Down at The Wall in Baja, the Mayor is the real local. One day we were in the lineup shooting the breeze and a SLO wavehog back paddled him. The mayor said, “paddle behind me, surf behind me.” And he did. Didn’t back paddle again. Classic.
At my local beach, many refer to me as “the Mayor”. That is, the people who know how to surf, at least.
Paddle to the top of the line up. Call off everyone paddling for a wave. Drop in on everyone. Make a face like the air stinks and always complain about how crappy the waves. Then you are a true local…at least that’s how some of the “locals” act in my neck of the woods.
Study the local crew. Decide who the toughest one is in the bunch. Walk up and hit him in the nose as hard as you can. When you get out of the hospital you’ll be a local. Never tried this myself, I’ll admit. I don’t like hospitals and don’t give a shit about being a local. Mike
Hahahaha
surfing never started as a one man/woman one wave thing it was all about sharing the ride
personal greed has always been man’s down fall in everything he does
As usual, oneula, you bring the aloha to the issue. Thank you. Mike
If I remember correctly though, it was sharing with your “class of people” only and only at the pleasure of the royalty i.e. if a commener got caught surfing certain breaks that had been declared kapu by the cheifs, they would not just give you a beat down but execute you in some gruesome manner (evisceration maybe or slow roasting over an open fire?).
Stay at the beginner’s spot and become the “top dog” in the pack. You’ll be looked up to. People will be checking out your soft top and how many fins you have. You’ll be the man. Go somewhere else and you’ll just get in the way. Clog up the inside and become an obstacle for better surfers to spear or skeg. That’ll just bring you down and deflate your ego. Stay at the spot you been surfing the last three years and RULE!!! Lowel
…what I do not get it, is that you say that you are a great surfer but surfs on a beginners spot…how do you became such great one with those mellow small waves?
May be you are the next pro sensation…
Yeah that would be “Mayor of Dullsville” . Probably the same spot as our “wanna be a local” has dominated the last three years.
Yeah now that the “World’s most interesting man” has retired; maybe you could get that gig
Don’t rush into anything Huck. I’ve had my fun. Done with this one. And; This thread is just as relative as most threads here on Sways. Lowel
I went to surf once at a used to be “secret” spot a bit north of Santa Cruz about 10 years after moving away. Guy who had moved there from Palos Verdes while I lived there and was literally crawling around in diapers when I started surfing, called me out on the beach, “You don’t live here don’t surf here”. Since though definitely a badass, he was only about my size I just told him to piss off and mentioned his (I am sure much hated) nick name from his PV days, and that was the end of it; I guess he just wasn’t really quite ready to throw blows for it while I pretty much was. “Localism” has always impressed me as being an incredibly childish waste of energy.
zen right there, haha, im borrowing that,
I’ve paddled into many heavy “localized” spots and just sat and waited my turn, talking story with a smile when approached and staying quite when not.
sure enough after what might seem ages to most, a “mayor” of the lineup will paddle up to you and urge you onto one.
if you don’t kook out your gift (so you have to be ready)
you’ll be “accepted” to share the waves just like all the rest when you time comes
these days hardly anyone rides a wave for what it truly has to offer
most are just trying to impress the others in the lineup and on shore and show off what they think are skills based on the marketing that has become surfing
if you watch the real old timers especially locals they’ll ride their gift all they way to till the end of the wave and then take their time paddling back out to wait for their next ride.
SharkCountry and I were lucky to grow up surfing with our uncles and aunties who rode big massive hard to control surfboards who paddled all the way out and talked story about life in between a wave or two. When there wasn’t anything to say, nothing was said because sometimes the quietness of a lineup only enhances it’s beauty.
Later on sitting out in the line up with uncles and aunties like Grant, or Buffalo, or even Rell and the elders/mayors of every spot, we also learned surfing was more about communion/community that it was about wave count. It happens even today, when at times it seems more important catching up with long lost friends/relatives/classmates and learning about new faces in the lineup than it is about waves count.
learn to pay attention, respect and enjoy what you have been given is all you need to remember as a wave rider for not everyone has been so blessed or is capable of doing so. Don’t ever take it for granted it can be taken away from you at any time.
And while you are at it, try and clean up the beach a little on the way in and on the way home.
Every little bit helps no matter how small, you be surprised the impact it has to those around you, when you show you care.
Yes, there were a lot of things that were only for the ruling class chiefs. Many of the best surf breaks were kapu to commoners. If you were a commoner, you were a slave to the kings, do something they don’t like and you are dead. Interestingly, the chiefs did things based on their Kahuna’s (priest, pope) guidance. That was the way it was until the late 1700s.
On the other hand, whole communities would surf together when it was time to surf. They had their places to surf and enjoyed it. You work when you have to work, and you play when you have time to play. Everything had a time and place. Everything we did was done at a specific time and place, all based on historical observations of nature.
There was a very different group of people living here prior to the warlords from Tahiti coming around 1200AD or so. It is said that the islands were first populated about 600 AD maybe a little after. It was avery nomadic group of people who had no rulers, who lived in harmony with nature, and sailed all over the pacific. Disputes were resolved in the community by the community. The worst punishment was banishment, it was time for you to move on.
A psychopath priest named Pa’ao was banished and went back to Tahiti. In Tahiti, he killed his brother’s son. He was also canaballistic, and was banished from Tahiti. Before he left he convinced a group of warriors to go to Hawaii and take over the peaceful lands. From the time these warlords arrived until after Capt Cooke “discovered” our islands, they constantly killed each other to be the top dog.
Meanwhile the commoners continued to live in their communities, farming, fishing, making clothes, houses, canoes and everything needed to live. Following whatever rules they were expected to follow. For the most part the rules were based on having a sustainable world, and they achieved that for almost a 1000 years. The rules went way beyond what you can and can not do, it dictated how to plant, where and when to plant, where to fish, when and what you could catch during the year. It was a very well oiled machine.
Ecclesiastes 3
A Time for Everything
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
If you go to a new spot and find a way to mix in, then surf there long enough, people will look at you as a regular. Eventually you will be a part of that crew. I’ve become a part of the regular crew at Diamond Head mainly from firends I’ve known a very long time, who’ve been surfing there longer than I have. But I first surfed there around 1973, and surfed ther a lot until windsurfers like Robbie Naish and his crew took over. By then I moved right across from Ala Moana Beach Park and Courts became my go to spot. It was my back yard and I became very familiar with that section of coastline.
I don’t use the term local, because I think that is something people who live in a specific area are. Then there are the ones that don’t live there, but show up regularly.