This Aggression will not stand, man!

General Discussion
1

This isn’t purely design related, but I’ve been thinking about a story my wife told me the other day about a guy she met at work. She works in an internet cafe, and so gets to meet lots of travellers from all over the world. Lots of surfers come through, and she met a guy from Santa Cruz, and they got talking about surfing here vs. other places and the various local scenes and the vibe in the water. The guy was pretty much a learner, he had just started surfing a few months earlier but was born and raised a few blocks from the water in SC. The guy told a story about being hassled, screamed at, and generally abused by other surfers in the water, even had a guy follow him onto the beach and yell at him about not being a “local” and to stay the hell away from the beach, etc. Thankfully the guy told his agressor to #$^% off and didn’t let it discourage him from paddling out again. I don’t know the full story about the incident, maybe he was getting in the way or dropping in or some other thing, but that kind of crap is totally uncalled for. I understand that the surfing population of Santa Cruz has probably tripled or quadrupled in the past few years, but that’s totally over the line.

I grew up surfing in North Carolina on the outer banks and I’ve since taken trips of California several times, Baja, I’ve surfed all over New Zealand on both islands and I’ve never, NEVER, had that type of confrontation in the water. I always try my best to surf with respect and give others waves, but I’ve wondered how I would react if I was confronted like that guy was. What I came up with was-as a surfer, as long as you surf with respect and in harmony with others, you have EVERY RIGHT to surf wherever you want, as long as your skills are up to the spot. I’ve promised myself to never let anyone tell me whether or not I should be allowed to surf at their spot, I believe that the ocean should be the ONLY deciding factor as to who is allowed out and who isn’t. Localism and scare tactics only work if people allow them to work. Once you show that you’re not afraid, and won’t be intimidated by primate bluffing and false-charging, you’ll generally be left alone. I’ve often wondered what would happen if you rounded up a group of “heavy locals” from say, Palos Verdes, and forced them to paddle out at Pipeline or Seaside or some other heavy local spot. It would be great to get together some kind of travelling group of surfers to surf all of the heavily localized spots, one after the other, and paddle out no matter what the misguided fools on the beach and in the water say or try to do. (A big, scary pigdog to guard the vehicles probably wouldn’t be a bad idea in that situation.) Surfing is a dance, sometimes it’s a waltz and other times it’s a mosh but it’s always too beautiful to be polluted by ego, greed, and selfishness.

2

As long as you are kind and considerate in your travels you should blend in well with the locals. But there are instances when only confrontation can be met with confrontation. I’ve lived in San Diego my entire life born and raised at Bird Rock, 1/2 mile from Windnsea. I get in more hassles at Windnsea than any place on the planet. That includes any break on the North Shore or North Cal.

I mean usually you can deal with most people. Last week end I had a guy drop in on me, then when he was paddling back out in front of me, he bails his board instead of duck diving it on a 8 ft face wave…almost hit me in the chops with his board. I just laughed it off and told him that he should learn to hold on to his board. He got all pissed off? It’s like if some one tells you what proper etiquite is, your showing them up.

I’m just trying to have fun, and not get hurt from some inconsiderate clown.

-Jay

3

I think I might have had one instance of losing my cool. it was down at corpus christi. I was down their on spring break (one of my usual spots… locals know me well and like me). I pulled up to the beach about noon. kinda flat. really crowded. i waited till waves picked up and paddled out. said “hey” to the locals I knew and found a nice spot in the line up. not too close, good cushion room. then, some kids paddled out about 100 meters away. they didnt realize there was a cross-current and got pushed basically right behind me.

I can see a good set coming so I get ready. right as im paddling in, one of the kids paddled in to the wave near the whitewater. still laying down, he pulled the nose and made a beeline for me. at this point im scared as shit cuz i saw the logo on his board… it was a rock hard BIC rental…SHIT!

I bailed off my board and right as his boards nose is about to have a dinner date with my teeth, I grabbed the nose and pushed down and away so he doesn’t knock me out. Kid loses his balance and falls and subsequently takes the washing machine ride. when he surfaces he looks for me then shouted out enough profanities to make jerry springer blush. I ignored him. I stayed out a while longer hoping these prepubescent punks would just leave… I hate arguing with kids… they just dont get it.

so, I came in after about an hour. I set by board up against my car and went over to the pavilion to rinse myself off. when I get back to my car I see the punk and his friends hitting my board with driftwood. I flipped out.

I started running after him and his friends. they all started running and I as I was coming up on one of them (who was carrying a boogie board, i noticed the 4’ leash hanging down… i stomped the leash which caused the board to be ripped out from under his arms. I picked it up and held it over my head… I told them to apologize and I would give it back… they were not going to fight me… I was easily 60 lbs heavier and a foot taller… one of the kids picked up a bottle and threw it at me… i batted it back with the boogie board.

then one of the kids tried to charge me… right as he started running…

“HEY! STOP!”

the kid froze, i turned around and its the cops. the police sat us all down and wanted to know what was going on. the kids started telling a BS story about how I attacked them. The cops were talking to me about assault charges…

that’s when about 10 locals stepped over and confirmed my story to them (they had all been watching the whole time) the kids were all sat down and had their hands zip tied together then their parents called. parents showed up about 10 mins later and shouting at me… cops calmed them down and gave them their kids back…

after all the chaos, locals asked me if I wanted to go out to a party that night… party was awesome, also found out that I was now a hero because those kids cause trouble all the time. not to mention drinking WAY underage and littering the beach. Lucky the cops showed up when they did… any later and I would have pounded that kid into a pulp. and the cops comended me saying I did the right thing to not hit them.

So, moral of the story? ALWAYS be nice to the locals… never know when you might need them to back you up.

although still pissed about it… put a nice sized ding in a 8’ funboard I bought a few weeks prior to the tragedy. had to patch it up… have given the board to my little brother since then… couldnt stand looking at the ding… 1" - 1.5" deep, 4" wide on the right rail 30" up from the tail.

one positive that came out of this… after I gave up on the funshape I couldnt afford a new one so I said to myself… hey, why dont I make one?.. looked up info on how to do it, got a blank from Sfoam, and the guy referred me to swaylocks if I needed help… so really, this is the story of how I joined sway’s… never bought a board since… “subway sandwich” theory… make it the way I like it.

4
Quote:
It would be great to get together some kind of travelling group of surfers to surf all of the heavily localized spots, one after the other, and paddle out no matter what the misguided fools on the beach and in the water say or try to do.

Why don’t you do this instead: get a bunch of guys together and travel around to all the playground basketball courts where guys are having serious games. Even though there are already people playing on the court, just barge in and start playing anyway. What kinds of reaction do you think you’d get? Do you think the reaction would be justified? I thought so.

So why on hell do you think it’s ok for people to paddle out into a lineup that has already reached capacity? Do you really think “everyone has the right to surf wherever they want whenever they want” is safe? Do you think anyone will have any fun or have any sort of meaningful communion with the ocean in such conditions?

I’m not a big enforcer type local. But I see some benefit to that type of behavior. It thins the lineup and controls the one that is already there. The pecking order makes sense. We’re all safer that way.

5

This heavy duty localism really cheeses me off.

My local beach (Cronulla, Occys origin) is majorly crowded but it is pretty mellow in regards to aggro.

Most people know the rules, even the imports and they stick to them.

Places where there is the “locals only” mentality really suck.

Here is a story that really takes the cake.

A few years ago I was in Bali having a few beers at the Tubes bar when I bump into a friend from back home.

He looked a bit freaked out and told us how earlier that day he was at Belungan and paddled out to an empty surfbrake when these big guys (of yanky origin) came out of a hut on the beach paddled over to him and started

pushing his board underwater, threatening to beat him up because “this was their beach”. This guys is pretty small and skinny so he didn’t stand a chance even though he is a good surfer.

Man this was in Bali. They were tourists themnselves. The local Balo’s don’t act like that they are usually happy

to share THEIR waves with you. (as long as your not a dick head)

These guys were so messed up they would rather see the waves there be unridden than have someone else ride them. Like it was up to them anyway. I’d like to see them try that on a Balo and see how long they lasted in the Bali.

cheers

JD

6

yeah… that type of “locals ONLY” mentality makes me want to glass in a brass knuckles holder into the deck of my board…

7
Quote:

The guy told a story about being hassled, screamed at, and generally abused by other surfers in the water, even had a guy follow him onto the beach and yell at him about not being a “local” and to stay the hell away from the beach, etc. Thankfully the guy told his agressor to #$^% off and didn’t let it discourage him from paddling out again.

Usually these stories are missing an essential element.

Like the guy in a Honda Forum I frequent ,showed a pic of his car after the most incredibly destructive key job (scratching) to his paint job that I’ve seen in a long time.

These stories always omit their own transgressions and screw jobs they did to someone else that could explain

the whole situation.

8

the easiest way to thin out a line up is lie about shark stories

i swear it works

get an old board and fake a bite mark in it

or tell a story of seeing a GW biting a seal in half

start calling the break “sharkies”

or deaths peak

or bloodstain

youd be surprised the difference a little Bulshit can make

i dunno about agro thing though

it doesnt happen to me but seems to go on around me bit

usually happens to kooks but is usually a kook being agro as well

usually laughing about it with a few of the old crew can lighten things up a bit

9
Quote:

you have EVERY RIGHT to surf wherever you want, as long as your skills are up to the spot. I’ve promised myself to never let anyone tell me whether or not I should be allowed to surf at their spot, I believe that the ocean should be the ONLY deciding factor as to who is allowed out and who isn’t.

Hmm, Your skills must be “up to the spot” then. Of course, that would be in your own personal opinion. The locals at a particular spot might think differently. When I surf my local break, (Pleasure Point, in Santa Cruz) I usually have to dodge a few morons riding straight at my head each session. It has gotten bad enough these days that I have started to seriously consider buying a helmet because of the danger of having a surfboard and 1-3 sharp fins raked across my head scares me. People that are not considerate of the other surfers in the water (drop ins, paddling in the wrong areas etc…) are dangerous to everyone else in the water. People that misjudged there own ability and think that the are “up t o the spot” when they are not (clearly the local surfers, who mind you are usually of a considerable skill level, can and will be a judge of this) are extremely dangerous. Every time I have to dodge a flying board, get hit by a board, have damage done to my own board because of other surfers incompetence… I hear the same thing… sorry bro… sorry bro…??? What’s that supposed to mean? When you drive your bike through a bunch of people on the sidewalk, and maim someone, does a simple “sorry bro” suffice? When people on longboards take off outside the main pack of shortboarders, (because they can) and the proceed to go over the falls, or “make” the takeoff, only to narrowly miss a couple surfers… what do you think is going to happen? everyone is going to amp the guy up and ask him to do it again? When a surfer is going down the line only to have his wave ruined by several people “taking their turn” … how do think people are going to react? Whenever I travel to other places be it with friends or alone, I have never experienced anyone yelling at me if I was riding the correct equipment for the spot (sorta simple logic- if everyone is riding shortboards, thats probably a good call?) …Though I have witnessed inexperienced surfers being called out of the water at other spots. SO I would have to say that personally I think it has more to do with inexperience than localism. I mean, come on people, how often do you see a local “shredder” screaming at an out of town “shredder”? Doesn’t happen. But we see local “shredders” yelling at inexperienced surfers everyday. Tell you something? Perhaps when a bunch of guys are telling you to split it means you did something wrong? -Carl

10

Going back to my original post-as I said, I didn’t know the whole story and perhaps the guy really did do something like drop in, etc. I totally agree that the rules of surfing must be followed, at all times. However, yelling and screaming won’t accomplish anything useful.

Marabout-Come on mate, obviously I wasn’t saying invading crowded lineups was what we should do, I said surfing respectfully and using good etiquitte was called for, mainly to show the enforcer types that the only right to regulate belongs to the ocean, and that intimidation tactics shouldn’t be tolerated. Obviously showing up with 5 guys to a crowded reefbreak with a tight takeoff spot will only make things worse. However, to me every surfer has the right, earned through experience, to paddle out and surf at any spot that they’re capable of handling. If you’re causing problems and presenting a danger to others, then obviously you shouldn’t be out there, however in my experience the waves will usually sort out the lineup on their own, with the better surfers using their knowledge and experience to get the most out of what’s on offer. There’s nothing wrong with showing wayward surfers the right path, but it’s important to teach people what they did wrong rather than just outright dismissing them. Learning proper etiquette is part of being a good surfer.

11

another way is for every local to adopt his or her kook

get together and decide which shredder gets which kook to adopt

they can be nice and give a bit of guidance

suggest where to sit

where to paddle out

and give them encouragement and an introduction to surfjing etiquett

so called shredders that go round getting agro on a regular basis

dont achieve anything except making everyone else unhappy.

just cuz someone stole there wave

boo hoo poor babies

someone took my wave i think ill have a tantrum

any dick can use snake tactics

some of us just choose not too.

there was this guy that used the old competition paddle in front and fade to the inside

snake move .he was doing it for weeks and it is a legitamate move.

thinking i was less experienced and therefore he could snake me

the reality was that i was just more relaxed and grew up with those tactics and are quite over it.

and you cant expect people to respect you for it

i decided that me and a friend would just follow him round the line up and do it to him every time

needless to say that he stopped doing it to me

adopt a kook today

12

The locals only attitude is what really gets me…I understand that locals should be respected, and should generally be able to catch good waves at their home break…but what is the harm in me catching a wave or two? I am not disrepectful, I don’t drop in on people(at least not on purpose) and I am pretty mellow…

It reminds me of one particular story…My brother, sister and i were surfing a break in New England, in the summer. It is about 3 foot and glassy, super small but fun. This break has some nasty locals, who think they are they wolfpak. although, they are doing alot of protecting of a break that is never crowded, rarely more than 5-6 guys out at a time, even on good days(which are few…trust me). But me and my brother surf for awhile, and some of the local kids start getting aggro, droping in on us, yelling locals only, and generally acting like highschoolers. My brother, who is high school age, decides that he is over it, so the two of us decide to drop our boards on shore and he is gonna skim a little. I am just hanging out on the beach. We look over, and see the high school kids throwing rocks at our boards!! We run down the beach, and there is about 4 of them. They are all little punks, except for the leader,who is probably 6 foot or so. We ask them what their deal is, and they start threatening to beat us up. My brother and I aren’t about to fight over some little punks, but they won’t leave us alone. So we decide to just go back to skimming. Now, my sister is in the water surfing some little sandbar by herself, she is a little older than these kids, and minding her own business. Next thing we know the kids are harassing her. My brother wasn’t too happy, he is protective of his older sister, and I wasn’t so happy either. We tried to avoid confrontation all day, but starting trouble with our sister isn’t gonna fly. So we paddle back out and tell them to back off. They talk a bunch of sh$t, and start physically getting pretty aggro, pushing my sister’s board and such. So I tell her to paddle in, and she goes, me and my brother paddle in too. The kids of course follow. When we get to the beach, the kids are pushing my brother, who is about 5’9, and pretty skinny. Not menacing looking, but he works out daily and doesn’t take crap. He is handling himself well, not getting worked up, when they start with the comments on my sister. That was it…he lost it. He unhooked his leash, handed his board to me really calmly, and looked the big guy straight in the eye. He told him that if he wanted to fight, they were gonna fight. Big guy starts talking sh$t, and my bro is still calm. He has got that look in his eye…so they big guy shoves him, and my brother swings from his heels. Catches the guy in the jaw, busts his lip open, knocks him to the ground. Big guy stays down. My bro asks who else wants to fight. No takers…the punks go home, we paddle back out and catch some fun waves. Good family fun! Its just a shame that sometimes it has to go that far.

13

well, I see it’s the same thing all over the world…

In May I went surfing with a friend of mine, my sister and a friend of her. Here, near Genova, Italy, May is the best period for surfing: nice and frequent windswells, not-so-cold water and sun! so you really enjoy staying in the water, even if it’s a little bit crowded.

That day we reached the beach (wich is in front of the village’s main road) by car about 10 in the morning, and we parked near some other guys’ car who arrived from Milano, about 150 km away. We started talking and we went to the water together.

So, there was nobody else in the water but the six of us. Some skilled surfers, some not. But we had a good time together. About half an hour later showed up two guys who reached us on the lineup. They were pretty good, and they were locals - I had already seen them there surfing or just walking in the streets of the village.

After a while they began punching the water and yelling things like “it smells like shit to me, must be the outsiders” or “shall we let them sink or beat them?”. Nothing more, we were six, and -exept for the two girls- all tall about 6ft.

I personally -since I’m not very good- try not to iget in the way of other surfers, I often leave the waves on wich I have pririty to others, since they seem more good.

And that day I did the same, we didn’t want to fight so we let them do their thing without interfacing.

They finally went away yelling against us…

We surfed, and at some point the guys from Milano had to go away. After few minutes they came back and told us to reach the cars.

Their car had a side window broken, and their wallets and car radio were missing.

Our car had the front window broken. Nothing was missing, but I assure you that going back home was really cold.

The session was over. We took our stuff and went to the police to tel them what happened.

I wrote what happened to an italian surfsite and also told the whole thing to a friend of mine who is a journalist. She wrote an article on the genova’s newspaper.

A month or so later a guy I know that surfs there - and knows the locals - told me that these guys were arrested by the police for damaging a surfers’ car parked there…

Hi hi hi. I was pretty satisfied.

14

this is a tough topic.

i don’t agree with aggression towards others, but there are several spots that i know i have paddled out to, thinking i could handle it. only to find out there are currents, or submerged rocks, or other hazards you can’t see from the beach.

personally, have only been hassled once or twice, and never been enough to remember. it seems to me the places that have a so called ‘scene’ are the one to avoid, which is only common sense to me.

deadman’s in san francisco has a heavy local crowd. a friend and i paddled out there one day, me on a longboard. we were out for about an hour sharing waves with whomever was there already, when some other guys paddled out and started back paddling, shoulder hopping etc. not knowing who was who out there my friend and i kept our mouths shut and waited for a wave. next thing we know there are 4 guys fighting in the water. and 2 other guys trying to grab the newest arrivals boards. the newbies basically got ran off, almost drowned, and some serious damage to their boards. meanwhile, we were left alone, even hooted at. i don’t blame these guys for being the aggressors that day, and if they had come over to us and said, ‘hey you don’t belong out here on a long board,’ what am i gonna say? that place is sketchy at best, so maybe they’d be right to cull the crowd.

mushy beach breaks are another story. a spot where anyone can catch waves easily, and presents no danger than other surfers/swimmers - which is another problem. most of the spots i have been to, have specific peaks - unwritten of course - where the beginners go, and the better people go. even here in brazil it’s the same. i don’t know who set this up, maybe it is just common sense like, "hmmm those guys are good, i better go down the beach here a little bit… " common sense is your friend.

surfing is bigger than ever, and is still getting media coverage. it is going to get worse before it gets better, and you can gaurantee that anytime you get a large group of people together is a small environment, there will be flare ups.

15

Hey,

I was just reading that book, “Tuesdays with Morrie” its an awesome book to say the least. Anyways, there’s a part in that book where morrie says “people become mean when they feel threatened” I personally think that these aggro jerks don’t really mean to be a-holes they just feel threatened and act it out out of ignorance or not knowing how to deal with a certain situation (this is why alot of old people seem to be more chill out in the water, they’re wiser).

A way to deal with this behavior is to act calmly to the aggressor and talk to him/her in a rational and understanding manner. I don’t think that localism is justified in any sense. But I also don’t think that dropping in on anyone is the way to go either. There must be balance and compromise.

That said, I remember surfing 41’st jetty in newport with a couple of my friends and this kid comes to the jetty and starts mouthing off that he knows every local on the beach and that he’ll get them to beat down anyone that steals his wave. Then he starts stealing people’s waves! then just starts mouthing off again. My friends and I taunt him, hoping he would leave but he was a crass lil’ bugger and was just ruining it for everyone. I was at the verge of drowning this kid. My friends and I almost pounded him to the ground when we were all on the shore. but then he left still spewing profanities. I found out a few days later tht this kid was on meds and he just forgot to take them that day. I felt stupid. I should have been more understanding and just ignored the kid. Today when someone starts pounding their chest like a silver back, I just ignore them and they get the idea.

Rio

16

The key points float to the surface…

Abilities up to the spot

Respect

Self-awareness.

Some guys just aren’t ever going to be self-aware. Egos forever better than skills. Sometimes, they do need to be told. And if telling doesn’t work, and they’re endangering others, you’ve got to go to yelling.

I’ve never had to yell, myself, but I’ve paddled over & had a quiet talk with people many times.

Another big factor is the number of people who paddle out. I’ve never had a problem entering a lineup alone. Westside Santa Cruz, H Bay on Maui, Trestles…surfed 'em all, many times. Alone is key.

You surf enough, you notice a few things about people. Locals, valleys, kooks…all the same in some ways. One guy paddles out, he stays quiet, even if his friends are already there, maybe some hellos, maybe even a deep conversation lasting through many sets.

Two guys paddle out together, they might stick together, might even try to block for each other a little, but its pretty low key.

3 or more paddle out together and its almost always bad behavior. All 3 become loudmouths, even if you’ve known 'em for years and they’re not like that. You can fill a lineup with 20 people and as long as they all arrived in ones & twos, everything can work. But a group of 3 changes everything. Dunno why, but its real.

Carl, I was surfing second point one day and some stone-faced gray haired grump was seriously dogging me. You know the drill, he’s only after me, trying to silently ruin my day so I’ll leave.

First time he drops in, he left a little space so I didn’t say anything but made sure to catch his eye paddling back out so he saw how close I was.

Second drop in, he’s fading me back so I said something. He just fades more until I’m in the foam ball. We’re both leashless on 10’+ equipment. No fun.

Third time, I’m trying to grab under his board & tip him and he’s actively trying to knock me off. This sucks.

4th time, he drops in & fades me again and I stepped off my board, onto his behind him, and held his waist.

We both fall, our boards head to shore, he’s spitting mad. He hasn’t made any eye contact with me nor said a word since the first wave. He comes up shouting at me, sputtering, saying crap like, “That’s not how we do things here!” all kinds of profanity…

I just told him, “You were getting so close, I thought you wanted to tandem. Sorry :)”

We swam in to get our boards. He stayed a few more waves, but left me alone from then on.

17

Hey Benny,

I agree with you completely, but I can’t explain it. When alot of people come in they get the most harrassment. Its weird. I’ve seen it happen and I didn’t realize it until my buddy wouldn’t paddle out with us at one time then he told me about this and I thought “yeah right” but for some reason it happens. I can’t explain it at all.

Rio

18

Having a short board sometimes lets you do things like go behind go under go around or just fly by them at mach7.

I’ve seen the pros like Kaipo Jacquias just blow by and weave their way through a pack of 50 beginneres at whiteplains like there was no one else in the water…

Sometimes coming at someone a 100 miles an hour on a twin nose four finned gemini is enough to scare some one and if not a major cutback going full speed on anything at the last minute sends enough spray to knock anyone off keel. I saw Fred Pataccia Sr knock someone doing the exact same thing off his board just with the spray his 250+ lbs generated off a cutback on his 10’ at chuns… But the key is being in 110 percent control of what ever your riding no matter what so you can pull all these stunts like Mr Dora did in his day… That takes alot of practice and confidence in your gear. I know guys that can casually parry(?) their longboard in front of kook’s faces like they were on the fencing team that kind of skill is amazing…

One trick I’ve always fantasied about is the about to just air over someone letting them look at the bottom of my board as I fly over and by someone pulling stunts like that. A couple of those and I think the hardiest of crew would have to think twice.

I know guys that can do it I wish I could… But they can surf in major crowds just like there’s none one else out working their way around every obstacle and challange that they confront and just finding a way around it and more importantly never saying a word just exuding total confidence in their ability… But that takes a lot of talent and the ability to turn on a dime and generate instantaneous speed from your board no matter where you are… Alot of pros seem to be able to do this…

Oh by the way

there is no call for any hostility in the water at all…

self policing by the pack is sometimes needed if there’s a crazy person out trying to hurt others…

Like some one once said…

when did surfing become one person per wave?

Surfing’s a either a communal or solo event not a fashion show where models have to strut their stuff one at a time down the runway.

Sometimes just paddling out and talking story all morning on the outside with the crew cheering on others with out catching a single wave is worth the effort or the frustration of fighting with the pack to “get yours”…

The waves are there to be joyously shared

19

Interesting story for you.

Last August, the weekend before school started, we had our usual influx of teenage surfers at Pipe. (Ventura Pipe). Crowds were pretty heavy and the aggression level was fairly elevated. Kids uptight about going back to school and the older crew annoyed with the lack of respect from the kids. Anyway, I recognize one of the older guys that I’ve seen there on and off since the 80’s, catch a few decent rides on his nine footer. Four kids paddle out on shortboards and sit right on him. I mean the guy is literally surrounded so he paddles north a few yards to get some elbow room. One shaggy headed kid paddles inside of him and takes the next wave, turns around and paddles back inside of the local. WTF??? The kid’s a good surfer so he has to know what he’s doing, right?!?!?!?!?! The old guy paddles over a few more yards and the punk decides to drop in on him. What the hell is going on here? The guy calls the kid off the wave and gets a hardy Fu$K Y*U with a firm middle finger for exclamation. Now, everyone on the peak is watching to see what happens next. To the guy’s credit, he just shakes his head and paddles back out. Guess what the kid did? Yep, paddled inside of him a third time! This time it’s a no brainer, guy drops in on the punk, stalls and fades him into the foamball. Poof! end of ride for Punky Brewster! Unfortunately, the kid has a mouth like a drunken sailor and is not afraid to use it. He must have growled F You! in the guys face at least a dozen times. See, the problem here is the kid is obviously underage and he knows it. He knows that nobody over 18 can touch him and uses that to antagonize people. I imagine he will have a very rude awakening soon enough.

So, back to the story. The two get into a really heated arguement with the older guy yelling that he has no problem pounded the S#!t out of little punky brewster when a set comes rolls through and calms everyone down. The kid finally paddled away but kept talking S#!t loud enough to keep our attention. That was the final straw, the older guy kept paddling inside of the kid until he pushed him out of the peak. He never said a word during that time but after about four waves the kid didn’t have a chance to catch a single wave. Finally he gave up and paddled in. Cussing the whole way.

Similar situations happen here all the time. The place is easily accessable and anyone basically has a right to surf here. Unfortunately, not everyone has respect for the other person and in some cases these knuckleheads are just downright idiots with confrontational attitudes. Fortunately, age, cleverness and treachery can outweigh the stupidity of young attitudes and fearlessnes. But don’t get me wrong, this is not just an age issue. There are plenty of adults out here that pull the same stupid stunts. I just chose to share this particular story because of the way the older guy handled the situation. He did not allow himself to be drawn into a potentially expensive legal battle and instead used his noggin and knowledge of the break to force the the kid out of the lineup.’

I am still impressed.

20

Then there are the “angry beginners.”

AB1 paddles out at a tight, shallow, pitching peak. Sits exactly in the wrong place about 30 feet down the line looking like he/she is going to try for “inside” waves (anything down the line will be occupied).

Me: say, are you planning on going left?

AB: I’ll decide when I catch a wave.

Me: Well, this is a left and it’s pretty critical. Are you just starting?

AB: I can surf.

Me: Well, my suggestion is if you don’t know how to surf, you move over there (point), or over there (point the other way)

AB: I’ll do whatever I want

Two feet of soup approaching. AB2 is about 15 feet closer to wave and to my left. Just as the whitewater gets to her, she ditches her longboard IN MY DIRECTION! I see the board coming, bail, and don’t get hit.

Me: Hey, a little advice…hold onto your board. That thing was heading right to…

AB2: Don’t tell me what to do.

Me: Just giving you some friendly advice. I don’t want to get hit by…

AB2: (Really pissed) I SAID don’t tell me what to do

ME: I’m trying to be nice about it…

AB2: Oh F-U!! – paddles off to report me to a companion.

Makes one want to revolt.