The woman of surfing
Feeling inspired by international Women’s Day, it’s the perfect moment to reflect on progress made and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary and extraordinary women who have played an important role in the history of surfing.
Woman have had a big impact on how our surfing life looks like these days. They helped uplift the sport and have been part of it’s circle since the early beginning. It is time to celebrate those brave woman who cleared a pathway or made our surfing experience even better and easier.
This is our tribute to these strong ladies who changed surfing behind and in front in the scene.
Princess Kaiulani (1875–1899)
Without this defiant Hawaiian princess, there might not even be surfing at all.
After the Missionaries came to Hawaii, oppressed the people and outlawed surfing, it was Princess Kaiulani who went against decrees, paddled out, and lead her people back to their roots in the ocean and surfing.
During her education in the late 1800’s in Britain she taking to the North Sea on September 1890 off the coast of Bridlington, East Yorkshire, in what is believed to be the first instance of surfing in Britain.
Gidget
It was Gidget, along with the Beach Boys, who gave surfing its most memorable turn in the great American youth culture parade.
Gidget was the first Hollywood surfing movie ever, it exposed surfing to the mainstream and created an enduring and indelible pop culture that is still felt today. This is a different American Dream: one of youthful freedom and limitless leisure in post-war lineups. “Gidget”, is based on a real person. That real person is Kohner’s daughter, Kathy and the fictional world she was living in was the real Malibu beach crowd of the 1950s. From book to film to TV series, Gidget ignited a string of Hollywood beach movies, fashions, and language that lead to the way we think about surfing today.
Hedy Lamarr (1914 - 2000)
Now without Hedy’s invention we would still be struggling with old school paper maps. The creation of GPS made it so much easier for the individual surfers to find and explore unknown surfspots.
She was one of the most glamorous stars of the black and white film era — and she was also one of the minds behind an invention that provided the foundation for GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi technology! Austrian-American actress Hedy Lamarr was also a gifted mathematician and engineer, and when World War II broke out, she wanted to make a contribution to the war effort by improving torpedo technology. Lamarr's spread-spectrum technology has become the foundation for the portable devices that we use every day, for which she was inducted into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame in 2014.
Sarah Gerhardt
Sarah Gerhardt was the first woman to surf Mavericks in 1999. Since then, many women have followed in her footsteps, showing the world that women can also be big wave surfers, charge hard, and take on nature’s strongest forces
There are many more woman i love to mention in this list, some even ordinary that make a mark in my memory. The fierce girl i saw in the water today struggling with fear but to stubborn to not dare to challenge the waves. My friend who has been learning and developed her surfing so much in the last year, she really gets my admiration for her persistence. The lady that came as a guest, beloved mother and definite not afraid to try something new.
I admire all of you. The ladies from the past, present and future. You shape my world and of many other surfing girls. Keep doing what you do and know someone admires you for it.