Since Surfline’s 1985 debut, surfer behavior has been entirely transformed as a result of this product and craft. Part science, part art, and part pure data, a Surfline subscriber can now check swell predictions two weeks in advance, from any device –and not just from their backyard, but from anywhere on the planet. Wave and weather forecasting changes how you approach your life. It helps you choose which boards to take to G-Land. It gets you out of bed on mornings you’d otherwise have missed. Most importantly, it keeps you tuned in to movements in the ocean that once were utter mysteries.

The first live camera, or “surf cam” as they’ve become known by a generation of Net-savvy waveriders, was set up by their late founder Sean Collins in Huntington Beach for the 1996 U.S. Open. Using a closed circuit video security camera and a computer program called “Snap and Send,” every five minutes the program would take a single frame from the camera record and upload it to whatever place you’d instructed it. Presto: A live webcam view of the beach, pretty impressive for 1996. Since then their network of live cameras has grown to over 200 and the quality has steadily increased to 4K. Learn more at Surfline.com