I thought this ranting was over? why must you try to stir the pot again? we all know what the attitude is towards bodyboarding. We just happen to really like it. I stood up for 12 years of my life, I still do. I enjoy the versitility of a bodyboard more than a surfboard. I find drop knee to be more difficult than surfing ten fold. And the purest form of surfing is without a board... bodysurfing. whats next??? thats right, bodyboarding. Live and let live without trying to push your beliefs on people. I appreciate all views of a wave weather it be laying down, drop knee, or standing up. Colin is trying to make a carreer which he is doing very well at only because bodyboarding dosent get the respect it deserves enough to pay its pro riders anything because of attitudes like yours. and Jay and Vicki can do whatever they want, they are Jay and Vicki. please stop and think before getting mad at me for saying these things. open mindedness is godliness. cheers! enjoy monday!

Quote Originally Posted by MDSurfer View Post
Hey, when beach rules are in place, and the waves are decent, I'll go sponging just to avoid the surfing beaches for some quality solo waves (unless Assateague is going off obvoiusly) but there is really very little comparison between sponging and real surfing. Any tourista can just lay there, and even turn a little bit, but to appreciate any really quality wave you have to see it from above the deck of a bodyboard.

Most notable to me is that when Jay Reale is in town, he's on a stand up board, and so is his wife Vicki- and they make a living off the bodyboard business. Gaemus Collins did likewise leaving the bodyboard behind. But then maybe he got shamed into a stand-up board while living in Santa Barbara. Who knows.

The question here is not so much about your preferred ride, but more about common water protocol.
1) NEVER, I mean NEVER drop in on anyone, sponge, board or even body surfer. It's just tacky. And having an "Aggro" charge-it attitude is no excuse. Drop-ins aren't cool, especially from newbies.
2) Give a wave, take a wave. Get to know each other and share take-off area. And be sure to say thanks when someone backs off for you- and then you back off for them the next time. There will always be plenty of waves to go around.
3) Respect the beach. Whatever you bring to the beach, take home from the beach, that includes half bars of wax and even the wax wrappers and especially your beer cans.
4) Respect your elders, especially if they clearly have talent in the water. You may even learn a few things from them about the break, boards, or even the sealife swimming beneath you waiting for you to fall into the water.

And now I'm thinking that I need to put together a water-ethics pamphlet to distribute through the local surf shops like the Surfing Museum does in Santa Cruz, CA. There are getting to be more and more of us all the time and there are fewer and fewer quality spots and waves to go around, so in the infamous words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"

It's supposed to be fun, not a poser hate-fest.