Nearly 20 years after I started surfing, I finally had a core group of mostly black women who surfed with me.

Ms. Angotti-Jones is a documentary photographer living in Southern California.

When I got my first surfboard, I was 9 years old. I took my new pink shortboard to the dock, and an old man in a worn vest walked up to me and asked, "Will you ride that thing?" I nodded.

I remember sitting on the beach, staring at the waves. I am the only girl holding a wooden board, let alone a black one.

I grew up in a mixed family in Capistrano Beach, California. We are one of the few black or mixed-race families nearby. At the time, my community on land or in the water didn't have much hindrance.

In the sparkling trough and deep in the dark clouds, I feel at home.

My race and gender melted with the tide, and I merged with the coming wave.

I was blinded by the sun, nothing else matters.

I am too young to understand why I sometimes feel unwelcome in the lineup. I began to doubt myself. In particularly bad days, all I could do was wipe out. I felt as if the ocean didn't want me either.

I now have a core group of friends like me who also share my respect for the ocean. I can always see them floating in the water-their heads are pouting.

Fall Kitchen Rockaway, NY

Kimiko Russell-Halterman, Santa Cruz, California

Sharon Schaffer Playa del Rey, California

Jaysha WilliamsManhattan Beach, California

Autumn Kitchens grew up between Long Island, New York and Rockaway. She started to learn surfing at the age of 15. She has been surfing and living in Rockaway for the past seven years.

Nina Stouffer calls herself a "soul surfer" from Jacksonville, Florida. She feels free in the water. "All your worries are gone," she told me. "Especially with my friends, I always like to go out and be with them and build connections."

Kimiko Russell-Halterman's love of the ocean is rooted in her Japanese heritage. Her grandmother was from Okinawa, and she believed that one of her ancestors was a famous female free diver.

Growing up with mixed races—black, Japanese, and white—Ms. Russell-Haltman took multiple identities at the same time. Surfing, she told me, making her realize "I am not the pie you like to cut: I am black. I am a woman. I am the ocean and I am Japanese. This is the whole pie."

Sharon Schaffer is the first female African American professional surfer. She is also a versatile actress, poet and musician. "I think it is my responsibility to bring joy and love to the water," she said. "I really want to cheer people up and make sure they maintain a healthy relationship with Ocean Mothers and the people who share this relationship with them."

When we were together, other surfers sometimes greeted us; they asked us how long we did it. But not everyone is so popular.

In December of last year, Jessa Williams was called a racial detractor by a white male surfer in El Porto on Manhattan Beach. His friend just sat and watched.

However, although it may make some people feel uncomfortable, we will continue to adapt and paddle. In fact, many organizations dedicated to teaching young people of color how to surf are led by black women. When I am in the water these days, I am happy to see that the gender, race and ethnicity in the lineup are more diverse.

My friend and I charge for the waves. When one of us scores, we scream and dance with Megan Thee Stallion while taking off our wetsuit. I finally found the community I longed for years ago, when I was looking out to the sea with a brand new surfboard for the first time.

I was finally surrounded by women who looked like me, who admired the ocean as much as I did.

Finding this niche in the surfing world makes me feel darker than I have ever had in my life.

Text and photos of Gabriella Angotti-Jones. These photos were taken in California, Hawaii, Florida, and New York between August 2019 and April 2021. Special thanks to the surfers: Emilia Angotti, Olga Diaz, Autumn Kitchens, Nina Stouffer, Kimiko Russell-Halterman, Jessa Williams, Sharon Schaffer and Marikah Burnett.