River surfing
Encyclopedia
River surfing is the sport of surfing
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
either standing waves or tidal bore
Tidal bore
A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay's current...
s in rivers. Claims for its origins include a 1955 ride of 1.5 miles along the tidal bore of the River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
. http://www.thelongwave.com/
River surfing on standing waves has been documented as far back as the mid 1970s in Munich, Germany and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Standing waves
In this type of river surfing, the wave is stationary on the river, caused by a high volume of water constricted by flowing over a rock and creating a wave behind. It is a form of hydraulic jumpHydraulic jump
A hydraulic jump is a phenomenon in the science of hydraulics which is frequently observed in open channel flow such as rivers and spillways. When liquid at high velocity discharges into a zone of lower velocity, a rather abrupt rise occurs in the liquid surface...
. A river surfer can face up-stream and catch this wave and have the feeling of traveling fast over water while not actually moving.
New Zealand
Serious Fun Riversurfing, the world's first commercial river surfing operation was started by Jon Imhoof in 1989 . Trips are run on the Kawarau River near Queenstown. Bodyboards are used to run rapids and ride standing waves on the river.Europe
Eisbach
The Eisbach is a small man-made river in Munich. It flows through the park Englischer Garten and is a tributary of the Isar River. A manmade wave has been created on one section....
in Munich, Germany
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
http://juicemagazine.com/MUNICHSURFOPENRIVERSURF.html Munich has been the center of surfboard riding on a stationary wave since the mid 1980s. Munich has produced the best river surfers and was the first location that created a true surfing community around an inland river wave. On Austria's river Mur in Graz river surfing is a regular on two waves built for surfing in 2001 and rebuilt in 2004 by KanuClub Graz http://murbreak.at/, http://www.kajakGraz.com/
North America
The Habitat 67Habitat 67 (standing wave)
Habitat 67 is the name of a standing wave in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Informally named for the adjacent Habitat 67 housing complex, it has become a popular destination for whitewater kayaking and river surfing....
standing wave in the Lachine Rapids
Lachine Rapids
The Lachine Rapids are a series of rapids on the Saint Lawrence River, between the Island of Montreal and the south shore. They are located near the former city of Lachine....
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, named for its location adjacent to the Habitat 67 housing complex, has become a popular destination for river surfing. Corran Addison
Corran Addison
Corran Addison was born in South African and is a slalom canoer, white water kayaker, surfer and surfboard designer, now based in Montreal, Canada....
, an Olympic kayaker and three-time world freestyle kayak champion, was the first to surf the Habitat wave in 2002. His river-surfing school, Imagine Surfboards, has taught 3,500 students since 2005. A second Montreal river-surfing school, KSF, has hosted 1,500 students a year since 2003. From fewer than 10 original surfers, it is estimated that the current of participants numbers around 500.
Pueblo, Colorado has also became a river surfing city. A kayak park was in built 2005 near downtown Pueblo and locals have been surfing features 3,4, and 7 ever since.
In the 2000s transplanted ocean surfers began riding standing waves in a number of rivers in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada. Several shops in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
now stock boards specifically designed for river surfing.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming is known as the most famous river surfing community in the US. The wave known as Lunch Counter has been surfed every summer by a small core group for more than 20 years.
Tidal bores
Tidal boreTidal bore
A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay's current...
s occur in relatively few locations worldwide, usually in areas with a large tidal range (typically more than 6 metres (19.7 ft) between high and low water), and where incoming tides are funneled into a shallow, narrowing river via a broad bay. Large bores can be particularly dangerous for shipping, but also present opportunities for river surfing. The funnel-like shape not only increases the tidal range, but it can also decrease the duration of the flood tide
Flood Tide
Flood Tide is an adventure novel by Clive Cussler. This is the 14th book featuring the author’s primary protagonist, Dirk Pitt. He must rescue illegal immigrants from a Chinese tycoon and locate the bones of the Peking Man, the famous lost example of Homo erectus...
, down to a point where the flood appears as a sudden increase in the water level. Note the tidal bore takes place during the flood tide
Flood Tide
Flood Tide is an adventure novel by Clive Cussler. This is the 14th book featuring the author’s primary protagonist, Dirk Pitt. He must rescue illegal immigrants from a Chinese tycoon and locate the bones of the Peking Man, the famous lost example of Homo erectus...
and never during the ebb tide
Ebb Tide
"Ebb Tide" is a popular song, written in 1953 by the lyricist Carl Sigman and composer Robert Maxwell.-Recordings:* The best-known versions are by Frank Chacksfield & His Orchestra , Vic Damone , Roy Hamilton , Frank Sinatra , The Platters , Lenny Welch and the Righteous Brothers...
.
A tidal bore can create a powerful roar that combines the sounds caused by the turbulence in the bore front and whelps, entrained air bubbles in the bore roller, sediment erosion beneath the bore front and of the banks, scouring of shoals and bars, and impacts on obstacles.
Tidal bores are being surfed along coastal rivers such as the pororoca
Pororoca
The pororoca is a tidal bore, with waves up to 4 metres high that travel as much as 13 km inland upstream on the Amazon River and adjacent rivers. Its name comes from the indigenous Tupi language, where it translates into "great destructive noise". It occurs at the mouth of the river where river...
on the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
or England's River Severn
River Severn
The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...
.
Severn bore
Surfing the Severn Bore has become a competitive sport with dozens of surfers vying to record the longest ride. The tidal surge also attracts canoeists and windsurfers. The present champion surfer is Dave Lawson from Hempsted, Gloucestershire, who has covered 5.7 miles on a surfboard. His record-breaking surf took more than 35 minutes and was logged by an official adjudicator from the British Surfing Association.Pororoca bore
The pororocaPororoca
The pororoca is a tidal bore, with waves up to 4 metres high that travel as much as 13 km inland upstream on the Amazon River and adjacent rivers. Its name comes from the indigenous Tupi language, where it translates into "great destructive noise". It occurs at the mouth of the river where river...
is a tidal bore
Tidal bore
A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay's current...
, with waves up to 4 meters high that travel as much as 13 kilometers inland upstream the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
.