Come surf with us!
Come surf with us!
Come surf with us!
Come surf with us!
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What is sandy backpacks all about

What is Sandy Backpacks all about?

Sandy Backpacks is a surf school run by local instructors who live and grew up surfing on Bald Head Island. Our goal is to share our surf knowledge with others to help them enjoy the sport and ocean as much as we do. With our combined 20+ years of surf instructing we are confident that we can give you the skills to progress into the surfer you want to be! We offer private and group surf lessons for beginners, as well as advanced lessons and land training for those who are ready to take it to the next level.

Our Lessons

All of our lessons last one hour long, and we provide all of the necessary equipment for you. To sign up for lessons contact us via email, phone, text, or instagram
Surf Lessons at Sandy Backpacks

Surf Lessons

We offer private and group lessons for ages 6 and up.

Land Training Lessons

Recommended for surfers trying to learn how to transition from longboard to short board

Advanced Surf Lessons

Must have had a previous lesson with us, as well as the OK from an instructor

FAQ's

This is a safety measure as we like our instructors to have full focus on one child in this category. Children of this age are not able to paddle the board as well and this allows our instructors to push the child back out past the white water after surfing a wave without leaving the rest of their group.

We use 7’10” foam surfboards, made by the surf company Formula Fun. We use foam boards for teaching because they are softer and more stable in the water than traditional surfboards. These boards are also made with 100% recyclable materials and made to last longer than other foam boards, so we can reduce our environmental impact.

On Bald Head Island, the time we have to surf in the day can be limited and is always changing as the swell, tide, wind, and weather are all constant varying factors. Having flexible time slots allows us the best chance at aligning these factors and getting the best conditions for our students. Since our instructors have grown up surfing on Bald Head  Island, we are able to look at all the different forecasts for the day and pick the best times

Although we wish we could control mother nature, we can’t, so sometimes the conditions for the day different from the forecasts that we based the lesson times on. Your instructor will contact you 30 minutes before the lesson start time (at the latest) to let you know if the lesson is NOT going to happen so please try to keep your phone on you. In that case, we will try to reschedule to a better time.

With ocean currents and waves being unpredictable, we have found that 3 people per instructor is the perfect balance in order to have our students catch as many waves as possible while keeping a high safety standard. This also helps our instructors keep track of their students to make sure they are all catching equal amount of waves. If you have more than 3 people in your group that want to take lessons, its no problem! Just contact us and we will set up a lesson with multiple instructors out to help accommodate your group.

We can accepts cash payments and have a mobile card reader on the beach. There is a 3% fee for debit and credit payments, but there is no additional tax on our lesson prices.

Get Your Photo's Done

We are excited to team up with BHI Surf Shots to provide our students with the option to have photos taken of their lesson!

Private Lesson

Private Lesson Photo Shoot
$ 40 One Time
  • 5 Pictures
  • HD Quality

2 person group

2 person group
$ 60 One Time
  • 5 Pictures Per Person
  • HD Quality

3 person group

3 person group
$ 80 One Time
  • 5 Pictures Per Person
  • HD Quality

Meet The Crew

Becca Kenney

Scott Tuttle

Ryan Kenney

Phoebe Linstead

Jackson McGeough

Felix Williams

Fritz Veltman