Can anyone tell me why windsurfers manage to find waves that are over 3-4 m high (mast high) in britain almost continuously when surfers can only find 3-4 foot waves on most occasions. Is there some kind of porky pie telling going on here. Waimea only breaks at 15' most of the time.

Thats because windsurfers haven't a clue how to measure a wave and always refer to the height of the face, not the actual wave-height.

As a surfer I always refer to the size of the wave from the back, so usually surf 2-3 foot surf around here, 3-4 foot is nice, 6 foot is unusual and starting to get scary. The biggest I've ever surferdwas in the Outer Hebrides when it got to a solid 12 foot. I caught one wave, took the drop, bottom-turned and then got the hell out of there!!!

I have seen the Outer Hebrides at around 20 foot. It was MASSIVE and there was just no way I was even going to think about paddling out. In actual fact I didn't even stay and watch it for long as it was scary enough from the beach!

Trouble is, I also windsurf and if i say to a windsurfer I was out having a really good session in 3-4 foot waves they think thats really small.... They would measure the faces which would be around 6 foot, add a little bit on because thats what they tend to do and call it half mast height (about 7 foot). By the same reckoning a surfers 6 foot wave wouls have a 10 foot face (or thereabouts), which is pretty big and the fear factor would mean that a windsurfer would add a little bit on to their estimation of its size, giving you a 12-14 foot wave (depending on how used to proper waves the individual windsurffer is)...And all of a sudden, hey Presto a mast high wave!!!!

The other thing to remember is that windsurfers do go further out to sea than surfers, and I've been windsurfing here when the waves are breaking on the beach at about 2-3 foot (say 4 foot faces), but out the back there have been some meaty head high swells, some of which occasionally break. So, it is quite easy to get mast high swells breaking a few hundred yards out to sea, but when they break on the beach as a proper wave, they only have 6 foot faces and a surfer would say it was 3-4 foot.

Personally I prefer the surfers measurements even if it does make the waves sound smaller, but have to resort to using windsurf measurements around windsurfers. As a surfer I always knock a little bit off what it ACTUALLY is as well as it sounds as though you are more hard-core if you call a 6 foot wave 4 foot!!



Al.

Al's answer is spot on, windsurfers will normally be talking swell size rather than shorebreak size, I know down here I can get a couple of feet next to the beach, but if I sail a mile out there can be some pretty big swells, some of which break a little if it's rough. They would be too green to surf on a surfboard but you can certainly ride them on a windsurfer.

it's easy to see from the wave buoys as most folk reckon that height at the wave buoys only reflects to half or less at the beach itself.

hope that helps