Hang Ten, Dudes

There's a teeny-tiny surfing museum in a teeny-tiny lighthouse on the shore of Natural Bridges State Beach, and it's where I learned two really interesting things.

First, I learned that a "tail slide" is a surfing term that means to throw the board onto the top edge of the wave, pushing the tail out and sliding across. It's a skateboard trick that surfers picked up sometime in the 80s, I guess. I think it's so cool that skateboarding and surfing are such close sports. Like twins. They just get tips and tricks from each other all the time, and for some reason, it's completely fascinating to me. What can I say? I'm a true interdisciplinarian.

Check out this rad tail slide:

Second, I learned that "hanging ten" isn't just an empty term that beach bums and skaters use. Like "tail slide," it's a surfing maneuver in which the surfer positions the board in a such a way that the back of it is covered by the wave, and the surfer is free to walk to the front of the board and hang all ten toes over the nose of the board. The surfer sometimes only hangs one foot's toes over the nose, and in that case, he says he's "hanging five." Usually, "hanging" can only be done on a heavy longboard.

Here's hanging ten:

Now, all I knew before my trip to Santa Cruz this weekend was that people say "Hang ten" when they are in a chill mood or want you, the hearer, to relax. So I'm guessing that surfers hang ten when they are just kickin' it on their boards? When they have struggled to catch a wave and are now easily riding it out? Do any of you surfers out there know?

Whatever the reason, I think I'm going to start using "Hang ten" in my everyday parlance. Maybe I'll incorporate "Be excellent to each other" in there, too. :)


Thing I'm thankful for: California sunsets