in the water.
Huli Photo: Paul Reavley - Click to enlarge
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Pearl (nosedive)
Term from surfing meaning a nosedive. Strictly speaking in surfing it refers to a nosedive into the wave you are on, which is rare with a surfski unless you are on steep waves such as shore break. Having a surfski nose submerge more commonly involves burying your bow into the base or back of the wave in front of you when you are downwinding. The degree that the nose gets buried can often be moderated by leaning your torso backward which will usually reduce how far your bow gets buried thereby reducing your speed loss and diminishing how long it takes for your bow to pop up on top of the water again. Extreme nosedives on steep waves does involve pearling and can lead to “pitch poling” where the rear end flips over the front. This usually occurs only in the very steep waves found in shore break, boomers, or very big seas and lends itself to boat and boater injury. Tupuria King demonstrating an OC pitch pole with a 1/2 twist.
Near OC pitchpole (big conditions, open ocean), Kaiwi Solo 2024, photo from video clip
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Put-in, Take-out
- Put-in where you put your boat in the water to launch
- Take-out - where you take your boat out of the water to end your paddle trip.
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RDS
RDS = “Race Derangement Syndrome”. This does not refer to otherwise mild-mannered folk who become fierce competitors when racing. No, it is really a term that captures a range of behaviors that involve cognitive dissonance between what a boater claims to be their own personal race philosophy and that same boater's actual behavior during races. RDS can refer to individuals who profess a non-cutthroat, loving philosophy about racing but display a completely different demeanor and attitude when actually racing. It can also refer to individuals who categorically deny any competitive behavior that is “unfriendly” even though all of their fellow competitors can describe instances when such individuals have effectively tried to run them off the road or put their persons and equipment at risk during races.
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Rebound (aka Reflection)
Waves that bounce off steep/abrupt shorelines or barriers in the water and rebound causing waves traveling at a different angle than the prevailing waves. Rebound typically increases turbulence. Read more about Rebound on the Wave Basics page.
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Ria
“Ria” comes from Galician Spanish derived from “Rio”.
Wikipedia: “Ria - is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea”
Rias are common in Galicia and can offer somewhat organized waves, good for downwinding or long surfing waves that do not subside for quite a distance and only break when close to shore or when the water gets sufficiently shallow. Coastal inlets,regardless of origin, can provide these kinds of waves, whether such inlets are rias, estuaries, fjords, or simply bends in the coastline if they have a good combination of shape, orientation, and depth . As long as there are occasions when tide, wind and swell work together with the right alignment and wave affecting factors within such inlets, long running waves will form. Examples: coastal inlet videos of Northern Spain.
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Rhumb Line
The path between two points on a surface that allows a constant bearing. On a curved surface like the earth it is not the shortest path, but it allows the simplest navigation. On a two dimensional surface it is also the shortest path. Wikipedia: “Over the Earth's surface at low latitudes or over short distances it can be used for plotting the course of a vehicle, aircraft or ship. Over longer distances and/or at higher latitudes the great circle route is significantly shorter than the rhumb line between the same two points.”
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Rips and Races
The following are the traditional definitions of such currents. It is not uncommon, however, to see “rip current” used to refer to an actual tidal race.
- Rip Currents (aka Rip, aka Rip Tide - hence the common confusion between “rip tide” and “tide rip” - a misnomer because these currents are not caused by the tide) are powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water that are common along ocean coasts as well as along the shores of some large lakes such as the US Great Lakes. Typically these currents flow outward perpendicularly away from shore. If caught in a rip current, don't fight it! Swim or paddle parallel to the shore to get out of the rip before heading more directly back toward shore.
- Tidal Race (aka Tide Rip) is a specific type of current associated with the swift movement of tidal water (either ebbing or rising) through constrictions - channels, inlets, the mouths of estuaries, bays, and harbors, and places where water depth rapidly changes. These tidal currents are stronger and faster where constriction or narrowing of a channel occurs, but such constrictions are not always visible, they can also occur underwater from bottom depth variation. Depending on circumstance such tidal currents can be a nuisance or a danger or they can be the source of excellent waves to surf.3)
- Overfall is another term used in conjunction with rough tidal current. We have found a variety of definitions, some which equate an overfall with tidal races and others which distinguish an “overfall” as tidal current going over obstacles or rough sea bed features. We are not sure about the distinction - tidal races where swell and wind oppose a strong current can get quite rough, but changes in sea bed topography certainly also seem to contribute to wave formation with strong tidal current. Overfall appears to be a more common term in sea kayaking circles.
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Steeze, Steezy
“Steeze” is a slang term used in some sports such as skateboarding to describe a mix of “style” and “ease”. So “Steezy” means stylishly easy.
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Stoke
Term from surfing meaning “excitement”, “euphoria”, “thrill”, “exhilaration”, “delight”, etc. Also used as in “I'm stoked” meaning I'm “excited”, “euphoric”, “thrilled”, “ecstatic”, “exhilarated”, “pleased”, “delighted”, …
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Tidal Bore
A tidal bore, or simply “bore”, happens when the leading edge of an incoming tide forms a wave (or series of waves) of water that travels up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay's current. Well known tidal bores around the world.
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TOW
“Time on Water” as in, much of the way to get better in water sports is spending more TOW. Or with surfskis most of us can benefit from more “TIB” = time in the bucket.
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Uitwaaien
“outblowing” - the Dutch cure for the winter blues which is basically spending time in the wind.
The Dutch practice of jogging or walking in the wind, especially in the winter, for the purpose of feeling invigorated while relieving stress and boosting one's general health. Combine this with the positive effects of being on or near water and downwinding would seem like a double benefit for paddlers in colder climes like Bellingham, WA.
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Wallowing
repeatedly missing waves and sliding back down their backsides is called “wallowing”
Wallowing may be due to any or all of these:
- waves that are just going too fast - e.g. trying to catch swell when you should be catching slower moving wind waves first to get your speed up
- too much water in the foot/seat area (does your surfski drain as quickly as it should?)
- fatigue - take a break
- bad timing - usually accelerating too late “If you were waiting for the opportune moment, that was it.” Jack Sparrow - Pirates of the Caribbean
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Waves
From labman.phys.utk.edu (Univ. of Tennessee)
paraphrased
“Water waves are surface waves, a mixture of longitudinal and transverse waves. Surface waves in oceanography are deformations of the sea surface. The deformations propagate with the wave speed, while the water molecules remain at the same positions on average. Energy, however, moves with the wave. Most ocean waves are produced by wind, and the energy from the wind is carried by the waves in the direction the waves are going.”
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Wind
Effect on Steering
Weathercocking
- is when the boat tends to turn into the wind (upwind).
Lee cocking
- is when the boat tends to turn away from the wind (downwind). Side wind will tend to have more of a lee cocking effect on surfskis that have large bow profiles and/or more bow volume particularly with a lighter paddler.
With many types of boats the following is often suggested: If a boat weathercocks, adding weight to the stern can help balance the handling. If a boat lee cocks, adding weight to the bow can help balance the handling. This is not necessarily practical for solo surfskiers, but can suggest ways that you might want to consider arranging paddlers in doubles if the conditions merit.
Wind Directions
- Wind names most commonly refer to the direction wind is coming from:
- “South wind” - wind from the south, “east wind” - wind from the east, etc.
- Sometimes people may say a “southerly” or “northerly” wind. If used correctly these terms also refer to the direction these winds are coming from even though as adjectives they may sound somewhat opposite. A southerly is coming from the south, a westerly comes from the west, etc.
- One exception to the naming rule of where the wind is coming from:
- onshore means the wind is blowing from the water toward the shore
- offshore conversely means the wind is blowing from the shore land toward the water
- “following” wind or seas - means going the same way as you are going
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WRS
“Wash Riding Scum” - derogatory racing term for paddlers who draft and either never take turns pulling from the front, or draft continually until race end then sprint to beat the boat(s) that carried them on their backs for the entire race. Attitudes about wash riding without turns in the lead can vary depending on local race tradition and the experience of the paddlers involved. Drafting is usually considered just fine and a part of racing skill in most locales although there are exceptions. And those who are learning or trying to improve by keeping in a slipstream that they can barely hang on to will typically be cut some slack (good racers generally have methods for dropping weak drafters if they wish). Others who hang back solely to try to sprint to wins are sometimes not considered so favorably - hence “WRS”. When dealing with this tactic, many consider such WRSers fair game for tactics such as scraping off at turns and obstacles.
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WTF
WTF = Work-to-Fun ratio. Rating system suggested by Michael Medler to Bellingham paddlers. Intended primarily to describe downwind lap days and to compare the amount of work paddling upwind to the pleasure surfing downwind. See original WTF post
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Yeah, Nah
from AI - “a colloquial expression, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, indicating …a polite way of disagreeing. It essentially means “no” but can also be a way to show you're considering the situation.” Yeah, Nah, Yeah is an even lighter form of disagreement or even mild agreement.
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Yebo
South African English slang, “yebo” (pronounced “yeah-boh”) is an informal term that means “yes” or “I agree”. It's often used as an expressive form of affirmation, and can be used as a double positive, such as “Yebo yes!”
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Yew
From urbandictionary.com: “A word used to show excitement, originally by surfers but now used by non-surfers….”
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