Mike Doyle interviewed Linda Merrill for the November 1963 issue of Surf Guide. The articled was titled "Linda Merrill: Femininity Plus!"


I began surfing at San Onofre with my father [Benny Merrill] who is an old-time surfer. Then I started riding Doheny every day after school. But best of all, I love Trestles. Girls have it made there. The Marines can’t touch you unless they have a woman officer along. [Note: Trestles at that time was still part of Camp Pendleton, and surfing was not permitted; Marines often removed surfers from the lineup.]


I’ve traveled to several other breaks, but guys don’t usually like girls along on surfing trips too much. Still, I love to travel and would like to become an airline hostess.


I don’t like jerky styles. Johnny Fain and Dewey Weber are quick, but they have a smoothness about them; one motion flows into the next. I don’t consciously imitate anyone, although I admire many surfers. I love the way Mike Doyle surfs. Ron Sizemore is fantastic; he does spinners, but in the most difficult spots, where it would seem impossible to do them. I don’t do spinners; I just try to ride the wave. And I don’t particularly enjoy riding with other surfers on the same wave.


They have different styles, but due to varying degrees of coordination, no girl could ever become as good as the best boys. Linda Benson is as good as most boys, but she could never compete with Mike Doyle or Butch Van Artsdalen. Linda's style is quick, but she still looks like a girl.


I enjoy surfing whether there’s competition or not. I enjoy the contests mainly for all the people who are there. You see friends you wouldn’t have the chance to see otherwise, and you always have fun afterward. But I can’t stand to watch contests myself, not unless someone I know is entered.

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