- April 18, 2024
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Mimi Munro goes over safety while surfing. Photos by Michele Meyers
Blanca Castro smiles after she catches a wave at Mimi Munro's surf camp.
Surfers practice pop ups with Mimi Munro before they head out to the ocean.
Corder Bohon practices paddling and pop ups.
Walker Bohon holds his sister Lilli on the beach during surf camp.
Mimi Munro and her surfers spot a dolphin swimming in the ocean.
Rilynne Prather
Siblings Manuel and Blanca Castro laugh as they run from the waves.
Mimi Munro helps Blanca Castro through the wave.
Mimi Munro watches as Manuel Castro rides a wave.
Rilynne Prather
Corder Bohon
Corder Bohon catches a wave.
Barres Bohon cheers after his brother catches a wave.
Brandon McClammy
Michelle Ballve welcomes Mimi Munro's grandson Ivan Donahoo.
Mimi Munro
Lilli and Barres Bohon
Mimi Munro's grandson Ivan Donahoo, helps break down the camp tent.
Mimi Munro’s five surfers huddled under a tent emblazoned with the motto, “Cultivating a love for surfing and respect for our oceans," on Sunday, Aug. 8, just north of the Andy Romano Beachfront Park.
It was Munro's last surf camp of the season.
Munro learned how to surf at the age of 10 and quickly became a local surf legend from the mid to late 1960s. Professional surfers, paid by sponsors to travel and represent products, were not commonplace at the time, but for five years, Munro surfed competitively with the help of her surf team’s coach. He would pick her up at the onset of summer and travel up the east coast to surfing events.
According to the website surfingwalkoffame.com, Munro was the 1964 Florida State Champion at the age of 12 and followed it up with back-to-back East Coast Surfing Championships in 1965 and 1966, wrapping up the last year with a third place at the World Surfing Championships held in San Diego.
“It doesn’t matter how good of a surfer you are,” Munro said. “I tell the kids, I don’t care how you surf. What I care about is your attitude in the water and your kindness. Don’t take any attitudes in the ocean.”
Mimi Munro Surfing Camps LLC has thrived for 20 years and continues to be a draw for local families. Depending upon their age and experience, Munro and her assistant of 13 years, Michelle Ballve, ordinarily walk the campers through surfing basics by starting with board preparation and progressing to pop up practice on the sand. Emphasis is also put on the importance of sunscreen and its reapplication, consistent hydration and the necessity of wearing a rash guard. Both women believe that surfing can be a lifetime sport if surfers are taught to respect the ocean and understand how to handle a board safely to avoid injuries.
Munro continues to be fully invested in passing on the surfing lifestyle and mindset.
“Mimi’s out here,” Ballve said. “She’s got her kids surfing. She’s got her grandkids surfing. It’s awesome. It’s like the family that surf’s together, stays together.”
