A selection of this month's finest photographs recomended by the editor.

This month we take a look one of the crucial ingredients to surfing. Waves, for without waves we would have nothing to surf upon. Surfing waves come in all different shapes, sizes and colours, and the fact that every wave is unique only adds to the mystic and beauty of surfing.

Waves are usually generated in strong storms mid-ocean by a transfer of energy from the wind to the sea via friction, these little waves increase in size as the wind continues to blow. These newly formed waves continue to grow and travel in the dircection of the wind until they move out of the storm that gave birth to them. Once the waves leave the storm and move into open ocean they begin to organise themselves into swell, and when that swell hits the coastline the seabed forms the waves we enjoy surfing so much.

Waves have often travelled thousands of miles before expending their retained energy on the various surfing beaches of the world, and their arrival needs to coincide with the right local conditions to create good surfing waves, but this all adds to their elusive beauty.

This is only a brief probably mis-guided synopsis of wave formation, for a excellent understanding of wave formation and a good read see Surf Science

Below are various different photographs of waves breaking as the first of a two month wave special.

© Sean Davey, 2002 Clean beach waves	© Sean Davey, 2001 Wave detail	© Sean Davey, 1996 Silhouetted surfer
© Sean Davey, 0 Waimea shorebreak

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