How exactly is a good surfing spot determined? You never see anyone surf on the Ayrshire coast, yet it is very common in the Scottish Borders Council area and also East Lothian.
Im also confused as to why there is a lack of beach lifeguard service at the very popular Ayr beach in South Ayrshire. It is my closest beach so is the one I normally visit.
Comments
Someone who knows how to surf looks at the waves and decides if they’re consistent enough to be worth trying to surf.
E.g. you don’t see any surf spots on the gulf side of Florida because there’s no waves there.
I’m sure there’s also some cultural reasons – if an amazing surf spot exists in a hard to reach beach and there’s no other good surf anywhere around you may not have anyone go there because the people who would appreciate it aren’t in that area.
having eyes and looking at the waves is a good place to start.
I went surfing in Virginia Beach, Va once. Near a jetty, my first time surfing. I was able to stand up but I fell immediately and luckily my shoulder and not my neck broke my fall. The water was like 3 feet deep in front of the wave and i got some pretty bad abrasions.
ELI5- trial and error.
Its fairly simple. Popular surfing areas have fairly consistent larger waves and a reasonably safe coast to get into and out of the water. The rip tide can also effect the probability of surfers since no one wants to be dragged out to sea.
Anyone know why there are no good surfing waves in Ayrshire or Galloway?
>How are surfing locations found?
Surfers go places and look at them. ;p There is no trick. When someone finds a good spot, they tell other people.
>Why do some places have loads of them and others have none?
The structure of the ocean floor, the water depth, and the rides need to be right to make the conditions for big waves.
Physically speaking, obviously you need sustained wind over a relatively long tract of area to build up enough energy to create enough surface movement to create waves.
After that, it’s about what’s happening under the water. If the gap between the surface of the water and the ground (sea floor) under the water gradually decrease towards shore, you won’t get much wave action (you’d see these waves as large “rolling hills” of water). However if the sea floor (ground) rises abruptly it pushes the water up more, resulting in less gradual and higher waves.
When that happens very close to shore, you see gradual waves until the last second and the cresting waves crash onto shore. If it happens too far out (often called “breakers”) it just isn’t convient for surfing because of how far from the beach you’d have to travel. You’re looking for that sweet spot in between.
There’s more to it than that including rip tides, temperature differences, etc. but that’s the gist of it.
There are any number of criteria involved if you are looking for a good wave to surf.
First of all, an ordinary beach where the waves meet them beach head on is not going to be great for the serious surfer because the wave breaks at the same time & you have nowhere to surf. It’s still great for you and me on our boogie boards (little boards we lie on cos we can’t stand up).
So if you can find a coastline with a pointy bit or where the waves come in at a bit of an angle, you will have a wave that starts to break at a particular point and you can travel the length of the breaking wave. You will see surfers waiting for a wave all in roughly the same spot, because they know that that is where the wave is good to pick up for a good ride. They will all have their little secret knowledge of where the really good spot is.
You also want consistent waves, a good size to give you energy to do some tricks, and you also want an offshore wind (wind coming from the land) . Wind coming from the land will help push up the wave crest, while wind from the sea will tend to push it down.
Oh, you also want a shoreline that is quiet deep and suddenly gets shallower near the shore. This the way the wave energy doesn’t dribble out but creates a nice big wave with lots of energy. The downside is that if you fall off your board there’s not much between you and the rocks (yes rocks, there won’t be any sand here) below. This means entry and exit to the water is dangerous in the more interesting surf spots.
Popular surf areas will all have local surf apps or radio shows which give you the surf size, tides and weather details so you can go to the place with the best conditions.