4 Ways You Can Be A Respectful Surf Traveler

on May 15, 2024May 15, 2024 By Emma Roggenkamp

Surfing isn’t just a sport; it also encompasses a culture, lifestyle, and a global community. As surfers, we’re privileged to explore stunning coastlines and surf waves all over the world. However, with this privilege comes responsibility – a responsibility to respect the environments we surf in and the communities we encounter along the way. Whether you’re a seasoned surfer or just dipping your toes into the world of wave-riding, here are four ways you can be a respectful surf traveler.

Learn and Respect Local Surf Etiquette

Every surf spot, anywhere in the world, has its own unwritten rules and codes of conduct. Everyone deserves to have access to the ocean and waves, but it’s essential to show respect in the lineup, especially as a foreigner. Before paddling out, take the time to observe the lineup and understand the local etiquette. Is there a lineup hierarchy? Are there specific peak markers? Notice where people are sitting in the lineup and where you might have the best chance of scoring fun waves amongst that mix; where are the local shredders, the salty dogs, and the beginners all sitting? Avoid dropping in on others’ waves, follow the lineup rotation, and always give right of way to whoever is closest to the peak. By adhering to these unspoken rules, you’ll not only enhance your surfing experience but also contribute to a positive vibe in the water. Don’t forget to smile!

When in doubt, and especially if you’re going surfing at an entirely unfamiliar break, hire a local surf instructor or surf guide to show you the ropes.

Please note that the topic of surf etiquette can be complicated, and often controversial! To dive deeper into the rules of the lineup, check out our podcast, Second Breakfast, linked here.

surf with amigas Costa Rica surf retreat

Minimize Your Environmental Footprint

As surfers, the oceans are our playground, but that doesn’t mean the sport is inherently environmentally friendly. Surf trips and surf retreats often involve lengthy and fuel intensive travel, which already lends itself to a heavy carbon footprint. That’s why we encourage that wherever your surf adventures take you, prioritize leaving the coastline cleaner than you found it. Pack out what you pack in, dispose of your trash properly, and participate in local beach clean-up initiatives whenever possible. Additionally, be mindful of the products you use. Opt for eco-friendly sunscreen to prevent harmful chemicals from entering the ocean, choose sustainable surf gear whenever feasible, and use reusable water bottles. If you must buy bottled water in areas where the tap water isn’t potable, buy in bulk to avoid excess plastic! By minimizing your environmental footprint, you’ll help preserve the beauty of surf destinations for generations to come.

Cultivate Cultural Awareness

Surfing can take us to amazing locations with rich cultural heritage. Take the opportunity to immerse yourself in the local culture with an open mind and heart. Respect local customs, traditions, and sacred sites. Learn a few phrases in the local language (do not assume everybody you meet speaks English), engage with locals respectfully, and support local businesses rather than large corporations whenever possible. Remember, as surf travelers, we’re guests in these communities, and it’s essential to leave a positive impression through cultural sensitivity and appreciation.

Give Back to the Surfing Community

Surfing is a global sisterhood, and there’s immense value in giving back to the community that has given us so much. Whether it’s within the communities you’re traveling in or elsewhere, we highly recommend volunteering with surf-related charities, mentoring aspiring surfers, or supporting grassroots initiatives that promote ocean conservation and coastal communities’ welfare. Especially while abroad, find ways to contribute meaningfully to the surfing community. This could involve anything from donating surf gear to locals to using local guides on your trip. At Surf with Amigas, we work hard to give back to the communities we play in. In Northern Nicaragua, for example, we sponsor a local ladies kickball team, helping them with money for transportation to games and their end of season parties. Join us on a retreat to get a chance to high 5 the ladies after a super fun game of kickball on the beach or at the local sports field!

As surfers, we’re not just travelers; we’re stewards of the ocean and ambassadors of surf culture. By embodying respect for the environment, local communities, and fellow surfers, we can elevate our experiences both in and out of the water. Let’s ride waves with gratitude, humility, and a deep-seated commitment to leaving a positive impact wherever our surf travels may take us.

3 Reasons Why You Might Fall In Love With Nicaragua

on April 29, 2024April 29, 2024 By Emma Roggenkamp

Nicaragua, nestled in the heart of Central America, enchants travelers with its unique blend of natural beauty, vibrant culture, and warm hospitality. From the peaks of its volcanic landscape to the sun-kissed shores of its pristine beaches, Nicaragua offers an array of experiences sure to capture the hearts of adventurous souls. Whether you’re drawn to Nicaragua to surf, explore quaint local villages, or eat fresh food, Nicaragua offers plenty to fill your cup with on your next surf adventure. Here are three reasons why you might find yourself falling head over heels for this captivating country.

The People

You’ll love the people of Nicaragua because they are humble, down to earth, kind, and approach difficulties with the saying, “aqui resolvemos.” This saying, meaning “here, we resolve,” emphasizes Nicaraguan’s can-do attitude, resilience and determination. As Nicaragua was our inaugural retreat location, we are deeply embedded within the communities where we work, and that is reflected within most of our retreat activities. Whether it is playing kickball, riding on horseback down the beach or learning to dance with local women, we love interacting with the beautiful people of Nicaragua and learning more from their culture. Our local partners that play an integral role in SWA retreats in Nicaragua include surf instructors, taxi drivers, boat operators, videographers, chefs, and many more.

The Food

You’ll love Nicaraguan food for its vibrant flavors, blending influences from indigenous, Spanish, African, and Caribbean culinary traditions into a rich tapestry of taste. The cuisine is characterized by its generous use of fresh, locally-sourced ingredients like plantains, beans, maize, and tropical fruits, resulting in dishes that burst with color and freshness. From classic Central American favorites like gallo pinto, (a hearty mix of rice and beans) to flavorful repochetas (fried tortillas often served with beans and/or eggs), and fresh fish (caught right down the street from local fishermen at our retreat location), Nicaraguan cuisine offers a delightful array of flavors and textures sure to tantalize your taste buds and leave you craving more.

The Waves

You’ll fall in love with the waves in Nicaragua for their pristine beauty and thrilling surf opportunities. Nestled along the Pacific coastline, Nicaragua boasts a diverse range of surf breaks catering to surfers of all skill levels. Whether you’re a seasoned pro searching for the tube ride of your life or a beginner eager to catch your first wave, Nicaragua’s beaches offer something for everyone. Not to mention, the presence of Lake Managua, about 50 miles inland from the coast, helps funnel wind across the country to provide 300+ days of offshore winds. At our Nicaraguan retreat location, you’ll find consistent swell, lots of fun beach breaks (point breaks are an option with bigger swell), warm water and breathtaking scenery, the ultimate combination for an unforgettable surf trip.

JOIN AMIGAS FOR A RETREAT AT THE NORTHERN NICARAGUA ECO-RESORT!

3 Things to Expect to Experience on Your SWA Retreat: An Amiga’s Story

on April 15, 2024April 15, 2024 By Emma Roggenkamp

Surf With Amigas Women's Surf and Yoga Retreats

For those of you who have been on a SWA retreat, you know they are unforgettable, often life changing experiences. We recently got to chat with two amigas, Kat Brown and Brooke Wright, who shared some of their favorite aspects of the retreat experience and what it means to them. Here are their top three takeaways.

1. THE Format

“I especially love the format,” Kat says. “I have so many logistics in my day to day life that having someone else take care of that is a dream.” Kat’s experiences with SWA have become especially unique over the years; “I love retreats, so much so that I’ve started leading my own (in collaboration with SWA)! I first started going on retreats when I needed to process some heavy personal stuff, and have always appreciated the time away from the usual grind.”

2. retreats open up space and time to work on specific goals and intentions

surf with amigas retreats — Photos by @bymonicaandrea

While enjoying the land of peeling lefts in Southern Costa Rica, Kat has been able to hone in on her yoga practice. She even had the opportunity to teach yoga during her retreat in the jungle, which had been a longtime dream of hers.

Brooke explains that her retreat experiences have always been about “self-care, slowing down, being inspired, and taking time to focus on one aspect of surfing at a time in a supportive community.”

Brooke emphasizes the impact of the retreats on her surfing life:

“What has struck me about retreats with Surf With Amigas is that I always feel like I belong, whereas when I surf at home sometimes I don’t feel that way. Going on an advanced retreat really showed me that as long as I’m bringing my best self and trying my best, I belong in the water, with amigas, no matter what. That’s what these retreats mean to me.”

3. forming friendships and connections

“It is amazing how quickly you can form community and strong friendships [in the retreat space],” Kat says. “As a single cis-female, sometimes it can be intimidating to travel to a new far-flung destination on my own. Having a group to meet up with has opened the door to new locations, places I’ve loved and will return to again and again.”

Learn more about all of our current surf & yoga retreat locations here.

Health Myths Debunked: 4 Surprising Truths Revealed

on March 18, 2024October 9, 2024 By Emma Roggenkamp

How do we prioritize our health through food? With seemingly endless options in grocery aisles, fad diets, TikTok trends, and other miscellaneous health advice bombarding us through media, it becomes extremely difficult to discern what we should be eating in order to properly nourish our bodies.

This week on the Second Breakfast Podcast with Surf With Amigas we got a chance to chat with Lisa Hoopes, a registered dietician who availed us with a cornucopia of nutrition and health facts. What follows below is but a sliver of her wisdom, but still 4 surprising and useful facts we gleaned from her chat. That being said, please keep in mind, we all have different bodies and preferences, so take any nutrition advice with a grain of salt! These pointers are catered to those who are interested in boosting their metabolic health and straying from processed foods.

1. Avoid the “hateful 8 seed oils”

Once you start recognizing these 8 oils, you cannot stop. Be it sunflower, soybean, safflower, canola (rapeseed), peanut, palm kernel, corn, or cottonseed oil, these oils have a slippery tendency to hide themselves in most processed food items, even those advertised as “healthy,” like organic crackers or power bars. These seed oils are highly processed, and contain high levels of omega-6 fatty acids, which can cause inflammation when consumed in large amounts over time. Lisa recommends to instead use more avocado, olive, or coconut oil. In our Second Breakfast podcast episode with Lisa, she explains a bit more about the origin of the seed oils into our diets:

“The kind of low fat, fat makes you fat phase that went on in the 80s, really was the introduction of seed oils coming into so many of our foods. And the reason for this is this narrative of fat makes you fat. They took out a lot of the natural really good fats, the saturated fats, the monounsaturated fats from products like dairy. So, full fat milk went to skim milk. Yogurt, full yogurt ,went to 0% fat yogurt. But it was the type of fat that changed in those products. They inserted these chemically altered polyunsaturated fatty acids from seed oils, and those seed oils are really damaging to our mitochondria, leading to major inflammation in our body.”

2. Alternative milks aren’t as good for us as we believe

When buying alternative milks, take note of added ingredients. To bolster consistency and flavor, oftentimes vegetable/seed oils, sugars and gums are added. Not only can some of these ingredients interfere with metabolic health (as described above), but some (I’m looking at you, too oat milk) are directly processed as sugar in the body, meaning you’ll also receive a large blood sugar spike with your hot beverage of choice in the morning.

If you do choose to consume dairy (or hop back on the bandwagon), try

Dairy from grass-fed/finished cows, sheep, and goats
Full fat, local dairy products
Raw dairy products from a trusted, healthy source

Lisa recommends to avoid consuming:

1. Skim, low fat or nonfat dairy products (beneficial nutrients can often be removed)
2. Dairy from conventionally raised cows, sheep, and goats (this means the animals have been raised on grain, in an indoor environment, and are generally unhealthy animals)
3. Pasteurized or homogenized dairy products

3. Try a 12 hour intermittent fast

Lisa’s third recommendation, with the exception of those who are pregnant or have a serious health condition, is practicing a 12 hour fast, which most everyone can do. An intermittent fast is a period of time when we are not eating, and so we don’t have nutrients coming in from food and beverages. Lisa explains, “12 hours is kind of a sweet spot to start at, because it gives our body and our metabolism enough time to go from digesting everything to saying, hey, what else can I do in here to heal the body? What else can I do to clear up some inflammation? Also, at the 12 hour mark the body typically runs out of immediate energy to convert to ATP. So at this stage you’re able to access your stored energy as body fat, and your metabolism is working really well.” This kind of intermittent fasting can be used as a tool to help keep your body in a state of homeostasis. Also, this tip is incredibly easy to implement if we do it while we’re sleeping! 12 hours might seem like a long time to go without eating, but most of us are already doing this without even being aware of it. Longer fasts can be used to target additional healing benefits.

4. Your Indulgent Snacks May Not Be as Bad For You as You Think

After reading the previous facts, you may, like I did, have your head in your hands wondering how you could possibly make the right nutrition decisions. But don’t worry, it’s not all bad! If you do want to keep eating your crunchy, guilty pleasure snacks, you can still give yourself the green light to do so, within reason. If you choose to eat processed foods, turn that package over before buying and read the ingredients list. There are plenty of chips and other yummy snacks that don’t contain harmful seed oils!

To learn more about all things surf + health, check out our online surf training platform or listen to the Second Breakfast podcast episode with Lisa here!

Insider Surf Travel Hacks from the Amigas Community

on March 8, 2024March 8, 2024 By Emma Roggenkamp

Travel can be overwhelming, especially when you add a 50 pound surfboard bag to the equation. There’s nothing quite like hauling your board bag through the airport; the experience is full of navigating long check-in lines, praying you don’t get stung with oversize luggage fees, and eventually wishing you brought an extra shirt, especially when you realize you sweated through the one you’re wearing. That being said, we all know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel after periods of long travel: an epic surf trip awaits! Here are some trips to lighten your load, literally, on your next voyage.

#1 don’t overpack your surfboard bag

This may be a controversial tip, but its efficacy has been thoroughly tested by several members of our team. Instead of weighing down your surfboard with clothes, bathing suits, and other items that you think will protect your boards from travel dings, opt for an extra carry-on or checked piece of luggage. While you may cringe at the thought of paying more baggage fees on top of an already pricey plane ticket, we highly recommend you disperse your belongings into several bags.

According to our founder Holly Beck, who has a lifetime of surf travel behind her, lightening your board bag load allows for easier handling (both for you and airline workers, who are in charge of delivering your bag safely to your destination). This hopefully means a lower risk of board dings, while also ensuring that you have an emergency supply of clothes and toiletries if your board bag or any other luggage doesn’t show. If you’re still worried about your boards (seemingly unprotected in the bag), try using recycled pieces of cardboard to provide more buffer.

#2 Prioritize sun protection, snacks and waterproof items

We all know the sun can be both our friend and enemy in the lineup. While I love nothing more than catching fresh rays on my buns or back, a lifetime of sun on unprotected skin is not so sustainable. We highly encourage covering up (especially during peak sun hours) with rash guards, leggings, a goofy hat, and of course a good zinc or sunscreen.

Bring snacks because, one, who doesn’t love having their favorite treats to look forward to after a big session? Two, your destination may not have the same food options as your home country, and especially in transit or upon landing, you’ll be wanting to keep your belly happy. It may sound excessive to some, but our yoga instructor Reesie swears by bringing tupperwares of pasta on her trips. Don’t slack on the snacks!

Finally, prioritize waterproof items. We highly recommend waterproof backpacks as versatile beach and travel bags. Our retreat locations especially have a tendency to be near the equator, where mold loves to grow on damp items that are left in the dark, forgotten corners of your room. Save yourself a ruined item and protect it instead with a waterproof covering.

#3 double down on health products

Being sick or injured in a foreign country, especially one without reliable healthcare systems, can be extremely anxiety-inducing. Be sure to pack all the essential health products unique to you, and then some. We highly recommend bringing preventative products like multivitamins, charcoal pills for belly protection, probiotics, electrolytes, and antihistamines, to name a few (you never know when hives may mysteriously strike). Of course, at all SWA Retreats we have access to great first aid kits, but it’s never a bad idea to have your own stash of preventative products that may be difficult to find in rural areas.

#4 pack spares of essential items

Pack in twos, especially when it comes to surf items! Not only is it easy to lose items while on the road, but surf belongings have a particular risk of breakage and if you’re traveling to a rural zone you might not be able to replace these items easily. Be sure to bring extra fins, an extra leash, an extra plate and screw, and a little ding repair kit too!

Boost Your Surf Confidence With These 4 Practices

on February 21, 2024October 9, 2024 By Emma Roggenkamp

It’s normal to have pre-surf jitters, especially when the conditions may be challenging or you’ve been out of the water for a while. Boost your confidence and prepare yourself for your next big session or surf trip with these 4 tips!

try static breath holds

Recognize what happens to you, mentally and physically, when you hold your breath. Static breath holds can be performed underwater or on land in a place where you can sit calmly and relax. Be sure to do this with a buddy, and in a safe environment! By practicing breath holds, you are inviting your body to adapt in difficult or uncomfortable situations. Wiping out can be scary, and breath holding gives you the opportunity to manage how your body and mind respond to stress. This knowledge is power for the next time you experience a hold down underwater.

Learn to quiet your mind

Our minds can be our biggest obstacle or asset in the water. Surfing is a sport that demands both physical and mental endurance. Incorporating mindfulness techniques such as breath work and other relaxation/meditation exercises can help calm pre-surf jitters and facilitate composure in the water. By learning to recognize and accept your fears, manage stress, and maintain a relaxed state, you can approach each wave with greater confidence and clarity.

Practice visualization techniques

Visualization practices will help you dive more deeply into the mental aspects of surfing, and help boost confidence! When you have a spare few minutes in your day, try having a mental surf session! Imagine yourself riding the perfect wave, feeling the rush of adrenaline, and executing flawless maneuvers, or whatever your personal surf goal may be. Through visualization, you can build your mind-body connection, anticipate challenges, and take steps to honing your skills in the water.

Practice well-rounded training

Surfing is a full body sport, and it’s easy to lose surf and paddle endurance if you don’t have the opportunity to jump in the water frequently (as is often the unfortunate reality in our busy lives!) Practice building your strength and flexibility, in and out of the water. Cross-training for surfing will not only boost your readiness for that next session but will also bolster your health and longevity! Not to mention, by diversifying your physical activities you’ll reduce the risk of burnout or sport-specific injuries. Think of it as an incentive to try something different while immersing yourself in a new community.

For more surf techniques and mindful practices, check out our online surf training platform!

An Adaptive Surfing Champion’s Journey of Resilience

on February 7, 2024February 7, 2024 By Emma Roggenkamp

Do you ever wonder how you’d react in a life-altering, potentially threatening situation?

I find that until we’re confronted with a risk to our bodily autonomy or basic functions, it’s easy to take our bodies for granted, and forget about the incredible feats that they help us accomplish on a daily basis. But when the body and mind are forced to adapt, it’s amazing how we can relearn and persevere through extremely difficult situations. This week on the Second Breakfast podcast we had a chance to chat with Victoria Feige, who shares her story of resilience and adaptation.

At age 18, Victoria’s life was changed forever after a snowboarding fall left her paralyzed her from the waist down. But she didn’t let her accident slow her down. Now a 5x world para surfing champion, Victoria has an incredible attitude and takes life by storm, even from a wheel chair. Play is her wheelhouse, and she’s relearned how to move through the world and remake her passions in a new body. Even while being airlifted to the hospital, she has always had a persistent focus and passion for life.

Here are some snippets of her story:

“It’s kind of a crazy story. It sounds horrendous, but I’ve had a lot of fun along the way. So I grew up able-bodied, Canadian, skiing, snowboarding, telemarking. I’m a bit of a risk taker, and did a whole bunch of different sports. I have two older brothers, who are a bit rough and tumble.

When I was 18, I was snowboarding with a friend on spring break. I love to do big mountain riding, like, trees and shoots but I also love jumping in the park. That day I just sent it in the park at the end of the day, kind of showing off for a photo. And I overshot it, got about 15 feet of air and landed badly. So I have a compression fracture of my L1 vertebrae, which means that I’m essentially I was paralyzed from the waist down.

Then [I had] surgery and then really it’s three months at least of rehab in the hospital, learning how to navigate an environment and a body that you’re not that familiar with.

You have to kind of relearn how to move through the world. But I used whatever skills and resources I had to get me where I wanted to go. So I just transferred my skateboarding skills to wheelchair skills, including the ability to see terrain and perform an ollie. I used to rock climb a little bit, so you can find little handholds in an airplane or a subway station if the elevator breaks. You can find ways to navigate the environment.

Headshot taken by Nigel Wallace Media

yes, I have a disability. Yes, I’m a wheelchair user on land. But One of the things I love about surfing is that if I catch a great wave in the water, have a good takeoff and a sick turn, I did that. there’s no tokenism. There’s no special treatment.

My level of function is like far beyond what they could have expected but I also was kind of a high energy, high achiever before I got injured. Those are the elements that make you who you are. That element of pushing the boundaries is without a doubt why I got injured, but it’s pushing the boundaries and trying to get more is also what made me do so well after my injury.

There’s so much you can do after spinal cord injury. There’s so much that you can achieve and explore and there’s so much life left to live. And yeah, it might look a little different, but the important things of who you are, your friends and family and the things that define you don’t have to change. Unless you want them to change, but itdoesn’t have to determine your whole life.”

To learn more about Victoria and her inspiring story, listen on the Second Breakfast podcast.

3 Steps to Choosing a Longboard Fin

on January 22, 2024October 9, 2024 By Emma Roggenkamp

Start Here: Before picking your fin, ask yourself, how do I want to be surfing?

Nailing down your surfing goals is the first step in choosing the right fin, which will ultimately help you be most successful in the type of surfing that YOU want to do. For example, if your goal is to noseride, you’ll generally want a more upright fin, like a Pivot fin.

How do I choose the right type of fin?

The answer to this question again depends on your answer to the first question listed above! Here are the three most common types of longboard fins, and a bit about the types of surfing they support.

Pivot Fin: This fin is ideal for those looking to practice cross stepping or hankering for some more toes on the nose time. With a sizeable base and plenty of length, pivot fins also allow for more responsive turns.

D Fin: The D-fin is an older fin style ideal for those looking for an old-school feel or riding bigger boards. If you are surfing long point breaks like Malibu and want total control, this could be the fin for you. The large surface area of this fin helps with drive down the line to practice a noseride, but also makes it more difficult to turn.

Flex Fin: The flex fin, created by George Greenough in the 1960’s and inspired by a tuna fish fin, is great for performance logs, bigger turns in the pocket, and for those who are interested in pushing their limits in bigger waves. Flex fins typically have more “rake,” which refers to how far the front edge of the fin arcs backwards. More rake is designed for more drawn out turns. These fins are also great for midlengths!

How do I choose the right sized fin?

As a general rule of thumb, you can take the length of your longboard and use that to size your fin. For example, if you have a 9’6″ log, try starting with a 9.5″ to 10″ fin.

PRO tip: Depending on your size and the board’s, you can play around with trying a slightly bigger/smaller fin (try starting with 0.5″ differences). A smaller person usually can more easily turn a smaller fin.

Where do I place my fin in the fin box: further forward, centered, or back?

There’s no hard and fast answer to this question. Our general recommendation is to learn by doing, play around with it, change the placement for a session or two and see how it feels. Fin placement within the fin box can alter the sensation you’ll feel when riding a wave.

When placing the fin further back, the board has a very stiff feel. It will give you lots of hold in big waves but make it harder to turn. This also creates more balance for noseriding.

When placing the fin further forward, what you gain in maneuverability you lose in stability. This placement moves the pivot point forward, making the board turn more easily but with a very loose feel.

Remember there is no one-size fits all when it comes to fins! Try different setups in varying conditions to find out what works best for YOU.

For more info about fins and placement, check out our surf training videos!

4 Tips For Managing Fear While Surfing

on January 12, 2024October 10, 2024 By Emma Roggenkamp

At some point in our surf journeys, we are bound to find ourselves stuck in a place we’d rather not be, or at the very least in an unexpected situation in the water. Many different emotions can come up while we’re surfing, but there usually tends to be one common denominator: fear. Whether it boils down to a fear of lack of control, of injury or embarrassment, that nagging, anxiety-inducing feeling in the pit of your stomach is universal in surfing. Feelings of fear are our brain’s way of trying to keep our bodies safe. Here are four tips you can use to help overcome your fear in the water:

1. Acknowledge your fear

The more you can acknowledge that your fear exists, the more likely you can begin to take the needed steps to overcome that fear. Trying to understand exactly where your fear comes from is the first step in processing it. Use that understanding to slowly enlarge your comfort zone. You can do this by taking baby steps of expansion while keeping yourself safely challenged. Whether it is surfing a slightly more difficult break, or trying different maneuvers in the water, give it a go. Using this technique, our amiga Brooke says,

“I recognized that my desire to overcome the fear became stronger than the fear at some point.”

2. Surf with a buddy, or instructor!

Fear can feel like a much more manageable emotion when you have someone to share it with. A little bit of extra encouragement from a friend, especially from someone who may have a bit more experience in the water, can go a long way. If you see your buddy isn’t afraid, often that gives you the permission to let go of your fear. Not to mention, a simple shared look of solidarity before plunging headfirst into a duck dive can do wonders for the nerves.

3. Practice breathing techniques in the water

As our amiga Brooke explains in her Second Breakfast episode, as soon as we start to hold our breath, the body goes into fight or flight mode. While we’re stressed or anxious, there’s usually an element of breath holding that comes along with that. Especially while we’re laying on our bellies paddling, breathing can easily become constricted. Try focusing on inhaling and exhaling while you’re paddling for a wave. While doing this, you can challenge your own perceptions of fear. Remind yourself that even if you get tumbled around, you’re going to come up, you’re going to be okay. Consider breathing exercises to be an intervention for your anxiety.

“Drawing your attention towards your breath can help get you out of a fear state and more into flow state.”

4. Practice positive mantras in the water

Often what holds us back the most in the water is our perceived perception of ourselves and what we are capable of. The brain creates strong neural pathways that dictate these perceptions. The more we believe them and use certain pathways, the more engrained they become. Studies have shown that bilateral movement (like paddling while surfing!) offers an opportunity to create new pathways. The next time you’re paddling out into the lineup, try repeating a positive mantra to yourself. Rather than telling yourself “I suck, I don’t have the skill level to surf this wave,” or “I’m scared I’ll fall and everyone is watching,” try flipping the switch. “My body is strong and capable, and I am doing the best that I can.”

For more surf stories, tips and techniques for managing your emotions in water, check out Brooke’s episode on Second Breakast (the Surf With Amigas podcast).

For some, even the thought of a particular surf destination or break can make the palms break out in a sweat. Are you ready to send it and step out of your comfort zone? Are you an intermediate to advanced surfer and willing to push your limits? Check out our retreat location, Sumatra!

Take a deep dive into facing and embracing your fears by clicking here.

Forging Sisterhood on the Shores of Morocco: an Amiga’s Story

on December 30, 2023December 30, 2023 By chloe piester

In the excerpt below, Amiga Sarah Petrarca paints a beautiful picture of sisterhood, surf, and adventure that spans across her time spent at a Surf With Amigas retreat in Morocco.

In the heart of Imsouane, where the Atlantic meets the Atlas Mountains, I began a surf trip that transcended the ordinary. Joined by a crew of adventurous souls, I found myself immersed in the reciprocity of the sea, guided by the expert hands of Surf With Amigas. The waves, the camaraderie, and the magic that unfolded became a living canvas for the sisterhood we forged on the shores of Morocco.

Surf With Amigas, an organization that combines the thrill of surfing with the celebration of female solidarity, proved to be the perfect catalyst for an unforgettable experience. The first lesson on the board was more than a crash course in surfing; it was a metaphorical dive into the depths of connection. The shared laughter, the occasional wipeouts, and the triumphant rides—each moment crafted the unique mosaic of our shared time by the shore.

The Amigas, and our honorary Amigo, provided a safe haven in the lineup to bring everyone confidence. As someone who gets intimidated to surf new places, I can’t thank the SWA coaches enough for their hard work and patience. If I had to provide some tips for newcomers, I would say an open mind and trust in the coaches will go a long way. Waves I felt nervous for or mornings I lacked motivation, they brought the energy through dance parties, cheers, and loads of high fives. I would also say that bringing two wetsuits so that you always have a dry one, helps too!

surf with amigas Morocco — Photos by Sarah Petrarca

Remember that you’ll take a few digs, everyone does. It’s an inevitable part of the surfing journey, a series of little challenges that test your resilience and commitment. Embrace those falls with a smile, knowing that each stumble is an opportunity to learn, improve, and ultimately become a more skilled and confident surfer. It’s these small challenges that make the triumphs taste even sweeter, and they become stories you fondly reminisce about.

In the lulls between sets, I couldn’t help but admire the raw beauty that surrounded me. The cliffside, weathered by time and the elements, stood as silent witnesses to the timeless dance between woman and nature. The contrast between the arid mountains and the endless expanse of the ocean created a surreal backdrop for my surfing odyssey. Stretching gracefully along the coastline, these waves welcomed both beginners and seasoned surfers with open arms. Their gentle rolls offered a forgiving embrace, allowing us to learn, laugh, and ride the tides of camaraderie. As I reflect on my surf trip to Imsouane, I am reminded that the true beauty of such journeys lies not just in the waves conquered but in the moments of stillness between them.

In Imsouane, I found a tale as old as time—that of connection, exploration, and sisterhood that will forever echo in the recesses of my soul. For me, this retreat lit a divine spark and truly inculcated my obsession with surfing. However, this trip was not just about conquering waves; it was about forging connections, building confidence, and celebrating the strength that comes from embracing the sea together. While I am still daydreaming about the waves I had, it is the people I met and grew with that were my favorite part. Hand to heart, I can truly say I walked away with more than a few surf lessons, but women I am proud to call friends.