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, Linda

Bermuda

Bertlemann, Larry

Beschen, Shane

The second-smallest state in America after Rhode Island, with the second-smallest coastline (28 miles) and a minuscule surfer population (about 500), Delaware has understandably been overlooked by the larger surf world since the sport was introduced here in the early '60s. Wedged between Maryland and Pennsylvania, as surf journalist Peter Interland put it, "Delaware is just a blip on the horizon," even for East Coast surfers. Fewer than ten surf magazine features have been published on the state over the past 40 years; article titles include "Delaware: Where's That?," "Unaware of Delaware," and "Delaware?" 

Fall and winter produce the best surf in this area of the country, and the twin jetties of the Indian River Inlet, located within the Delaware Seashore State Park, produce the state's best waves. The easy-breaking rights on the north side of the inlet are surfed almost exclusively by longboarders, and the harder-breaking peaks on the south side are favored by shortboarders. Indian River Inlet waves, as with the other half-dozen Delaware surf spots—including Naval Jetties and Bethany Beach—break over a sand bottom. Winter water temperatures can drop to the mid-30s; in summer, as thousands of vacationers from the northeast settle in, the water temperature rises to the mid-70s. 

The oldest state in the union (constituted in 1787), Delaware is home to a uniquely diverse and relatively peaceable set of cultures. South Bethany, located in the southern part of the state, was founded as a religious retreat town and is still alcohol-free; centrally located Dewey Beach is a popular hangout for the young and straight; remote Gordon's Pond, to the north, has long been a favorite gay/lesbian beach.

Delaware residents Bill Wise, George Pittman, and Bill Pike, along with visiting California wave-rider Don Graham, were the first to surf Delaware, in early 1962. Wise and Pittman soon opened Eastern Surfer, the state's first shop, in landlocked Harrington, with merchandise often loaded into the back of the company panel truck so that business could be conducted beachside. Eastern Surfer relocated to Rehoboth Beach in 1966, the same year Delaware-born surfer Thurman "Skip" Savage opened Surf Shop East, also in Rehoboth.

 surf video. The Eastern Surfing Association (ESA) has been staging regional surf contests on the north side of the Indian River Inlet since the late '60s; Delaware mainstay and longtime top-rated ESA competitor Skip Savage was inducted into the East Coast Surf Legends Hall of Fame in 1996. "But other than the fact that everybody in the state literally knows everybody else," as longtime Delaware surfer Wally "Which Way" Abrams said in 1999, "it's hard to think of anything really unique about surfing here." The Delaware surf is featured in 

Waves of Reflection: A Documentary of Surfing Delaware and Maryland

Delaware

Subscribe or Login

Encyclopedia of Surfing

Encyclopedia of Surfing