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

Mountainous coffee-producing country in Central America, bordered by Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Belize, with 250 miles of southwest-facing Pacific Ocean coastline. The 50-mile stretch of Caribbean coast on the east side of Guatemala is in a waveless bay. 

"Guatemala is not a surfer's destination by itself," a 1986 Surf Report newsletter states. "But it's a nice stop on the way from Mexico to El Salvador." Guatemala's undefiled and lightly populated Pacific shoreline has no points or reefs, and is made up entirely of tropical sandy beaches, most of them steep-faced and better suited for bodyboarding, bodysurfing, or skimboarding. The best surf breaks are almost all located near rivermouths, and are in a constant state of flux as sandbars arrange and rearrange themselves. 

Winter surf in Guatemala is usually under four foot, but hardbreaking. In late summer and fall, during the Pacific hurricane season, waves can get up to 15 feet or bigger, but the absence of points and reefs makes for unridable conditions. The prevailing wind is offshore. Midsummer air temperatures along the coast will often top 100 degrees; winter temperatures rarely drop below 70; water temperatures are usually in the low 80s. 

The Guatemalan dry season begins in November and lasts until April; the rainy season extends from May through October. As of 2003, Guatemala had no surf industry and no more than a few dozen native surfers.

Guatemala

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

Encyclopedia of Surfing