| RADICAL | 1. (RAD) Something was really awesome or cool. 2. Crazy, insane, wierd, unplanned. 3. Awsome, on the edge. See Sick. |
| RAD MAN | One who totally hangs ten with his toes on the nose or skilled in many manuvers. |
| RAG-DOLLED | To get smashed by a wave. |
| RAIL | The side or edge of a surfboard. |
| RAILER | The "Ultimate" Cool in surfer lingo. |
| RANDOM STANDER | Inexperienced / weekend surfer. |
| RANK | (Go or Went) As "It was goin off he just went totally rank on that wave dude!" or "Just go rank at the dude! what a wanker!" etc (Australian) |
| RAT | Annoying idiot. Kook. |
| RAW | Somthing bad ass or really f*ckin awesome. |
| REEF BREAK | Waves breaking over a projection rising from the sea bed, usually a corel reef or rock shelf. |
| RE-ENTRY | Maneuver which involves surfing up into the lip of a breaking wave, then coming back down with it. |
| REGULAR | A surfer who surfs with thier LEFT foot forward |
| RESIN | Chemical used in a two part mixture with catalyst to convert fibreglass into a hard outer skin. |
| RHINO CHASER | Big wave board (comes from big game hunting and a reference to a Rhino rifle ) |
| RICKED | Awesome. |
| RICT | Off the ricter scale; awesome. |
| RIG | To fix a competition or event to person's advantage. |
| RIGHT! | What you shout when you catch a wave and intend to go to the right leaving the left for someone else to catch. |
| RIGHT-HANDER or RIGHT | A wave that breaks from right to left as viewed from the shore. |
| RIGHTEOUS | Totally awesome or honorable. Another word for Gnarly. |
| RIGHT ON | Good job,nice effort. |
| RIP | To surf your max. |
| RIP or RIPTIDE | A channel of water running out to sea. |
| RIPPIN' or RIPPING | Surf hard and energetically making excellent manuvers and totally controlling the wave. |
| ROAD BLOCK | When u and another surfer are paddleing out then all of a sudden you bail and thow your board in front of the other surfer causeing them to have to bail also. |
| ROCKER | The curve in a surfboard when viewed side on. |
| ROCKET | Hot guy. |
| ROOM | Inside a large barrel. |
| R.T.D. | RTD: referencing a surfer on a long board who cannot turn. As in, Rapid Transit District, similar to a bus. |