Hawai’i griefs. Sydney sharks. Middle-earth surf rages. San Diego thieves. Scotland surf labs.

🧡 surfing through grief in Hawaiʻi

On Hawaiʻi’s North Shore, a program called Surf for the Soul is using surfing as a tool for grief support—not metaphorically, but very literally. Kids Hurt Too Hawaiʻi has partnered with the Andy Irons Foundation and Billabong to create a space where children dealing with loss and trauma can process heavy emotions through play, connection, and time in the ocean.

Lyndie Irons, founder of the Andy Irons Foundation, spoke about how the ocean helped her heal after losing her husband, three-time world champion Andy Irons, 15 years ago. That personal experience became the seed for something bigger: using the ocean as a place where kids can feel safe enough to grieve.

Professional surfers including Shane Dorian, Laura Enever, and Bruce Irons paddled out with the kids, creating moments that parents described as “magical” and unforgettable. As one facilitator put it, the goal is simple: give kids permission to feel, to play, and to be in the moment.

🦈 sydney shaken by shark attacks

Sydney’s surf community is reeling after four shark attacks in New South Wales in just 48 hours—three of them in Sydney itself. The incidents involved children and adults, surfers and swimmers, and have led to widespread beach closures across the region.

On Sunday afternoon, a boy believed to be 12 or 13 years old was bitten on the legs by a shark while swimming with friends in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Authorities said he was “fighting for his life.”

On Monday morning, an 11-year-old boy escaped injury after a shark bit his surfboard at Dee Why in Sydney’s north. Our local Girls Who Can’t Surf Good in Dee Why called this escape a miracle.

Later that same afternoon, a 27-year-old surfer was bitten on the leg while surfing at Manly Beach. Fellow beachgoers administered first aid before he was taken to hospital with injuries police described as “life-changing.”

The fourth incident occurred shortly after, when a 39-year-old man was bitten while surfing at Point Plomer on the NSW mid-north coast, roughly five hours north of Sydney.

Heavy rainfall, nutrients traveling inland and murky water are believed to be contributing factors, conditions long associated with increased shark activity. Authorities and Surf Life Saving NSW have urged caution, with messages ranging from “wait a few days” to “just go to a pool.”

🎬 viggo mortensen vs surfboard (middle-Earth edition)

We usually don’t cover surf stories including celebrities, but this is Viggo Mortensen, so we will.

As The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring celebrates its 25th anniversary, director Peter Jackson has been sharing behind-the-scenes stories from one of the most chaotic film productions in history. Among them: a very surf-related accident involving Viggo Mortensen.

During a weekend off, Mortensen went surfing with members of the Hobbits cast. At some point, his board flipped and smashed him in the face, leaving him with a swollen, bruised eye just as the production was gearing up to shoot the Mines of Moria sequence.

With no time for delays or reshoots, Jackson had to adapt on the fly—carefully framing every shot to hide Mortensen’s injury. If you rewatch the scene, Aragorn is almost never shown head-on. What looks like a stylistic choice is actually a last-minute workaround born of surf-induced chaos.

🚗 surfers targeted by car thieves in san diego

In Pacific Beach, San Diego, surfers are being warned: someone might be watching your keys more closely than the waves.

Local residents report thieves posing as casual beachgoers, observing where surfers stash their keys before heading into the water. Once the surfer paddles out, the car disappears. Police have confirmed multiple thefts dating back to early 2025, including several just this month.

The crime isn’t new—one longtime local recalled coming back from a surf decades ago to find his car eventually recovered in Las Vegas—but increased awareness has sparked renewed concern. The advice from both locals and police is consistent: don’t hide keys near your car. Use a wetsuit pocket, lockbox, or leave valuables at home.

Yet another thing to worry about while you’re trying to surf because that’s not hard enough as it is.

📏 surfline’s most important update has nothing to do with forecasts

Surfline’s newest update isn’t about getting the forecasts more accurate, no siree. Surfline entered the surf content game instead. That’s The Way is a new surf etiquette explainer series growing in popularity on the socials.

The short animated videos cover basics like where to paddle out, when it’s your turn, and how to act when you’re the best surfer in the water. It’s cute. But you know what we’d rather? Yes, exactly. Those “AI breakthroughs” cannot come soon enough!

🏗️ wave pool watch, this time it’s scotland

Just outside Edinburgh, a disused quarry has been transformed into Lost Shore Surf Resort, now Europe’s largest inland surf park. Built using Wavegarden Cove technology, it can produce up to 1,000 waves an hour while using significantly less energy than traditional systems.

But Lost Shore isn’t positioning itself as just a wave pool no more. In partnership with Edinburgh Napier University, it houses the world’s first Surf Lab—researching everything from surf therapy and health benefits to wetsuit sustainability and performance.

According to Lost Shore’s PR team, the project has brought jobs, tourism, and regeneration to the area, while also working with local schools and charities.