Home is where the waves are
New horizons beckon the Malaysian female surfer.
SARAH Faudzi was just 13 when she rode her first wave and it really was love at first ride. She was probably one of the few teenage girls to surf along the east coast of the peninsula at the time but Sarah wasn’t daunted. No, she was stoked – a term which, she insists, best describes the feeling one gets while surfing.
“No other word can quite capture the excitement of surfing. There is nothing in the world like surfing for me,” she says, passionately. “I’ve tried other sports but nothing gives me the same satisfaction. I just feel so stoked when I’m surfing,” says the pint-sized 20-year-old who, at 156cm, stands at least a foot-and-a-half below the surfboard that is propped up beside her.
“It’s my father’s board,” she explains. “I’m still using his but I will have to get my own soon. This one’s a little big.”
Sarah had an early introduction to surfing. Her father Mohd Faudzi Mohd Noor was one of the pioneers in the Malaysian surf scene some 15 years ago, and she grew up watching him surf with his peers from the time she was old enough to remember.
Mohd Faudzi, 57, began teaching his daughter the basics of surfing very early on: Sarah began paddling on a surfboard when she was just seven and it didn’t take long for her to progress from paddling to popping up (getting onto her feet, kind of like an explosive pushup – when she was just 10!) to actually catching a wave and riding it.
Clearly, Sarah has inherited her dad’s passion and talent for surfing.
“Surfing has always been a part of my life. As soon as I turned seven, my dad started taking me on his surf trips to Bali. So surfing was never something foreign and my parents encouraged my brother and me to surf,” says Sarah, now an undergraduate at Universiti Malaya.
She is among a growing circle of intrepid Malaysian girls who love to surf and aren’t bashful about their passion. They aren’t daunted by the waves that sometimes tower over them, the water that often pounds on them or the blazing sun that burns their skin.
And they certainly aren’t bothered by the fact they are very much a minority in the surf scene, not just in Malaysia but globally.
“There are maybe 50 Malaysian girls who surf regularly. This actually is a huge jump from just a decade ago when you could count the number of female surfers with the fingers on one hand. A few years ago, for
example, competitions would only have one heat for women as there would be just four of five competing. At the Tioman Festival this time, we had three heats!” says Sarah, her eyes glinting with enthusiasm.
Mad about the monsoon
While most Malaysians shun the beaches during the monsoon season, these surfer girls wait gleefully for the rainy season to arrive each year as it guarantees them the big, voluminous waves they need to surf. In fact, they look forlorn for a split second at the mere mention of the off season during which they usually travel to neighbouring surf spots like Indonesia and Thailand to get their fix.
“We love the monsoon season. We’re always on our phones, checking the weather forecast. The minute we see that the wind conditions and the waves are going to be ideal for surfing, we will arrange for a road trip to the east coast. There is usually a twoor three-car convoy and we make stops along the coast, in search of the best spot,” explains Nurain Mohd Isa, 26, or Pinky as she is fondly called.
For surfers, the bigger the wave the more intense the feeling and the more awesome the adventure.
Pinky started surfing more recently. She was a student at Uniten Muadzam Shah in Pahang and was on a beach trip with her friends to Batu Buruk in Terengganu three years ago when she spotted a group of youths surfing.
Her interest was immediately piqued – like many Malaysians, she hadn’t a clue that Malaysia had surf spots.
She learnt the basics of surfing from some of the locals who regularly surf on the beach and before long, she was surfing too. Pinky got hooked and she has since competed in numerous surfing competitions, even earning a podium finish a couple of times.
Up until recently, Pinky didn’t even own a surfboard. Fortunately surfboards are readily available for rent at the many surf spots along the coast.
“Any chance I get I want to make a trip to the coast to surf,” she says.
Her parents, however, were not wild about the idea of her surfing. First of all, they were afraid that it was too dangerous. Also, they were under the impression it wasn’t a sport for girls. Finally, her mother was concerned about the tan Pinky was sporting that just kept deepening.
“My mother was horrified when I came back after I began surfing,” says Pinky with a laugh. “I used to be quite light skinned and when I came back looking like this (referring to her completely natural bronze tan), my mother was very upset. But, after I won a couple of competitions, she realised that it was something I was good at and loved and she relented,” says Pinky.
The lack of awareness about the sport among Malaysians is one reason it hasn’t quite taken off even though we have surf spots and surf schools just in our back yard, says Farisha Mazlan, 29.
“I think many Malaysians have the perception that it’s dangerous because surfing is an extreme sport that involves big waves and often, strong winds.
“Most Malaysians are not exposed to surfing and don’t know much about it. But as long as you have swimming skills and some knowledge about the tides and currents as well as the skills involved, it’s fine. Also, you need to have a high level of stamina to surf as you have to work your whole body,” says the mother of one from Kuantan who has been surfing for 12 years. Farisha loves surfing at Cherating and Pantai Pelindung a spot closer to her home which also has “quality waves on a good day”.
“Anyone can surf,” says veteran surfer Nur Hawani Norrizan, 36, when asked if the sport was indeed more challenging for women. “Maybe guys naturally have more strength than girls and that may be an advantage because surfing has a lot to do with strength and endurance.
“Surfing is extremely tiring because you have to paddle against the current and keep your control and balance against the wave all the time. But I think as long as one has the passion, the patience and the perseverance, anyone can surf. And I definitely think ladies can surf as well as men.”
Wani (as she is fondly call ing two decades ago, when Coming from KL, she had sons at the surf pool at Sun Lagoon which remains the place to surf in the Klang
“I’d just sat for my SPM tion which meant I had the (from my parents) to go ou take surf lessons. My intere surfing actually started a c years before that when we on a family holiday in Bali were staying by the beach
“I noticed the surfers out and I asked my mother abo them. The following year, went to Australia where I even more surfers. Before flying home, I bought a sur magazine and that just fuelled my curiosity and I shared my interest with some of my friends. So wh my friends heard about the pool, we decided to go for says.
Soon after, they visited th surf sites on the east coast has been no turning back Though she has surfed in Thailand and Australia, Wa fers to surf domestically ev though the waves may not spectacular.
“To me, the best spots ar ones here in Malaysia. For thing, I get to surf with my here and also, the bottom not reef (which can be quit Also, it’s home,” she says.
Wani is among the first Malaysia. Another is Iman 34. Both women are freelan videographer while Iman which is ideal as they are their work schedule around their surf trips, particularly when surf season begins.
“When we started surfing, there were maybe five other women who surfed. It’s really cool to see so many more girls out there now as we get to share our knowledge and learn from each other,” says Wani.
A community of surfers
Apart from the adrenaline russh that comes with an extreme sport like surfing, the other thing thatt keeps this girls coming back is thet fellowship they have forged witth the surfing community.
“It’s just so chill and it’s coool, you know. Usually on surf trips, we surf all day and partyy at night. When we’re not surfing, we go over our day and talk about the waves wwe caught ... or the misaddven- tures we had and then we have a good laugh. The fellowship is just awesome,” shares Sarah.
Wani recalls the days where they had no mobile apps or online sites that could forecast the weather conditions and surfers had to rely on the locals to tell them what the conditions were day to day.
“Sometimes, they’d tell us the waves were huge just because they wanted us to make a trip there to hang out with them. And when we got there, we’d realise they were pulling a fast one,” shares Wani.
Not that anyone minded really, as being surfers, they always craved the water anyway.
Farisha, who is a baker and entrepreneur, loves the camaraderie shared among the surf community. The friends she has made during surf trips have enriched her life.
But Farisha goes a step further, making a philosophical assessment of what the sport means to her on a personal level.
“Surfing has taught me a lot about life. It is a one-man sport ... to be able to ride a wave you need to paddle out for a wave or else you’ll just be floating around. To me, that is exactly how we have to work hard to achieve our dreams, no matter what they are,” says Farisha, whose name is synonymous with the famous Mango Cheesecake which sells like hotcakes at Kula Cakes, her bakery in Kuantan.
For Iman Azana, surfing has made her a more disciplined person, somethng she hopes to pass on to her one-year-old daughter.
“You need a lot of stamina to surf. To maintain my stamina, I make it a point to wake up early and work out. I run, I practise yoga and exercise too. I have also learnt to eat better. It has become a part of my life and even when it’s not surf season, I wake up early and work out and watch what I eat,” she adds.
Hang loose but be safe
“A life jacket?” shrieks Sarah when I ask if she and her peers wear one while they’re out catching waves. “If you wear a life jacket, the joke is really on you,” she says bursting out with laughter.
Pinky explains: “The idea is to be as light as possible on the board. A life jacket is really heavy. Why would we want to wear a life jacket?” she says, puzzled at my question.
They assure me, however, that safety is always a priority and there is a leash that connects their surfboard to their ankle in the event of a wipeout (falling off the board in pursuit of a wave) – the single most dreaded thing every surfer has endured numerous times in their pursuit of a wave to ride on.
“It can be quite scary. It feels as if you are drowning. Once when I was quite new to surfing I had a wipeout and I couldn’t come up. I panicked and couldn’t control my emotions and ended up swallowing a lot of water. I forgot the skills I learnt to come up and thankfully another surfer came to help me,” relates Sarah.
The experience shook her so much she that stayed away from the waves for a couple of years.
Others also shared similar stories. Iman Azana had a bad cut on her head which required stitches when her board hit her during a wipeout. Wani too has felt her heart in her throat numerous times during a wipeout. But although those experiences are scary, it hasn’t kept any of them away from their favourite sport.
“First of all, you have to be fit and you have to be able to read the waves. Not all waves are surfable and you have to go with your gut. If you don’t feel ready for it, don’t do it,” she says.
Although the community of female surfers is growing, Iman Azana reckons that many girls would be interested but are not aware of the facilities available here. A good resource page, she says, is the Malaysia All Girls Surfriders page on Facebook.
“I think many girls are interested but they just don’t know where to start. Personally I think there’s no difference between men and women in terms of their ability to surf. Everyone can learn to surf,” she says.
And, adds Sarah, it’s never too late to learn either.
“Surfing unifies people. We surf with men and women of all ages ... from teens to those in their 40s and 50s.”
She says emphatically: “We all just love to surf.”