The text that backs up this premise is not simple at all. Neither scientist nor surfer, I was pretty much lost after Page 15 — the point where you leave the introduction (titled, so rightly, "The Paradox of Impossible Knowledge"). This is no fault of the book, which is clearly written, equipped with lots of diagrams and a detailed glossary (words that appear in the glossary are helpfully bold-faced in the text). It's definitely down to my jargon-math-graph-phobia and lack of motivation — my relationship with the ocean is limited to periodic wading in summer when it's flat calm.

However, I think dedicated surfers who enjoy exercising their minds will benefit from the book. And I did find back story interesting.

University of Hawai'i oceanographer Rick Grigg — a big wave pioneer who surfed Waimea in 1958 at a time when that was considered a death wish — explained that the book was originally written by two British surfers, Butt and Russell, who are also readers (assistant professors) in oceanography at the University of Plymouth on the southern coast of England. Russell is a past European surf champion and Butt wrote a series of articles on surf oceanography for Surfer magazine that gave rise to the book.

This is actually the second edition of the book — the first run of 10,000 copies sold out, mostly in Europe. This is where Grigg comes in. The authors sent the book to him for a post-publication review and he took the opportunity seriously, sending them a very long and detailed letter offering dozens of clarifications and corrections.

To their credit, Butt and Russell welcomed his suggestions and, besides incorporating them into the book, insisted that he receive a co-author credit.

"That was kind of a surprise. I didn't know how they'd take my letter but I think they understood my tone and my intent to help. I was, of course, pleased. One thing I did was globalize the book; it was mostly about the Atlantic and I tried to get them to talk about the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, as well," said Grigg. He also helped make the connection between the book's original publisher, Alison-Hodge in England, and UH Press, which brought out the U.S. edition last month.

Grigg uses the book as a supplemental text in some of his courses and expects it to be used in a Surf Science course at Windward Community College, and in other courses taught here, as well.

"It's sort of between high school and graduate level and high school, sort of a first-year college text," he said. "That's where we were aiming it — it's a little technical for the average reader but surfers like this kind of stuff. They want to understand more about the ocean."

Grigg says he would never have had the courage to become an academic, particularly a scientist, if it wasn't for surfing. "Surfing piqued my interest (in ocean science), gave me the initiative and drive to go into the field. I really felt it was too difficult, that I would never be able to be a scientist but my curiosity just sort of overcame my doubts," he said.

Academics is Grigg's life now, but surfing has never ceased to be a part of it. "Surfing really invigorates you. It's one of those wonderful, mystical things, like reconnecting with the natural elements," he said.

Grigg says the book is the first of its kind that he knows of and is most appropriate for today's surfers. "I don't think they'll be quite so intimidated (as surfers in the past might have been) because these guys are just on it already. They've figured a lot of this stuff out. They're tuning into the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Web site and the private companies that do wave prediction," he said.