Did you know that in the UK 250,000 people participate each year in surfing, which is only 0.4% of the country?
Additionally, only 20% of these 250,0000 surfers are female.
On top of this, most start surfing from a young age, and very few pick up the sport later in life.
These are just three factors that make learning to surf all the more daunting, especially for a female who didn’t grow up surfing.
Regardless of this, the truth is that no one owns the sea, and you are just as entitled to enjoy it as anyone else.
In this blog post, I want to prepare you for what being a beginner female surfer might look like
(In the UK)
When I moved to South Wales, one of the hobbies I was most excited to start was surfing. I followed various surfing accounts on social media, which mainly consisted of tropical beaches, bikinis, and professional surfers taking on 5 star waves (see below). Like most, I was pretty quickly obsessed with the whole culture, and ready to make surfing a part of my own life.
Although my rational brain knew that Wales wasn’t a tropical surfing hotspot, I feel as though social media warped my expectations. For that reason, I wanted to write this post on what to expect as a beginner female surfer in the UK, expectations vs reality style.
Spoiler alert: It’s not all coconuts, zinc stick and rainbows
Disclaimer: I’m a novice surfer. This is all purely personal experience and opinion.
The not-so-good things to expect
Starting out, you’re probably going to feel self conscious, intimidated, and out of place at times. Oh… and you’re definitely going to have at least one tantrum trying to remove a sticky wetsuit in a public car park.
- The cold – you’re going to be cold sometimes, that’s just the way it is.
- The cost – board, wetsuit, gloves, boots, wax. It can add up.
- The faff – there’s a lot of time spent fiddling with equipment, getting changed, etc.
- The conditions of the sea – This seems obvious, but is easily overlooked. You’re going to have to fit around the conditions. It’s not always surfable, and sometimes you will spend 95% of your time in the sea just paddling out against white water. With time, you’ll learn which conditions just aren’t worth the damn paddle out.
- The crowds – most places can be quite crowded, which can be overwhelming, especialy as a beginner.
- The confusing surf etiquette – like any sport, there are unwritten rules you’ll need to learn to navigate space/other surfers. These are really important for safety as a beginner.
- The being scared – big waves and chaotic rough conditions can be really scary. You can expect to feel at least a little bit terrified sometimes.
These things said, it’s almost always worth it!
Reasons you should still start surfing
- Exercise, but outdoors! – Great for happy hormones.
- Character building –Things don’t always go your own way, and you’re quite often humbled by nature. Taking this into other parts of your life can be very valuable.
- Good for sunday-scaries – Surfing makes you feel like you can do anything, making the harder parts of life seem less daunting.
- Community and social – weekend surf trips, beers on the beach, post-surf coffee.
- A connection to nature – not something you can get from the gym.
- Surfing trips – plan holidays with surfing in mind. There are plenty of organised surf trips available to book.
My advice
- Join a local group or society –This can be especially useful if you’re nervous or intimidated by other surfers, as you have the protection of a group.
- Get lessons –like any sport, your confidence and progress as a beginner will be far better if you have someone teaching you.
- Don’t rush into buying a board – Especially not a hardboard. Do your research before spending £££ on a board. Start with sometimes with high volume, like a soft top. This makes catching waves easier to begin with.
- Find a beginner beach – Different beaches attract different crowds. Beginner beaches are generally bigger, safer and give you more space to make mistakes and learn. If in doubt, ask an established surfer about the best local beginner beach.
- Know your beach –Different beaches have more favourable waves in different conditions. Get to know your own beach by observing, and talking to locals.
- Get good at paddling out – you will probably spend a lot of time doing this. See a helpful video here
- Learn to read surf forecasts – and get used to checking them before you go. Knowing this= less wasted trips. Most people use the app Surfline.
- Have patience – Don’t put pressure on yourself to be ‘good’ straight away, you’re probably not going to be.
- Expect some frustration – Allow yourself some tantrums, its normal.
- Familiarise yourself with basic surf etiquette – this is really important to keep yourself and others safe. See a helpful video here
- Embrace being a beginner – accept that you are learning, and leave the ego at home.
- Get a wetsuit with a hood attached – If you plan to surf in winter, having a wetsuit with a hood attached can make a big difference when it comes to the cold.
- Get into hand planing – Learning how to catch waves with a hand-plane (instead of a surfboard) can help to increase your knowledge of how waves work, without having to worry about controlling a giant surfboard. This kind of knowledge can translate nicely to surfing. see what I mean here
- Use hair mask – If you struggle with super knotty hair after being in the sea, put a hair mask on before you go in. I find this tends to protect it from matting. I use Garnier Banana Hair Food.
- This youtube channel is really helpful in general
Above all, just enjoy the process and don’t put too much emphasis on anything other than enjoyment.
I will leave you with the most realistic image I could find of my own surfing experience: battling the white water.
And also this one, to keep you dreaming…