Evie Campbell Stewart - Women's Surfing Profiles

All of this writing about you surfers has had quite an effect on me.

After hearing about the fantastic lifetime exploits from some of the greats, as well as the empowering stories of the previous two women I profiled, Ingrid Matta and Debbie Walker, I have been tempted by many offers from those who know I can't "do the deed" so to speak. Yet, until now I was still not been persuaded that I could do more than flail like an idiot and convince everyone once and for all that I have no business writing about those who can - so instead I decided to heed the primal call that kept reverberating in my head as I listened to each surfing tale—the call of adventure. For me that meant ROAD TRIP!

Once a regular on the road with no more than a basic idea of where I was headed, I was scared off the idea once there were two little humanoids relying on me for their every need. But, I was missing it something fierce!

For those of you who hadn't yet figured it out - my SurfGuru pen name, Dharma Mum, has nothing to do with the dorky tv show blonde chick. It is a reference to the book, Dharma Bums, written by Jack Kerouac when he lived in Orlando after gaining fame from his manifesto, On the Road. (For real insight into my warped psyche - read the book and see if you can figure out why this was the name that came to me.)

So anyway, I took twin 3-year-old kiddos on a two-week long car trip this past month, just me and my cousin Libby. Now, I think I am ready for those lessons! Surviving toddler tantrums in the middle of the Lousiana bayou and chasing Texas rattlers showed me I can do a bit more than I was giving myself credit for. Sometimes you just have to do something drastic to knock the sense into your head that there is nothing stopping you, except yourself.

On that note, I come to my third profile of a local female surfer. This month it is Merritt Island resident Evie Campbell Stewart, whom I have known for half my life.

Evie, you see, was one of my closest gal pals in the awkward and rebellious teenage years. We spent many a night climbing out bedroom windows and riding off into the sunset for adventures unknown. But, sadly, she moved to Texas when she was 16 and we pretty much lost touch for more than a decade. Life, kids, chaos. It happens.

After the death of her father and an unpleasant divorce within a few years time, Ms. Stewart decided to head back east and start her life anew.

She also decided, at the tender age of 33, to take up surfing.

Well, why the hell not?

"This just feels like it's something that I am suppose to do," she told me. "My dad began surfing in Jacksonville Beach as a young teenager and he won many contests then. When he was 15 he even won a 'Woody' that he immediately sold because he was too young to drive....young and dumb I guess. Can you imagine what it would be like to have that car now?"

Despite her humorous jabs, Stewart's quest has been as much a way of connecting with him now that he is gone as it has been a personal fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

Like many local gals of her time, me included, she spent much time on our fantastic East Coast beaches, but never felt confident to get out there with "the guys" in the water.

"But I've always been a water-rat," she laughs. "I was in Houston for 17 years and I missed the beach terribly. I had many opportunities to go to Galveston area beaches and I would refuse to go. The Texas beaches don't even compare to Florida water.   heir beaches are stinky from all of the seaweed and tar. The water there isn't really what I would call pretty either."  

Having just spent some time down by the Texas seashore, I have to say there were some pretty ones actually, but I can't recall too many wave riders strutting their stuff.  

Ever-youthful in a way many gals would envy and some would down right take issue with, few would ever guess that Stewart is actually the mother of a 15-year-old and an 8-year-old. I say it on personal authority also that I have a pretty good idea that no one really pegs her as a former insurance professional either.

"I was in insurance for 10 years and when I moved back here I quit to go to college," she says about the start of her new life makeover last year.

After a particularly touching incident in Orlando where she was able to help resuscitate a child, she realized that the answer had been in front of her all along. She wanted to be a nurse, just like her mother.

Once that decision was made, she and her older sister, Amie, decided the times were right to hit the waves with their daughters in tow.

"Now, I have a 7'6" board that seems to be a great starter board," she says. "My sister and I bought it from a guy who learned to surf with it and we go out with our Step Dad who also grew up surfing in Cocoa Beach. He helps us read the waves as they come in, telling us which ones to pass up and which ones to take. He started off giving us a good push on our board as the wave comes."

Richard "Tommy" Thomas' instruction and support was just what the ladies needed to get started.

"I won't say that I am any good yet, but I am having a blast learning. I have definitely improved and I know the more I go out, the better I am getting. I did go out on a 'big' day, by myself and it was one of those days that you HAD to go because the waves were so great. Paddling out past the waves was quite a chore - it definitely will help you build upper body strength! That day was only my second time out and the waves were huge! No, I did not get to standing on any of them, but I did try many times and I had a great time."

Having spent her formative years near the beach, she also knows some of the primary rules of the game that many newcomers often overlook.

"The locals, who really know how to surf, don't want beginners in their way, so I do not go to your typical surfing hot spots because I don't want to get run over," she laughs. "I have been going to Jetty Park. It's fine for the beginning surfer, even if the waves are small."

She is also thrilled to be able to share her newfound passion with her youngest daughter.

"Neither my sister or me have ever been the typical girl," she says with a catty smile. "Our family thinks it's great and like that we're all spending more time together. We've even had our daughters that are seven and eight-years-old up on the boards. I wish our parents had taught us when we were that age!  I am determined that my youngest daughter, Jacey, will surf. I have to learn before she does though, I don't want to be shown up by the eight-year-old!"

All joking aside, losing her father slapped Stewart with one of life's unshakeable lessons.

"With Tommy teaching us, it gives us an opportunity to spend more time with him," she says. "None of us are getting any younger and we've already lost one parent so we're glad to have this time with him and our kids."

Her message for those like me who are still standing on the beach with longing in our hearts?

"Make time for it! If you haven't learned by now, why wait? This is something you can enjoy whether you have kids or not. I'm 33 years old, I have 2 daughters and my boyfriend jokingly calls me his college co-ed, surfer girl. I mean, how cool is that?"

Sounds pretty cool to me, I have to admit. Think I am going to give it a shot with her one day soon.  

To suggest a woman for an upcoming profile, email Dharma Mum at Gayla.Schafer@gmail.com or call 321-795-6840.   

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