CHICK INVASION IN THE LINE UP

Surf Girls Gone Wild!

by Corky Carroll

There are tons of negative features that Covid 19 has provided us with, mega tons.  The list would be too long to even attempt.  There are very few positives.  I was gonna say, “if any.” But then there is one very interesting outcome from the whole thing that could be taken as a positive, depending on how you look at it.  And it involves we hard core surf people who are in the water everyday doing our best to have fun and ride a few waves.  
 
Since Covid started and all the lock downs, places closed, etc. etc. etc., there has been a huge increase in the number of female surfers.  From what I am hearing many have taken up surfing because of gyms being closed or restricted access.  They were looking for another form of exercise and there was surfing just sitting there all ready to take them in.  So, we have seen a vastly greater amount of new female surfers than males.  I touched in this awhile back.
 
Is this a good thing or not?  Well, in my opinion, who doesn’t like to see hot lookin’ surf chicks in the water?  Most all guys and most girls too.  Now, I guess you could take this as a sexist and typical horndog male thing to say, and to any of you who might take it that way I apologize right now.  No offense meant.  I am way too old and happily married to do anything other than enjoy the view.  But it’s nice to have a more evenly balanced lineup just for the social aspect.  People like to chit chat between waves and it’s nice to have a girl to talk to instead of the standard crusty and smelly old surf dudes that I hang out with.
 
So, are there any negative sides to this female influx.  There is a belief that the most aggressive and hard to deal with surfers in the water are intermediate surf girls.  Guys like to say, “they snake you and drop in on you and they don’t care.  It’s like they think they are entitled because they are girls and can surf a little bit.”  And the always stupid, “…and ya can’t smack ‘em one.”  

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​I don’t buy into that last part at all.  No, ya can’t smack ‘em one, that’s a fact.  But ya shouldn’t be “smackin’” anybody, man, woman, or beast.  It’s ok to smack a shark, but that’s about it in the smackin’ department.  Also, it seems to me that over aggressive behavior is not limited to either girls or guys, there are just certain people who are not considerate and act the way they do.  So no, I don’t see that argument as valid.  But it’s true that ya don’t wanna make one mad.
 
I think it’s all good and am happy to welcome more of our female surfing sisters into the lineup.  I do have one question though, and please do not take this the wrong way.  Many of the current girls out in the water where I surf, a warm water location, wear those new floss thong bikini bottoms.  And it’s nice.  But what I don’t understand is how they keep from getting really bad wax rashes? We wear long surf trunks for the very reason of not getting wax rash on our inner legs.  How do they wear those bottoms and not just get chewed up from the wax on their boards?  It’s like some sort of heavenly miracle or magic thing.  Hey, just curious, that’s all.
 
One thing I can say for sure is that there is some amazing surfing being done by the girls these days.  At one time I was certain that there would never be a girl who could surf better than me, and I held onto that fleeting fantasy for a long time.  Well, that misconception ended years ago.  The top girl surfers are doing incredible things and surfing far better than all but the very top men.  Certainly far far better than old fat dudes plodding along on SUPs.  
 
In conclusion on this subject, I just want to say I love to see more girls out there with us.  I dig surf chicks, just the way it is.  Yeah, it’s cooler when they are nice and not meanies.  Goes both ways.    
 
Lastly, and this part I really don’t like, we lost a couple more of our surfing community over the past couple of weeks.  Richard Harbour and Rockin’ Fig.  Both of these guys have been local Orange County icons for decades and it is a huge loss.  I just wrote about Greg Noll and also remembering Butch Van Artsdalen, so just didn’t want to get into more sad stuff this week.  I respected and loved these guys very much and was super sad to hear they passed away.  Everyone will tell you that one of the worst parts of getting older is that more and more of your pals leave. I told my beautiful and younger wife that I am going to live to be at least 100, and on my 100th birthday I am going to both surf and make love to her.  She just laughed and said, “well, you are NOT going surfing first then.”  
 
RIP Rich and Fig, we will all miss you.