🏄‍♀️ There’s surfing after a surfing injury 🤕

👋 Happy National Nut Day! It’s our day! You have to be nuts to surf, no? Actually, this holiday is dedicated to the food variety, which happens to be a pretty good pre- and post-surf snack. Full circle.

🏄‍♀️ Let’s surf:

• There’s surfing after a surfing injury 🤕

• They are coming for our beaches 🏝️

• Wipeout after wipeout after wipeout 🌊

• From beginner surf to cute bikinis 👙

• Sharktober surf news roundup 🗞️

^SURFODRAMA

 😱 There’s surfing after injury 🤕

The worst surfing injuries I've ever had were temporarily losing my sight after rubbing sunscreen into my eyeballs and twisting my ankle while coming off my board. Although, to be fair, that bloody ankle took several months to heal properly.

So I've been pretty lucky. Especially compared to some of the women in our community, whose surfing injuries make my little mishaps look like a walk in the park.

But as it turns out, the physical injury is sometimes only half the battle. Getting your head around going back into the water can be a whole different story.

One of our members recently had a nasty wipeout that ended with her surfboard fin slicing open her thigh and a trip to hospital for 20 staples. Ouch.

Initially, she felt okay. But that night, she couldn't stop replaying what happened. By the next morning, even looking at her surfboard made her feel queasy.

“If you guys have ever had a bad injury that kind of traumatized you, how did you get over the fear of getting back out there and getting hurt again?”

Well, it turns out our community has been through quite a lot.

Between them, our members have survived broken ankles, fractured ribs, torn shoulders, shattered eye sockets, facial lacerations, near-drownings and some truly horrifying encounters with surfboard fins. One of us needed more than 100 internal stitches and 42 staples after a fin missed her femoral artery by less than half an inch.

I feel queasy even writing this, and I'm considering never getting into the water again.

Yet, so many of us are still surfing.

🧠 When the body heals faster than the mind
One thing became clear from the responses: recovering physically doesn't necessarily mean you're ready to get back in the water.

Some returned almost immediately. Others needed months or even years to regain their confidence. Several described being frightened of their own boards, replaying accidents in their heads or experiencing anxiety long after their injuries had healed.

“I shoved it down for five years, pretended I was okay out in the lineup, while what I was actually feeling was PTSD. Don’t do what I did.”

The overwhelming advice was to give yourself time. There's no deadline for getting back on a board, and there's nothing wrong with being scared after something genuinely frightening has happened.

There's so much pressure to surf regularly. The conditions might not be as good next week, and if you take a break, you'll lose all your hard-earned skills. But none of that is worth rushing your recovery for. Take the time!

🌊 Getting back into the water
The community had plenty of practical suggestions for how to get back in.

Start small. Like, really small. Whitewater, tiny waves, a foamie, or even just sitting on your board and getting comfortable with the ocean again. Some members found that switching boards helped, particularly when their old board had become associated with the accident.

Surfing with friends was another recurring recommendation. Having someone alongside you who understands what happened can make those first sessions back much less intimidating.

Others suggested breathing exercises, visualization and grounding techniques to help manage memories of the accident.

And when the fear becomes overwhelming or persistent, professional help is worth considering. Several members, including therapists, recommended EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a recognized treatment for trauma-related symptoms.

🪖 Can we make surfing a little safer?
Unsurprisingly, equipment came up quite a bit.

Members recommended looking into flexible safety fins, which are designed to reduce the risk of cuts. Others had started wearing surf helmets following head and facial injuries, while some credited their wetsuits with providing an extra layer of protection.

None of these can eliminate the risks of surfing, but they may help reduce certain types of injury that could keep you out of the water for a while.

💛 There's no deadline for getting back out there
Perhaps the most encouraging part of the discussion was hearing from those of us who had experienced serious injuries and frightening accidents but eventually found their way back into the ocean.

Not everyone returned with the same confidence they had before. Some still feel nervous in certain conditions or find themselves instinctively protecting their heads during a wipeout.

And that's okay.

As someone said: “The ocean is a ruthless mother.”

But just because you're scared now doesn't mean you'll always feel that way. At some point, when you're ready, you might just say eff it and paddle out again.

And if that takes a while, so be it. The waves aren't going anywhere. Oh wait…

^{PIC OF THE WEEK}

🏝️ They are coming for our beaches

This is Santa Cruz, California. A powerful El Niño and Kelvin waves are already taking a toll on our beaches.

And scientists warn that up to two-thirds of Southern California's beaches could disappear by 2100 without major intervention. That 2017 prediction has been making the rounds again as waves batter beachfront homes in Newport Beach.

Fear not, it's not inevitable. But we do need to do something about it.

^{GIRL WHO’S LEARNING TO SURF AGAINST THE ODDS}

🏄🏻‍♀️ Wipeout after wipeout after wipeout. And loving it.

Tiffany was nine when a car accident left her with a permanently paralyzed arm. Today, she's the CEO and co-founder of Diversability, an author, and a disability advocate. But when she gets in the ocean, she doesn't have to be any of those things. She's just Tiffany, trying to catch a wave.

Her first four surfing sessions were a wipeout after wipeout after wipeout. And she's absolutely fine with that.

Through adaptive surfing clinics and communities of people with similar injuries, Tiffany has discovered the joy of being a complete beginner at 38.

“There are not many places in life where adults are encouraged to be completely new at something.”

👉 Read the full story

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

💬 3 things we’re figuring out this week

🌴 Where’s a supportive women’s surf retreat for a beginner this winter Community top picks: Members recommended Chica Brava in Nicaragua for longer sessions, video review and coaches who meet mixed levels where they are. They also recommended Sardina Surf Camp in Popoyo, which is locally owned with “unreal” coaches. Riptide Surfhouse in Sri Lanka got a vote too: a small camp with a family feel, max 20 guests, from a member heading back for her third time.

🇨🇷 Is Costa Rica safe right now? Community top picks: Mostly yes, with the usual precautions. A member who lives on the southern Pacific coast says petty theft is the biggest problem, so never leave anything in the car or unattended on the beach. Skip dark, empty beaches at night and be careful who you drink with. Busy tourist towns tend to have more crime than quieter ones.

👙 Where can I buy a cute surf bikini in LA? Community top picks: The Citadel Outlets in Commerce, where Hurley, PacSun and Tilly’s have end-of-summer discounts. Billabong is in most surf shops. For something smaller, try Do Good Surf on Instagram. And if you’re in Europe, try Naiad Surf.

👉 Join us for more recs, chatter, and support

^{THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY SURF NEWS ROUNDUP}

🗞️ Sharks in the shallows, big surf on both coasts, more Kelvin waves on the way, and goodbye to the voice of pro surfing

🦈 A great white photobombed a woman on the beach
A shark breached just yards behind Erin King as she posed at Marina State Beach. The internet called it AI, until State Parks matched it to a Surfline cam.

👣 Another shark cruised through ankle-deep water at El Porto
A surfer filmed a dorsal fin in the shallows of one of LA’s busiest breaks, just yards from the lineup. Nobody was hurt. Welcome to Sharktober.

🌊 A nor’easter sent 12-foot waves into Florida
Jupiter lifeguards raised rare double red flags, and a runner helped get a surfer rescued off the rocks in Miami Beach.

📈 More Kelvin waves are on their way to California
Scientists say the next sea-level bulge could reach San Diego by early November, with more behind it. That means higher tides and more erosion on an already battered coast.

🎙️ Dave Stanfield, the voice of pro surfing, has died
He called surf contests for more than 40 years, from the OP Pro to the Triple Crown, plus one of the first-ever live surf webcasts. He also called lawn mower racing.

👉 Read the full news roundup

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

Zuz & The Wipeout Weekly