They say the best surfer is the one having the most fun, and fifteen-year-old Happy Sager embodies the adage to a tee. Born and raised in San Clemente Sager  was brought up by a family of surfers. Both of her parents grew up surfing -  her mom competed throughout high school and her dad is still a “salty old surfer.”

 

“I’ve basically been in the ocean since day one,” says Sager. “Living in San Clemente, the beach has always been my backyard.”

Under the guidance of her parents, Sager caught her first wave at just three years old. By age eleven, she was entering local competitions. She joined the Shore Cliffs Surf Team, competed in Scholastic Surf contests, moved on to WSA events, and soon after qualified for USA Prime.

Trestles is Sager’s home break, and she’s been a regular in the lineup for years. Lowers is one of the best waves in the world, and one of Sager’s favorites. She learned to surf at Uppers and the older surfers have supported her since the beginning. Collectively, they allow her to catch waves, push her to improve, and always have her back. “It’s more than just a place to surf,” says Sager. “It’s my community.”

Sager spends a lot of her time in the water surfing with her brother, as well as the San Clemente High School surf team. For the past year, she’s been working with her coach, Lucas Taub, which has been beneficial for both her surfing and mindset. “He’s the  best at keeping me focused while also reminding me that surfing is fun,” says Sager. “I literally get to surf for a living.”

A testament to her hard work, Sager has already had a lot of success with her surfing. She was the 2024 NSSA Middle School National Champ, the 2025 NSSA Varsity National Champ, and she placed fourth at the 2025 USA Surfing Champs.

“Surfing is my favorite sport, hands down,” says Sager. “Being in the ocean, reading the waves, and competing in the lineup with friends pushes me to keep improving and have fun at the same time.”

In addition to surfing, Sager is an avid prone paddler and spear fisher. She got into spearfishing thanks to her family friends, Andy Aronson and Betsy Bothell. The couple would invite young Sager out on their boat, and she quickly fell in love with the sport. “I love it because it’s so mental,” says Sager. “You’re completely dependent on yourself to stay calm, hold your breath, and trust the ocean. And if everything lines up, you get to spear your own dinner, which is the best feeling.”

When it comes to prone paddling, Sager doesn’t simply paddle for fun, she paddles with a purpose. One day, Sager was chatting with her breath-hold coach, Morgan Hoesterey, and she mentioned the famous Molokai 2 Oahu (M2O) crossing. Sager decided right then and there that she was going to compete in the famous race.

The Molokai 2 Oahu race debuted in 1997. Participants begin on Molokai and paddle 32 miles across the Ka’iwi Channel to Oahu, a notoriously challenging crossing often referred to as the ‘Channel of Bones.’ Preparing for the crossing was challenging for Sager, as it meant a lot of time paddling on her prone board, while continuing to train and compete in surfing. Sager completed the race in 7 hours and 36 minutes, becoming the youngest female to ever complete the crossing at 14 years old.

“Thirty-two miles of prone paddling pushed me physically and mentally in every way,” says Sager. “The training was hard, but crossing that channel was unreal - knowing I had the strength to finish. I’ll absolutely be doing it again.”

Sager admits that balancing her various sports and being a normal teen can be challenging, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. She attends San Clemente High School full-time, which is rare for a surfer of her caliber, and it takes up a good portion of her day. But spending time with her friends and being a normal teen are important to her, and help keep her motivated and focused in the water.

“Watching Happy grow into a waterwoman has honestly blown us away,” says Rio Sager, Sager’s mom. “Her love for paddling and spearfishing is completely her own, not something we pushed. Same with surfing. How far she’s come is all because she loves it. We’re here to support her, but only because she’s the one driving it.”

Growing up in San Clemente, Sager has always lived close to the coast and has spent her life surrounded by ocean-minded people. She feels most at home when she’s in the water and is grateful to live in such an incredible place. “San Clemente is home to some  of the best waves and surfers in the world,” says Sager. “The community here is amazing, always supporting surfers and kids who love the ocean.”    Looking forward, Sager plans to take her surfing career one day at a time. For 2026, she hopes to win more QS heats, achieve a top finish in USA Prime, and make Team USA for the ISAs. In between her surf training, she plans to spear some fish and to keep on paddling. But more than anything, Sager plans to keep on doing what she does best, being Happy.