The worst thing that can happen to you in the surf (it's not what you think)

👋 Happy Little Friday to you! (Or if you’re way ahead in the Eastern Hemisphere—Happy Friday Proper! 🎉) Wherever you’re surfing, welcome aboard the launch issue 🚀 of The Wipeout Weekly from Girls Who Can’t Surf Good!

🏄‍♀️ Let’s surf:

• What’s the worst 🥹 that can happen?

• Beginner heaven in Popoyo

• Word of the week: Poo 💩 stance

• Girl-Who-Can-Surf-Just-Fine

• Mind your surf manners 🎩

• Girls recs: Surf hair

• Weekly popup ⚡🏄‍♀️🔥

^SURFODRAMA

😱 What’s the worst that can happen to you in the surf?

We wanted our first story to set the tone—make you smile and remind you how brave you are for embracing surfing. Honestly, you deserve a medal.🏅 Or at least a hug for putting yourself out there.

So here’s a non-definitive list of the very worst things that can happen to you in the water.

🦈 SHARKS, yep, they are out there. If you surf in Hawaii, chances are a shark has come pretty close to you, and you didn’t even know it. Dare, we mention 🐊? Unlikely, but it’s possible to encounter a croc around Tamarindo, Costa Rica and Australia’s Northern Territory.

🤕 Head injury by KAYAK. You can observe this fierce rivalry between surfers and surf kayakers in the UK, specifically in Wales and Cornwall. Just keep in mind: they wear helmets, you don’t.

🔪 Surfboard FIN CUTS. If you’ve never seen a fin embedded in someone’s thigh or slicing right through your brand new board, consider yourself lucky. Those things get razor-sharp when they start flying.

🤮 TUMMY ISSUES, anyone? Science says that surfers are 3x more likely to have antibiotic-resistant E. coli bacteria in their guts. As this is an unavoidable fact of surf life, avoid undercooked chicken and always wash your hands after pooping 😜

🦵 Sprained and BROKEN ANKLES, fibulas, calcaneus bones. All it takes is one weird step on (or off) your board. And not just in the water. One of the GWCSG girls confesses: “I fractured my hip just standing at the shore waiting to go in.” Harsh.

🪸 CORAL SCARS. Coral is razor-sharp, slow to heal, and loves leaving a "souvenir" in your wound. Wear your coral scar like a badge! You surfed near a live coral reef! Which, unfortunately, might not be a thing in 20 years.

AND NOW… TAAAAADAAA—THE WORST THING!

😡 GETTING TOLD OFF in the lineup. We all know the feeling. 🤬💔😭 Whether it was totally fair or just a case of kooksplaining (yep, that's our next Word of the Week), it stings. Almost makes taking a kayak to the head sound preferable. (Almost!)

🚨 So is surfing actually dangerous? Yep, it can be. So let’s stay safe and watch out for each other. Because it is SO worth it 🌊

^{SURF SPOT SPOTLIGHT}

😇🤙 Is Popoyo, Nicaragua a beginners’ paradise?

Popoyo is one of the few destinations frequently mentioned by the Girls Who Can’t Surf Good. This small beach town on the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua is blessed with consistent, day long offshore winds making it the most popular and therefore - the most crowded spot in the area.

Popoyo at a glance ⬇️ 

🌊 Waves: A-frame point break (another Word of the Week!), easy paddle out with a channel on both sides

🚰 Water quality: Almost always clean

👙 Wardrobe: Bikini-forward, water temp 80-85F/27-29C

☀️ Best time to surf: small, beginner-friendly swell is December-April, larger swell May-November, The Beginners Bay almost always works for beginners unless it’s flat

⚠️ Hazards: Crowded with locals and tourists, shallow rock reef in places, spotty Wi-Fi

🎉 What else to do: there’s yoga and horseback riding, tide pools in Guasacate, a few bars and restaurants

🏄️ Solo traveling: Popoyo is a friendly spot, we’re hearing from the Girls Who Can’t Surf Good who visited on their own. Plus, one of our own is now a Popoyo local, so drop Ella a DM if you need a friend.

^SURFLINGO

💩 Word of the week: Poo stance

Some say it’s a cardinal sin. Some that it’s not a crime. Either way—a poo stance is not an aspirational stance.

What is it? Knees bent too much, pointing too far apart, and bum hanging low. Basically, you look like you’re about to go. 🚽

How to fix it? Relax your stance and engage your core. It’ll help—promise.

^{GIRL-WHO-CAN-SURF-JUST-FINE}

🏄‍♀️🐣 Surfing before walking—now Kyla’s mission is helping women progress in the lineup

Surfing has been part of Kyla’s life since before she could walk. She’s the co-owner of Surfin Fire Surf School in Oceanside, CA, passionate about helping female surfers gain confidence, progress faster, and find their flow in the lineup.

This Saturday, March 15th, Kyla’s organizing the Yoga & Surf Day, where all ticket sales will be donated to Surf for Life—sign up here! You can catch her @kylapeties

Read Kyla’s full story

We’d love to share your surfing stories—good, bad, happy and sad. Whether they are a one paragraph-short anecdote, a 10-page long essay or just a fun pic of you surfing. 👉 Reply to this email to get it going or tag @therealgirlswhocantsurf for a collab.

^{SURF ETIQUETTE}

When dropping in on a wave, do I yell “COWABUNGA”!

When you’re new to surfing, surf etiquette is mind-boggling. There’s no codified set of rules. More experienced surfers scroll away—you got this. Or do you? 🦈

Different rules will apply to different types of breaks (point or beach) and different geographies (i.e. East Coast of US vs California vs Costa Rica),and different surf spots (tourist-heavy or locals-only).

So let’s start with the most common unwritten rules.

✅ Do wear a leash. You will see that some surfers don’t, that’s on them.

❌ Do not ditch your board. Hold onto it tightly if a wave breaks on you.

✅ Do apologize 😅. If you did (or thought you did) something wrong.

❌ Do not paddle out into the path of other surfers. If you’re paddling out and a surfer is coming towards you: look first => consider the timing => paddle around into the whitewater (opposite direction the surfer is going on the wave).

✅ Do look 👀. Sit on the beach and spend a few minutes watching other surfers and the waves.

❌ Do not snake 🐍: paddle around other surfers to get closer to the peak of the wave.

✅ Do adhere to the right of way:

⏳ Furthest out: the surfer that is furthest out or that has been waiting longest
🌊 Furthest inside: the closest surfer to the peak of the breaking wave has priority.
🦶 First to feet: if multiple surfers are near the peak, the first to stand up on the wave takes it.
💬 Communication for A-frame/dual peak waves: call out of "Left!" or "Right!" depending which side you’re taking.

The right of way doesn’t necessarily apply to beach breaks and beginner-friendly point breaks where surfers tend to go in a straight line.

Now having said all of the above, here’s what some surfers think about the surf etiquette 😆 

^{GIRLS’ RECS}

Hair trouble? Try water 💧 

If your hair looks like candy floss and feels like hay after every surf session, you have a problem. It may be getting sun-damaged and brittle as salt water draws out all the moisture.

We have a cure!

Wet your hair with fresh water before entering the ocean. As your hollow hair drinks it up, it reduces its ability to absorb salt water, which causes dryness and damage. If you need extra help, a few of our girls swear by Stream2Sea, a biodegradable, reef-safe leave-in conditioner.

^{WEEKLY POPUP}

Is the pop-up about physical or mental strength?

Every week, we will cover a tip or a trick to mastering your pop-up. Today, let’s deal with fear and performance pressure.

You might not be popping up because:

1. Staying on the board is safer than standing up.
2. Pulling back is safer than heading downhill.
3. Body surfing to the beach is safer than slipping off the board into the ocean.
5. Everyone around you is taking waves and the pressure to perform hits sky high
6. You pop up and… you fail. And failing is not fun.

But…you dust yourself off and you try it over, and over, and over again. We’d like to congratulate you on your resilience, learning to surf is not easy. But it’s a cakewalk 🍰 🚶‍♀️ when you know how (stolen from a big wave surfer Gerry Lopez).

^{THE WIPEOUT WEEKLY FOMO}

⬆️ 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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