I have seen this phenom in a movie and recently a photographer posted a couple underwater photos from Hawaii where you can see what looks like little tornadoes behind the curl of a wave.
When I asked him what they were, he responded with this: "I have no idea what you call those things or what they are. All I know is they have something to do with the turbulence under the water, after the lip penetrates. They're fun to shoot, but you almost have to develop a sixth sense about where the lip will be touching down, because you're underwater. Here's another one from yesterday..."
Here's the 2 photos.
Thanks for your help.