For Melissa Davis and her daughter Gemma, a girls’ weekend means grabbing their surfboards, loading up Melissa’s van, and heading out to the coast to surf.

The mother daughter duo not only share a passion and love for surfing, but they also compete together in competitions up and down the West Coast.

Melissa is a Sequim resident and single mother of two children — Gemma, 16, and Zeke Davis, 10 — and started surfing about three years ago.

Gemma followed in her footsteps shortly after, and Zeke recently started paddling out into the water by himself.

“My kids watched me do it,” Melissa said.

Melissa and Gemma say once they caught their first successful waves surfing several years ago, they were hooked on the sport.

“It’s totally addicting,” Melissa said.

“The joy of surfing and the reward is worth the challenge,” Gemma said.

While Gemma is a shortboarder, Melissa describers herself as a progressive longboarder.

“I love shortboards,” Gemma said.

Competitive streak

Traveling to surf competitions, camping out and getting into the water for a weekend has become a staple of Melissa and Gemma’s relationship.

Or, as Gemma says, “It’s like a girls weekend.”

“We get to road trip together, just me and Gemma,” Melissa said.

Gemma started competing in surf contests last year and placed first in the junior girls division at the Agate Beach Surf Classic in Newport, Ore., both in 2017 and 2018.

In 2018, with a lack of girl participants in her age group at the Cape Kiwanda Longboard Classic in Pacific City, Ore., Gemma competed in the junior boys division. She blew away the competition — and the crowd — by placing in second against five other boys.

“I’m not intimidated surfing with guys,” Gemma said.

Gemma takes after her mother’s competitive streak, as Melissa also earns top rankings in the women’s divisions, which include anywhere between 12-18 other surfers, she says.

Melissa placed third in women’s longboard at the 2017 PNW Cleanwater Classic in Wesport and second place in the 2018 competition, second in women’s at the 2018 Agate Beach contest, and at the 2017 Cape Kiwanda Longboard Classic.

It’s a special feeling seeing her mother out in the lineup of surfers during a competition, Gemma says, and not only does it inspire her but also makes her feel safer.

“It’s cool I can look up to her,” Gemma said. “It makes me proud to compete with my mom because she always seems to win something.”

Competitions are a good avenue for getting both Melissa and Gemma’s name out and into the surfing world and also provide the two an opportunity to win good gear and sometimes money.

It costs an entry fee to surf in many of the competitions, Melissa says, but many of the competition proceeds go toward good causes such as programs that benefit local youths and skate parks.

Surfing philosophy

The two women say the Pacific Northwest is a beautiful surf destination but also includes a steep learning curve with many different kinds of surf breaks, swells and cold weather.

Rain or shine, sun or snow, Melissa and Gemma said they take advantage of every opportunity they can to get into the water and surf.

The duo say they’ve never surfed in a warm weather geographic but have a cold weather strategy dialed in with the right gear and preparation — meaning a warm, thick wetsuit, gloves, booties, a hood, and bring warm beverages and gallons of water with them during surf trips in the winter.

“It’s mentally and physically challenging surfing here,” Gemma said.

Some of Gemma’s favorite surfing spots include Hobuck Beach in Neah Bay and La Push, while Melissa says she loves surfing at Twin Rivers.

“It’s so beautiful surfing here,” Melissa said. “Going to the coast is a freeing feeling.”

Melissa and Gemma say there are a good number of female surfers out in local waters, but that the number is growing.

The two women say they are the only mother-daughter surfing duo that they know of who also compete in the area and are well-known among the Pacific Northwest surfing community.

While Gemma has dreams of being a sponsored surfer by Lib Tech, she and her mother hope to inspire other women to get pick up a passion for surfing.

“It’s important for women to get out there,” Melissa said.

“And inspiring other girls,” Gemma added.

In the future, Melissa and Gemma say they want to continue competing and would like to travel to Tofino, Canada, where there is a lively surf culture and good waves for surfing.

The mother daughter surfing duo, Gemma Davis, left, and her mother Melissa Davis, have earned high rankings in surf competitions along the West Coast. Gemma says traveling to a surf competition with her mom “is like a girl’s weekend.” Submitted photo

Gemma Davis, 16, carries a surfboard to the shore after competing in a heat at the Agate Beach Surf Classic in Newport, Ore. While she also longboards, Gemma says she loves shortboarding and hopes to one day be sponsored by Lib Tech. Submitted photo

Gemma Davis, 16, carries a surfboard to the shore after competing in a heat at the Agate Beach Surf Classic in Newport, Ore. While she also longboards, Gemma says she loves shortboarding and hopes to one day be sponsored by Lib Tech. Submitted photo