In those days, we didn’t have a leash

• Name: Inge Morton
• Age: 80
• From: Coronado
• Location: Tourmaline Surf Park

Inge Morton was walking to the showers with board on her head when we stopped to chat. “I’ve been surfing here for 25 years, but I started in the 60’s in Brazil. I’m from Rio.”

Morton isn’t looking to stop surfing, despite her age difference with other surfers. “I definitely think it’s a great sport for people who are older. It makes me happy for the rest of the day.”

“I try to time myself for only one hour, but of course sometimes I stay longer and then I feel it the rest of the day,” Morton laughs. “And I don’t go after every wave, I go when everyone else has gone. I’m not in a hurry, there’s always the next wave.”

Morton’s biggest wipeout happened in Brazil. “One time, when I was beginning in the 60s, my friend said, ‘Today’s not a good day to go out,’ but I was young and reckless and I said, ‘Oh, of course it is,’ and I went out. A huge set came. In those days we didn’t have a leash. I left the board and the waves came one after the other.”

“I had a hard time coming up because of the amount of foam and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, all I need to do is die here, in Ipanema, where I was born and raised,’ but then I was able to get up… That episode made me respect the ocean. When it’s big, I don’t go in the water— you have to know your limit.”