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

Lanky regularfoot surfer from Port Elizabeth, South Africa; surprise winner of the 1971 Smirnoff Pro-Am at Sunset Beach, Hawaii, and one of the first to ride Supertubes at Jeffreys Bay.

Rudolph began surfing in 1962 at age nine near his Port Elizabeth home; not long after his 15th birthday he flew to Puerto Rico to compete in the 1968 World Surfing Championships. Later that year, he and 1968 Australian Titles champ Keith Paull became the first surfers to ride long, spiraling waves at Supertubes, located just a half-hour's drive from Rudolph's home. "We used to just sit there in awe," Rudolph later recalled, "watching these long waves come down the point like rockets."

In 1969 Rudolph won the Gunston 500 in Durban, and the following year he competed in the 1970 World Championships. The 18-year-old was visiting Hawaii for the first time when he won the 1971 Smirnoff contest, held in challenging 12-foot Sunset Beach surf, in what was probably the greatest upset of the early pro era, as he outpointed a field of North Shore heavies that included Jeff Hakman, Billy Hamilton, Ben Aipa, and Eddie Aikau. It was Rudolph's second day surfing Sunset—the first was the morning before the contest. His $2,500 first-place check was surfing's biggest prize in 1971.

In 1977, Rudolph entered about half of the scheduled world pro tour events and finished the season ranked #15. His surfing style was efficient, sure-footed and flowing, and he rarely made mistakes. Rudolph appeared in a half-dozen surf films, including 

Rudolph, Gavin

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