Sorry, a second non-board-design post, but I wanted to share an observation, ask a general question. I am up in Maine and crowds aren’t a problem at my chosen spot. But I read a lot about people getting burned, yadi, and how everything has gone to hell because of surf schools putting too many people in the water or some such rot. So I had it in my head that the Golden Years must have been a wave fest, and everything deteriorated from that point, due to an increase in population and the popularity of surfing. Then I finally saw Endless Summer (1) - is it just me, or did those folks seem to have no problem sharing waves? Malibu looked like a zoo and everyone seemed cool about it, even Mickey Dora is just casually swerving around the flotsam. And the protagonists seem to go out of there way to get on the same wave. I am still all about zero population growth, and of course I would prefer a wave to myself, but maybe the deterioration has more to due with attitudes than numbers? When did the “first up in the most critical section gets the wave” ethos evolve?
I haven’t felt there was an increase in the crowd over the years( it’s always crowded) but a definite increase in “attitude” whether as a result of ignorance(surf school grads) or some frustrated “aggro.” I have no problem with someone dropping-in down the line (most of the time) as long as they respect my right to move around as I see fit i.e, don’t cutback into me or drop-in right in front of me and especially try a floater right in front of me. It’s the lack of experience in the surf school grads or any new surfer that create the problems. They just don’t know when NOT to do something. As far as bad attitude by the experienced guys. What’s new? There always has been and always will be some guys that can’t deal with the situation(crowds) and slip into the “rage” mood. Sadly, nowdays I think alot of these guys fall into a “ego” thing where every miscalculation (read error) by someone else is taken as a personel attack. Granted, there is alot of grey areas between a miscalculation and an intentional “burn.”
Biggest changed is with board design, they are too easy to surf on now. In the past a large percentage of guys would quit when they hit a certain age due to difficulty of surfing and paddling. But with Modern longboards and funboards, forget about it. That’s why with every Stewart Kook board you get a pair of Kook paddling gloves. Best example I can think of is Cottons Point in the summer, one kook with a pair of gloves can wreck the whole line up. Jono
Modern longboards are easier to surf and paddle on than a 10’x3.25" old school longboard?
Rusty P. is a biggot!!!