Soul Surfer Programs

All levels welcome!

On Saturdays in the Summer, connect with the ocean, build community at the beach, & play in the waves!

Soul Surfer programs are intergenerational programs for folks who have already participated in a BGS event. These programs focus on community building, ocean connections, and building on your surf skills and wave riding abilities. All equipment is provided. These are our largest group offerings, for up to 15 participants.

We meet at Half Moon Bay Beach

Upon registration for our program, you will receive an email with details on where to meet and what time.

What to Expect

Up to 15 person adult surf program
Connecting with BGS community
Joy and ocean connection
Building confidence in the ocean
Practice with handling surf equipment

Focus on your unique surfing goal for the day
Ocean observation and surf safety
Learning about and practicing new wave riding techniques including surfing, boogie boarding, & body surfing
Mindfulness + healing space

What to Bring
- A face mask and face towel
- A bathing suit. Please arrive wearing your bathing suit UNDER your clothes. If you don’t have a bathing suit, anything form fitting that you don’t mind getting wet will work fine. Shorts and a tank top or sports bra will do the trick.
- Towel
- Warm layers (even when it is warm in Oakland, it can sometimes be VERY cold at the beach) Make sure you have at LEAST a sweatshirt and pants. You may also want a jacket and warm socks
- A reusable water bottle
- Sun protection (sunscreen, hat, sunglasses if you have them)
- Beach shoes (optional)
- A loose change of clothes for when you get out of your bathing suit.
- A bag to put your wet bathing suit in at the end of the day.
- If you carry medication (ex. EPI pen) or use an inhaler, please bring it.

What We Provide
- Wetsuit
- Surfboards + Boogie Boards + Wave riding crafts
- All surf related safety equipment
- Water + Snacks

Click to view a sample agenda
9:30am – Arrive, check in

9:45am – Welcome. Introduce self, Introduce BGS Land Acknowledgement, Circle and have folks introduce selves with movement, gender pronouns. Internal weather report

2 minutes of Mindfulness: Let’s take a few deep breaths to ground ourselves. Maybe take notice of where your body connects with the sand, what can you feel, hear or smell.

Something you are holding, and something you want to let go of and give to the water so you can be present today.

Group expectations: COVID-19 safety agreements

10:10am – Wetsuits instruction
Each person puts on and takes off their own wetsuit.

10:20am – Warmup

10:30am – Instruction for participants: Emphasis will be on learning how to handle equipment themselves.
Wearing a leash, position & paddling, carrying board in, not putting board between you and wave, not grabbing strap thing. Optional popup lesson.

10:45am – Safety review; quick snack & water break before we go in the ocean.

Hand signals:
Are you OK, Quit it!, Emergency – get out of water!, Last wave, It’s over get out.

11:00am – Bottom Check + Mindfulness

In-water walking out and handling board practice.

11:15-12:45 SURFING OCEAN TIME

1:00pm – Toasts & GROUP PHOTO!

1:15pm – Clean up!

A note about the unpredictability of the ocean:

At Brown Girl Surf we always put safety first. Our surf programs are subject to change due to weather and air quality. While we use all the means at our disposal to predict conditions ahead of time, sometimes conditions on site the day of an event do not align with the forecast.