Travel: Getting In the Water with Maui Surfer Girls

February 12th, 2015 • BY Morgan Tilton

My first steps towards the water were zigzagging and wobbly at best. The gargantuan surfboard sandwiched between my arm and side perpetually slid down my body while I tripped over the leash around my ankle. Nervous, my mouth was cake dry. I followed my surf instructor, Lucy, into the water, and hoped our sand lesson would be enough to get me up on a wave.

While adventuring in Maui last October I signed up for a surf lesson with Maui Surfer Girls, a 14-year-old program that leads summer surf camps for teenage girls, surf trips for women, and year round co-ed surf lessons for any individual. Before we steered into the waves, Lucy—who has been a MSG team member of for 13 years—explained how to paddle up the channels, locate land markers, and stand up on a board.

Rather than popping up (which, I’d been previously told to do), Lucy demonstrated how to slow down the transitions of standing up and lowering ourselves on the board through yoga-like poses. On my first wave, I was so excited that I skittishly drew a blank: I rode in on my belly. After that first try, I remembered the lesson of how to “slow things down” and surfed every single wave with Lucy’s queues and encouraging, direct feedback. It turned into one of my favorite days on Maui.

“I really love surfing and spreading that joy to others,” said Lucy. “What drew me to keep attending the camps and eventually work for MSG was the independence, sense of place and inspiration from all of the amazing staff over the years.”

A New York native, Lucy first joined MSG as a camper. The following summer, she attended camp as a counselor in training and returned every following summer to teach surf lessons. Finally, she moved to the island to work for MSG full-time, three years ago.

 

“Dustin, our founder, wanted to create a girls empowerment program through the ocean, which helps you work through fear on an emotional and physical level while having the support system of empowered women and a positive outlook on life,” explained Lucy. “Over many summers, I have seen camp girls transform into having a more confident sense of self.”

Raised on Maui, MSG founder Dustin Tester grew up with her belly on a surfboard and palms in the waves. After wrapping up a wilderness therapy degree at Prescott College and collaborating with Voyager Outward Bound School, Dustin realized she wanted to design a program that could connect young women to the therapeutic lessons of the ocean. So, she launched Maui Surfer Girls, a program that would help strengthen their personal development through outdoor education.

“The Maui Surfer Girls mission is to empower our students through the sport of surfing,” said Dustin. “Our roots are to help build self-confidence in teen girls through our overnight surf camps—it’s amazing to witness a girl’s transformation in just one week—and we aim to give our two-hour surf lesson students an empowering, memorable experience, and a skill to build upon throughout their life and their travels to other waves around the world.”

While MSG is dedicated to connecting with adolescent girls, they believe in empowering anyone through the waves: When I took my lesson, there were just as many male students as there were female.

For day-to-day lessons, the MSG crew teaches at Ukumehame Beach Park, a white beach strip that’s shared with only three other surf schools intermittently—which means the crowds are few and the vibe is mellow. They provide rash guards and booties with a surfboard and if you’re interested in surfing again post lesson, they offer surfboard and rash guard rentals to their students. Beyond their core values and well-managed logistics, the instructors are like a tight-knit family and they create a welcoming, non-intimidating atmosphere to learn how to surf.

The girls’ teen camps are available in three sessions throughout the summer, which are 1, 2, or 3 weeks long (ages 12 to 17.) For 2015, MSG is also offering a ladies’ Sayulita surf trip in the spring and a 15th annual alumni women’s surf camp July 27-August 1.

For more details on MSG lessons and camps check out www.mauisurfergirls.com.

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