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

Alexandre, João (Dapin)

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

This 2011 TriStar-produced biopic chronicles the life of Hawaiian pro surfer Bethany Hamilton who, in 2003, at age 13, lost her left arm during a shark attack. 

based on Hamilton’s best-selling 2004 autobiography of the same name, stars AnnaSophia Robb as Hamilton, with Hollywood mainstays Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt playing her parents. Alana Blanchard, Hamilton's real-life best friend, has a bit role as herself in the film. Hamilton herself did most of the surfing in the movie, with Robb's head digitally pasted onto Hamilton's body.

 emphasized the positive aspects of Hamilton’s recovery, with little focus on the mental and physical anguish she endured. Just a month after the attack, Hamilton returned to the water, taking the first step on a successful quest to return to her elevated position as one of the world's best female surfers. Hamilton and her family drew strength from their Christian faith, a common theme in the film; voiceovers from the real-life Hamilton thanking Jesus add to a bit of religious heavy-handedness near the film's end.

 opened to mixed reviews. "With a tale this strong," London's 

 said, "what could go wrong? Pretty much everything, as it turns out, with the story buffeted into oblivion by a tidal wave of syrup." 

 described the movie as "a succession of would-be rousing clichés," and pointed out that "with the Lord on Hamilton’s side, triumph is made to seem inevitable and hence less dramatically potent." The 

, however, praised the film for its “dazzling surfing sequences," and explained that it “succeeds as a portrait of a spirited, resilient athlete.”

 cost $18 million, and earned $47 million at the box office, worldwide. As of mid-2014, Soul Surfer had a chalked up a middling 46% on Rotten Tomatoes "Tomatometer."

Soul Surfer

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