Greg Redgard and his surfing mates took some unusual equipment with them to the beach in February last year. Instead of twin-fins or bodyboards, they arrived with a 30-ton Kobelco SK 200 industrial excavator. When low tide exposed the huge boulders lying just off the beach, the surfers attacked. Within weeks, they had smashed the rocks and reshaped the rubble into a reef. Queensland's Bargara beach was once scorned by board riders as unsurfable. Now, as high tide rolls in over the reef, small but surfable waves result. Says the delighted Redgard: "It blows people away."
...

We surfer's call them "rip currents" and many lifeguards call them "run-out", but by any name they can be terrifying to the uninitiated or weak swimmer/surfer. They consist of a rapidly flowing current running from the near beach area, inside the breaking waves, out to sea. In most cases they flow faster than a person can swim, even with swim fins on, and they carry one out well beyond the surf. But this is only part of the problem!
...

Big Wave is a relative term. There are waves, big waves and there are huge waves. If you are a huge wave rider, this article isn't for you. You've already got it figured out. But if you are a wave rider that wants to graduate to bigger stuff, or you are already on big waves, then these tips might help you endure. I use the word endure because no matter how much experience you have or how good your physical condition is, on those occasions when you eat it on the big one, you are in for a rough time of it. That said, there is plenty you can do to lessen the impact.
...

Dingfixing demystified Dinged stick is a particularly annoying condition... not only does it affect the ride, but it makes both you and your ride look deeply tatty and the poor innocent grom you want to flog it to next won't fork over as much. So it's got to be fixed... whether it was rocks, your mates, your ex, or airport security. follow these tips and you should be alright.
...

In the equatorial waters of the Pacific, the interplay of sea and sky produce a dramatic climate fluctuation known as El Niño. Fisherman on the coast of Ecuador coined the term, which means "the child," a reference to the infant Jesus. In some years, a warm current appears off their shores and the fishing turns bad. This typically becomes noticeable in the Christmas season, thus the reference to the coming of Jesus. Sometimes, the warm current persists well into the spring. And it does more than make South American fisherman go hungry; it can also affect global weather patterns.
...