12 funny surf stories

One of the beauties of surfing is that each session has a story to tell, an experience to share, or an unusual event that will be remembered forever.

The act of surfing implies moving and traveling, even if you're riding a bike to your local surf break.

Also, the fact that it depends on natural elements and variables makes the art of walking over water an even more magical adventure.

Riding a wave is not only a personal challenge or a display of vanity and endless skills and style. It's also meant to be fun.

Sometimes, it's also funny and humbling, reminding us that even champions fail, fall, and have their embarrassing moments.

We decided to search for a few amusing, short surf stories shared by anonymous surfers in the digital world.

In the end, SurferToday found some hilarious accounts worth a read.

We've slightly edited them for a better understanding but tried to keep their original writing style to respect the author's sensitivity.

Hopefully, they'll inspire your next weekend's journey into yet another unforgettable surfing day. Have a good one.

 

The Package

When I was a young surfer, I was out at Kealia Beach on a day when the waves were breaking right on the shoreline.

I was catching a lot of waves that took me all the way to the beach, and I happened to catch one more that did just that.

As I was riding in, I noticed a group of young women watching me, pointing and seemingly impressed.

I rode that wave right up to the shore, thinking it was the perfect opportunity to strike up a conversation with them.

Normally, I was a pretty shy guy, but I figured if they were pointing at me, they must have been impressed with my surfing skills, so why not give it a shot?

As I started walking over, I noticed they were pointing and smiling even more.

But as I got closer, I realized they weren't looking at my face - they were looking a couple of feet lower.

I glanced down and, to my horror, saw that my surf shorts fly was wide open, and my "package" was enjoying some unexpected sunshine.

I turned about 50 shades of red, quickly spun around, and headed straight back to the water, determined to keep surfing until those women had left.

 

"Get Off Me!"

I was visiting friends in Oregon, and they took us to this amazing beach.

The place was stunning - surfing near these coastal cliffs with trees lining the edges, the view was just breathtaking.

So, I spot this sweet big wave and start paddling for it on my 9' log. 

It was a rental, and I wasn't really comfortable or confident on waves that big with the board, but I decided to charge anyway.

I felt a speed like never before as I flew along the face.

That's when I noticed a local on a shortboard about 20 yards ahead to my left, and I had no idea what to do - I was heading right for him.

In a panic, I jumped off my board right next to him, thinking I was about to crash straight into him.

After getting tumbled around underwater, I surfaced to find his head stuck between my thighs, and he was yelling, "Get off me!"

I felt awful for getting us tangled up like that, but looking back, I can't help but laugh at how ridiculous the whole situation was.

It was definitely a dumb move, and he made sure to tell me I should never have jumped off.

The Rocket

I was surfing at Freshwater, a really busy spot in Sydney, not too long ago.

I was sitting on the shoulder and managed to paddle into a wave when I suddenly heard someone shouting for me to pull out.

So I did, and one of the local rippers came flying by, absolutely tearing it up.

After his wave, he paddled over to me to thank me for giving him the wave.

"Very kind of him," I thought, feeling pretty chuffed that this guy even acknowledged me.

As he was talking to me, I got a little too caught up in the moment and wasn't paying attention to my surroundings.

Suddenly, a wave or a bit of chop hit me, and I lost my balance, falling backward off my board.

My 9' Malibu shot straight up into the air like a rocket, as if it were launching into space!

The guy stopped mid-conversation, gave me a look, and just paddled off. I had to laugh - definitely not my finest moment!

 

Surfing Under the Influence

I usually wouldn't recommend surfing under the influence, but there was this one time.

A friend and I had been drinking beer, and we were pretty tipsy when we came up with the brilliant idea of going surfing.

We headed out to Kealia Beach, which was my regular spot at the time.

It was stormy, with wave faces around 10 feet - not too big to be scary, but big enough to be a lot of fun.

This was back before surfboard leashes were a thing, and I was riding a right that ended in a closeout section.

Now, before I got into board surfing, I was on the swim team, and we practiced diving a lot.

So I'd ride the wave until it closed out, then turn to the top and throw in a forward one-and-a-half somersault off the wave's peak.

I only pulled this stunt when my friend was around to watch, so I made sure to do it right in front of him, where the wave crashed hardest.

After I did a few of these, he started begging me to stop.

"You've got to stop doing that! I'm laughing so hard I almost drowned. Please, man, stop!"

I couldn't help but laugh and told him I was thinking of trying a backflip next.

His response was immediate: "No! Seriously, I'm going to drown if you keep this up!"

I was like, "Really?"

And he said, "Yes, seriously."

So, I decided to quit. I had a feeling he was even drunker than I was, so I suggested we head back in.

 

Classifying Trunks By Surf Size

I remember one day, I went out for a surf session.

The waves were about 2-3 feet on the Hawaiian scale, and the paddle out didn't seem too tough.

So there I was, paddling a few meters away from a friend, when suddenly, right in the break zone, the button on my shorts decided to pop open.

My shorts were nearly down to my knees before I even noticed!

I wish I could've seen the whole thing from someone else's perspective because I must have looked ridiculous.

I dropped my board and started frantically trying to close my shorts, probably looking like I was drowning in the process.

After taking two or three waves straight to the head and making a complete fool of myself, I finally managed to get my trunks back in place and finish paddling out.

Ever since that day, I've started classifying my trunks by surf size: "It's three feet solid out there; maybe better skip these ones."

No Surf Here

This was my first time going out solo after having surfed with friends a few times before.

I headed to Bolsa Chica on a sunny, warm summer day with 1-3 foot surf - nothing too intense.

Initially, I tried parking near the jetty, but the lots were packed, so I drove to the other end of the beach, where there were more spots available.

After pulling in, I spent a few minutes checking out the waves, then went to change, slathered on some sunscreen, did a light warmup, and mentally ran through what I wanted to practice that day.

As I was slowly making my way toward the shore, weaving between groups of people on the sand, I suddenly heard a voice, "Excuse me... excuse me, sir?!"

I looked around to see who was calling out. It was the lifeguard, and he was staring straight at me.

"See that flag up there?" he said, pointing to a yellow flag on top of the tower. "It means you can't surf here."

Feeling completely dejected and embarrassed, I had to do the walk of shame back to my car, fully suited up, and drive back to the other end of the beach to hunt for a parking spot again.

 

"Shortboarding Messes Up My Longboarding"

So, the other day, I was at Waikiki and overheard a conversation behind me:

"I used to ride a shortboard all the time, but not anymore."

"Why's that?"

"Because now I'd rather longboard, and even if I had the chance, I wouldn't ever ride a shortboard again."

"How come?"

"Shortboarding messes up my longboarding. Even leashes mess up my longboarding; that's why I don't wear them."

Curious, I turned around to see who was talking, expecting to see some seasoned surfer.

To my surprise, it was an 11-year-old tiny little girl.

 

Surfing Hollywood-Style

One time, I headed out to San Onofre for a mid-week session after work.

I pulled into the lot, changed, grabbed my board, and made my way out to the lineup.

As I was heading out, I noticed it was already starting to get dark, even though there was still at least another hour and a half of daylight left.

Everyone I passed or paddled near was giving me strange looks.

I just shrugged it off and paddled out to the outside to wait for the sets.

That's when I realized - I still had my sunglasses on, looking like I was trying to go full Hollywood in the lineup.

I tried to play it cool as if I meant to bring them, but after about 15 minutes, I gave up and paddled back in to put them away.

 

"Great Job!"

It was a small summer day at my beach break, and I was cruising along a two-foot wave close to shore.

As I passed by, I noticed this little girl standing in the water, thigh-deep, wearing a pink swim dress and a matching pink sun hat, holding her mom's hand.

She waved at me, so I smiled and waved back as I rode by.

Then, she made a fist, stuck her thumb up, and pumped it at me, yelling, "You're doing a great job!"

As long as I surf, I'll never get a better compliment than that one.

"Are you OK?"

When I finished college, my wife and I would often go surfing together.

We'd hit the same beach but usually surf slightly different breaks - I'd chase after the fast, challenging waves, while she preferred to cruise on the mellower ones.

One day, she wiped out just inside of where I was surfing, close to the shoreline, and ended up spearing her leg with a fin.

I heard her screaming for help, so I paddled over to get her and her board up onto the beach.

We were about 50 yards from the parking lot when she told me she couldn't walk well.

She could, but every step made her bleed all over the place, so I figured I'd carry her.

She was only about 100 pounds, and it was just a short distance to the parking lot.

What I didn't account for was that after four years in Colorado for school, I was in pretty lousy shape.

I picked her up and started carrying her, leaving the boards behind. At first, she wasn't too heavy - at least for the first half of the way.

But then I started thinking, "Oh my gosh, I'm going to have to put her down."

I gave myself a pep talk: "You're halfway there. You can do it!"

I convinced myself that if I put her down, picking her back up would be much harder, so I became determined to make it in one go.

I could see the car and told myself, "It's just 20 more yards; you've made it this far. Just a bit more."

Then my wife asked, "Are you OK?"

I guess it was because the veins in my face and neck were bulging, and my face was turning beet red.

Her concern made me worry, too, but I dug deeper and told myself, "Just ten more yards."

Right then, this guy came running up to us and said, "Oh no! Are you going to be OK?"

I replied, "It's just ten more yards. I think I can make it."

But he said, "Not you - her!"

I finally got her to the car, but I was so winded that I couldn't even answer him.

I was gasping for air like an asthmatic cow, heaving huge breaths as I tried to get some oxygen to my brain.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked. I just kept gasping, still unable to speak.

"Should I go get your boards?"

I looked down the beach at the boards and nodded, still too breathless to talk, though I tried to say, "Yeah."

I don't know if he understood, but he went and got the boards anyway.

By the time he returned, I was finally able to thank him and reassure him that my wife just had a minor wound and would be fine.

 

Mind the Fins

I was out at Bolsa Chica, just starting to move from riding the whitewater to trying my luck at catching "green" waves out back.

It was a smaller day with low tide, and the waves were breaking close to shore.

After about 30 minutes of getting nowhere with the waves out back, I decided to move inside and catch some whitewater instead.

I caught a few and started having a blast - back then, just getting a wave and gliding for a split second was pure stoke.

Feeling pretty "cool," I decided to ride one all the way in to shore and try that slick jump-off move I'd seen in YouTube videos.

So, I catch a wave and start riding it straight to shore, trying my best to look like a real surfer.

Everything was going fine until my fin snagged in the sand, sending me flying over the nose and rolling right onto the beach.

To make matters worse, I bailed right in front of a group of people casually strolling along the shore, letting out one of those loud grunts you make when the wind gets knocked out of you.

I just laughed it off when they asked if I was OK and paddled back out - ears burning red with embarrassment and my pride taking the only real hit.

 

Mr. Entertainment

A group of college kids were having a party while a fun wave was breaking nearby.

One guy had everyone's attention and was really hamming it up for the crowd.

"Mr. Entertainment," clearly tanked, stumbled into the surf with a beer tucked into the back pocket of his boardshorts.

He paddled up and down the lineup, desperately searching for a wave - any wave.

Finally, one came his way, but he was too busy watching his friends and was sitting sideways.

The wave pitched him over, sending his leashless board straight to the shore.

He frantically searched for his beer and found it just in time to take another wave on the head.

Calling it quits, he popped the can open, only for it to explode right in his face.

Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com