By Tennille-Lynn Millo
Long Beach Herald
July 6, 2006

Women surfers aren't the curiosities they once were - Gidget took care of that. But surfing women still elicit the odd, interested stare.


Maybe it's due to the allure of movies like "Blue Crush" and the "Charlie's Angels" franchise, or because many still view surfing as a male sport.

As the number of women getting out to the surf grows each season, those who came first are offering an encouraging hand.

Take Rachel Imerese, 23, a grad student, an employee at the Long Beach Surf Shop and private surfing instructor who founded "Gnarly's Angels: Surf Lessons for Girls." She grew up in Melborne, Fla., spending her days on the beach.

Tired of dreaming about being a girl who could glide across the ocean waves like the guys she watched, one day she pushed her board forward, paddled into the ocean and gave it a shot. It was sublime, she said.

"There's just this amazing energy behind you pushing you forward," she said. "It's an incredible high."

Since enrolling at Fordham University and moving to Long Beach, her business of giving lessons has thrived, she said, and encourages teen and tween girls to get out there. "Starting young gives you the advantage of being more comfortable in the water when you're older, and the opportunity to compete or travel the world, comfortable and confident with any type of wave."

Imerese has taught girls as young as 11 and as advanced as 60.

Among her students is Anna Davis, 26, who remembers how she would walk along the beach jealously checking out the surfers.

"Still, I needed to be near the ocean," she said.

When she got up the nerve to try it, she went to the Long Beach Surf Shop and quizzed the saleswoman, who happened to be Imerese. Davis signed on for lessons.

"Rachel was great," Davis said. "She made it fun and helpful by teaching me the basics about the break. Rachel broke that down for me, pointed out the beginner-friendly spots and the rules of etiquette. That alone made me feel more comfortable paddling out."

A year later, Davis surfs regularly, even taking a surfing trip to Oregon.

Another pal is Candice Rosseland, who when asked her age replies that she's "an ageless wonder over 30." Today, she is a surfing partner of Imerese's, but only began six years ago after a vacation in California.

Instantly hooked, she rearranged her life, giving up her apartment in Manhattan and moving to Long Beach just for the surfing.

Rosseland and Imerese met at the surf shop and bonded. They both became involved in the Girls4sport Foundation, the charitable arm of the sporting goods company. The foundation has the stated mission of empowering girls of all ages to live active lifestyles. Girls4sport now sponsors Imerese and promotes her on its Web site http://www.girls4sport.com/rachel.shtml.

Her boss at the surf shop, Luke Hamlet, said he couldn't be happier with what Imerese is trying to do. "In the past four years female surfing has increased," he said. "But with mostly men in line, it can be intimidating for a woman to get out there, and being a beginner provides a double whammy. Having Rachel encouraging women to go out there is a very cool thing."
The first trick is getting past those feelings of intimidation. "There are basic mistakes people do not want to make when starting off," Imerese said.

First, women worry about how they look in their bathing suits and how well they're doing, which will cause them to lose focus, she said. It may take a while before a beginner feels comfortable, she said, but private surfing lessons from another woman can speed up the learning curve.

Along with confidence, prospective surfers might find it interesting to know the physical and emotional aspects of the life.

"Surfing is a great way to escape the world," she said. "When you're out in the water, your mind is a blank and you're unable to think about anything else.

And it's great cardiovascular exercise. Surfing works your core, shaping up your neck, arms, back, abs and legs."

But surfers never ride in a vacuum, Imerese and Rosseland said, and they must be comfortable swimming in the ocean while understanding the rules of surf etiquette.

Some are common sense, such as courtesy toward other surfers. When choosing a wave, pay attention to your surroundings. Surfers line up, taking turns to grab their wave. Don't grab someone else's wave and don't be too enthusiastic; catching too-big a wave will cause wipeouts and injuries. Stay out of the way of oncoming surfers, and when on the board, watch out for surfers paddling around you.

And the only sharks you need to worry about are the ones in the bars.

"The more preoccupied your mind is with 'the men in gray suits,' the less you will enjoy the true spirit of surfing," Rosseland said.