April Feature Sister Emma

Introducing Emma, our kick ass surf sister who brings the STOKE energy to every surf session. We need more Emma's in the water. I wanted to share Ems story as she recently returned from her second retreat with SOS. I was so proud to watch how far she had come since last year. This is Emma's Surfing Journey x

G’day. My name is Emma and some days I feel like I’m 25 others more like 75 but I’m (counts fingers) 48-years-old. 

I'm a salted beach bunny through and through. Mum reckons the first time I saw the ocean at 12 months old I walked towards it and just kept walking until I was underwater. 

I started surfing when I was about 16 after boogie boarding a few times.  After seeing all the guys in Surfing Magazine and then Layne Beachley start crushing it led me to wonder that there might be more out there in the stand-up realm. 

I didn’t know any other girls who surfed so I’d go with my brothers and borrow whatever boards they weren’t using - mostly a hard top mini mal. No one had foamies back in the 90s. My brothers kept going with their mates, but I stopped paddling out when I was at Uni as none of my mates went out. 

A few decades later and one of my mates messaged me and asked if I wanted to go for a surf. I said yes straight away and she actually thought I was joking, but I rocked up with my paddleboard and it was on. 

She’d just done a Bali retreat with Sisterhood of Surf and asked if I’d consider going with her, and I said SIGN ME UP.  That first few times going out was a game changer for me as I reconnected with my passion for the surf and just felt pure joy and a childlike sense of play. 

We now try to go every weekend even if it doesn’t rate a star rating because I’ve missed too many weekends of my life not doing it. 

Emma in Lombok on her first retreat

The first retreat I did was in Lombok and I loved it. Each day in the water I’d learn something new and get more confident. The waves were the biggest they’d been all season which was sometimes overwhelming but surfing at Ekas was a memory I hope I never forget. Best day in the surf ever. A 150m ride into shore made me realise I needed to increase my paddle fitness because I wanted to catch ten more. 

Flip a year later and here I was in Sri Lanka. That year I’d surfed nearly every weekend, and gone to reformer Pilates twice a week. I’m a curvy babe but sprinkle some peri into the mix and there’s a bit more curve to move.   

I’m no smaller but I’m more surf and paddle fit. This year at Fisherman’s Reef I got stuck in a rolling wave and had to paddle 300m back to the break - the beach was closer than the wave was.  But I got there and caught another one! 

It wasn’t easy but last year I would have considered paddling to the shore - this year I was determined to catch another wave.  

Emma at Fisherman's in Sri Lanka

I didn’t have to think long about doing my second retreat. I’m ADHD so I love that Angie does all the work sorting out the details because im not great with that part. The other great bit is you can do a payment plan which meant I could afford to go. 

At home I surf a beach break - not because I don’t think I could surf the reef breaks, but because of my fear of great whites. I’m from SA enjoy getting into the bigger breaks overseas where my anxiety isn’t yelling shark every time I see a shadow in the water. 

I decided to go to Sri Lanka because of only ever seen pictures of the beach’s there because they looked postcard perfect and it didn’t disappoint. I also checked in with Claire who I met in the retreat in Lombok and she was going there. We thought we could have fun together. 

Emma and Claire in Sri Lanka

Just getting out into the surf and having fun is my best advice. Don’t know what you’re doing? Just try things. Start on a beach break and go from there. 

The biggest challenge for me with improving is the fitness battle as when you cross 40 you seem to do an injury just getting off the couch. My theory is to do what you love while you can and have a bloody good time doing it. 

You’re never assured any amount of time on this planet and 9 out of ten surfers agree that every day surfing is better than every day working. The other surfer has gone pro.

Some more advice - be kind to yourself. When you’re talking to yourself in your head, think - is this how I would talk to someone else? Is this what I would tell them? Encourage yourself, tell yourself the next wave will be better. Woohoo yourself. Laugh when you get wiped out because you survived it and you’re out there. Life’s too short to live it negatively.  - EMS