🏄‍♀️ I hate GoPro. Also: Do you even have surf footage? 🫣

👋 Happy TGIF! We’ve got a super busy lineup this week—and one story that comes with a trigger warning. Surfing. There’s no other thing like it. 😜

🏄‍♀️ Let’s surf:

• I hate GoPro 📹

• Dominicalito—like a wee Dominical 🌴

• Don’t be a shoulder hopper! 🚫

• The story we didn’t want to write 😬

• Yes, surf forecasts could suck less 📉

• Good surf news only 🌊

^{SURFODRAMA #1}

 😱 I hate GoPro 👿

Do you have any footage of you surfing? I had zero for the first 15+ years of my surfing journey. In the day where Instagram is filled with drone and GoPro footage of people learning to surf, it’s a bit disheartening. I know a lot of you can relate.

And now I do have the footage, thanks to GoPro! You’d think I would be GoPro’s biggest fan.

But no. I hate the GoPro.

But perhaps not for the reason you hate the GoPro. It hasn’t always been this way.

📦 My early GoPro days
I was an early adopter and still own a Hero 3 (this means like a decade ago). I only got bought it during a surfing vacay in Waikik’i.

But, of course, the GoPro ended up on my husband’s board, because there’s no footage of me surfing from that trip. But no point crying over spilled milk.

The next time I used the GoPro was when riding horses on another vacay. I wore a chest harness, could easily access the camera, turn it on and off when needed—total bliss.

🤖 Tyrannosaurus arms meet modern tech
Cue this year’s surf trip to Waikik’i. After an 11-year absence. This time, I was getting my own GoPro—Hero 13 Black—and it was staying on my board!

Ahead of time, I re-learned how to use it, what the new features were, and tested it out. But when I put it on my board, one thing became clear. I have Tyrannosaurus Rex arms and I can’t reach the record button on my 9’6” Robert August longboard without pearling.

In hindsight, I’ve always had shorter arms and I carry surfboards on my head. But but but—I imagined in the age of AI, there would be an easier way to turn the damn thing on and off. Because battery life.

Hero 13 Black offers a voice activation feature. And it works, like really really well. In a quiet room. But not in the ocean. Unless you want to shout and a) scare all the honu (turtles) away, b) look like a prized kook. So that’s out.

You would think there would be a GoPro Apple Watch app—but no more. And even if that was the case, if you’re already using your Apple Watch to track your surfing workout, it does that waterproof locking thing, and you can’t easily access other apps. Argh.

Every time I was about to paddle for a wave, I got to suffer the indignation of reaching for the record button with my T-Rex arms, pushing the nose of the board in the water and staring down into the abyss. OK, it’s not that deep. And if I had to switch the damn thing off, I had to get off my board and swim up to it.

So many waves missed (on film) because I was not in control!

You could just leave it running? Yes, I could (and I did), but battery life in 4K is poor, and your camera dies in under 1 hour.

You could shoot in lower resolution? Then what’s the bloody point of having 4K? Have you seen how insanely good the footage looks?

Isn’t this like a first-world problem? Doesn’t a GoPro retail for like $300+?

Yes it is, and yes it does.

🧠 So why GoPro in the first place?
It goes deeper than you think. I’ve been surfing for a long time, and barely any photos of me even holding a surfboard—let alone riding a wave—exist.

I tell people I surf, but until they’ve seen me actually riding for 20 seconds, it doesn’t quite register. Which, in my line of work—building The Wipeout Weekly into a surf media empire for Girls Who Can’t Surf Good and beyond 😜—is somewhat detrimental.

When I posted my video on Facebook, my dad’s reaction was, I quote: “At last. You’re doing quite well.” I think for anyone who has to deal with parents who don’t understand what you do for a living or fun, that comment hits pretty hard.

We all know surfing isn’t about that. But sometimes—just sometimes—it’d be nice to share a video of catching that one-minute wave.

^{SURF SPOT SPOTLIGHT}

Dominicalito: beginners’ bay

Tucked just a few minutes south of Playa Dominical on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, Dominicalito is a small, protected bay that offers mellow conditions and a scenic setting—jungle backdrop, fishing boats, and the occasional howling monkey.

No wonder it’s a popular pick for beginners, surf schools, and anyone trying to catch their first proper green wave without wiping out

🌊 The surf
Dominicalito is a sandy-bottom beach break that works best on smaller swells and medium tides. When the swell is low, it’s soft, slow, and super forgiving—ideal for foamies and first pop-ups.

• The inside is mellow whitewater—great for total beginners.

• The outside can offer small, clean peelers perfect for progression once you’re popping up consistently.

• On bigger swells, it can close out or get punchier—then it’s better left to intermediate surfers or surf instructors guiding you.

🐚 Water quality
Generally good, especially in dry season (December–April). After big rains, runoff from nearby rivers can affect water clarity—so maybe skip a post-storm session unless you’re into mystery microbes.

👙 Wardrobe
Water temps are consistently warm—no wetsuit needed year-round. Just bring your favorite surf suit, rashie, or long-sleeve top if you burn easily.

☀️ Best time for beginners
December to April is ideal: dry season, smaller swells, and reliable sandbars. May to November (rainy season) brings more swell and occasional storms—but early mornings are often clean and quiet.

⚠️ Hazards

• Occasional rip currents, especially near the river mouth (south end)—just ask a local before paddling out

• Rocky areas on the far north and south ends—stick to the center unless you know what you're doing

• Fishing boats sometimes bob in the lineup. Paddle wide!

🏄 Rentals + lessons
Several surf schools in Dominical will happily shuttle you to Dominicalito for beginner lessons if Dominical is too rough. Board rentals are available in town—some accommodations even offer them for free. Expect plenty of foamies and soft-tops in rotation.

🐒 When you’re not surfing

• Hike to Nauyaca Waterfalls or Poza Azul for a jungle swim

• Explore nearby Uvita and Marino Ballena National Park

• Watch the sunset from the beach with a cold beer

🧳 Solo friendly?
Very. The Dominical/Uvita zone is full of solo travelers, yogis, digital nomads, and nature lovers. Most surf schools are beginner-friendly and happy to connect you with other learners.

^{WORD OF THE WEEK}

Don’t be a shoulder hopper!

There are two places shoulder hoppers come from. Either they’re inexperienced surfers who aren’t familiar with surf etiquette—or they just don’t give a damn. The second kind are over-aggressive surfers who act like the ocean owes them, and every wave is theirs.

🤨 How do I become one?
What a shoulder hopper does is take off in front of a surfer who’s already riding the wave and therefore has priority.

They’ll argue they can “sneak a ride” and not interfere. But unless it’s a party wave with your mates or everyone’s going straight to the beach at a beginner’s beach break, that’s rarely true. In most lineups, the shoulder hopper ruins someone else’s ride. Period.

📖 Where did it come from?
According to the Encyclopedia of Surfing, the term “shoulder hopper” comes from the fact that these wave thieves consistently take off on the shoulder—the mellower part of the wave, easier to catch—rather than the peak, which is steeper and takes more skill.

This technique (if we can even call it that) is frowned upon. Like… heavily. It’s a serious breach of surf etiquette. But as you may have noticed, not everyone believes in surf etiquette, so you still see it in the wild. Personally, I’ve performed it multiple times—out of idiocy and frustration. 😜

Would you believe it—there’s a song titled “Shoulder Hopper”? By the SoCal band Surf Punks:

A shoulder hopper walking up the beach
Shoulder hopper, don’t drop in on me
Shoulder hopper, comin’ down
Can’t you see me comin’?

Punks got it right.

^{SURFODRAMA #2}

The story we didn’t want to write

But we did it anyway. Because it’s important.

This story comes with a trigger warning, as it pertains to reports of a male paddleboarder being charged with the attempted murder of a female surfer — allegedly during a session, in the lineup.

If you’re not shook up yet, seeing how surfers reacted to the news just might change your mind.

And if, after you read it, you feel sad — don’t. Feel determined. Together, we can make surfing a better place for all.

👉 Read the story on our blog (too long to include here, plus it’s still developing).

^{THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY SURF NEWS ROUNDUP}

🗞️ Erin on East Coast. They put waves in rivers now? Veterans discover surfing.

🌊 20-foot waves hit Rockaway—and surfers hit back
New York surfers charged into Hurricane Erin’s swell last week, chasing once-in-a-decade waves. Swimming was banned, but surfing? Not so much.

🏞️ Landlocked? Try land-shredding.
Engineered river waves in Colorado are turning former kayak towns into legit surf scenes. One wave, six hours, no ocean. We want one.

❤️‍🩹 Healing through surfing
At La Jolla Shores, 150 injured veterans learned to surf—and found joy, confidence, and community in the lineup. Tears incoming.

👉 Read the full news roundup

^{THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY PODCAST}

⛈️ On how surf forecasts could suck less with Gavin Bechtold

Confused by swell direction, wave period, or what “2–3 ft (observed)” actually means? You’re not alone.

In this episode, we’re breaking down the surf forecast—line by line—with Gavin Bechtold, creator of Go Surfing San Diego and the Sunday Stoke surf forecast newsletter. We talk about what all those Surfline numbers really mean, how to figure out when (and where) to paddle out, and why wave energy is a contentious matter. We’re also chatting about the best spots for beginner around San Diego!

If you’re a San Diego local, you can subscribe to The Sunday Stoke surf forecast here.

🎧 Listen to The Wipeout Weekly on your fav pod platform or right here.

^{WEE PROMO CORNER (ART EDITION)}

🎨🏄🏻‍♀️ Phillippa prints & paddles: A surf artist from Gower

Meet Phillippa. Surfer, artist, and a member of Girls Who Can’t Surf Good from Gower, that’s Wales in the UK for you and me.

Phillippa is a professional printmaker who trained as a traditional watercolor illustrator and now who specializes in linocut. (A linocut is a relief print produced in a manner similar to a woodcut, but one that uses linoleum as the surface into which the design is cut to leave behind a raised surface, inked and printed from. Sounds like a lot of work! 😲)

Phillippa began working as a printmaker shortly after discovering that she was autistic—a diagnosis formerly known as Asperger's. She’s much healthier and happier now she can focus on art full time. Her dream is to illustrate books in the future.

You can view her prints on Instagram and buy them on Etsy (700+ five-star reviews, just saying). We love so many of her pieces (there are otters, too!) that I can already see a bankruptcy in our future.

🛍️ Free the codes!

🧴 Coconut Smuggler — pre- and post-surf haircare by Brittany.
Use code GWCSG20 for 20% off.

🧘 Yoga for Surfers — improve your pop-up & more by Inessa.
Use code GIRLS.

_{P.S. If you’d like your product or service featured in our newsletter—for free—just reply to this email and pitch us.}

⬆️ 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! 🌊

^HOUSEKEEPING

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