56 pages • 1-hour read
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life
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Index of Terms
Haole
Haole is a native Hawaiian term for a white person. Finnegan recalls being regarded as an Haole when he moved to Hawaii.
Making a Wave
When surfers “make a wave,” they ride it in its entirety without falling off their boards. Finnegan uses this term many times throughout his work as he remembers riding different waves.
Pipeline
A pipeline is a hollow, thick wave that curves over surfers as they ride it. Pipelines are notoriously dangerous and difficult waves, which only experienced surfers attempt.
Gun
Finnegan uses the slang term “gun” to describe long, narrow, pointy boards over eight feet long, which are designed to perform well on big waves. He didn’t buy one himself until middle age, when he ventured to Madeira with his friend Peter.
Goofyfoot
This term refers to surfers who surf with their right foot forward and left foot back; Finnegan considers it the surfing equivalent of being left-handed.
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