🏄‍♀️ Do we even need surf apps? (yes, we have a full list) 😜

👋 Happy… to see you! The big story this week is… surf apps. But perhaps not in the way you think. Also, surf news is totally ridiculous. Pelicans! Who knew!

🏄‍♀️ Let’s surf:

• Do we even need surf apps? 😜

• Unstad Beach is chill(y) 🥶

• I surf now, did you know? 🏄🏻‍♀️

• Ridic surf news 🗞️

• Pic of the week 🌅

• The only shark you’ll want to meet 🦈

• Where will you retreat next? 🌴

^SURFODRAMA

😱 Do we even need surf apps? 😜

If you had to guess how many surf apps exist, what would you say? Five? Ten? Twenty? Try 40+.

Yeah, it caught us by surprise too. The research for this story was an eye-opening experience, and not in the best of ways. We put together a full surf apps roundup anyway, because ultimately, it's up to you.

1️⃣ The “find” problem
Here’s the thing though, despite the plethora of choices that feels like the buffet at Bellagio (that’s in Vegas, which apparently is getting a wave pool too), finding decent surfing apps is weirdly hard.

They’re poorly categorized, the descriptions are misleading, and you can’t filter by rating or number of reviews. The first two unpromoted results in the App Store when we searched? Surfing games. Cool, not what we needed.

So we did the work. We dug through the whole landscape and also asked our community—you—what you’re actually using.

2️⃣ The “need” problem
Then we asked the bigger, more interesting question: do any of these apps actually matter? Do we even need them?

Short answer: No, we don’t need surf apps. We’ve never needed them.

We didn’t need them in ancient Hawai’i, or when surfing returned from the dead in the early 1920s, or when it all exploded in the 50s, or when the shortboard revolution came. We didn’t even need them when Covid hit.

But we use them because surfing can be confusing as hell. Okay, so that was the short answer.

3️⃣ The “why” problem
The longer answer… We use surf apps because surfing these days can cause so much anxiety on so many different levels that it feels like we’d just feel safer with a wee app crutch.

The anxiety comes in many shapes and intensities:

“Is it even worth going out today?”
“But seriously, is it even worth going out today?”
“Am I getting any better at this?”
“Can someone tell me how I could get better at this?”
“I must get in shape to get better at this!”
“I don’t think I am getting better at this at all.”
“I wish there was someone who I could get better at this with.”
“I’m never getting better at this. I’ll stick to re-enacting surfing on my phone instead.”

Can the apps help? Yes and no, it depends.

But what they can do is create a false sense of certainty in a sport that is, fundamentally, unpredictable. Unpredictable because of conditions, the lineup, your own progress path, or fitness.

And that’s exactly why we want you to take all of this with a pinch of salt. Still, we do have a full list of different app categories with examples.

This story—very long, links—many, please continue reading online.

👉 Continue reading online

^{SURF SPOT SPOTLIGHTS}

🥶 Unstad Beach is chill(y)

We're all about tropical surf destinations and surfing without wetsuits, aren't we? But shouldn't we expand our horizons from time to time? You know, to grow as surfers. 😬

And Unstad Beach might be just the place.

A surf beach in the Norwegian Arctic, ringed by jagged mountains and fjords, with cold, deep water sending in swells that may have started building near Greenland.

It is remote, wild, and one of the best known cold water surf spots in Europe. You may get to see the Northern Lights, but we're promising nothing.

🌊 Arctic break for everybody
Technically, Unstad is for all abilities—but with some very important fine print.

The beach is usually the place for beginners, especially in summer, when the waves are gentler and more manageable. According to the local surf school, people start in waist-deep water and work their way out gradually, and with the right instruction, everybody gets up in the end.

The reefs and points are for experienced surfers and demand more confidence, wave knowledge, and comfort around rocks, currents, and a lot of power.

On the northern edge of the bay is Unstad Right, a high-quality, fast, reef break that can produce seriously good waves.

On the southern edge is Unstad Left, a long, fast, hollow point wave breaking over rocks. It is often described as one of the best lefts in the world, and it is a major reason pros and advanced surfers travel here.

Then there is the Garbage Dump, further outside. Advanced surfers only.

🌬️ Swell makes all the difference
Unstad works best with SW to NW swell, with WNW often singled out as the sweet spot.

The ocean off the coast of Unstad is about 500 metres deep, and because there is so little to interrupt the swell, waves can travel all the way from Greenland. You know what this means—more consistent waves!

The break can work on all tides, though the reef and point waves are best on low to mid tide, and it handles anything from waist-high to double overhead.

🧊 The vibes
Welcoming and mellow, though summer gets busier.

Surfing here has deep roots—it dates back to 1963, when some local guys went to sea, ended up in Australia, got introduced to surfing, and came home inspired enough to make their own boards in woodwork class, reportedly inspired by the cover of a Beach Boys record.

Since the 1990s it has been taken more seriously, and since 2007 the Lofoten Masters has helped put Unstad firmly on the international surf map. Many big-name photographers have made the trip in recent years, and the beach is now one of Europe's most iconic cold-water surf locations.

🧼 Water quality
Clean and cold. Sea temperature sits around 6°C / 43°F—full winter-kit territory. Cloudy days can make it feel about the same in and out of the water, which is a weird little Arctic bonus.

🧥 Wardrobe
You know it. Bring a proper winter wetsuit, neoprene hood, gloves, and booties. No, really. All of it. Even in summer, this is not boardshorts-and-a-rashie territory.

📅 Best time to surf
Unstad works all year, but the character of the place changes a lot with the seasons.

September to November is often highlighted as the best period—bigger, more stable swells arrive in autumn and winter, which is when experienced surfers come from all over the world for the better lefts and more powerful setups. Summer is the time for beginners, when the waves tend to be smaller and kinder.

⚠️ Hazards
Rocks, reefs, and rip currents. Cold water if you're not used to it, and it's pretty remote. The beach has a sandy middle section, though there can be quite a lot of seaweed.

✈️ How to get there
Unstad is on Vestvågøy, a Norwegian island, around 21 km east of Leknes. The closest airport is Bodø, about 116 km / 72 miles away, with Evenes the second nearest at around 129 km / 80 miles.

🤓 Fun fact
Unstad is home to Unstad Arctic Surf, reportedly the most northerly surf school in the world at 68 degrees north.

^{GIRL WHO SURFS AND WANTS EVERYONE TO KNOW IT}

🏄🏻‍♀️ I surf now, did you know?

Andrea will tell anyone who will listen that she is in fact a surfer. She lives in New Hampshire, she's a mom of two, and she came to surfing in her forties in the most unexpected way.

She's tried it before— twice—and it did not go well. 😬

But then something happened in Costa Rica that changed everything, and she hasn't stopped since.

She surfs cold New England winters. She takes herself on solo surf trips. She's raising two little surfers. And she has a lot to say about surrender. We loved this one.

👉 Read Andrea’s story

^{THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY SURF NEWS ROUNDUP}

🗞️ Surfer gnawed by pelicans. Female surfer statue in trouble. Olympic surfing sold out. Australia gets a wave pool.

🐦 A surfer got attacked by pelicans (kind of)
A surfer in Huntington Beach was reportedly attacked by a group of pelicans in the lineup.

🗿 Santa Cruz is arguing over a surfer statue
In Santa Cruz, a proposed bronze statue of a female surfer has gotten a little out of hand.

🎟️ Olympic surfing tickets sold out immediately
Because of course they did.

🌊 Wave pools are getting… big
12 football fields size big to be precise.

👉 Read the full news roundup

^{PIC OF THE WEEK}

🌅 Malibu days, Malibu nights

This week’s pic of the week is by Carlos Gauna better known to many of us as @themalibuartist.

Carlos usually terrifies surfers with his pristine drone footage of turquoise Pacific waters and following big juicy sharks from Malibu to Santa Monica, back and beyond.

I bet you he’s looking forward to this “sharky summer” we’ve been promised.

^{ALL THINGS SURF DIRECTORY}

✈️ Where will you retreat next?

In our All Things Surf Directory, surf retreats is the most popular category for sure.

The directory features smaller, independent surf retreats that you may not normally find on surf retreat aggregate websites. And we believe its a good thing.

So, where do you want to go next?

El Salvador? Morocco? Nicaragua? Costa Rica? Or maybe Australia, Indonesia or the Phillipines? There’s Portugal, Spain, and Denmark!

I wish I was minted and had spare vacation days. 😜

👉 Check out the directory

^HOUSEKEEPING

🦈 The only shark you’ll want to meet—Jaws ‘JJ’ Junior

We don’t even want you to buy the merch to support The Wipeout Weekly.

We just wanted to introduce our original mascot—Jaws ‘JJ” Junior.

Born to drop in. Waves wait for no one.
That’s Jaws “JJ” Junior.
Bloodlines of legends, mind of her own.
No such thing as a “bigger boat” to tame her.
She’s got no time for lineup politics—and eats locals for breakfast.

Yes, we are shark-obsessed.

👉 See our stuff

^{ALL THINGS THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY}

_{The Wipeout Weekly—our home and digital magazine.
The Wee Surf Shoppe—explore useful, cute, and sometimes simply outrageous surf “stuffs”.
The Wipeout Weekly podcast—daily surf stories and weekly* guests.
All Things Surf Directory—surf retreats, learn to surf, classifieds, surf-side lodging, you name it.
Girls Who Can’t Surf Good—an 86k-member-strong private group on Facebook.}
Feedback—we do want to hear from you! Whatever is on your mind, drop us a line.

⬆️ Aaaaaaand that was the last wave of the week!
If a friend forwarded this and you liked it, hit subscribe & join us! We will see you all next week! 🌊