Read a few articles in a sailing world magazine today and they talked about surfing leashes. Why? i have no idea. Whenever i hear the words leash and surfing in the same sentence there always seems to be a debate.
I guess my question is, whats the matter with leashes? People seem to be very opinionated on this and ive wondered why. Im not looking to spark a debate, just learn what the debate is about.
Angus
Accountability.
And laziness, along with a lack of skill.
I’m very curious as to why a sailing mag would pay any attention to leashes?
Solo sailor, man overboard!
With the popularity of the current stand-up paddleboat craze, sailboaters are now eyeing the lineup and considering the possibilities…
they keep the unskilled from killing me in the water.
Surfing leash for man overboard? Nothing like being pitched overboard then being dragged behind the boat by your ankle.
I think it goes around your waist, but we can hope for the former.
rezhead…
i heard the sea lions are going to get leashes for there sups !
herb
no bill,
a slipknot leash around the neck…oops …does anyone know c.p.r. ?
herb
For the OP, this subject has been discussed many times, but to summarize: the oldest among us learned to surf before leashes. We remember lineups that were less populated with the unskilled and unfit. Without leashes, you had to swim (often a long way in cold water). Those who were not fit or who tended to lose control of their boards did not venture far from the safety of the beginner’s break. There was also the further deterrent of having your board dinged or destroyed on the rocks.
As a result, one learned to surf in a more controlled way. You learned to assess situations very quickly and decide whether to kick-out, or straighten off and prone it out. Nobody does those things very much anymore. Today, everyone just goes for it and their board cuts a 20’ radius swath on the end of the leash as they go down.
I think there was less stupid behavior in the lineup pre-leash because you couldn’t take chances on a mix-up. People were very much aware of each other’s location and line, as a matter of safety. It used to be an unforgivable offense to be in the way of someone’s take-off. Happens all the time now. Also, it used to be that when paddling out, you would make sure to avoid placing yourself directly behind anyone else paddling out. Or, vice versa you wouldn’t cross in front of someone paddling behind you. Today, people seem completely unaware of this.
Yes, boards were lost, riders collided, riderless boards collided. How dangerous was it without leashes? Overall, I don’t think it was more dangerous, possibly less. But, all that changed a long time ago and there is no going back.
I got a scar for life w leash(cut my ear lobe). That’s the main problem. But for the most part leash coord is pretty safe. When I had my accident I had caught five or six perfect waves - had to catch more - dropping in late I got whomped! Came up -saw the tail end coming right at my face and I turned my head and my fin whacked me in the
Ear…I saw blood caught a wave in - went to er rm and I think I was lucky! A sharp fin can kill. I might even dull the rear fins a bit for safety. People get blinded, I met a cool surfer chick while surfin Santa Cruz - she showed me a scar around four inches around her calf! So if ya get dunked be on guard if ya use a leash coord!
You are spot on!!!
Tsimpson pretty much nailed it. I often see posts from people making the arguement about how leashes are for other’s safety.
In the days before leashes, we learned how to be safe in the water. We needed to be able to swim back shore if we lost our board. We needed to know how to paddle out to avoid getting in other riders way, or getting run over by a loose board. We learned to always keep our eyes out towards the ocean to keep from getting hit by waves or anything carried in by a wave. We never sat inside in the lineup where we could get run over when the waves came in. We learned how to bodysurf better, and our friends learned to go in and retrieve our boards before they ended up on the rocks. We surfed in pairs or small groups more than they do these days. We always looked after each other.
Today people don’t think about safety, and blame everyone else for their ignorance. They have their backs to the ocean and wade in the shallows like bowling pins waiting to be knocked down. Surfers with leashes don’t care about where they paddle out, they don’t care if the can’t make a wave, or paddle through a wave because they can just bail out and let their board become a dangerous weapon for anyone inside of them. Too many people are out surfing where they don’t belong because the leash will keep them from loosing their board.
What started out as a way to protect your board from rocky shorelines has become a real problem. It changed surfers from being complete watermen to just board riders.
Tsimpson and sharkcountry: yep second that. I learned to surf in the pre-leash days, and have to agree pretty much on all counts. One thing I kinda miss too is that getting someone’s board or vice versa was a good way to smooth things over if there had been some friction in the water.
I also learned well before the leash came along. Another casualty of the leash is the fine art of the kickout. There was a time when you could spot a skilled surfer by the way they ended a ride. A smooth, efficient kickout that flowed into paddling without missing a beat. Variations of the basic move sometimes became a person’s signature, in a way. Reverse kickouts, flyaways, tail stomps, etc.
These days, it seems few people even bother to learn it. I bet 99% of the self appointed experts who give lessons never bother teaching the suckers who pay them how to do an effective kickout. We have come to the point where most beginners and even intermediate surfers simply jump off the tail and expect the leash to do its thing. I call them leash cripples.
There’s one spot in my town where we try to discourage leashes on days under waist high. I will often ask some stranger what the thing around their ankle is for, on those days. Most of the time, they give a stock answer and I tell them they should take up golf if they need a leash when it’s this small.
If you wouldn’t be out at a given spot under certain conditions were it not for your leash, then you shouldn’t be out, at all. The only legitimate exception is spots that break in front of boulders or man made structures in the water.
I have been really tempted to buy a dive knife that straps to my calf. I would use it to cut peoples’ leashes, sometimes.
One cannot ride a log properly with a leash.
Indeed.
Am I the only one who shaped a board today while all of you were beating this dead horse???
are those the fusion plugs or the new FCS2 plugs? been meaning to try out the new FCS2 system and makeup a couple of masonite jigs.
and they covered the surfing leash in sailing world because of trap harnesses. They are used when its too windy to hike the boat flat. Your bodyweight rakes the mast (you essesntially become a human sidestay) so much so that the sails pocket gets smaller, as well as the additional weight over the rail flattens the boat out. Its similar to a climbing harness just a different application.
They compaired trapping to leashes because of the saftey factors. Poeple (wimps) are now saying trapping is too dangerous for competition, and should be banned in the US sailing rules. Same thing with non-coat gaurd approved lifejackets. A slimmer lifejacket that floats you the same way a PFD would, the only difference is its approved in every other country around the world, just not the US. If you cant swim well, if you cannot be safe out on the trap wire, you shouldnt be sailing in the first place!
This is why they compaired leashes to trapping. As noted in this thread, people were just more concious and safer pre-leash days. Same goes for trapping, you better know how to be safe and how to handle yourself BEFORE you get out there and do something dangerous and stupid.
Thanks for the info on leashes. Next time i go out ill ditch the cord and see how i faire
Angus-
