Today in the Boo

[steveooo]

Originally Posted by bubblehide

Frank, waves are measured from the back side, ocean surface to the top of the wave; not the face (front). But it's a common mistake.

If you go to Hawaii, you are correct. In cali, and most other places in the world they use the face height, because the way different spots break. A 2 foot wave back might be a 2 foot face in one place, and a 4 foot wave face in another.

"In March 2001 however, the National Weather Service sought to standardize reporting, calling the surf by wave face. This was done in the interest of public safety, especially in light of a series of injury lawsuits that claimed that surf reports did not accurately reflect true ocean conditions."