A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Bertlemann, Larry

Subtropical West Indies nation composed of nearly 700 islands and 2,300 rocky islets and reefs; the Bahamas chain begins just 50 miles east of West Palm Beach, Florida, and runs 500 miles to the southeast. Florida surfers began visiting Eleuthera Island—a popular Bahamas tourist destination famous for its pink-sand beaches and translucent water—in the early 1960s, when an easygoing reefbreak soon known as Surfer's Beach was discovered just south of Gregory Town. By the early '70s, Eleuthera had become a regular stop for East Coast surfers looking for a temperate wintertime getaway; those with boat access soon began a more thorough exploration of the outlying Bahamian islands and reefs.

There are essentially two seasons in the Bahamas: the warm months from May to October and the slightly less warm months from November to April. Average daytime air temperatures range from the high 60s to the low 80s; water temperatures range from the low 70s to the low 80s. Winter generally brings the best waves, as four- to eight-foot swells drop down with some regularity from the North Atlantic and meet up with the north- and east-facing Bahamian reefs; infrequent hurricane swells in late summer and fall, however, can produce surf up to 15 feet. June and July are often waveless. The best surf in the Bahamas breaks on coral reefs or rocky points, and the lack of outlying continental shelf means the waves here can be powerful. Shallow reefs and relentless sun are the main surfing hazards. While Surfer's Beach remains the most popular break in the Bahamas, the premier spots—like the gin-clear tubing left at Garbonzo's, a reef on Elbow Cay in the Abaco chain—are located further afield. The island chain holds dozens of semisecret or hard- to-access breaks.

By 2012, there were a handful of Bahamian surf shops and dozens of resident surfers. A national team first competed in the 1993 Pan American Surfing Games; newer versions of the team have since been part of the biannual World Surfing Games. The Bahamian surf is featured in a small number of surf movies and videos, including 

Bahamas

Subscribe or Login

Encyclopedia of Surfing

Encyclopedia of Surfing