Meet the women who are making waves in the world of surfing.
With summer already in full swing and the beaches filling up, RCL tracked down some of the world’s top women surfers to gauge their feelings about East Coast surfing—as well as get an inside track on current surf culture around the world.
Below, find out what our trio of experts—Courtney Conlogue, Felicity Palmateer, and Sally Fitzgibbons—had to tell us.
Courtney Conlogue
Age: 24
Home Base: Santa Ana, California
World Ranking: #4
Social Stats: 160K Instagram followers; 244,725 likes on Facebook
On Surfing the East Coast:
Conlogue lists North Carolina, New Jersey, Florida (Sebastian Inlet), and New York among her favorite places to surf. Of one Florida trip, Conlogue remembers, “I competed in the event and won the final, packed up my bags, ate a meal at a Friendly’s restaurant, drove to watch the space shuttle take off, caught a red-eye flight home, and was able to get to my classes in high school that following morning.” As for New York, Conlogue says Ditch Plains in Montauk is her go-to surf destination. “It’s a really fun spot for long boarding. Then in front of Gurney’s in Montauk there are a few banks that are super fun.”
If She Could Surf Anywhere in the World It Would Be …
Honolua Bay (on the island of Maui in Hawaii) or Fiji “because of the barrels,” she says. “These locations have warm water with lots of sea life, too. I love freediving and snorkeling when I’m not enjoying the surf.”
Favorite ‘Beach Reads’:
Although Conlogue says she really doesn’t have time to read with her feet in the sand—”I’m honestly in the water when I’m at the beach”—she does tell RCL that she enjoys magazines like Entrepreneur, Outside, and Vogue to flip through while traveling to the next surf spot; and was just given the surf biography Mr. Sunset: The Jeff Hakman Story, which she’s looking forward to cracking open.
Felicity “Flick” Palmateer
Age: 24
Home Base: Perth, Australia
World Ranking: #44
Social Stats: 143K Instagram followers; 184,419 likes on Facebook
On Surfing the East Coast:
“I’ve only surfed one spot on the East Coast and that was Montauk. There is clearly an established and proud surf community on Montauk. It had a similar feel to Byron Bay, lots of healthy food and groovy cafes. The surf was small, so we took longboards out and had a bit of fun.”
On Cold-Weather Surfing in the U.S.:
“Nothing beats surfing in a bikini, so I don’t mind if it stays that way! If it’s wintertime in the USA, you’ll find me in Hawaii. Does that still count?”
On Her Favorite Surfing Soundtrack:
“It depends what mood I’m in. Lately I’ve been listening to mainstream top 40 stuff: Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Beyoncé. Plus, I’ve just heard a new track from Aussie group Babe Rainbow, which I will be listening to again.”
Who Do You Most Want to Surf With?
“Miley Cyrus! And I hope she sees this. Miley, when you move to Australia … DM (me). I can be your surf teacher, and you can teach me to sing.”
Sally Fitzgibbons
Age: 26
Home Base: Gerroa, New South Wales, Australia
World Ranking: #2
Social Stats: 495K Instagram followers; 743K likes on Facebook
On U.S. East Coast Surfing:
“I have had a few surfs around Long Island and a special trip chasing a swell into Nova Scotia (in Canada). Nova Scotia was one of my extreme pursuits to test how I would perform in the cold. I loved the whole experience. It snowed and was absolutely brain-numbing freezing.”
On Australia’s West Coast vs. East Coast:
“Our East Coast is home to many famous breaks such as Snapper, Noosa, Crescent Head, Lennox Head in the north; and then numerous locations around Sydney and the south coast. We always refer to our West Coast (think: Margaret River) as our ‘Wild West.’ It’s a 4.5-hour flight plus a few hours driving from the east but the waves are big and spectacular.”
On Shark Encounters:
“I haven’t had a close encounter yet that I was aware of, but the cameras spotted a shark heading straight for me during my heat at the Roxy Pro Snapper Rock two years ago that made the news. As I didn’t see the shark, I don’t think I can count it as an encounter.”
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.
