The coastline of Lebanon has been quite disfigured with constructions, but a growing community of surfers is giving our shores a new identity. With a bright smile and communicative enthusiasm surfer girl Léna Allam takes us for a ride in the sea.
‘Your very first wave is always the most memorable one, even if the ride lasts just a couple of seconds, you just feel stoked after catching it and it’s the best feeling in the world! It gets you hooked!' Léna remembers how it started, her "eureka!" moment when she was younger. ‘I fell in love with the sport watching a cartoon, Lilo & Stitch, the two little characters riding the waves off an island in Hawaii’ she laughs. Her journey started back in 2011, when she joined a group on Facebook with its only member Paul Abbas, now the only surfboard shaper in Lebanon. Léna got her first board from a sports shop, where the board was used as a decorative element in its window display. Paul was exploring at the time how to shape a surfboard, and later opened Bahara Surfboards, shaping sleek customized surfboards, crafted in Lebanon. Léna picked up surfing at first in Batroun, in the north. Surfing was not very popular or known at the time in the country, but luckily her parents supported her. On sunny or stormy days, she chased the swell. Léna recalls 'I had to find a surf spot closer to Deir el Qamar where we spend our summer holidays,' so she went on an extensive Google search and finally spotted a random comment on an outdated blog that mentioned a local surfer named Mustafa, living right in front of a beautiful surf spot in Jiyeh, with consistent waves, Mustafa’s A Frame. ‘I remember at the time we were only 3 or 4 surfers max in the water.’ The spot currently hosts the surf school and surf shop Surf Lebanon.
With her eye-catching Instagram page @surfblogforgirls, surfing aqua colored waves along sandy shores, under the Lebanon blue sky, Léna contributes to making the sport a staple in our country, and encourages girls to partake in the fun. ‘I often get messages from girls asking how they can start surfing, what would be a good exercise to stay in shape, foreigners asking about tips for their trip to Lebanon, what boards they should bring, what is the best season to score some waves and all of that.' ‘At the beginning we were a handful of surfers, and the lineup was predominantly male, now the sport is growing exponentially, with schools across the coastline and I am happy to see parents encourage their children to start the sport,' she says. 'In my early teens, I was diagnosed with scoliosis and had to wear a custom made corset. That’s when I started swimming following my doctor’s advice. This helped me in picking up surfing quite quickly as I was more comfortable paddling. So one thing I would recommend is paddle training before your first surfing session.' She adds that to be at ease in the water, a healthy lifestyle is definitely required 'everything is moving while you’re in the water and you need to be fully aware and conscious, not only of the waves and currents, but also of what your body allows you to do, as well as its limitations.' Lebanon with its ideal weather and beautiful winter waves; ‘waves can reach 3m high, clean surfable waves, especially along the Chekka coast,' is set to carve its space on the world surf map. Léna recommends for beginners to start surfing in summer as it’s easier with a swimsuit rather than having the hassle of a wetsuit. The surfer girl currently resides in Dubai and struggles to fit surf sessions in her schedule 'waves here are definitely not as consistent, and they show up on weekdays for some reason! I try as much as possible to hit the wave pool and train, but I can’t wait to be back to Lebanon to surf and catch up with the community!'
Credits photos 1, 2 & 3: Surf Lebanon
