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

Crescent-shaped chain of tropical and subtropical islands extending roughly 2,000 miles from near the southern tip of Florida to Venezuela's northern coast. The wave-lined West Indies—which at one time formed a volcanic mountain chain connecting North and South America—separate the Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean Sea, and are made up of three island groups: the Bahamas to the north, the Greater Antilles (including Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico), and the Lesser Antilles (including British Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, and Trinidad and To- bago) to the southeast. While pointbreaks and beachbreaks are occasionally located along the West Indies, the chain's premier surf spots are mostly located on outlying coral reefs and atolls. The August-to-October hurricane season brings the largest surf to the area, but wave consistency is better from October through April, with the Atlantic-facing coasts picking up ground swells at a fairly regular interval. Daytime air temperatures in the West Indies average about 75 to 80 degrees throughout the year, with water tempera- tures just a few degrees cooler. Puerto Rico was the first place in the West Indies to be surfed, in the late '50s, and it soon became a popular warm-water getaway for surfers up and down the American eastern seaboard. While dozens, if not hundreds, of West Indies's surf spots remain either secret, rarely surfed, or undiscovered, many first-quality breaks have become well known over the years, including Gas Chambers in Puerto Rico, Soup Bowls in Barbados, Cane Garden Bay in Tortola, Garbonzo's in the Bahamas, and Le Moule in Guadeloupe. See also Bahamas, Barbados, Caribbean Sea, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

West Indies

Subscribe or Login