🏄‍♀️ You need to swim to surf, right? Right?! 😵‍💫

👋 Happy Halloween! Shock, horror! “No Check November” is upon us according to Stab Magazine. Will you be checking the surf forecast before venturing out—or just go nuts? 🥜

🏄‍♀️ Let’s surf:

• You need to swim to surf, right? 👙

• Word of the week is…backdoor 🚪

• Quiet legend of Pat Curren 🐉

• The surfer’s guide to wiping out gracefully 🩰

• Witchy surf news 🗞️

• How hard would you fight to surf? 🎙️

• Weekly pop-up & why some stories don’t make it 👻

^SURFODRAMA

😱 You need to swim to surf, right? Right?!

Ever wondered how well you need to swim to surf? It’s okay if it never crossed your mind.

We’ve all heard of people who bragged about learning to surf without knowing how to swim. Or maybe they claimed not to know how to swim. Which begs the question: how well do you really need to swim to surf?

It’s one of those “how long is a piece of string” questions. Because technically, if you’re doing your very first lesson with an instructor right there, in waist-deep water where your feet touch the bottom, you might just get away with it.

🧍‍♀️ Basic water competence: what does that even mean?

Do you remember your first lesson? Did anyone ask if you knew how to swim before taking you out? I’m pretty sure no one asked me. It was just assumed.

But the truth is, even in waist-deep water, you need basic water competence. That means being able to float and tread water calmly, without panicking when your board slips away and you fall in. And if your instructor takes you a bit further out, you should be able to swim at least a short distance—say, 25 to 50 meters—without assistance.

Even in super mellow conditions, if you can’t swim, you’re putting yourself and others at risk. Especially your instructor or another surfer who might feel compelled to help you.

🚨 Ocean is not a swimming pool

And I wish I could say that being a strong swimmer is enough—but even strong swimmers can struggle in the ocean. Because the ocean is nothing like a pool.

Waves, whitewater, rip currents, cold water—they all drain your energy way faster than you think. Wetsuits add drag. And panic or disorientation during a wipeout is super common. That’s probably why some instructors recommend training in open water, or at least simulating rougher conditions by swimming with fins in choppier surf.

Maybe you’re thinking, "Well, I only surf when it's small and calm. I’m doing fine.”

Sure—but even mellow breaks can surprise you. Your leash might snap. Your board can float off quickly. You could get caught in a rip and end up far from shore. A wipeout might knock the wind out of you or mess with your sense of direction. And then you’re tired—but you still need to paddle or swim back in.

📏 The lifeguard benchmarks

Now, I don’t want to oversimplify this by saying that if you’re not confident in your swimming, you shouldn’t surf. Confidence is a weird, not-a-very-objective metric—it doesn’t always line up with actual skill.

So here’s what many lifeguards and surf instructors suggest: be able to swim around 500 yards—or about 450 meters—in under 10 minutes. Be comfortable treading water for over 10 minutes. Know how to get under a wave using a duck dive or a turtle roll. And above all, know how to float and recover calmly if you're exhausted.

Hey, if you’re not there yet, that’s okay. Many surfers take swimming lessons or get into open water swimming before they really commit to surfing, especially in tougher conditions.

And I think we can all agree—those inflatable vests and belts are no substitute for actual swimming skills.

^{WORD (OR WAVE) OF THE WEEK}

🚪 Backdoor³: One word, three meanings

To “backdoor” a wave means to enter a barrel or tube section by taking off behind the peak of the wave and pulling into the barrel from the opposite side of the main takeoff spot.

🏄🏻‍♀️ Backdoor proper

According to the Encyclopedia of Surfing, “the surfer enters through the ‘back door’ into what, in the late '60s and '70s, was often referred to as the ‘green room.’”

It’s an advanced maneuver—not especially difficult (or so Matt Warshaw says)—but it does require nerves, a steady hand, and a deep store of tube-riding knowledge.

🏄‍♂️ Another Backdoor

Now let’s talk about the other Backdoor—on the North Shore of O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. It’s the right-breaking wave attached to the Pipeline peak that pumps when the swell is coming from the north or northwest.

That’s when you can see two surfers on a single wave at Pipe: one going left (Pipeline), the other going right (Backdoor).

It’s also where the Da Hui’s Backdoor Shootout takes place—an independent surfing competition that can still make you rich. North Shore native Koa Rothman made $55K this January when he won the individual division with a perfect score.

👊 While we’re at the Da Hui’s Backdoor Shootout…

The competition has an interesting origin story. It was established in 1996 by Eddie Rothman. Hold on a sweet second…another Rothman? Yes, they’re related—father and son. There are two more sons, too. As Surfer Magazine once called them: the most notorious surf family.

Eddie was a co-founder of the Da Hui surfing club in the 1970s—also known as the Black Shorts, thanks to their black surf trunk uniform. The group was formed because, according to Eddie himself, “too many people from too many places” were visiting Hawai‘i and not showing enough respect to local surfers.

🩳 Black shorts, big punches

Da Hui, Eddie insists, was never “an extortion ring or into drug dealing or anything like that”—but beating people up in public? Oh, they were into that.

Of course, a lot has changed since the 1970s when the club founded. These days the club owns a clothing brand—Da Hui—advertised by none other than Jason Momoa. Needless to say, if you bump into any Black Shorts at Pipe, stay out of their bubble.

🔫 Barbed wire, holsters & core surf slogans

I bet when you think of surfing, you don’t think about guns, holsters, barbed wire, and flying bullets—but that’s exactly how the 1999 Backdoor Shootout was advertised, with the slogan:

“The Core of Surfing Gonna Rumble Again.”

Fast forward to 2025. This year’s Backdoor Shootout featured eight mixed-sex teams representing different causes, brands, and countries—and included the likes of Bethany Hamilton and Moana Jones-Wong.

Team Japan took the overall win.

^{SURF SKILLS}

Your guide to wiping out without wiping out 💩🧻 

Show me a surfer who never wiped out, and I’ll show you a liar, pants on fire.

When a non-surfer thinks about surfing, they see a figure standing on a board trimming along the wave in perfect harmony. Or maybe doing some crazy aerials. They do not, however, think of paddling or wiping out—both of which are an integral part of surfing.

We know better. And that’s why we have put together a wee guide for you on how to wipe out gracefully.

👉 Read the full guide

^{SURFING THRU HISTORY}

Quiet legend of Pat Curren 🐉

Surfing is full of larger than life, loud and outspoken characters. Just for a change, let’s talk about the quiet ones. Specifically–Pat Curren.

The first time I learnt about Pat Curren was when watching Riding Giants by Stacy Peralta. Knowing what I know about him now, I am surprised he even participated, very briefly, as a talking head. And stealing chickens in Hawai’i with Greg Knoll?!

Matt Warshaw in the Encyclopedia of Surfing described Pat as an impenetrable surfer who once when asked to answer to the Surfer mag questionnaire in 1963 responded:

What do you like about surfing?: no answer
Club affiliation: none
Personal surfing history: no answer
Hobbies: no answer
Other sports of interest to you: diving
Future plans: no answer
Outlook for surfing: no answer

A big wave surfer, Fred van Dyke said about Pat:  “He was quiet, strong and silent, sort of a John Wayne type. . . . The image I’ll always have is from Waimea one day in 25-foot surf. We’re all standing around, waxing our boards, and there’s Pat with a cigarette and a beer. He walks down to the shore, flips the beer over his head, kicks the cigarette into the ocean, paddles out and catches the wave of the day.”

🏄‍♂️ Early days

Pat was born in 1932 in Carlsbad, California, and grew up mainly in Mission Beach, San Diego.  At 18, after he dropped out of high school, he moved to La Jolla and began surfing, later became an original member of the famous La Jolla–based Windansea Surf Club.

In 1955, Pat traveled to Hawaii for the first time and two years later alongside Gregg Knoll, Micky Munoz and others he surfed at Makaha and Waimea. Or more like attempted to surf, because these were big waves and they were wee surfers on the boards that couldn’t handle them.

When Pat returned to California he committed himself to shaping the first big wave guns, including the stiletto, a board specifically made for Waimea. In the early 90s, he produced six full size balsa guns selling them at $3,500 each. His 11’ Elephant Gun got auctioned for $26,000.

🪵 Pat’s sense of humor

I’m stealing this description of Pat by Matt Warshaw straight from the Encyclopedia of Surfing.

“Nearly mute at times, Curren nonetheless had a fully developed sense of humor. In the winter of 1958, inspired by the Anglo-Saxon legend of Beowulf, he rented a three-bedroom house on the North Shore along with eight other La Jolla surfers, gutted the interior so that it was essentially one high-ceilinged room with a surfboard rack along the wall, and built a giant communal table down the center. Curren called it Meade Hall, and presided over dinners with a Viking helmet jammed down over his close-cropped black hair.”

Say it again, about having a sense of humor, Pat got married at midday in Hawai’i and surfed Waimea that afternoon. He moved around first with his family, then on his own to Costa Rica, then near San Jose del Cabo, finally moving back to California, where he died at the age of 90.

And lest we forget, he’s the father of Tom Curren, another surf legend.

^{THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY SURF NEWS ROUNDUP}

🗞️ Surfer a-holes. Surfer heroes. Surfboard absconds. China surfs. Witches rule.

🏆 GB Surf Cup postponed after verbal abuse of teen female competitors
Male "free surfers" reportedly harassed young female finalists—one just 15—forcing officials to call off the event in Scotland.

🛟 Teen surfer saves paralyzed Air Force vet in Oceanside
After a brutal wipeout left Scott Muir face-down and unable to move, 19-year-old Judah Ely pulled off a life-saving rescue.

🌊 A surfboard floated from Tasmania to New Zealand in 17 months
Lost at sea in 2024, a Tasmanian surfer’s board just washed up in New Zealand—tracked down thanks to Facebook and a shaper's mark.

🏄‍♀️ China opens its first surf-themed resort in Hainan
The new Riyue Bay Surf Resort features hotels, retail, and a PerfectSwell® wave pool dishing up 18-second rides.

🧙‍♀️ Witchy paddle parade takes over Madison
In a Halloween spectacle, dozens of witches in costume floated down the Yahara River on SUPs—and yes, candy was involved. Also, Morro Bay.

👉 Read the full news roundup

^{THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY PODCAST}

🎙️ How hard would you fight to surf–with Tiffany Barwick

For some people, surfing comes easy. Others have to overcome obstacle after obstacle just to fit into a wetsuit and stand on a board without experiencing pain.

In the latest guest episode of The Wipeout Weekly pod, we’re chatting with Tiffany Barwick (aka @@midlife_surfista) about her harder-than-usual journey to learn to surf—and why she’s so obsessed with ocean safety.

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

P.S. Our podcast is daily. 😜 One micro-episode every 24 hours.

^{THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY FOMO}

😳 Weekly pop-up & why not every story makes the cut

Our newsletters are on the longer side, because not every story or segment will be of interest to you.

We include most of the stories in their entirety so you don’t have to click away. Because it’s annoying. But this also means not every story we write makes it in.

So just in case you’re craving more surf stuff:

Weekly pop-up—for those of us still trying to find the magic bullet/Holy Grail/cure-all. This week—How to fix your back knee issue for good.

Surf spot spotlight—where to go to surf around the world, what to do and what not to do.

Surfer stories—sharing other surfers’ personal stories to get you inspired on your own.

And more on The Wipeout Weekly.

⬆️ 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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