What Happens When Waves Bend?

What Happens When Waves Bend?

There are many glorious science-based terms when it comes to surfing. We all talk about swells, of course, the underwater energy that creates a breaking wave. But we'll look at swell angles and bathymetry and energy, a new term making the rounds at the moment, and all these phrases eventually gel together to form our understanding of what's going on in the ocean. There are also dozens of different types of waves to get to grips with as well—reefbreaks, A-frames, points, beachies, slabs, big waves and the list goes on and on and on. This is just the tip of the surf science iceberg. There's so much that goes into it that you can dedicate your life to figuring out the many nuances that the ocean can (and will) throw at you. And then there's the fact that when you look at your local surf forecast, not all information is present to give you the best idea of what's going to happen at your beach. There are some forecasting models these days that bake external factor…