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

Large, remote, exotic tropical island in the Pacific Ocean, located about 100 miles north of the northeastern tip of Australia. The western half of New Guinea is called Irian Jaya, and is a province of Indonesia; the independent nation of Papua New Guinea takes up the eastern half. 

As a surfing area, New Guinea was described in a 1994 issue of the Surf Report newsletter as "practically a virgin land," and just enough discoveries have been made in the years since to identify the island as a repository for good, consistent, easy-to-ride reef waves. 

Portions of mainland Papua New Guinea's south coast pick up vestiges of the cyclone swells that hit Australia and New Zealand. New Guinea's north coast, however, has more consistent surf—at least from November to April, as monsoon storms to the northwest produce swells—especially around the towns of Wewak, Aitape, and Vanimo. 

New Guinea's best surf is found on the offshore islands to the northeast. Kavieng, on New Ireland Island, is New Guinea's most popular surfing area, and includes a reefbreak named Piccinniny that can produce a hollow 200-yard-long right. Dozens of breaks scattered among New Guinea's islands remain either undiscovered or secret; access, in nearly all cases, is by boat only. 

Two small foreign-run surf camps were in operation in New Guinea by 1998, one at Vanimo and the other on New Ireland Island; enough natives had taken up the sport by 2003 that a small number of breaks were beginning to get crowded. 

New Guinea is a kaleidoscope of mostly premodern cultures, and home to more than 700 native languages. The weather is hot and humid all year, with an annual rainfall of 200 inches. Air temperatures range from 75 to 85; water temperatures are usually in the low 80s. Sharks, stonefish, sea snakes, and crocodiles are common in New Guinea waters, but the biggest concerns for visiting surfers are malaria and staph infection from reef cuts.

New Guinea

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Encyclopedia of Surfing

Encyclopedia of Surfing