🏄‍♀️ Can surfers make you quit surfing? 🥺

👋 Happy National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day! Not to be confused with National Pecan Pie Day. That was in July. And this week’s was supposed to be a surfodrama-free, limited-word-count issue. It didn’t work out the way we planned it. 😜

🏄‍♀️ Let’s surf:

• Can surfers make you quit surfing? 🥺

• Lance’s Left. Lance’s Right. Two Lances? 😵‍💫

• Today at… I’m bailing 😖

• From Changi to Canoes 🌺

• Surf news roundup 🗞️

^SURFODRAMA

🏄🏻‍♀️ Can surfers make you quit surfing? 🥺

I always say that I would've been an amazing surfer if it wasn't for other people and conditions at my local surf spot, and questionable fitness. In short, if it wasn't for what surfing actually is. There is a reason why surfing is the most infuriating sport known to human beings. Dogs seem to enjoy it more.

So when I saw a post last week on Instagram, you probably saw it too, 44.5k likes, 2.3k comments, more on TikTok, I started wondering if some surfers don't know what the definition of surfing is.

🌴 What actually happened
A woman is out on a longboard in Bali. A set breaks outside and washes through. She turtle rolls, correctly, she knows the rules, she says so, and the wave rips the board out of her hands anyway. Six feet away, a man loses his board too. The two boards find each other, as boards usually do.

She surfaces and asks if he's okay. He tells her she needs to flip her board over.

The unavoidable in surfing had happened as it happens every day. Sometimes it's impossible to keep hanging onto your board. Because surf happens. End of. Or so you'd think.

📱 The internet took over
But we surfers love the drama.

Amira Hasib, @thelittleloudlady, posted about it: "Ask any surfer girl what it's like to be on the lineup with men. 9/10 times they're negging us, dropping in and just being bullies."

Rage bait central.

Even BeachGrit, the Onion-wannabe of the surfing world, covered it with the headline: "Surfer makes compelling argument for why men should not be allowed to surf."

I have better things to do than scroll through thousands of comments, but thankfully there's tech to do this now, so I can tell you this.

There was support, there was racism including racial slurs, there were comments on victim mentality, there was sexism, and many "not all men" ones. There was even the famous @diplo who apparently surfs Malibu. That I was prepared for. Maybe not for the racial slurs.

💔 The stories that broke me
What I wasn't ready for, and what made me incredibly sad, were the stories of surfers who quit because of other surfers.

Imagine. Giving up something that you enjoyed or loved, because other people made it impossible for you to carry on.

Being screamed at as a 13-year-old little girl. Bullied out of the lineup. Taking lessons, moving closer to the surf, just to barely go out anymore. Or having to rebuild your entire surf practice around it. Taking the rubbish waves when you're on your own, because at the good peak you get targeted. Or taking chances with the sharks. I do see the appeal.

And this is where I take issue with what social media does to posts like this one. Not with the post itself. It was a valid experience for the poster.

What is not helping is surfers at each other's throats wasting all this energy on arguing about something that we should all be working to change IRL.

I'm not naive. It's undeniable that there's racism in surfing. When I spoke to Lou Harris of the Black Surfing Association in Rockaway, he was very honest about how he was perceived in the lineups when he started learning.

There's racism in surfing as there's racism in society. In some societies and surf breaks it's more evident, in some, amazingly, it's non-existent. The same applies to being a woman or a well-adjusted man. In society and in the lineup.

Having these "group discussions" is not going to magically fix surfing. We know what the problems are.

What it may lead to is just fewer surfers starting out at all, because they assume that surfers are horrible people and surfing is not worth the hassle. And we all know that this isn't true.

I wish we could figure out a way to get on with each other. Because if we can't muster empathy, we're officially not only effed as a culture, but as a species.

So maybe, just maybe, next time we're out and we see some stupid shit happen, we can say something. Not online. In the water. This weekend, I shouted "Don't do that" at a four-year-old who was throwing sand at pigeons. The entire restaurant heard me. His parents definitely did. See, it can be done.

💙 Where surfing actually works
What I wish for each of you is a break like the one @surfersusie66 surfs at. She said: "I am so fortunate cuz all I get is LOVE, of course my crew always has my back. I love my boyz!!! Keep surfing dudes ……."

Or come to Venice Breakwater, Los Angeles. I have not been shouted at yet. 😜

^{SURF SPOT SPOTLIGHT}

👈 Lance’s Left. Lance’s Right. Two Lances?

I have recently somewhat randomly come across this footage of a ridiculously long wave, and decided to learn more about it. I got a little bit more than I bargained for. 🫠

This is Lance’s Left, a long left-hand reef break off the southern end of Sipora Island in Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands. It lies on the opposite side of the island’s southern tip from Lance’s Right (bear with me!), also known as HT’s, near the village of Katiet. The story of Lance’s is very well documented.

🧭 Lance Knight’s journey to the Mentawais
Australian surfer and former barge skipper Lance Knight travelled to the Mentawais in early 1991 after being inspired by Peter Troy’s stories about finding waves in Indonesia. Lance reached Padang and paid $50 to join a medical flight to Sipora. He arrived with one surfboard, a backpack, a bag of rice and a water bottle. This is super specific.

On Sipora, Lance arranged for a local boatman to take him around the island. Bad weather forced them to stop at Katiet, where he saw and surfed the unnamed right-hand wave now known as Lance’s Right. Pak Hosen, a local resident, and his family gave Lance food and somewhere to stay. He didn’t even need his bag of rice!

Lance remained in Katiet for approximately two weeks, surfing the Right alone. He later recalled villagers climbing a tree near the reef to watch him surf. When the wind turned onshore, Pak showed him how to reach the other side of the island, where Knight found the offshore left-hander now known as Lance’s Left.

🏄 How the waves got their names
Approximately two weeks after Lance arrived, Martin Daly and the crew of the Indies Trader anchored at Lance’s Right. Martin found Lance already surfing there and proposed naming the wave Lance’s Right. The two neighboring waves subsequently became known as Lance’s Right and Lance’s Left.

Some later accounts give a different discovery order, saying Lance encountered the Left before reaching Katiet and seeing the Right. The detailed account published by Australian Surfing Life, based on Lance’s recollections, places the Right first and the Left later. Does the discovery order matter? To me, not so much.

🎨 The wave Lance pictured before finding it
Before traveling to the Mentawais, Lance had commissioned an airbrush design for one of his surfboards depicting an imagined right-hand barrel and a winding left-hand wave. He later said part of the design looked similar to Lance’s Left.

The Indonesian Lance’s Left breaks over reef and contains several sections, including long open walls and occasional barrels. Surf guides describe it as one of the Mentawais more reliable waves. And it’s sooooooo long.

If the Mentawais isn’t on the cards for you, fear not. You can still surf Lance’s Left. Another soooooooo long wave.

🇳🇮 The other Lance’s Left
Because another wave with the same name lies near the fishing village of El Astillero on Nicaragua’s Pacific coast. Also known as El Peñón, the Nicaraguan Lance’s Left is a long left-hand point break running along a cliff-backed bay.

The wave breaks over a rocky reef and can produce rides of 300 meters or more, with several local guides reporting rides of up to 500 meters in the right conditions. It is generally soft and playful when small, becoming faster and steeper as the swell increases.

Sources differ on its ideal tide: some recommend lower or mid tides, while others report that it works throughout the tidal range.

Mondo describes it as very consistent, with more than 150 surfable days a year. That statistic applies to the Nicaraguan wave, not the Mentawai Lance’s Left.

🚤 Getting there and what to watch out for
The wave is usually reached by boat, although it is possible to walk from El Astillero. Local guides warn that the walk is long and hot and that the black sand and rocks can become extremely hot in the afternoon.

You will also have to deal with currents, reef bottom, sea urchins and a rocky entry. And some petty theft.

Can you surf this Lance’s Left as a beginner? Some local guides describe the wave as suitable for a wide range of surfers when it is small, while others recommend it only for intermediate and advanced surfers. So, we will say: maybe not.

🔎 Who was the other Lance?
The origin of the Nicaraguan wave’s name is less clearly documented than that of its Indonesian spot. Several local surf guides say it was named after a boat captain called Lance who kept the spot secret for years. One older local account identifies the person as Lance Moss, but his identity has not been independently confirmed. There is no known connection between Nicaragua’s Lance and Australia’s Lance Knight. Obviously.

There you have it. Two countries, two left-hand waves and, apparently, two different men named Lance.

“Lance” appears 41 times in this newsletter. I know you wanted to know.

^{PIC OF THE WEEK}

😖 Today at… I’m bailing

Today at… pics I found on Threads: this little gem by @randydible_photo from a secret spot.

And while we’re on the subject of pics, do give us a follow on Instagram, would ya? 🥰 @girlswhocantsurfgood

^{LATEST FROM GIRLS WHO CAN’T SURF GOOD}

💬 3 things we’re figuring out this week

🛬 Board storage at Singapore Changi Airport with 5 or 6 hours to kill? Community top picks: the standard luggage storage places at the airport (put your board on a trolley and wheel it in), and specifically the storage rooms just before the exits to the bus and metro. Charged by the hour. Easy.

🏄‍♀️ Solo trip from Northern Europe to Spain, chill vibes, beginner-friendly, not the party scene? Community top picks: Fuerteventura (better in fall than summer, Corralejo or Cotillo specifically), Lanzarote's Famara beach break (beautiful but pricey), Galicia in northern Spain (friendly locals, less crowded), Zarautz, and San Sebastián. Two warnings: Gran Canaria doesn't have the easiest waves for beginners, and Somo got mixed reviews on local vibe from more than one member. If you're open to stretching beyond Spain, multiple members ended up recommending Morocco instead.

🌺 Beginner spot on Oahu (Waikiki looks too crowded)? Community top picks: Canoes at dawn (yes, it's still Waikiki, right in front of the Duke statue, but empty at first light so it works), Publics (great for kids and beginners), Rock Piles nearby, and Pua'ena on the North Shore if it isn't flat (it's flat most of the summer). Chuns works too but go early or you'll be sharing with surf schools. Community reality check: every warm-water surf spot in Hawai’i is going to be crowded. Just paddle out.

👉 Join us for more recs, chatter, and support

^{THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY SURF NEWS ROUNDUP}

🗞️ Hawai’i surfers refuse to sit out Hurricane Lala. A wave pool tanks. Every wave in El Salvador goes free. And science says the ocean is medicine.

🌀 Hurricane Lala passes Hawai’i, some surfers go anyway
The NYT found bodyboarders and surfers still paddling out on the Big Island and Oahu with beach parks closed and lifeguards warning them off, because "big weather makes for big waves."

🏗️ Cactus Surf Park in Gilbert, Arizona goes bust
The long-stalled 25-acre project suffered another apparent death in May when Gilbert and Canadian builder WhiteWater West Industries ended their agreement.

📡 Every surf cam and forecast in El Salvador is now free on Surfline
Surfline made every camera and forecast in an entire country free for the first time ever, covering Punta Roca, El Sunzal, El Zonte, K-59, Mizata, Punta Mango, and Las Flores.

🤠 Galveston surf culture is very real, actually
Houstonia Magazine's long profile of Southeast Texas surf culture covers astronaut Christina Koch surfing between missions, Chicks on Sticks (a women's surf group with a member who picked it up at 60 and gets to the seawall by trike), the only female-owned surf shop on the island, and tanker surfing on freighter wakes in the Houston Ship Channel.

🧠 USC researchers on how surfing rewires your brain (and eases chronic pain)
Two USC scholars are studying the science and history of surfing, with one identifying a brain marker called peak alpha frequency that shifts favorably after a session and appears to help with chronic pain relief.

💙 Gnome Surf Therapy brings adaptive surfing to spinal cord injury survivors
The Rhode Island nonprofit got a group of spinal cord injury survivors onto surfboards at Horseneck Beach in Westport last week, with one participant describing it as "so cathartic. It was like being reborn."

👉 Read the full news roundup

^{ALL THINGS THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY}

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⬆️ Aaaaaaand that was the last wave of the week!
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With stoke,

Zuz & The Wipeout Weekly