catching a wave

Verb

catch a wave (third-person singular simple present catches a wave, present participle catching a wave, simple past and past participle caught a wave)

1. To mount one's surfboard at a distance from shore, turn it toward land, and control it for a successful, satisfying ride on inrushing water.
   • Like surfers trying to catch a wave, balloonists try to ride jet streams.1999 March 29, Nadya Labi, “Around the World in a Balloon in 20 Days”, in Time, retrieved 04 Apr 2020
2. (broadly, idiomatic) To derive benefit from a fortunate opportunity; to experience a sudden increase in energy or luck.
   • The size of his fortune, he said, revealed only that "we caught a wave. We were lucky. We had more luck than we deserved."1997 January 23, David Cay Johnston, “A Man Who Repaid His Debts”, in New York Times, retrieved 04 Apr 2020