Marchel is headed into her second year of running a surf camp aimed initially at "moms and groms," then at just the moms (Beginner Betty and Shredding Betty), and, new this year, a special Wednesday evening class for "Divorced Divas and Dudes." (The better to nudge, or calm, that midlife crisis, perhaps.)
"I picked Wednesday because then we can all go to Tomatoes for half-price sushi," she says with a laugh.
Surfing is not the only sport at the Shore that adults of any age can try out for little or no money up front. The Viking Rowing Club in Ventnor, for example, offers walk-up novice classes that take you right out in a quad or an eight boat with an instructor on Saturdays and Sundays at 7:30 a.m. in the summer for as little as $5 or $10, depending on how many people show up.
Marchel, who grew up in Margate, lived in New York for a decade, then came back and made her peace as a local again. She also sells real estate with her mom, well-known agent Ronnie Alper.
Marchel wants everyone, divorced or not, to feel welcome and to get a glimpse of what it feels like, especially in difficult times like these, to simplify your life, to link your sense of self to the natural world around you, to be, as they say, stoked.
"That's what I'm trying to share with people," she says. "You get it with your first wave.
"The surfing has taught me so many skills that got me through," she says. "There are days I paddle out and it's hard getting out, and I get battered, and then I get out there, and it's calm, and I have a great ride. It gives you the confidence, being out there in the unknown."
