Vitor Oliveira

The river surfing scene is growing fast, with an increasing number of participants joining hundreds of river waves around the world . Unlike ocean surfers, river surfers rely on powerful currents that create standing waves . In theory, these waves can be ridden indefinitely. However, when they fall off or end their rides, there is a risk of getting trapped, entangled, and held underwater due to rocks or debris sitting on the riverbed. One of the causes of similar accidents is the surf leash. The history of river surfing is filled with many stories of close calls in urban or inland river streams. In the winter of 2013, two near-drownings in Alberta occurred in shallow, slow-moving rivers due to ankle leashes. A surfer in New Zealand also got trapped around a bridge pylon. He was freed by kayakers, but even one rescuer got briefly entangled. In 2025, a 33-year-old woman died after her legrope got entangled on the bottom of the Eisbach river wave in Munich , Germany. She was not ...

The surfboard leash is made from a stretchy urethane cord attached to a neoprene cuff, and it's more fragile than it looks. If you're paying up to $50 for a durable surfboard leash , you should make sure it lasts a few years. Otherwise, you're constantly throwing money away. Although the quality of materials and construction of the kook cord has been evolving since its invention , surfers can easily get unexpected surprises. This is particularly relevant in more punchy conditions, where legropes are pushed to their limits, with poor maintenance practices on top of it. We've experienced leashes breaking and becoming unusable after a couple of surfs. So, they will surely not last forever, and the last thing a surfer needs is a leash that fails to do its job in the first minutes of a heavenly session. How can you ensure you're doing everything to extend its lifetime? Regular care and simple checks can keep it going above its expected duration. Here is a list of...

The physics of surfing is quite complex and involves many fluid dynamics variables constantly interacting in non-linear ways. It all starts when we drop the surfboard into the water and ends the cycle of hydrodynamical exchanges when surfers finish their rides. There are basically four main general primary forces driving the surf: buoyancy, gravity, drag, and lift. And then, a few other more surfer-applied forces suggested by the legendary surfboard shaper Bob McTavish in "The Surfboard Book": roll, pitch, and yaw, three terms used in aviation that define axes of rotation. After learning these forces, it's hard not to think about surfing as a really magical optimal combination of balanced forces. So, it's actually the sum of several forces - some of them opposed to each other - that makes possible the "miracle" of wave riding. Without getting into much scientific detail and equations, let's break down the hydrodynamic forces that drive surfing. ...

A 33-year-old woman was seriously injured while surfing the Eisbach river wave in Munich at night on April 16, 2025. After falling off her surfboard, for reasons still unclear, the leash attached to her ankle got stuck on the bottom of the Eisbach. She was unable to free herself because she was connected to the board. Witnessing the accident, other surfers tried to remove the leash and release the victim, but failed due to the strong current. The scene was dramatic, with the surfer crying for help before being pulled underwater. After struggling for about half an hour in the rushing water, she was ultimately rescued by fire officials, who performed resuscitation efforts and took the victim to the hospital, where she is stable but in critical condition. The incident resulted in the closing of the Eisback River wave for surfing indefinitely. The local authorities made the decision to prevent further accidents based on the fact that the existing risk could not be ruled out. The ...

We made it! Two nights and one full day on the Tres Estrellas de Oro bus from Tijuana to Mazatlán. From the bus station, we walked to the sea wall at Cannon's Point and watched one surfer in the water catching one perfectly formed left wave after another. We were anxious to get in the water ourselves, but we didn't have any boards because the bus wouldn't take them, so we shipped them by truck. We all graduated from high school in Chula Vista in 1964. We spent about a year trying out college, but mostly surfing, and it is fair to say we were having a tough time growing up. We learned to surf at Imperial Beach, so we were weaned on challenging top-to-bottom breaking waves with plenty of riptides. We thought we were all good surfers, but that was somewhat of a personal opinion. All of us had surfed big waves at the Tijuana Sloughs and K38½ in Baja, but when it was over 10 feet, we were all pretty good at making excuses. We often took surf trips up the coast as far as...

Big waves are exciting for surfers of any age, and the thrill of riding a solid, perfect overhead barreling liquid cylinder is indescribable. Once you've tasted them, you're a surfer for life - there's no way back. But what are your thoughts on letting children surf in more or less extreme conditions and waves of consequence? Is there a no-go line? Where do you draw it? And how does it compare to getting groms into any other sport like gymnastics, horseback riding, motocross, snowboarding, or even football and soccer? More: At what age is it acceptable to allow them to add some risk to their lives? What are the boundaries of calculated risk regarding kids in a surfing environment? As you might have noticed, there are more questions than answers. The reason this happens is that there is always a large and broad grey area between right and wrong. You could say, "If you're afraid of any risk, we wouldn't leave home and walk on the streets." True. Bu...

The single-fin is the first evolutionary stage of the modern surfboard fin setup. It also revolutionized the way people rode waves. It's quite surreal, but the early surfboards were finless for quite a while. In the beginning, controlling a long and heavy wooden board was extremely difficult, as it would slide sideways easily. Polynesians would use their feet to act as a skeg to force a turn or control a loose board. When the Hawaiian island became one of the go-to tropical destinations for mainland Americans in the 1920s, surfing experiences at Honolulu's Waikiki were one of the most popular holiday activities. The local beach boys would take tourists to the water on their long and wide boards and catch a few gentle rollers toward the shore, tandem style. Haoles were ecstatic with surfboarding. Writers, actors, actresses, and royalty from all corners of the world would take on surfing like, fall for it, and return months and years later for more. Soon, it made sense ...

Lower Trestles is the chosen venue to run the surfing program in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The iconic high-performance surf break located three miles (4.8 kilometers) southeast of San Clemente in California will host surfing's third consecutive appearance in the Olympics after Tokyo 2020 (Tsurigasaki Beach) and Paris 2024 (Teahupoo). The 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee analyzed the options, including Huntington Beach Surf City USA , and reviewed the process. Once the decision was taken, it was validated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board and the International Surfing Association (ISA). Lower Trestles is the most consistent wave of San Onofre State Beach, a stretch of coastline that also features Cottons, Uppers, Middles, and Church. It features hollow bowling left-handers and long steep right-handers on which surfers can unleash their arsenal of tricks and maneuvers. Lowers is Southern California's most treasured comp...