🏄‍♀️ You feel the need, the need for speed? 👻

👋 Happy National Cherries Jubilee Day! Anyone heard of such a thing? Apparently Queen Victoria’s chef made her a dessert with poached cherries in a simple syrup and poured warm brandy over them. Then just before serving, dramatically set it aflame. Sounds like one of these days made up by the cherry lobby.

🏄‍♀️ Let’s surf:

• You feel the need, the need for speed? 👻

• One mistake and I don’t belong in surfing? 😢

• In otter surf news 🦦

• From 5/4 to a surfing off-season 🥶

• Surf news roundup 🗞️

^{SURF THRU HISTORY}

 👻 You feel the need, the need for speed?

One of my guilty pleasures is watching archival video footage collected by Matt Warshaw for the Encyclopedia of Surfing. And that’s exactly how I learned about the White Ghost and speed surfing.

As you probably remember, surfing began in Hawaiʻi (okay, some say Peru). Hawaiian surfers rode several kinds of boards, including the thin alaia, which could carry them across fast sections of a wave. So they already knew a thing or two about speed.

Throughout the decades, with every new invention in surfing, such as lighter surfboard materials and the addition of fins, boards gained speed naturally. Then the shortboard revolution changed how we rode waves: boards got shorter, and surfers began riding up and down the wave face to generate speed.

And right in the middle of that revolution came Joey Cabell and the White Ghost.

⛷️ Enter Mr. Perfect
Joey Cabell was known as "the finest all-around surfer of the '60s" and "Mr. Perfect," according to Mickey Muñoz, another surf legend.

Actually, Joey became one of the shortboard movement's key figures in the late '60s, at the ripe old age of 30, which apparently was old by '60s standards.

He was the man behind the "speed surfing" theory, in which the surfer rides in a crouch with his feet and knees together, seeking out the fastest line across the wave. It was all about getting in early, setting a high line, and racing across the face, carrying enough speed to get through the flat spots and make the next section. This was partly inspired by his experience as a downhill skier. Who cares about turns when you're going this fast?

👻 The birth of the White Ghost
While Australians like Nat Young and Bob McTavish were experimenting with V-bottom boards built for sharp turns in small beach breaks, Joey had a different problem. At Hanalei on Kauai, a wave he described as three Pipelines in a row, only bigger, his board kept sliding out from under him on the big walls. He didn't need to turn harder. He needed to hold on and go.

So, in 1969, at the Plastic Fantastic shop in Huntington Beach, he shaped his own. The result was a thick but streamlined 8'3" with hard, downturned rails and an almost completely flat bottom. It was fast, quick to respond, and stuck to the face. Onlookers at Hanalei took one look at it and called it the White Ghost. Legend says it was five inches thick. Joey says it was just under four.

That December, just before the Duke contest on the North Shore, the White Ghost snapped in half. Shaper Mike Diffenderfer made Joey a replica overnight, and Joey won the Duke on the copy.

🪦 Gone too soon
Fellow legend Mike Doyle later said Joey could ride through the flats "still hauling ass" where others stalled out. He'd be "standing up, on an angle," while everyone else was still paddling for the wave.

Joey remembered the White Ghost in a 1995 interview: "Honestly, (it) was just so far ahead of its time. I'd had these Brewer guns, and at big Hanalei, I'd come off the bottom, drive up the face, and the boards would just fall away, drop away from my feet, and I'd be left there clawing the face with my hands with this huge thing just sucking out over me. Later I'd be thinking, 'Why isn't this board working?' I thought something was wrong with the bottom design. It had a bit of belly; all the boards had some belly. So I tried making a board with more belly and pinched rails, and it was even worse. So I went hard in the other direction. Flat bottoms. I think I had the first flat bottom gun—ever. Ever."

According to the Encyclopedia of Surfing, speed surfing, and with it the White Ghost, was short-lived and a forgotten concept by 1971. The surfers clearly decided that the stance proposed by Joey was too much work. They opened their legs and basically ran any new board all over the place. Sad.

Now, where do I get one of these replica boards?

Here’s Joey “The Speed Demon” Cabell riding at Makaha.

^{HEY ZUZ, I’M CONFUSED}

 😢 One mistake and I don’t belong in surfing?

This has most definitely happened to you. If it hasn’t, consider yourself lucky, and expect it to happen any minute now. The “Hey Zuz, I’m confused” segment returns with a vengeance. As always, it’s aggregated and anonymized from surfers’ experiences here, there and everywhere.

😵‍💫 Hey Zuz, I’m confused.
I’ve been surfing for almost a year. The other day, I caught a wave without noticing that someone on the inside was going for it too, and we collided. I apologized immediately, but he said, “Some people just don’t belong surfing.” Does making this one mistake mean I don’t belong out there?

🥰 Dear reader,
First, I’m glad you’re both okay. Any collision in the lineup, even the smallest, is scary and can knock you out of whack. You did the right thing. You checked if the other person was okay, apologized, checked for damage, and thought about what you’ll do differently next time.

Now, about what he said. Honestly, being angry after a collision is totally understandable. Surfers get grumpy by default when they miss a wave. But, but, but… deciding that a stranger doesn’t belong in the ocean is quite the quantum leap.

Dropping in by accident, and sometimes by less-than-accident, happens all the time, at any level. Experienced surfers misread waves, miss someone in their blind spot, or get so focused on a takeoff that they fail to look around. It happened to you this time. It will probably happen to you again someday very soon. And someone else will drop in on you any day now. It’s called surfing.

Yes, of course, we all need to adhere to surf etiquette and do everything in our power to act like Jason Bourne in that scene where he notices all the exits from the room. But a surfer making a single mistake, and another surfer making a flippant comment on the subject, is a terrible basis for judging your entire surfing career.

Do not take it personally. It happens. Surfers say the stupidest shit when they’ve just had a fright or forgotten to eat breakfast. There’s a good chance he’ll be beating himself up later that day. We actually have statistical data on this, from Reddit.

We all know that some breaks are more crowded, more advanced, or notoriously unfriendly to learners. Some breaks are notoriously hostile to women, non-locals, tourists, and people of a different race or nationality than the locals. Have I missed anyone? I wish I could say that progress is coming, but don’t count on it.

In summary: stay on top of your surf etiquette skills and your surf skills. And if it all fails, don’t give up on surfing, just give up on your surf break.

👉 Read more “Hey Zuz, I’m confused”

^{PIC OF THE WEEK}

🦦 In otter news

I’m absolutely certain that there have been some otter, more surf-related and surf-important pics this week.

But this one came across my feed and since it had a calming effect on me, I thought we’d all appreciate it following the previous story.

By the way, there hasn’t been an otter-stealing-a-surfboard attack recorded for almost a whole year.

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

💬 3 things we’re figuring out this week

🥶 5/4 or 5/3 for a beginner who gets cold very (very) easily surfing the European Atlantic in winter? Community consensus is: 5/4. If you're already cold in a 4/3 now, when the water is as warm as it gets, pick warmth over flexibility. Top tips: chest zip only (back zip: cold water leaks into your lower back), attached hood, thermal rash vest underneath, 7mm boots, and mittens over gloves for easier paddling. For stretch at that thickness, members swear by O'Neill Hyperfreak and C-Skins, and several size up in a 5/4. Try suits on in store because warmth and flexibility vary a lot between brands. Getting in and out: plastic bags on your hands and feet, and a wetsuit wrench for tired shoulders. Winter hack from Northern Norway: bring a thermos of warm (not hot) water and pour it into your gloves, boots and suit when you start to freeze.

🌧️ An intermediate surfer flying from Europe for October, looking for small, fun, manageable waves in Mexico, Nicaragua or Costa Rica? Heads up from one member: October is very rainy on the Pacific side of Latin America, so consider the Caribbean side instead, like Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica or Bocas del Toro in Panama. Other community picks: La Saladita in Mexico (an accessible longboard left, cheap and laid back, about an hour from Zihuatanejo), Jaco and Playa Hermosa in Costa Rica, Panama's uncrowded lineups, Encuentro in the Dominican Republic, and closer to home, Portugal (October is prime) or Morocco around Taghazout and Tamraght.

🤰 Missing surfing during a second pregnancy, with hyperemesis gravidarum back and worse than last time? Group suggestions: reading about the ocean (Blue Mind came up) and doing online courses, from water safety to surf instructor modules. Beach walks or wading if you're up to it, and some tried sitting on a paddleboard. Surf books, surf clips, or writing about your favorite waves. Thinking of it as an "off season" and training for when you're back.

👉 Join us for more recs, chatter, and support

^{THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY SURF NEWS ROUNDUP}

🗞️ Angry sea lions, a Cornish comeback, a flying tuna, a triple amputee who surfs for Team USA, and surf films on the big screen.

🦭 Sea lions attacked two people in the water in Santa Cruz
A sea lion knocked a paddleboarder off her board near Privates Beach and bit her hair, hands and feet for several minutes, and a second surfer was reportedly attacked at the Hook the same day. Likely cause: domoic acid poisoning from toxic algae blooms.

🏆 Tom Lowe went from near death to Big Wave Surfer of the Year
Fifteen months after being resuscitated at Teahupo'o, the Cornishman became the first Brit to win Surfer of the Year at the Big Wave Challenge awards. Justine Dupont took the women's title.

🐟 A giant bluefin tuna went airborne behind a surfer in Cornwall
The fish, which can weigh up to 550 pounds, launched out of the water just yards from a surfer at Fistral Beach while chasing baitfish. Bluefin sightings around southwest Britain have been rising for a decade.

🦾 A triple amputee Army vet found a new life in adaptive surfing
Jose Martinez lost three limbs to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan and had never surfed before his injuries. Now he's on Team USA's para surfing team and heading to the World Para Surfing Championship in November.

🎬 Bristol Surf Cinema is back
The community screenings return with an Emily Currie Q&A in October, more films through 2026, and The Endless Summer on IMAX in 2027.

👉 Read the full news roundup

^{SUPPORT THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY}

☕️ Buy me a coffee or maybe a sticker?

Enjoyed this week’s surf nonsense? Now you can buy me a coffee ☕️, or a beer, or a pizza.

Or, if you prefer receiving something in return, buy yourself a sticker or a wee hat.🦈

Both help keep The Wipeout Weekly afloat and my fragile self-esteem above the water. But no pressure. The newsletter remains free, because you’re worth it. 😜

^{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—surf stories and guests.
All Things Surf Directory—surf retreats, learn to surf, classifieds, surf-side lodging, you name it.
Girls Who Can’t Surf Good—an 87k-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! 🌊

With stoke,

Zuz & The Wipeout Weekly