Westbound Boarder

It’s 2009, and if you head to a locals beach where the surf has hit it’s prime, you can look around and see quite the mix of people – young, old, men, and also women.  But it wasn’t always that way.  Women have come a long way since surfing first became widespread.  Women have always been in the picture, but only recently have they transformed their image from the “bikini babes” in the background to true, featured “surfer chicks.”

This summer, Villa Villa Cola Productions and Roxy debuted Dear and Yonder, which hit a selection of art houses nationwide during its launch tour.  Created by Tiffany Campbell and Andria Lessler, Dear and Yonder features some of the most progressive riding to date.  Dear and Yonder follows top professionals including Roxy team riders Sally Fitzgibbons, Sofia Mulanovich and Kassia Meador, as they surf their home breaks (Dear) and travel the world (Yonder).  In addition to chronicling today’s surfers, Dear and Yonder spreads its roots deeper and cultivates a sense of place and knowledge of history, reaching back in time to unearth footage of iconic surfers such as Linda Benson, Rell Sunn and Lisa Andersen.

I got a chance to preview the film this past week, and it was so cool and inspiring to watch a hyped film featuring primarily all female surfers.  The film takes viewers through how surfing got started, featuring top female progressives in the sport and also their struggle to take it to the next level. It opens with a history lesson on how surfing got started and how women first got involved.  It also portrays some of the hardships women had to endure to get to where they are today.  While men were fending off masses of eager sponsors, women struggled to find sponsors to help cover entry fees for an increasing number of competitions, and most only offered little more than men’s cloths and wetsuits.

Fast forward to the present day, where seeing a group of female surfers in the water is ordinary as can be.  I liked Dear and Yonder because it featured present day females, not only surfing as a sport, but surfing as an entire lifestyle, incorporating their own, unique attitude into the sport.  For example, one scene in the film features “Captain Liz Clark,” a surfer who has been sailing around the world for the past three years, living off the earth’s natural resources and experimenting new and interesting cultures along the way.  Another scene features Ashley Lloyd, a women who spends her days shaping surf boards made from sustainable materials.  Another scene features Judith Sheridan, an awesome body surfer (seriously, pro surfers move out of the way for this woman) who recently was diagnosed with MS.  Her disease didn’t stop her though; in fact, it only gave her more of a reason to embrace her life and talent that she was handed.

Aside from surfing, a secondary underlying theme throughout the film was sustainability.  Alongside surfing also comes the importance of being one with the earth and living off its natural resources.  The women featured in Dear and Yonder do their part in giving back, from Amy Clark who uses solar energy and wind power to propel her throughout her worldwide exploration, to Belinda Baggs who sews her own board shorts on her off days from the waves.

All in all, great movie; two thumbs up from us!  It comes out on DVD next month, so if you get a chance the laid-back tracks combined with the strong message, beautiful scenery, and of course, awesome surfing makes for a nice change from the typical surfing film.