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

Catchall description for a variety of surfboard-protecting sheaths, generally divided into two categories: the soft bag and the travel bag. Soft bags protect against nicks and scratches, shield the board from the sun, and keep surfboard wax from rubbing off onto clothes, car roofs and interiors, and furniture.

Originally made of canvas, corduroy, denim, or vinyl, commercially produced soft bags were available as far back as 1960. The Criss Cross Cover bag was advertised in the Winter issue of SURFER magazine that year; each "mildew-resistant" cover was custom-made in South Pasadena, and color choices included royal blue, pearl grey, lemon, turquoise, and pink.

Boardbags didn't fully catch on as a surfing accessory until the early '80s, however, about five years after the introduction of the stretch-cotton bag. This tight-fitting "board sock," featuring a nylon nose piece and a drawstring opening at the tail, has become the soft bag standard. Some are made with a zipper along one side, instead of a drawstring. The Pro-Lite company in California introduced the travel boardbag in 1982, made of dense but bendable polypropylene material about one-half-inch thick. The travel bag, designed mainly for air travel and featuring a removable shoulder strap and heavy-duty zipper running from one side of the bag to the other, wasn't a guarantee against cargo-hold damage, but was nonetheless a big improvement on the sleeping bags and the do-it-yourself duct-taped cardboard boxes that surfers had long been using. Larger travel bags, holding up to eight boards, many with wheels for rolling through airports, were later introduced, and are sometimes referred to as "coffins." Hard plastic board cases, used exclusively for travel, are also available. Ancient Hawaiian surfers are thought to have wrapped their wooden surfboards in tapa cloth to preserve the board's surface.

boardbag

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