racy - used to describe a fast, but manageable, wave

rad (also radical) - out of the ordinary in a good way (see bitchin, boss, excellent, primo)

RADICAL OUT - slang for: so radical, it's more than radical

rag dolled - to be tossed about as though you have no bones in your body

rail -
1) the outside edge of a surfboard
2) the edge where the deck transitions to the bottom of the surfboard

rail grab -
1) to hold the surfboard by the rail with one hand
2) to hold or grasp a rail of the surfboard in order to maintain control; usually done while going backside in the tube, but also used during aerial surfing

RAJAH DAT (RAH-jah daht) - slang for:
“Roger that!”
– or –
“Okay!”
– or –
"Yes, I agree."

reef break - waves that are formed over an underwater reef or rocky seabed; usually consistent in shape and size but considered more dangerous due to the severity of wipeouts (see also surf break, Cloudbreak, Jaws)

re-entry - to attack the lip, usually by:
• going up vertically –
• then, passing through and/or over the lip –
• and then, turning the nose down and 're-entering' the wave by dropping back down

regular foot - a surfer who surfs left foot forward

release - when water moves quickly and easily over the surface of a surfboard; good, controlled release and drag through a wave is the objective of superior surfboard design

resin -
1) organic resin is a sticky, flammable substance that is insoluble in water and exuded by some trees and plants
2) synthetic resin can be a solid or liquid synthetic organic polymer and is used as the basis for plastics, adhesives, varnishes, or other products (see epoxy resin)

rickt (derived from ‘off the Richter scale’) - awesome, cool, da bomb, etc.

right -
1) a wave breaking to the right from the vantage point of a surfer riding in
2) a wave breaking towards the left from the vantage point of the shore
3) phrase shouted by a person intending to go right on a wave, thereby leaving the left for someone else (see also left and coming down) : Right!

rinse cycle - a broken wave : I was caught in the rinse cycle.

rip -
1) to surf to the height of one's abilities
2) to shred, lacerate and dominate in competition

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ripping (also rippin) -
1) executing drastic and radical moves on the wave
2) having it your way with a wave, i.e. shredding, surfing well

river mouth breaks - waves that form on the sediments deposited at the river mouth; these are similar to beach breaks but sometimes more susceptible to change

rocker - the curved shape of the bottom of a surfboard as viewed in cross-section from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail

rodeo clown - an aerial maneuver consisting of doing a back flip while spinning one and a half times

roller coaster - surfing from the bottom to the top of a wave and then back down

roundhouse - a long, casual turnaround made on the shoulder that ends by dropping back down into the wave

roundhouse cutback -
1) a sharp 180° turn made from the shoulder to go back into the curl or whitewater; usually includes bouncing off approaching whitewater to maintain balance
2) after an extended, speed-gathering cutback from underneath the curl, approaching the curl and using the foam to knock the nose, turning the board around and away from the peak
3) a combination of a cutback and then a snap, starting at the trough and then carving out a figure 8 on a curling wave
(see also cutback, floating roundhouse cutback)

RUBBAH SLIPPAH (RUH-bah SLIH-pah) - slang for: rubber thongs for the feet

rubber arms -
1) to fake going for a wave
2) when a surfer's arms are exhausted

room - the inside of a large barrel

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