Barbara (Flynn) Redgate
by Barbara (Flynn) Redgate
I have been surfing for 48 years and at 58 years old I find myself an even more dedicated, passionate, and competitive women surfer.
1965-1975
I learned how to surf in Newport, Rhode Island in 1965, when I was 10 years old. Newport, RI for decades has been the home of the America’s Cup (12 Meter Yacht) Sailing Championships and is a United States Naval Base; some of these guys were surfers from all over the world. They would bring their surfboards and introduce us to many different styles. I also grew up in a family of nine children, and was lucky enough to live near one of the best big wave breaks on the entire East Coast called, “Ruggles”. Ruggles, is a very fast rocky bottomed cliff point break that can hold a hurricane swell better than anywhere else on the entire east coast.
My five brothers and I would save up our paper route tips and buy surfboards and wetsuits we would have to share. I would often wait for one of them to lose their board and paddle it back out hoping to sneak into a wave myself. I can remember being the only girl out at Ruggles for years and realized very early that in order for me to keep up meant there was no room for error. To this day I can still remember being told at the age of 12 that, “girls shouldn’t surf and go in,” which made me do just the opposite! It also helped to have five brothers. I would surf the brutally cold New England winters where water temperatures would often be in the 40’s and leashes hadn’t been introduced yet.
From 1967 to 1978
Starting at the age of 12, I would surf in lots of contests from Maine to Florida such as the New England Surfing Championships and the East Coast Surfing Championships (in Cape Hatteras). Some of my favorite breaks were and still are, Montauk Point New York, Manasquan Inlet New Jersey, Assateague Beach Maryland, First Street Jetty VA Beach, and Sebastian Inlet Florida. During these years I would experiment with many different surfboard lengths and shapes, but I preferred short boards. Eventually, I earned an invitation to surf in the United States Surfing Championships in Hawaii (1978). It was a time when there were no sponsors for young teenage women surfers (especially from New England) and my family certainly didn’t have the money to fund my surf trips. Contests fees were expensive too. I often slept in a car or tent; hitch hiked, and lived on oranges and peanut butter just to get to the next contest. My parents would worry all the time but couldn’t stop me; I would have lots of close calls. There were no cell phones back then, and drugs were rampant. I was doing well, having fun competing, surfing different breaks, and especially enjoyed meeting other women surfers. School was on the back burner at this time. However, I did manage to get into the University of Rhode Island, and become the only female lifeguard at a busy popular beach (in charge of “Surfers End”) in 1974 (I would work there for several years).
In the summer of 1978 while I was in Hawaii competing in the United States Surfing Championships, I decided to stay there, and had no intention of returning to finish college. I lived with a wonderful friend whose family had been stationed in Newport and now lived near Kaneohe. They embraced me and that summer and I would go on to compete and become a permanent fixture at Kaisers. I was also introduced to Hawaiian localism and again had to toughen up and be even gutsier. Dropping in deeper, bouncing off coral reefs, and getting my rear end ripped to shreds. I was having a blast! Around the end of August I received an envelope in the mail, it was a letter from my mother and all of my brothers and sisters. It would be a life changing moment…they all urged me to go back to college and finish my secondary education degree in physics. That was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.
1978-1984
In early eighties I finished college, even got my masters degree, started teaching high school Physics and traveled to Puerto Rico to free surf places like Wilderness and Rincon(often by myself) during winter and spring breaks for the next five years. Puerto Rico was also another pretty crazy adventure…I remember getting off a plane one surf trip there with my 6’0’ yellow short board and taking a cab in the middle of the night to the other side of the island, can you imagine the risk, my mother had no idea. I stayed in a little place one of my cousins had access to for free! I loved surfing the warm waves of Puerto Rico!
1984 to 1996 I married the love of my life (30 years now), who became a naval aviator, had 3 daughters (all surf and if you’re ever out at Tourmaline in San Diego any Saturday you might run into one of them) and moved to Florida. Shortly after he graduated from flight school we moved to San Diego and stayed there for the next twelve years. I would become a permanent fixture surfing and competing against my dear friends at Cardiff Reef as well as always traveling back to Newport in hopes of catching a hurricane swell at Ruggles. During those years I also taught school and coached one of the first middle school surf teams in San Diego. Gosh that was fun (1991-94). We would meet at 8am on Saturdays in Pacific Beach near the pier and just surf together, the kids and their parents were a hoot and I would compete in the coach’s event (I won second place one time against the guys…it was a great feeling, the kids were so stoked for me-too funny). I ran into one of the boys (now in his thirties) last summer out at Tourmaline, it was so good to see him and surf together 16 years later!
1995-1996
During this time we moved to Monterey, CA where my husband would attend the Naval Post Graduate School and I would continue to teach (in Salinas) and get the chance to surf Pleasure Point and The Hook point breaks of Santa Cruz. Those breaks were incredible, but the localism was the worst I’d ever encountered, people would actual hit each other on a beautiful sunny warm offshore day! I use to love the ride back home though, there was this one particular fruit stand I would stop at that had strawberries that tasted like gum drops and they also sold Fosters Beer!
1996-1998
My husband received orders to move to Ramstein Germany where again I would continue my teaching career at Kaiserslautern American High School and get another wonderful opportunity to travel throughout Ireland, England, France, Italy, and the Czech Republic, just to mention a few. Imagine the looks on the mover’s faces when they unpacked several surfboards in a little German village!
1998-Present
I currently live on the east coast, and teach high school Advanced Placement Physics about an hour south of Annapolis Maryland. I track and surf east coast hurricanes and swells with more enjoyment, freedom, and dedication than ever before! I often meet up with my brothers (two of which are Army Generals and Hard Core Surfers!). I also spend my summer and winter breaks surfing with our three grown daughters in San Diego and my youngest brother in San Clemente (mostly Churches, Lowers, and Tourmaline). I travel to Panama and Mexico, and continue to compete in the East Coast Surfing Championships (This year winning both the Ladies Short board and Long board Division Championships). Surfing to me is both a physical and spiritual practice. I also continue to love the challenge of competing in surf contests. It gives me an exciting goal to reach, something to work hard at physically, and I really enjoy watching all of the other surfers. I feel like I’m surfing better and having more fun than I ever imagined!
I hope my history helps to encourage women to keep surfing and to enjoy competing no matter how old you are and what challenges they face! Can’t wait to see you in the water!
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