Getting Skunked in Surfing; Failing a Surf Mission or Strike

The term “getting skunked” in surfing is the essence of failing a surf mission or strike. It means that your luck ran out, you didn’t score, and good waves were not found.

The origins of this mysterious surfing term are unknown. Although the first surfer to apply it to surfing is not known, the etymological origins of this phrase is from the 1830’s.

Its application was specifically for games such as cards or billards, when someone was shut out for scoring a point. 

The definition of “getting skunked” or “to get skunked” is concise and easy to understand. It means to suffer an utter defeat.

Can’t you see how this is directly applied to surfing?

The day is fresh, and the potential for waves is high. There is a swell, and you want to surf. So you begin the journey of finding some waves.

You spend seconds, minutes, and hours searching for a good wave on this day. It is in your heart, and in the heart of every core surfer. Checking one surf spot after the next to hopefully find the golden sessions that is soon to come, but only finding nothing but rumbling blobs in the ocean, or packs of surfers where the waves are good.

So, one spot after another, you find your friends and yourself, only find bad waves or crowded peaks. Perhaps, the time is running out, and the wind is picking up, making the chances of finding good waves even less. 

At a certain point, your group gives up, decides to head back to the shack to drink beer and not surf. At this point.

You can call yourself skunked. 

Hey, but atleast you didn’t journey across the world or take a flight to get skunked. That would be the worst-case scenario. But, perhaps you have!

If you are interested in avoiding this, I would advise you atleast check out my Surfing in Europe for Beginners. Because, afterall if you are getting skunked, you probably aren’t doing your due diligence in research. Surf on!