Swell Lines Mag

Bodysurfing yarns woven ‘tween crest and trough

Volume 4 Issue 5

  • Volume 1 Issue 11

    a. Ohana: The Fords b. The Ride After the Ride c. The Joy of Bodysurfing Big Waves d. Mythology of the Orange Cap e. Visions of the Month

  • Ohana: The Fords

    Bill Lucking was a health fanatic. When all the other lawyers from his firm would go to lunch and drink martinis he would grab his green Churchills and bodysurf the waves of South Jetty. Bill may have found his way to the Ocean to stay healthy, but over time, his enthusiasm would draw all sorts…

  • The Ride After the Ride

    In bodysurfing, even the best rides sometimes end in violent underwater poundings. After locking into the pocket of a hollow wave, you watch the next few sections stand up and majestically start to bend. You enjoy the vision and take a deep breath of barrel air…sucked up the face and thrown over the falls. The…

  • The Joy of Bodysurfing Big Waves

    It starts with a buoy, bouncing and sending waves of information to shore. When it lands on my computer screen my body feels it. It’s just an echo. The memory of hundreds of rides shaking my nerves awake. I experience the same excitement that I feel when the horizon goes dark. This feeling infects each…

  • Mythology of the Orange Cap

    I asked a guy who obviously knew his way around NorCal lineups… “Ever see any other bodysurfers around?” “Yeah, I’ve seen a couple. Always the orange swim cap. Or is it pink? Well, whatever color it is, she shows up when it’s biggest and heaviest and most perfect…she swims and plays when the local tough…

  • Visions of the Month January 2015

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Scenes from a very special run of swell. Merry everything. Find your happy little corner. WBC 2025 is on. We hope everyone creates lasting memories with the big bodysurfing family. Thanks to Scott, Casenelli and all of the awesome volunteers who keep this tradition going. Yew! June was solid with consistent combo swells and windows of clean conditions. July began with 6 days of pumping SSW swell. An excellent start to Summer! We met Mark in the water during a massive swell at a local North County San Diego beachbreak. Today our bodysurfing family is saddened to learn of the passing of Fred Simpson. Fred Simpson played a major role in shaping modern bodysurfing performance, culture and equipment. He was a fatherly figure to many young guys scrapping for waves at one of the most famous surf spots in the world. He also designed a fin built to perform for wave surfers. As a vessel of bodysurf and surf knowledge we have lost a titan. He was humble, kind and always willing to share his wealth of experience with us. While he loved Newport, he would often be seen roaming the Oceanside Pier on the Sunday of the WBC championships watching the performers and talking about technical bodysurfing. We wish our wedge family peace in their time of grief and we wish his family the same. Feel free to share memories here and read our two articles about Fred on Swell Lines Mag. 🖤💛 Thanks 2024…here’s to a swell-filled 2025 for all! Pocket rider.

Categories

The History of.

How to.

All-Time Sessions.

Salty Fins.

The Science of.

Sandy Pages.

Glassy Feature.

Ocean Verse.

Tripping Fins.

Visions of the Month.