With their laidback
and easygoing attitudes, the
Morvil family embodies the
surfing lifestyle.
Jeff Morvil moved to North Carolina
25 years ago and has since started his own
company, the Morvil Advertising and
Design Group. It was at Wrightsville Beach
that he met his wife, April, while surfing
the local waves.
April, who has lived on Wrightsville
Beach her entire life, remembers a time
when the island was not quite as developed
as it is today.
“I used to ride my horses down on Shell
Island and there was nothing but dunes,”
April says.
And as well as seeing Wrightsville Beach
grow with the addition of houses and
hotels, she has also seen a big increase in
the amount of women who surf.
Together, Jeff and April have reared their
entire family around the surf.
As a family, the Morvils have traveled
as far as Puerto Rico to enjoy their favorite
hobby, but when they are at home,
they typically surf in Carolina Beach,
Wrightsville Beach and off Masonboro
Island.
Sons Vance, 16, Jonah, 14, Gabe, 11,
and David, 8, have all taken up the hobby
and routinely surf with each other. The
girls, Sofie, 5, and Isabella, 1, still have a
few more years before they take up the family
sport.
For Jeff, there was really never any other
option for involving his sons in surfing. All
of his boys got into the sport the same way
he did, by learning to skate first.
“I didn’t try and get them to surf at
24
WBM june 2011
all,” Jeff says. “They were all skaters and it
just naturally occurred that they got into
surfing.”
Vance, a soccer player at Hoggard High
School, enjoys the time he gets to spend
with his family while in the lineup.
“I’d much rather surf with them than
anyone else,” Vance says. “It’s just a better
vibe being out there with them rather than
a bunch of guys you don’t know.”
For the oldest boy, going more than a
few days without surfing makes him want
to get out in the water even more. And that
makes his love grow for what he feels will
be a lifelong sport.
Jeff and April both agree that the
beach “encompasses” their family’s attitude,
and the beach lifestyle is the only
one for them.
Surf’s up for the Morvils
The Morvils gather at the neighborhood dock along the Intracoastal Waterway.
Clockwise from left Jonah, Jeff, Isabella, April, Vance, Gabe, Sofie and David.