Maui Surfer Girls

Inspirational Surfing Moms

 

Check out the May 2, 2008 Maui News!

I published my first article in the Maui News entitled "Inspirational Surfing Moms Ride On" in the Mother's Day Gift insert yesterday!

After realizing that half of my waterwomen friends are getting pregnant or married this year, I was inspired to write the below article in honor of Mother's day.  Other amazing mom friends I failed to mention in the article are"The Jen" Giles, who's the mom of the cutest seven year old boy on the Westside - Zac.  Not to mention "Team Prego": Heather "H-Bomb" Nelson, our dynamo surf instructor, and Amber "Dane-Jah" Panebianco -- both due before the end of '08!  You go ladies -- keep your waterwomen spirits alive and set good examples for healthy living for your kids! 

MSG loves our surfing super mommies!!

In case you missed the article in the Maui News yesterday...here it is:

     “I better not drink the water these days -- I might get pregnant.”  I observed,  with my deer-in-headlights stare on Shelly’s belly, who’s already six months pregnant,  along with two other good friends of mine.  I really shouldn’t be shocked as I’m apart of “Team Thirty-Something” now and every where I turn I have a friend getting married or pregnant.  It’s just hard to believe that all my girlfriends who surf, sail, and paddle with as much testosterone-grit as the likes of David Kalama, are now slowing down because they have a belly the size of a breadfruit.   Well they’re not exactly “slowing down”.

     Talk about hardcore momma’s in the ocean – Andrea Moller wasn’t about to slow down.   After doing a Maliko run in her one-man, she’d clear out the Hookipa line up on her longboard like a 747 was landing at Kahului airport.   With her butt up in the air like a Brazilian (bikini) flag, she’d muscle her way into whatever wave  she wanted.  Forget surf etiquette – who’d dare drop in on a six month pregnant woman on a ten foot longboard?  Not me.  I’d just hoot and holler her nickname, “Animal!”, as she flew past me with a glow that was much brighter than a her usual surf stoke – she was a surfing super mommy now!  Watching her gracefully longboard, I knew she was amidst a rite of passage that would alter her life forever.  Her intimate relationship with the ocean would have to make room for motherhood.  A year after Keala was born, Andrea towed into twenty-five foot waves at Peahi.  And her world continued to expand – re-defining “motherhood” and the notion that  mom’s can still charge after their dreams.

     Another inspirational surfing mom on the island is Vrinda Graham.  Three years ago, she took a sixth month series of surf lessons with me.  She’s a mother of an autistic child and struggled with health issues of her own.  From barely sitting upright on her board to a few months later attending our catamaran  surf trip in Costa Rica, I witnessed a complete transformation in Vrinda.  She discovered her “inner surfer girl”and now never leaves home without her longboard strapped to her BMW.  When her son gets older, we’ll be getting him out on a surfboard too.

     It doesn’t matter if you are a new mom or a retired mom, it’s never too late to learn how to surf.  As the website, “Surfingmums.com”, aptly puts it, “A surfing mom is a happy mom”.  I can’t claim to know the woes of motherhood, but when I run my overnight surf camp each summer, I get a hard and fast dose of the 24-7 responsibilities of twenty teenage girls.  And truly, if I didn’t have the ocean to wash away all that stress and estrogen, I might’ve thrown in the beach towel years ago.  Moms don’t have a choice – you have to take care of yourselves so that you can take care of your children.  Maui’s beautiful waves are like the Big Momma to all the moms on the island – let her take care of you for a change.  Grab a board and lets go surfing this mother’s day!

Surfing Mom's Blog
MomsOnBoards.com
SurfingMums.com

 

Costa Rica Catamaran Surf Trip 2008

Well folks - we at Maui Surfer Girls have been slammed with surf lessons and surf trips abroad. We apologize for not updating our blog more.

We just completed two events - the spring sessions of Swellwomen Surf and Yoga retreats & our annual surf trip to Costa Rica. For more info and photos of the Swellwomen retreats check out their website:Swellwomen Blog

As far as our 2008 Costa Rica Trip - we scored! For those ladies who have a thirst for adventure and improving your surfing skills - this trip is for you. We had a great group of ladies that attended this year. Lucy Woodard, as a seasoned MSG veteran, along with Cindy Kim, a seasoned Swellwomen veteran, and Tam and Liz who've also attended previous trips with Maui Surfer Girls.

Here's are our top pics from our trip:

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PURA VIDA!!

Spring Break Surf Lessons - Poirier Family

Yet another picture-perfect surf lesson for a wonderful family visiting us from Montreal, Canada.  The Poirier Family enjoyed prestine surf conditions at our favorite location, "1000 Peaks". 

They sent us these photos from their surf lesson.  Enjoy!

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Maui Spring Break Surf Lessons

Yet another amazing week of surf lessons! I think we clocked in over 20 hours in the sun and taught 44 people how to surf this week! People are catching on, while catching uncrowded waves...that if you want to learn how to surf in an intimate environment -- they book their lessons with Maui Surfer Girls!

We had some of the most ideal conditions to learn the basics of surfing. It's even a two for one special - as many of our students got quite the whale watching experience sitting on their surfboards! Forget booking a whale watch - come surfing with us.

Here's some of our top photo picks of the week! Former camper, Jenny Noreen's classmates from Gunnison, Colorado surfed many party waves...I showed off my headstand skills too!

Maui Surf Schools & Politics - "Recreation VS. Regulation"

Maui County is waging a war against all ocean recreation companies!

The Maui County Parks and Recreation Department is threatening to enact a law that would severely limit ocean recreation schools at Maui county beach parks.  This law, MC10-102, would not only limit hours of operation, cap off students/class, but cut out over half of all permitted surf,scuba, kayak, kite and windsurfing schools!  This law threatens the survival of small businesses and employees, who keep our visitors and locals safe as they learn a new water sport!

Maui Surfer Girls is not going down without a fight!  Many of our supporters have written letters to Mayor Tavares in testimony of our program.  And today, my letter to the editor of the Maui News was published.

Check it out:  The Maui News Letter to the Editor - 3/13/08 

If you've been touched by our surf camp programming or surf school, we'd appreciate any testimony in our behalf!  Please email the Director of Parks and Recreation, Tamara Horcajo at Tamara.Horcajo@co.maui.hi.us 

Much Mahalo for your support!

The Will Smith Foundation

On June 3, 2007 the world lost a special soul:  Will Smith, an eight year old boy from South Texas.

How was Will connected to Maui Surfer Girls, one might ask?  I was the unfortunate witness to the horrendous head-on collision that took poor Will's life.  If it had happened 15 minutes earlier, the collision might've taken my life too, as I was unloading surfboards for my lesson at Ukumehame Beach Park only feet from the collision.

Just recently I was teaching down there - actually the first time at Ukumehame Beach Park in three months due to bad weather.  I walked over to Will's road-side memorial to meet a beautiful woman hanging lei's on his cross.  I told her that I was a witness to the collision and with tears in her eyes, she told me that she was in that crash -- Will was her son.  My heart broke and I gave her a big hug. 

After our fateful meeting, I told her that I'd host a surf day for Will around the year anniversary of his death - to honor and celebrate Will's life at the Park.  A few days later Susan, Will's mom, took a surf  lesson from me at the Park.  And in the many months of lessons, I have never taught in such spectacular conditions:  whales were breaching, there were beautiful uncrowded waves peeling in, and the wind was so still that the windmills weren't turning.  I could not believe it!  Susan said that Will was orchestrating all this beauty for her to enjoy and help her heal through this unfortunate tragedy. We were both silent in awe after this realization.

Susan has a heart of gold, where Will obviously got it from, and I was so impressed with her strength to transform her loss through the new foundation she created in Will's honor.  Please check out their site and donate to her cause!  As Maui Surfer Girls will do through donating surf lessons to a surf day in Will's honor. 

With much aloha to Susan Moulton and The Will Smith Foundation

And thank you for your plug on Maui Surfer Girls:   http://www.thewillsmithfoundation.org/?inc=5&news_id=12253

Another Quality Surf Lesson with Maui Surfer Girls

It's been some of the most beautiful days of surf lessons, that I've seen in many months.  Light tradewinds, whales breaching in the distance, and perfect pealin' waves for our students to enjoy their first rides on.  So forget what you're doing on that cold mainland - and get over to Maui to play in the warm waves with us!

Here's a few pictures of our lesson last week with the Patterson family.

Maui Surfer Girls Featured on KTLA

On January 23, 2008 Maui Surfer Girls recieved their first TV station editorial! We were featured on Los Angeles' KTLA morning show with Emily Kaufman! They did a segment on "Girlfriend Getaways" and what a better way to getaway with your girls and head to Maui Surfer Girls for surf lessons! What a morning of lessons we had that day too -- not one person on the beach or in the water. Our students scored glassy uncrowded waves. Check it out!

Women Who Surf Jaws

Well folks -- these clips should go down in the history of women's big wave surfing. Featured here are "Team Amazone", Maria Souza and Andrea Moller, and their pioneering women's tow team. These two are going fairly unrecognized by mainstream surfing, when they are the first all female tow team to both drive and surf at Jaws. Major props to Team Amazone!!

Dustin Tester, Maui Surfer Girls founder, was waiting on the wings for a couple of these bombs. Check out Dustin's dramatic wipeout, the amazing rescue by Andrea, and her next ride -- one of the bombs of the day and by far the biggest wave of her life.

As far as the 2007-2008 tow season -- it's been a very disappointing one so far. The girls have gone out maybe twice this season. Let's cross our fingers and pray for some bombing winter swells to roll in -- without rain and wind!

Enjoy and spread the word about Team Amazone! And corporate sponsors out there -- where are you guys? Why is it that Laird and David Kalama can get paid big bucks for riding big waves and these ladies are working full time jobs, going to school, starting a business, as well as being full time mothers! What's up with that?!

Snow in Maui?

Hey guess what? There's snow on top of Haleakala today!

Haleakala ironically means house of the sun - but as you can see it's been snowed on. They even closed the highway at the top because of icy conditions.

Grab your boogie boards and lets go sleddin' down the volcano!