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Surfing Sites
FORGET THE ROCKS, THE REEFS, THE SHARKS, THE RIP TIDES. AS ANY surfer will tell you, paddling out to sea and riding back in on its waves is the closest we can get to nirvana on earth, and well worth the risk. Though it has been a male-dominated sport since its inception, more and more women are jumping aboard, thanks to world champion trailblazers like Margo Oberg, Layne Beachley, and Lisa Andersen. And the already initiated are delighted by it.
“Every time I meet a girl in the water, we say exactly the same thing: that we are so happy to see each other,” says Aya Nakashima, who recently moved from Japan to California so she could surf every morning before school. “It gets lonely out here, being the only one in the ocean. Guys are always trying to tell me what to do just because I’m a girl.” Kristina Marquez and Sally Smith of Santa Cruz, California knew the feeling. They got so sick of being ignored, or worse, at surf shops, that in 1997 they decided to open one of their own: Paradise Surf Shop. They stacked their shelves with suits and tops that fit “real women,” then created a clubhouse atmosphere with couches and piles of magazines and DVDs. Even their bathroom pays homage to female empowerment, with bumper stickers reading “Girls rip” and “Just because some designer cranked it out doesn’t mean you have to wear it.” They also got involved with the community, sponsoring forums on surfing safety and holding art shows and fundraisers for local non-profits. Women flock here from all over Northern California to check out the merchandise and hang out. You can, too, at 3961 Portola Drive.
Once properly outfitted in a new rash guard and booties, it’s time to get stoked—or, at least, learn how to. In Hawai’i, Maui Surfer Girls offers both overnight surf camp and surf classes taught by women, for women (and girls), with a student/instructor ratio of 3:1. Visit them on Ukumehame Beach Park, five miles south of Lahaina. Surf Diva out of La Jolla, California offers two-day and five-day surfing clinics at both the beginner and intermediate levels, as well as weeklong Viva La Diva trips to the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. Drop by their office at 2160 Avenida de la Playa. For a luxury surfing experience, try Las Olas Surf Safaris for Women. Since 1997, they have been offering week-long retreats in oceanfront villas in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico that include morning yoga classes and sports massages in addition to daily, “women-specific” surfing instruction. (Depending on group interest, salsa lessons and henna body art parties can also be arranged.) As their motto so aptly says, “Las Olas—We make girls out of women.”
Then consider entering a contest or two. Girls and women ranging in age from seven to sixty-plus gather in Capitola, California each year to compete in the Women on Waves Festival. Throughout the long day, surfboards are raffled, bands play, the pros sign autographs, and all proceeds go to the local domestic violence shelter, a woman’s cancer advocacy group, and a college scholarship fund.