Crib
The name used for ones abode. Any place someone crashes can be "crib."

Critical Section
The hardest and most challenging portion of the wave.

Cross Chop
Condition occurring when side shore (parallel to shoreline) wind is strong enough to cause the peaks of waves to be blown out of a line.

Crumbeater
A person in a crew who's the lowest in the pecking order. A wanna-be, a grom waiting for the wave scraps. Example: "Let the crumbeaters have that one."

Current
Parallel flow of water along a beach or shoreline.

Curl 
Older term used to describe the concave face of the wave just before breaking; the area just before the barrel. ("Shoot the curl" was a popular longboard expression from the '60s.)

Cutback
A classic surfing move used to change direction when streaking ahead of the curl of a wave with a powerful turn back towards the breaking part of the wave. Cutbacks are an important element in surfing as the maneuver repositions the surfer closer to the power of the wave. See also Roundhouse cutback.

Cutout
The act of exiting a wave.

Cyclone
An atmospheric closed circulation rotating counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. Can be a high-pressure or low-pressure cyclone.

Cylinder
A fast moving wave that throws out in a symmetrical manner as it begins to break. Synonym: Tube, Green Room or Shack.