“Take a big breath, and catch that wave chicas!”: Interview with 70-year-old surfer Wendy Worrell Page
Photo: ‘Women Of The Wave: Wendy Worrell Page’, short film
Wendy Worrell Page started surfing when she was a child, back when surf technology was very different – boards were heavier, leashes didn’t exist – and there certainly weren’t that many women in the water!
Wendy had to fight for her place in the lineup with the boys, gain their respect, and become a strong swimmer to get back her board every time she crashed (remember – no leashes!). She eventually went on to compete in the state championships, and in her most recent years moved to the Gulf of Mexico to enjoy the beautiful surf there.
We were very lucky to grab some time to chat with Wendy about what she’s seen change in the sport, her experience of ageism, advice for women surfing today, and what she predicts for the future of women’s surfing (which makes her a little teary with pride!).
“When you had to swim for your board, that was the risk. Now I think, at least for us, risk becomes fear of failure.” — Wendy Worrell Page
Grab a cup of tea or coffee, settle down for this one, and be ready to be inspired!
Hello Wendy, thank you for joining us today! To start, could you briefly tell us about your experience of learning to surf?
I started surfing in 1962, when I was 10. Surfboards weighed over 30 lbs, and were half my weight at the time. It took two of you to carry it across the sand to the water. We stood in waist deep water and pushed off in the waves.
It took me a year before I could actually turn the board. I was on a swim team – our warmup was to swim a mile, and we had workouts twice a day in the summer. We got pretty good, eventually making it to the state championships. I was a strong swimmer and pretty competitive and could hold my breath for almost 2 minutes. I attribute those things to making me a better surfer.
When I was 14, I rode a 9’4” and what we think of as a classic longboard shape. By 1969, I was riding a 5’7” twin fin. The board innovations and style changes in that short amount of time was just a whirlwind. I surfed for a couple of local surf shops and would ride the newest models, and that really helped me know what rail shape worked for me and what type of tail and rocker and fin set up I preferred. I watched boards getting made through all the processes. I listened and learned and some of it stuck!
How was surfing different back then? How has it changed?
I think the one big difference in learning to surf back then as compared to now, was the absence of a surf leash, leg rope, or as I call it, a kook chord. You can watch old surf movies of Malibu in the early sixties to get a good look at how it was. Boards flying everywhere and rushing sideways at you. You swam a lot. If you took off on someone, they would push you off your board and you swam a lot. I became a good paddler!
You recently spoke about how your grandma used to buy you a magazine called Surfer, and there were zero women (except in bikinis) in it! Have you had any personal experiences of discrimination in surfing, because you’re a women?
When I could out paddle some guy to the lineup, I gained respect. When I could control my board and kick out, I gained more respect. When I could surf a couple of hours and still have dry hair, more respect. That meant I got more waves. The more waves, the more my surfing improved.
Photo: ‘Women Of The Wave: Wendy Worrell Page’, short film
Have you experienced ageism in surfing – back then, or now?
Since I started surfing so young, everyone was older than I was. The first surfers I knew were my father’s age. They were commercial divers and fishermen who learned to surf in California or Hawaii and surfed for fun in the lackluster waves of the Texas Gulf coast.
Surfing was becoming popular with the Gidget movies and The Beach Boys music and everybody started surfing! It certainly wasn’t considered a sport back then, rather a bohemian kind of pastime you “would grow out of”, or so your parents hoped!
There were some wild times, which I am lucky I was too young for, but my early mentors were sometimes considered “beach bums”. I would listen to them tell stories and I learned how to read a lineup, and wave conditions, and swell direction and wave interval, and just so many things that helped my surfing. I always preferred to surf with these more mature characters as they were so much fun! There was no internet or videos and very little in film or print, so you got taken into the “tribe”, if you showed respect and learned surf etiquette.
What has been one of the highlights or funnest parts of your surfing career?
One of my proudest moments I experienced in surfing was when I learned the locals called me La Tiburona Blanca (the ‘White Shark’) for the way I trolled the lineup. I was in my late 50’s at the time.
When I was 14, I stood in line for hours to meet Duke Kuhanamoku at a promotion at a department store and shake his hand and get his autograph. I am so glad my early teachers schooled me on surf history. I would recommend it to all surfers. It is fascinating!
Finally, what do you predict for the future of women’s surfing?
Well, I get so emotional when I see so many women surfing off the charts! In big waves, ariels, just every aspect of surfing is mind blowing to me. It’s like a dream come true to see women earning the same money in the professional ranks.
What I would hope for those of us who are recreational surfers, is to see less women sitting on the shoulder. More women taking their rightful place in the lineup. If I was to ever give a class on surfing, it would be on how to read the lineup and know how to position yourself for the best waves.
Surfing has always been “risk and reward”. When you had to swim for your board, that was the risk. Now I think, at least for us, risk becomes fear of failure. Blowing the wave, not making the drop, wiping out, those are normal occurrences in surfing. So is the ridicule that can come from publicly making these mistakes. We all wipe out, and it is how we learn.
Catch more waves. If you have to go out when it’s blown out, but not crowded, go. Find confidence in surfing a lot of different conditions and lots of waves. Look for the least populated breaks you can find and challenge yourself by surfing without a leash. Become the strongest, fastest paddler you can. Have an appreciation for the beauty of the ocean you love every time you are fortunate enough to be out there.
