Women + Waves is an all-female surf collective based in Cornwall offering super fun surf coaching weekends and international surf holidays to women of all ages, experience and backgrounds..   from all around the globe!

Oh a whim, Euphoric Threads’ designer Laura managed to book on to Women + Wave’s last available slot on their Newquay Surf Coaching Weekend to brush up on her surfing skills and join a group of likeminded ocean women for a weekend of surfing.

.. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to join a bunch of strangers for a surf coaching weekend in England.. then read on!  …

 

Surfing Adventures with Women + Waves

I first heard of Women + Waves this Summer whilst on the hunt for a last minute Women’s surf coaching weekend in Cornwall.

I absolutely love surfing. I love checking the forecast and just jumping in the car for last minute camping and surfing adventures, however I always find it a struggle to get any of my girlfriends together for these spontaneous last minute surf trips. Sadly my temporary Dorset base doesn’t quite cut it for surfing either ..( luckily we have the Wave park in Bristol nearby!)

Don’t get me wrong I love surfing with “the lads”, and I do normally go surfing with my brother and his friends, but ever since I joined a Women’s surf club in Australia I knew I wanted to find something similar in the UK. (Its very empowering, less intimidating, and pressure free when its just you and the girls! ✌️)

Having already tried out the fab longboarding weekend with the Surf Sisters, I was eager to try out my new skills and improve on some techniques I had learnt, and also try surfing my short board again. The Women + Waves surf coaching weekend in Newquay looked ideal for me!

 

 

The surf was pumping, the sun was shining, so really I had already made up my mind – I was off to Cornwall for another salty weekend! This specific Women + Waves weekend was catered to all surf abilities, not just beginners, so I rang Rachel the owner of Women + Waves and booked onto the very last slot on her Women + Waves surf coaching weekend in Newquay. Yay! What better way to meet likeminded ladies who love surfing – at a Women’s surf camp of course!

 

 

The weekend was everything I had hoped for and more. I arrived early doors on the Saturday morning, parked up at the Dane Road car park on the headland near Fistral, and headed over to meet the Women + Waves crew at The Carnmarth Hotel.

It was SO well organised I was very impressed. I was greeted by two happy, friendly faces (Monica and Warrick) and directed to the back of the hotel where Women + Waves have their event suite and changing rooms. YES you heard right they have their own HQ and changing rooms! The back room had plenty of space for a very COVID-friendly experience, lots of tables evenly spaced out, a white board with all our names and groups on, and a rack at the end of the room filled with amazing Women + Waves merchandise.

We all arrived for an early 8am start – the best way to start the day, avoid the crowds and make the most out of the lush conditions! Everyone was super friendly and welcoming. After introductions we were divided into our different groups suited to our abilities – this was to give us the best experience and coaching.

 

 

Women + Waves split their groups according to ability, so you aren’t pushed along too quickly or held back by others. If you’ve never surfed before and want to learn a new sport in a safe environment, this surf coaching weekend provides the perfect introduction. At the same time, if you’re looking to improve your skills, or are an advanced rider wanting to nail manoeuvres, their individualised coaching can help you progress. The lovely ladies at Women + Waves make sure you’re on the best waves for your ability, with women of a similar level.

Rachel had figured out my surfing ability and group number during my booking process the night before – we established I could surf but sometimes struggle catching the waves out back. I would be better off going in an intermediate group and renting one of their latest foamies. (Best decision, thank you Rachel!) .. Group C it was! We had a welcome meeting, had our introductions, then got stuck into our first surf session!

Meet likeminded surf sisters and friends for life

These sort of surf weekends are an awesome opportunity to meet a bunch of like-minded female surfers in a super-chilled, no-pressure environment. I absolutely loved my group, and met some absolute legends. I instantly clicked with the girls and before we’d even got in the water we were all making plans to meet up again and surf!

For our first surf session I wore a Euphoric Threads brand NEW Watermelon printed SCUBA surfsuit to keep my toasty in the ocean. However – it was so warm I didn’t need it by the afternoon. Happy days, I LOVE a sunny September surf!

 

I love how Women + Waves welcome women of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. It’s all about having fun whilst developing our surf skills! The Newquay surf coaching weekend was broken up into three main surf sessions – two hours early Saturday morning, two hours Saturday afternoon and two hours on Sunday morning. Our Intermediate group spent the three surf sessions practising in the choppy white water due to the crazy messy surf forecast. We were encouraged to go “out the back” if we wanted to – but our entire group was super happy catching all the white waves – they still had helluva lot of power and with our foamies we were having ALL the fun, catching ALLLL the waves. I loved it! Thanks to our lovely instructor Angel, we all learnt some great tips.

 

 

Women + Waves had two new hardboards for ladies to demo during the weekend. A mid-length 7’1 and a 5’10 fish! They were available to buy from £450. Or we could order our own from a local shaper from £400-£530 … dependant on shape/size. My wonderful new friend Esther (who happened to have been in the SAME Dorset town as I was during lockdown, small world!) tried out their sexy new FISH! I loved it too, I gave it a go in our afternoon sesh. Our instructor Angel gave me the “bob up and down tip” and I swear to god I found the MEANING OF LIFE! Finally getting the hang of it and mastering the turns.

 

 

Big cheesy chesire cat smiles all round. It was so lovely to be in a community of fun, supportive women. I loved every minute of it. The sun was beaming all weekend, and post surf we got to enjoy many pints of rattler in the sunshine.

The girls I met were a bunch of legends. On the Saturday afternoon after our de-briefing and surf video analysis (SO useful!!) we had some time to explore then we all met up again for a big group dinner at The Carnmarth Hotel.

 

What does a surf coaching weekend include?

Whether you’re a complete beginner or an aspiring pro, the Women + Waves Newquay surf coaching weekends will 100% help improve your confidence and skills in the water.

I think the amount of passion that Rachel and the team brings into each of their Women + Waves events really makes them stand out from the competition. They have decades of experience within their team and they certainly offer in-depth tuition both in and out of the water – including the photo + video analysis which I found super useful! (It’s also very amusing watching videos of yourself surfing.. or flapping around in the waves!)

From their surf theory talks, surf warm-ups, to just hanging out and sharing surf stories and travel tips you can tell the team at Women + Waves work really hard to make sure they are offering the best surf coaching services.

 

Euphoric Surfing Tips:

My top tips I came away with this weekend (thanks to Angel at Women + Waves!)

• Paddle hard
• Pop Up Quick – (Look UP!)
• Look where you want to go (not at your feet!)
• Aim to surf “down the line” – (Right or Left) – Slightly angle your board in the direction you aim to surf.
• Longboard – Apply pressure to front foot, shift back foot across and in front – to cross step along the board!
• Shortboard – Stand up tall then squat real low in “up and down” motions – shifting your weight to go faster.

I hope that made sense (at least it did in my head). What an epic weekend surfing at Women + Waves. I can honestly say I improved so much! I have been out surfing since – catching plenty of unbroken green waves ‘out back’, and I have mastered turning left AND right.

Steph Gilmore eat your heart out!

 

 

Overall the Women + Wave retreats are a great way to improve your surfing, have a good laugh and meet likeminded female surfers. You won’t find another bunch of women who are as supportive + passionate as Women + Waves. I could not recommend them more!

Women + Waves have some incredible overseas surf trips lined up too – so depending on the current covid climate – make sure to get yourself to one of these retreats. I am hoping to go to El Salvador or Morocco next, I can’t decide they all look TOO good!!

You can check out their next Newquay surf coaching weekends here, and their latest Women + Waves event – the bodyboarding weekend: Click here.

 

Have you been to a Women’s surf coaching weekend or surf camp before!?

We would love to know!

.. When and Where are you planning on surfing next?

Comment below!

 

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