Editor’s Note: Surf Sirens rocked the rocks and the waves this September with 30 students and 11 instructors and assistants. Thank you so much to everyone who took photos this year! Kudos to Kristy Dahlquist, Wendy Wenrick, Alisha Bube, Helen Davis, and Deb Volturno for their contributions to this article.
Surf Sirens 2024 was all about conditions. Day One we had big waves, a powerful longshore current, and strong rips as well. The forecast had been for choppy surf, 13 feet at 13 seconds, and a cross shore wind at 10 knots, but the main factor was the energy moving through the water. On Thursday it had been at about 500 kilojoules, but overnight it had risen to over 6,000 kJ. That’s some serious power.
At Thursday evening’s instructor meeting, the primary themes were conditions and safety. When Deb asked what we needed to keep an eye on, Kristy summed it up, “Wind, waves, and women!” We went to work on Plans A, B, and C. We knew we had to be fluid.
This year the clinic offered two full days of instruction on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, instructors were on the beach to demo skills and offer coaching. The good news was that conditions on Sunday were forecast to be much improved.
On Friday and Saturday mornings, we held an instructor meeting at 8, a participant meeting at 8:30, and the Attack the Wave class at 9. This year, by popular demand, Attack the Wave was offered at the beginning of the clinic so students could use the concepts throughout the weekend. This year we focused on “framing up” and “sinking”, as well as matching energies, three tai chi concepts taught me by my primary martial arts teacher Professor Hung Le.
Briefly, framing involves stance, for example, “staying in the box” by keeping your elbows in when bracing. Sinking involves keeping your center of gravity low for stability. Matching energies is leaning forward and paddling hard to catch a wave, then easing up and switching to a stern rudder to ride it, or bracing hard when the wave hits you, then easing up as it loses energy. After ATW, everyone suited up and instructors met with their groups to discuss the plan for the day.
Friday started out as expected, with chaotic, BIG conditions. The rock garden group and the beginning and intermediate long boats, looking for a safer space, went to Neah Bay to launch.
The surfers hoped the swell would allow them to surf, but as Kristy said, “that wasn’t the case. The swell wrapped around Waddah, and some large open ocean swells were rolling through. It was a beautiful day so we used the time to practice surf zone skills such as ruddering, rescues, reading waves from the backside, and power forward and power backward strokes to lock in some skills for the next couple of days. Afterward, we went out on the big swell for a bit to experience the ocean’s energy and hang with the brown pelicans!”
The rock garden group managed to find some features under Deb’s expert guidance, and everyone on the Neah Bay side got to experience some really big swells. Way to pivot, Sirens!
Meanwhile, the beginning and intermediate short boat instructors pondered whether they should get off the beach at all. In light of the forecast, Jameson and Linda had gathered a bunch of surf kayak videos that we could hook up to a television monitor in one of the cabins and watch as an alternative to surfing. After due consideration, though, we decided to brave the elements and play in the soup. The day actually went really well. Melinda and I took five beginners and Jameson and Linda took five intermediate students and into the water we went.
I’m a big fan of going for a swim before paddling, especially in surf. First off, you get wet, so coming out of your boat doesn’t seem like a big deal, and you can feel the waves, the water, and maybe even body surf a bit. Call it acclimatization. So we waded out and found the energy in the water so strong it was sucking the sand from under our feet. But it felt great to greet the ocean since we’d missed our usual Salute the Sea ceremony due to logistics.
Melinda took three students and I took two, and for the rest of the morning we mostly did hands on edging, bracing and a little surfing included. We used Dagger Kaos surf boats. The waves were small in the soup, but they packed a punch. Students worked hard to stay upright and manage the power. People got dumped, but they came up smiling, and everyone did great.
After we broke for lunch the tide was going out and conditions were deteriorating so both short boat groups came together in one of the cabins to watch videos. Featured were In the Surf, a Guide to Surf Kayaking by Kent Ford, and South Swell Knights, a promotional film offering interviews with top kayak surfers and plenty of footage. Both videos showed great examples of expert surf kayakers in their element. Never underestimate the power of watching people do the thing they’re really good at. Seeing, hearing, and doing, all count when you’re trying to learn a skill.
After the videos, some of us walked down to the beach to look at the surf and were treated with an opportunity to watch two kayak surfers (not Surf Sirens) brave the waves for a short run. They did okay, but they only lasted about half an hour or so. One of the guys got carried up the beach and spent quite a while trying to get ungrounded. It was instructive to watch them.
On Day Two conditions improved. The 13 foot surf had dropped to between 6 and 8 feet at 11 seconds, with an ENE wind at 2 knots. Melinda and Trina took another group of beginning rock garden students to Neah Bay, and on the beach we had beginning and intermediate classes for both short boats and sea kayaks. We mixed up the instructors and the classes so instructors got to teach something different and students got to learn from different instructors.
Kristy, Teresa, Michelle and I teamed up to work with twelve intermediate long boats, and once again the first thing we did was get wet, wading out almost to the big thumpers. With the boats, things were a little chaotic at first and nerves were a factor, but that’s not unusual even in milder conditions. As the day progressed everybody settled down.
Because of the large number of students, the instructors discussed whether to stay together or break into two groups. The final decision was to stay together. We reasoned that fewer people would be in the water at the same time, an important safety factor especially since there were a lot of surfers, both board and kayak, in the water besides the Sirens that day. In addition, by rotating 3 groups of 4 students one at a time in the surf, the students on the beach could snack, pee, rest, and observe. As it turned out, the students on the beach ended up helping and encouraging the others, so we were building team spirit as well.
On Saturday and Sunday, as the sun shone and the seas began to calm, spirits soared and friendlier conditions bred confidence. One of the great things about going out in challenging conditions is that when things improve paddling seems a lot easier by comparison.
Lots of students stuck around for Sunday’s mentoring sessions. Looking over the photos when I got home, I saw nice vertical strokes and strong forward lean when catching waves, good edging and bracing, and Sirens’ faces reflecting both determination and joy.
Surf Sirens would not be complete without the Extraordinary Potluck, organized by Esther Ladwig, and always a great success. During Saturday’s feed this year, Jameson gave a talk about short boats, and some boats were offered for sale. Different boats surf differently, and it’s good to know the advantages that various features offer. Surf Sirens is a great place to experiment.
This is our seventh year, and it was phenomenal. We had 30 students with a wide variety of experience and skill level, five classes each day, and the most extreme conditions ever. Deb told us later that the wave height reached 14.4 feet on Friday. That plus the energy pushing the waves around was challenging, but everyone brought their A game and all I can say is I’m so happy to be a part of this event every year.
It’s a unique venue, the students are amazing, and the instructors work together to communicate and make difficult decisions and pivot on a dime when needed. So many smiles and positive vibes all weekend, and it just doesn’t get any better. Much gratitude to all who participated and brought their hearts to our event. This one was really memorable.
For more information about Surf Sirens, check out our website at SurfSirens.org. The dates for 2025 are September 26 – 28, and registration opens in May. If you plan on attending, don’t wait to sign up. This year we limited the students to 30 and the event sold out in an hour. There is a waiting list, though, and due to cancellations some people were able to get in. To read more articles and see more photos of Surf Sirens clinics, just type “Surf Sirens” into the search box in the right hand column of this page. For questions and comments, use the box below. Thanks and happy paddling!
