🏄‍♀️ Surfing with anxiety: the stuff surfers never talk about 🥺

👋 Happy Little Weekend! Because Thursday is almost Friday, and Friday is pretty much the weekend. May it be anxiety-free, and your wave count a-plenty!

🏄‍♀️ Let’s surf:

• Surfing with anxiety is something we don’t talk about 😰

• Wee Aussie gem—Turner’s Beach 🇦🇺

• WTF is a sponge 🧽

• If you think pop-up is overrated, we can’t be friends 😤

• Kid surf news—only 👶🏼🏄‍♂️

• Free the codes! 🔓

^SURFODRAMA

 😱 Surfing with anxiety is the stuff surfers don’t talk about

You’re standing on the shore, board in hand, waves looking perfectly do-able. And yet—you feel the fear rising. Your breath goes short, your chest gets tighter. A voice inside says: don’t you dare.

Welcome to the deeply human, not-often-talked-about reality of surfing with anxiety! Because surfing as it is wasn’t hard enough.

It can happen to anyone—whether it’s hyperventilating, tears, or nausea, you name it. Even on calm days. Even if you’re not usually an anxious person.

Let’s talk about triggers and how to get rid.

🧍‍♀️ Trigger #1: Feeling unsafe when surfing alone
Imagine that you’ve learnt to surf in a safe, controlled environment, surf instructors always on hand. And now you venture out on your own—and panic ensues. Even if you’re a confident swimmer, being alone in the ocean can feel… overwhelming.

• Surf in front of lifeguards

• Bring a buddy or link up with women’s surf groups

• Don’t pressure yourself to rip—start slow, sit on your board, and breathe

• We’ll leave the whole “can you surf all alone” debate for another edition

👀 Trigger #2: Fear of judgment
This is a real mood killer and anxiety inducer.

One surfer said, “I felt like everyone was watching me and wondering what I was doing out there.” Another shared, “I get more anxious in the water than I do socially on land.”

This one hits especially hard for women or older beginners.

What helps? Talk to someone in the lineup. Smile, nod, say hey. Familiarity chips away at that anxiety. And remind yourself—you belong out there.

🌊 Trigger #3: Overwhelm from conditions
This happens to me regularly, but short of panic. I know the waves are manageable, but I’m still freaked out. I won’t go past the whitewater. Or I go past it, bob around for five minutes, get the fear that I’m going to get carried away by a current, and I paddle back in.

Anxiety doesn’t care if it’s three foot and glassy. Sometimes just being out there triggers the freeze response.

• Wait for a lull when getting out to the back

• Stick to the whitewater

• Ditch the board and just go for a swim—you’re still progressing

• You can also try bodysurfing and bodyboarding

• Go out on a smaller day

• Go out at a different, more manageable break

🎭 Trigger #4: Imposter syndrome
When I read some of the comments from the girls who shared what they’re dealing with, I get so sad.

• “I felt like I didn’t belong. Like I was taking up space I didn’t deserve.”

• “Surfing is gate-kept harder than any other sport I’ve tried.”

That feeling shows up a lot—especially in crowded or more advanced lineups.

But listen. Everyone—everyone—was a kook once. Your presence in the water is valid. Every session you paddle out adds to your progress.

A bad experience in the lineup can ruin surfing for you. Someone makes a flipping comment and forgets it—you replay it in your head for weeks.

Don’t you dare give in.

🧠 Trigger #5: No one talks about it
You hear comments like:

“Even just knowing I’m not alone helps.”
“Why is this so common, but so under-discussed?”

Honestly, the threads on this are full of empathy and shared experience. You’re not weird. You’re not weak. You’re human.

💡 Advice from real surfers

• If you’re at a surf camp, tell your instructor. They want to know.

• Use breathwork, yoga, EFT tapping—woo or not, people swear by them.

• Positive self-talk works: One surfer yells “Wheeee!” every time she goes over a wave.

• Treat the whitewash like your safe zone. Still surfing. Still stoke. Less pressure.

• Don’t surf alone if you can help it—find a buddy or a crew.

• Honor your gut. One girl had panic attacks in sessions that turned out to align with shark sightings. Sometimes your body knows before your brain does.

• “Confidence comes from knowing you’ll be okay no matter what happens.”

• “It’s all about the fun. Just have fun.”

You’re not broken if the ocean triggers your anxiety. It’s only natural—because you don’t feel in control. The ocean has a mind of her own. But I’m sure she’s thinking: I give it to you, you’re brave for paddling out anyway.

^{SURF SPOT SPOTLIGHT}

Aussie Turner’s Beach is a little gem for beginners

We've heard that if Noosa and Byron Bay would just chill out, and shrunk a little, they’d look a lot like Turner’s Beach.

Turner’s Beach is a smallish, north-facing beach break nestled at the base of the Yamba lighthouse headland, where the Clarence River meets the Pacific. It’s walkable from town, beginner-friendly, and overall it’s pretty underrated.

🌊 The surf
Turner’s Beach has soft, manageable beach break waves that roll gently into shore—perfect for beginner surfers and longboarders. 

On a typical small day, it’s forgiving, with slow-peeling waves that break both left and right. The river mouth nearby means occasional sandbank shifts, but it also helps shape fun waves, especially when the swell is from the east or northeast.

🚿 Water quality
Generally good, but bear in mind it is close to the river mouth. After heavy rains, the water can be a little murky. Locals often give it a day or two post-storm.

👙 Wardrobe
Boardies and bikinis from November to April, spring suits for the shoulder seasons, and a 3/2 full suit if you're braving winter. Water temps range from 19°C (66°F) in winter to 25°C (77°F) in summer.

☀️ Best time for beginners
Spring and summer (September to February) offer the most consistent small swells and warmer water. Early mornings are best—gentle offshore winds and fewer people.

⚠️ Hazards
It’s a mellow spot, but still—watch for rips near the rocks on the western end and don’t paddle too close to the breakwall. Also, Yamba has a bit of a reputation for sharks (thanks to the estuary), but nothing compared to Ballina further north. Just keep your wits about you and follow any local warnings.

🏄 Rentals + lessons
Yamba’s got you covered. Check out Surf Camp Down Under, Yamba-Angourie Surf School, or rent from Le Shack Surf & Leisure Hire. Instructors here are friendly, chill, and very used to helping folks stand up for the first time.

🍉 When you’re not surfing

• Walk up to the lighthouse for the best views in town.

• Take a dip in the ocean pool at Main Beach.

• Catch sunset from Pippi Beach or the Pacific Hotel’s beer garden.

🧳 Solo friendly?
Definitely. Yamba’s safe, walkable, and full of laid-back travelers. You’ll meet other surf-curious folks in lessons or at the local hostel. It’s like Byron Bay, minus the TikTokers.

^{WORD OF THE WEEK}

🧽 Sponge. Sponger. Sponging.

When you hear sponge, you might think Wavestorm, Catch Surf, or that new Costco board (but no more—it’s Halloween Central already). But before “sponge” meant a foamie, it was all about the boogie board.

🌊 From Paipo to boogie
Let’s rewind. Before surfboards, there were paipo boards—small wooden boards (2–4 feet long) used by ancient Hawaiians to ride waves lying down or kneeling. They were for commoners and kids, while the royals got the fancy Olo boards.

🎷 Enter Tom Morey, the jazz inventor
In 1971, Tom Morey—a jazz musician and engineer—grabbed some polyethylene foam on a beach in Kona, cut it into a rectangle, ironed the edges, and voilà: the boogie board was born. He named it after boogie-woogie music. That very day, he rode it. And it worked—light, soft, cheap, easy to use, hence —revolution. 🚀

📈 The boogie boom
By the late ’70s and early ’80s, everyone was on a boogie board. Tom licensed the design, and it became the gateway to surfing: easy to carry, no wax, no fins, lots of fun.

In the ’80s and ’90s, boogie boarding leveled up. Riders like Mike Stewart and Ben Severson charged heavy wave, like Pipeline heavy. They pulled into barrels. Invented moves like: el rollos, spinners, airs. Bodyboarding became its own hardcore sport, with a pro tour and everything. 🏆

❓ Why are we talking about this?
This is a surfing newsletter. So why bodyboarding? Because honestly… if every beginner started with bodyboarding, we’d all understand waves better before ever attempting the pop-up. 🤯

^{WEEKLY POP-UP}

😤 If you think pop-up is overrated, we can’t be friends

Everyone who surfs with me or reads what I write about surfing knows I’m unhealthily obsessed with the pop-up. Which is why I found a discussion about “is the pop-up overrated?” extremely titillating.

I’ve learned—from people who’ve surfed many-a-year, and coached even longer—that the pop-up is for losers. Because, according to some, surfing is 95% positioning and reading waves.

📐 Positioning, reading, and... popping up
Listen. I’m not arguing that surfing isn’t 80% paddling, 85% reading waves, and being in the right spot at the right time. I know that doesn’t add up. 😜 

What I am arguing is that 10% is being comfortable in the lineup, staying assertive, taking the waves that are due, and not messing them up for anyone else. And if you can’t pop up quickly enough, chances are you’ll waste a wave. And waves are precious.

As someone said: “It’s hard to get better at pop-ups without catching waves. But catching waves can be pretty intimidating if you don’t have confidence in your pop-up.”

It’s hard to disagree that the pop-up is absolutely fundamental to surfing. Unless you’re knee-surfing or bodyboarding, of course.

Another quote: “You can be great at reading waves and have perfect positioning, but if you can’t get from your stomach to your feet, then you can’t surf.”

I’ve heard the counterarguments. Look at the old timers—they have super slow pop-ups, sometimes even putting knees on the board, but because they can read the waves, they get them every time.

Dude, I can also put my knees on the board in Waikiki or Malibu, but that won’t work at my local break.

💥 People who say it’s overrated probably never struggled
It seems to me that the people who believe the pop-up is overrated are the people who never had a problem with it.

I don’t have to look far for an example: my husband and I started surfing at the same time. He can literally jump up on the board while I perform a slowish step-on, with my back knee so close to the board that I sometimes get stuck on it.

Every time he mentions that I’m too obsessed with the pop-up, I turn homicidal.

🔄 If I could start again...
Don’t get me wrong—I’m totally against the typical ways surfing is taught these days. Especially that first lesson: pushing people into waves, making the pop-up the Holy Grail. “We guarantee you’ll stand up in your first lesson!”

If I had to do it all over again, I would’ve started with bodysurfing and bodyboarding. I’d get used to paddling and catching waves or whitewash, trimming on my belly, carving, changing direction—and then focus on the pop-up.

Anyone have a time machine available for hire? 🕰️

^{THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY SURF NEWS ROUNDUP}

👶🏼 A lot of kids in the news this week!

• 9-year-old girl in a super rare sea lion attack

• Not-even-a-teenager-yet local makes WSL history at Teahupo’o

• Royal Archie—yes, that Archie—takes a surf lesson

• Fun for the kids—and adults—Great Lakes Surf Festival returns to Muskegon

👉 Read the full news roundup

^{THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY FOMO}

Last week’s newsletter was fun, but you probably didn’t get it

Apologies! Last week, we suffered a Jaws-scale wipeout on the tech side, which might’ve meant that:

• You didn’t get the newsletter at all

• The newsletter ended up in your spam

Please accept this surfing baby otter as an apology. 🦦🏄‍♀️

👉 Read the last week’s newsletter

^{WEE PROMO CORNER}

🛍️ 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.

Know someone cool? Are someone cool? Ping us—we’ll feature you. For free.

⬆️ 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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