A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Bertlemann, Larry

Small but ridable waves occasionally roll ashore along the Spanish Mediterranean, and the arid southwest coast around Cádiz can produce good surf on occasion, but the heart of surfing in Spain is found on the 350-mile north-facing coastline known as El Cantabrico, in the Bay of Biscay. On this coast, the best-known area is the Pais Vasco, near France, home to more than a dozen premium surf spots, including the long and cylindrical left-breaking rivermouth waves at Mundaka. Waves in this area of Spain are bigger than nearly anywhere else in the Bay of Biscay, due to a deep offshore trench. 

While the north coast of Spain has waves all year, prime surfing season begins in September and ends in December, as North Atlantic storms regularly provide waves, while air and water temperatures are still temperate. Spanish winters are often cold and stormy; spring surfing is hit or miss, and the pleasantly warm summers are generally waveless. Average daytime air temperatures along the northern Spanish coast range from the high 60s in summer to the high 40s in winter; water temperatures range from the high 60s to the low 50s. 

Aside from Mundaka, other top breaks along the north-facing coast include the big-wave rights at Roca Puta, the Mundaka-like Rodiles, and the snappy beachbreak tubes at Pantin. El Palmar, a tubing beachbreak, is one of the best waves in the Cádiz area. Surf hazards in Spain are for the most part limited to a few shallow rock reefs and pollution near the cities. Bellyboarding was practiced in the Spanish Basque country as far back as the 1940s, but stand-up surfing wasn't introduced here until the late '50s, when a small number of boards were imported from Biarritz, France; Cantabrian surfer Jesus Fiochi began exploring the waters of the Basque coast in earnest beginning in 1962. 

By the end of the decade, native surfer José Merodio began shaping the first surfboards in Spain, and by the mid-'70s there were several hundred Spanish surfers, mainly in the Basque country. Foreign surfers traveling through Europe generally steered clear of Spain until Fascist-supported dictator General Francisco Franco died in 1975. By that time, photos of the incredible Mundaka lineup had been published in both the American and Australian surf press, and the Spanish Basque country soon became a favorite stop for virtually all European surf tourists. 

The Spanish surf industry also got started in earnest, with the first Pukas Surfboards retail outlet opening in 1977 in Zarautz; Pukas remains the biggest outfit in the still-growing Spanish surf industry. The first Spanish National Surfing Championships were held in Zarautz in 1968. World pro tour events have been held in Spain since 1988, first at Zarautz and other area beachbreaks, then at Mundaka, beginning in 1999. 

By 2003, there were roughly 50 Spanish surf shops and about 8,000 stand-up surfers, plus 7,000 bodyboarders. The 2002-founded Basque Country Surfing Federation has 1,300 members and stages over a dozen amateur events annually. There are surf schools in Zarautz and San Sebastián. Tres 60, Spain's best-known surf magazine, was founded in 1987. Other Spanish surf magazines include Surf Time and Surfer Rule. 

Young Spanish surfers ruled the 2002 Quiksilver World Grommet Titles, held in Sydney, Australia, with regularfooter Gony Zubizarreta of Zarautz placing first, while friend and neighbor Hodey Collazo finished runner-up. 

Environmental catastrophe was visited upon Spain's entire north- and west-facing coastlines in late 2002, as the tanker Prestige sank off Cabo de Fisterra, spilling more than 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil. By early 2003, beaches from Portugal to southwest France were closed, as the oil slicked fanned out. The Spanish surf is detailed in The Stormrider Guide Europe (1998). 

Spain

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