Reddit reviews Surf Science: An Introduction To Waves For Surfing
We found 4 Reddit comments about Surf Science: An Introduction To Waves For Surfing. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
As far as basic intro books go Surf Science was pretty good if elementary. Surfline occasionally has these mechanics features on why a world class spot is so good. They had a sweet one on J-Bay not too long ago. As far as going deeper into it though, the learning curve takes a sudden leap as it goes from basic physics to modeling and fluid dynamics, like this book I'm reading through right now. There does really seem to be a lack of middle ground for books. But if you have any specific questions I'll be glad to answer (I'm working towards a masters in the subject so I have some background in it). stoke451 took the tide one pretty well there.
Do yourself a favor and read this book
This book is a great introduction: https://www.amazon.com/Surf-Science-Tony-Butt/dp/0824828917
Hello fellow wave enthusiast!
For a basic overview, try Surf Science. It's essentially a layman's guide to waves with hardly any math in it.
After that, there's various levels of math you can dive into. Waves are generally easy to formulate in deep water, but when dealing with shallow water, things get bit more complicated. The simpler equations for breaking or shallow water waves are largely empirical, and even then they are paired a lot of assumptions like smooth bottom and constant profile. After that you start getting into the heavy stuff like numerical solutions to the Navier-Stokes equations. You may want to check ocean engineering related textbooks that better connect the math to the physical wave behavior, like this one which I think is a good general textbook on ocean waves.
As for predicting and understanding global wave patterns, that's more meteorology than wave science. You're dealing with wind patterns, cyclone basins, storm prediction etc. Weather models, bouy data, and the numerous NOAA pages all become your best friends. Knowing when your local break works comes mostly from experience. You should watch the local the winds, swell direction, and period and see how things break under given conditions. Of course, keeping an eye on major storms like hurricanes/typhoons also helps.