My first mat riding experience

So this weekend I decide I’m not getting in the water enough ( I live in downtown Los Angeles during the week). So I bought a pair of UDT’s, and today I emailed Dale Solomonson about getting a mat. But in the meantime i bought an inflatable pool mat from a store, and took it out at El Porto. Got some really fun rides, finally got a good long left all the way through the reform. STOKED. I turn around to kick back out, and I hear the lifeguard on his truck PA. Hmmmm…I turn around to hear him and lo and behold, he’s calling me out of the water. I catch a little insider all the way in, take off my fins and walk up to the truck. He proceeds to tell me that I can’t have that thing out there, against LA ordinances. So I argue with him for awhile, ask him if he knows who Greenough is. “yeah, but you’re not Greenough”. I’ll accept that, but I still wasn’t quite sure the wrongness of me riding a mat out there. Then he points out all the rips and holes and how the surfers out there are being sucked around without even realizing it. So, it’s ok for surfers who probably can’t even swim well enough without their boards to get in to be out, only cause they have surfboards. But it’s not ok for me, a confident swimmer and surfer, to be on a mat. We talked for about 15 minutes, with him telling me “inflatable mats belong in the pool not in the ocean” and all sorts of other bull. Quite frustrating. And he had no idea who Dale was, or didn’t really seem to care that this was a serious way to ride waves. Anybody else ever had an experience like this, or know anything about LA county ordinances. I hate LA right now.

have a pic of your pool mat? I’ve seen a few in stores but i’m not sure they will ride ok. i want to try on one of these before thinking in buying one from dale. Jack

I bought a few of those “pool toys”, they suck!! They last about 2 go outs then they are full of leaks! My Nuematic is bulletproof and it is sooo much fun but very challenging at the same time.

Los Angeles county Inflatable Restrictions:

LACC 17.12.460 Inflated equipment – Use restrictions. A person shall not use in the Pacific Ocean opposite any beach regulated by this Part 3 any inflated equipment of any kind except:

A. A standard surfmat which is:

  1. Constructed of a durable material with a nonslippery surface;

  2. So constructed that when inflated for use it will not fold in any direction;

  3. Not smaller than 24 inches by 40 inches;

  4. Not larger than 30 inches by 60 inches;

  5. Equipped with a safety rope;

B. Coast Guard approved inflatable equipment launched for lifesaving purposes from a sinking or burning vessel or a vessel that is hazardous to the crew’s continued occupancy. (Ord. 85-0206 § 7, 1985: Ord. 9767 Art. 3 § 59, 1969.)

If you get one of Dales mats with the rope attachment, then it is 100% legal in LA.

Shitpipe has a couple of regualr matter there.

I don’t have a picture. Basically one of those pool things with the seat on it, but i cut the seat off. Had a really fun time on it, but I’m much more excited to ride one of Dales. The mat i rode today was like neon colors and stuff. A real piece, but I gotta use something till i can get a mat from Dale. Alright so the guard was right to kick me out of the water. Damn. I still hate LA right now. If i don’t get the rope on the mat, will i have problems in other places, Orange county and SD specifically.

I’ve said it before …don’t let some “jock” [or bonehead] spoil your fun …

Here’s what the clubbies do for THEIR fun here in oz, by the way… say no more… [ jock straps up their crack, silly red and yellow hats on their heads, marching around like poonces with flags…very suss, and very hard to take THESE guys seriously, THAT’S for sure !!]

ben

I cant speak for problems in SD, but I’ve had no problems in Orange County and Ventura.

Dales mats are jet black…professional looking.

A neon pool toy will get you treated like a Mexican drinking beer at the beach , with jeans and a tshirt going for a swim – a visual statistic.

Perhaps try getting a more subdued canvas mat those are around $40 dinero, with the mats all you really have to do is to chat up the lifeguards to let em’ know U R up to the task, unless your equiptment is embarrassing looking!

I’d call the LA county lifeguards. I’m sure you will reach a sympathetic ear and someone who can be of help. Most of the guards are really good guys. Just keep asking for a superior untill you get to someone who’ll give you the go ahead.

theres alot of asshole lifeguards out there on a power trip. tell him “look, ive got two fins on, good swimming skills, and and this pink stuff between my ears. im going to go out there with my mat and if you have a problem with it send a boat out there or paddle out there yourself and issue me a citation which i will then take to court and waste both your time and the cities money.” then go back out and enjoy yourself.

I’d just ignore them when they call ya’

The Los Angeles County lifeguards allow their guards a great deal of autonomy (unlike California state guards who are relegated to their towers). In Los Angeles the surfmat isn’t so much a policy issue but instead comes down to the discretion of whichever lifeguard is around. Now a lot of these lifeguards are 18yr. old boy/girl pool swimmers who are completely ignorant of the ocean and surfcraft. Some of the people that I surf with are LA county lifeguards and we’ve actually been called out by lifeguards for surfing too close to a jetti when it was about 2 feet. Many of the weaker swimmers amoung the lifeguards are the most restrictive because they fear having their shortcomings exposed during a rescue and their decisions are based on this fear. If you ride a surfmatt or even a bodyboard around LA county staffed beaches, it pays to familiarize yourself with the lifeguard on the beat.

A good point about lifeguards in general. Hiring for most guards is based on swimming ability alone. Anyone who spends enough time in the pool can become a lifeguard. But this doesn’t translate into knowledge of the ocean. I’ve pulled many a kid to shore during the summer in Newport, only to be harassed by guards about not letting them do their job. Well I wouldn’t have to if these guys had better ocean knowledge. This does not speak for all guards, not even the majority. But I laugh at some of the people who do work as guards and spend very little time in the ocean outside of the time they are payed to sit in their tower. This guy wasn’t one of those though…so I cut him slack there, he was very much ocean knowledgable, as most full time staff are at any beach on the California coast. I tend to like the guys who work winters, the year round crew, because theyre much more in tune with the ocean and spend a great deal of time in the water outside of work.

Sorry to hear your matt session was stopped. Sounds like you were having a blast.

The lifeguards up here in the Santa Cruz area have been very cool. More curious about the Dale’s matts than anything else. I let one guard use my matt and he was impressed with it’s construction and also how hard it was to punch thru waves with it and to stay on top of it (takes some practice). He also wondered why the matt was only partially filled so I had to explain to him why matts work so well which became clear to him the first wave he caught. Another future Solomonson customer I think.

I really have to think about buying another matt. I would be bummed if my only matt was lost in big surf. This is far more likely than it being damaged to the point where it wasn’t repairable.

How long does it take to hear back from Dale? I emailed him a couple days ago to discuss getting a mat, but I haven’t heard back yet. I’m super amped up to get one, and all my friends are freaking out, but those sneaky little bastards aren’t gonna be stealing my mat, they’re gonna have to get their own. HAHAHA…

Dale usually responses pretty quick. He’s a great guy to deal with and has an immense amount of knowledge and the utmost integrity. I’m sure the other mattsters on this website will tell you the same.

i used to lifeguard city and state in SD, in the summer there was the blackballing and hardboard surfing only zones. but in the winter that makes no sense, especially if you have fins and a full suit. it’s obvious that you have some ocean experience if you invest that $$$. the guy was probably just bored, or maybe he surfed alot there and didn’t appreciate you being in the lineup or he was just a dickhead. the only other thing is he might of been afraid that you’d get run-down by some a-hole surfer (which is a possibility)

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