Yeah…when I go surfing I usually leave the keys on the seat with all the windows and the top down. Honestly! I have a jeep wrangler and I know it’s very stupid, but for some reason I am very trusting of people. I should probably not do that anymore.
I think the idea that I incorporate a key box in ur next board sounds like a badass idea. Just dont snap your board and lose that piece. haha. U down for a st malo sesh tommorow possibly?
1987, February 20th. New Jersey. Surfing way out in the northern tip of Sandy Hook (right across from Manhattan) Crappy 80s wetsuits and 36 degree water. My buddie’s zipper breaks and the key on a string around his neck goes bye-bye. We get out of the water at dark and it starts to snow like hell. The Jeep is locked and there is no extra key.
About 4 miles of walking in our wetsuits to call my pissed off girlfriend to pick us up.
Jersey in the winter was pretty deserted so the first thing we see that’s open is a bar. We walk up to the bar and our faces are so cold we can’t really speak. The saintly bartender made us several whickey/coffee drinks on the house and told us that he usually get’s a few guys like us every winter.
If you have a modern car chances are the key contains electronics which is needed to start the car. Apparently the electronic circuits does not like seawater all that much as a friend of mine found out the hard way…
I would have thought that was obvious, but have come to learn it really isn’t. Many, many people have this problem…an astounding number really. Apparently something about not understanding that wetsuits get, well, wet…
If I was on the far end of several beers right now, say some Blue Moon Pumpkin Ales, I might offer the notion that real surfers don’t have cars that absolutely need electronic keys to open or operate. Certainly that’s a requirement for any vehicle I own. I don’t even like plastic on the keys. You can still fatigue and break even all-metal keys and for the most part can no longer push start vehicles.
Many, if not most, newer cars have things called valet keys which also make excellent surf keys, even if the vehicle has some kind of electronic alarm system on main keys. Toyota trucks, at least the low end Tacomas, have them. The salesman just about dropped a load when I told him mandatory use of the alarm (and subsequent need for electronic keys and aformentioned uselessness in surf) was a total dealbreaker.
They say people win an engineering bent wear both suspenders and belts, for redundancy. Before wetsuits had decent key pockets I would wear trunks under them primarily to hold the key.
Nor I know if I have that right because the facts not happened with me but with a friend, however after reading your history I have to tell this. My friend Pipo, soul surfer from long time, always entering in the big swells and always passioned by Surf. Today with more than 30 years of Surf he is owner of a store of Surf - GZero - here in Brazil and is always in some way promoting Surf in Brazil, be in the form of equipments, bringing boards of the vanguard of Hawaii, California and Australia. Helping Brazilian athletes of high performance in your trips and trainings, Participating of Trade Shows showing what there is of more modern in the Surf world being your products or not, seeking informations to his consumers and also bringing personalities from the world of Surf, such like the shapers, Pat Rawson and Dick Brewer and others as it was the case of Derek Hynd’s coming, surfer, journalist and thinker and your friend the plastic artist Mark Sutherland in recent cultural display that presented the film Litmus. It was with those two last that everything happened. Pipo decided to take those two stars of the world of Surf for catching some waves in Guarujá, close city to the place where the display happened. For such an important event it also invited a friend videomaker, Dáda, to register the event that would enter for our history. To the the beach, Pipo and Dáda parked yours cars, they got ready to fall, placing your rubberclothes, boards etc. Pipo locked your car and gave the keys for Dáda, Dáda kept them inside of your car and locked the doors and put the keys under his car. Dáda won’t still film, first he would catch some waves and later would leave to film. And they went all to the outside. After a hour of Surf, Dáda came out and…where is the car, or better the cars? Was stolen. There they were the Brazilian hosts, with two shocked foreigners, without clothes, without money, without telephones, only the boards and the clothes that used (perhaps the best went until returning for the waves).Pipo began to do contacts through public telephones and the friends of the city soon were helping them, accompanied by the Longboardsurfer Paulo Kid, Pipo went to the police station in order to register the occurrence and to generate a general alarm for search the cars, while they passed the data to the writer-policeman, it happens a rebellion of prisoners in the located chain with the police station. Shots, people to the ground, doors beating, scream general, larger madness. Pipo gets to go for the street and there other friend policeman that says the thieves that were with his car to have been hit finds. Interrogated, the thieves say where it is the luggage and all the belongings are recovered. The car suffered some damages, however the insurance paid. I hope the friends Derek Hynd and Mark Sutherland have not taken a terrible impression.
ok we all got one of these stories so here’s mine…
1989 Fort LAuderdale FLorida, yup i admit it, winter so its cold for us sunbelt wimps, and my high scholl surf bro and i get out of the water after some epic 1-2’ swell, and go up to the crappy mustang he drives like a maniac. he opens the car, starts it up so we can run the heater for the ride home, as i walk to the shower. then, he hits the power lock, and shuts the door!
there we are, in wesuits, on firday night, side of the road/strip in lauderdale across from all the bars, car running, boards on roof, even got the radio on, but no way to get in. so he goes to find a phone, and we wait for an hour while his mom comes out from the suburbs to rescue us. meanwhile, the car is running low on gas, and he’s freaking because he thinks its gonna run out. his mom gets there, in the family cruiser, and cusses us up and down, in front of the entire world.
lesson learned.
here in brazil you never leave your car open, and don’t leave anything to be seen. unless you don’t want it. in the bahamas, the key is still in the boat…
I have no car , so no missing car key story from me .
A surfing horror story ?
let’s see …
…does THIS count ???
Lip-launched , hit the bottom with the lip , got picked up again , and slammed head first into the reef.
Then , 4 hours on a boat , then fly to a Bali hospital. Wait one hour to be stitched up…83 stitches later, and raging headaches for days. Painkillers galore .
If it wasn’t for his quick-thinking mates , it could have been a LOT worse , believe it or not.
Salt Creek in the late 70’s. Stash my stuff on the beach, go surfing. Non surfing buddy decides to have a go. Puts MY key in outside wetsuit pocket and and stuffs bar of wax on top. I’m coming in, he’s going out. Tells me he has the key. No thank you I’d like it please. He tosses me the frigging keys in waist deep water! Frozen hands; the keys bounce off and sink. Other buddies dad had to come get us, my mom told me to stuff it, she’s not driving. His Dad was pissed!
