The alarm rang at 4:30 am, but I was already awake. Meeting Surf Sisters Sherri and Haley at 5:15 for the hour drive up to El Porto in Manhattan Beach for the Queen of the South Bay all-women's surf competition (that is not really a competition), I didn't want to be late. Haley's 8-foot longboard fit neatly inside my upside down 9 on her roof rack. She had purchased new straps for the trip to hold our boards atop Rustica, her dark orange Subaru. Her shortboards were inside th

This whole thing began because I saw a dad teaching his daughter how to surf one day at Blackies soon after we started surfing, and it made me incredibly sad. I remember seeing how tender he was with his little girl, how careful he was with her, how they laughed, how she gave him her rapt attention and tried so hard to do what he was telling her. I paddled closer to them, so I could hear his directions -- maybe get a few tips. I couldn't hear very well over the crashing waves

A voluptuous goddess is perhaps not well suited for surfing. Wahine Kai Surf Club new member meet and greet at Bolsa Chica State Beach On that gloomy day last week when I went surfing alone for the first time, a person on stand up paddle board passed by me. It was striking to see this bright blue paddle board and colorful wetsuit float on the invisible border between the sea and sky. Everything was an even steel gray, so the blue really popped. Thoughts intruded from my inner

It was one of those June Gloom days when you couldn't tell the difference between ocean and sky. All pictures from pexels.com. This is the first time I surfed alone. Sunday morning at 7 am, Father's Day 2023. My crew was off doing other things, so I went out with my new board in the gray gloom of June in Southern California. Blackies north of Newport Beach Pier is always busy, so I wasn't really alone. I am beginning to learn and it is amazing. For my 55th birthday this year,