Troops that surf

[zach619]

Half my friends in SD are military. Its like, possibly the largest military city in the whole nation. We have Navy and Marines EVERYWHERE... But for the most part, they are chill. I think that about 50% of the young military guys who live on the coast all at least purchase a surf board and give it a try. Troops are generally fit and look for activities that push those physical limits.... So, yeah, I would say a TON of troops surf. And I think it is awesome... You should see the excitement on my friends faces as they paddle out with me after a 9 month deployment in the middle east... Its like christmas...

So for sure, Troops surf. Some guys are pretty good too. For the most part, they are not "kooks", they are just guys who ended up living and working at the beach. And they usually have quite a bit o disposable income... Most of my military buddies all have nice toys and nice boards because they live on base or whatever.

And one more note. When I was younger, I had this notion that Marines etc were these huge meathead guys that smash beer cans over their heads, take steroids and beat the sh** out of people at bars....

I think over the last 15 years or so, a lot has changed... A lot of the gerneal public is going right into the military out of high school and such, and to me, its no longer something for these action-crazy jarhead guys.... To me, whenever I see packs of Military guys, they look like KIDS to me. I mean, really. Like teenagers... Most of them can't even grow beards yet... So, my whole perception of the military has changed.... Its like, how can you get mad at some young kid for cutting you off on a 2 foot wave, when he is dedicating his life to you basically. While you were getting better at surfing the past 8 months, maybe the guys paddling next to you has been at war, protecting you and your family, and maybe thats why hes not out there busting air-reverses.....

A tip of the hat to anyone on here who is protecting us in the military.... YOu are more brave than most of us.

[Ray F.]

P.S. Sorry if I have offended anyone here, I have just had waaaayy too many bad experiences with "surfers" in the military.

Nah. Because I believe stereotypical bigotry is a characteristic of a complete tool and starting altercations with people and then threatening to call the police the actions of a totally spineless whimp, I actually feel sorry for you. I'm not offended, though.

I am curious, however.....I've been surfing for over 30 years and probably surfed VB before you were born. Am I entitled to call it my "home break"?

By the way, I apologize that my quiver doesn't fit in with your profile.

[BonerSurfs]

alright alright... My post may have been a little overboard. When I said 95% are kooks, i guess i really meant like 65%. I'm sure there are plenty of good surfers in the armed forces... But trust me, there are loads of overly macho, overly aggro kooks in the military that try to surf. Sorry, but its what I think and what I have experienced.

And like i said, I live in VB, where there is a lot of navy folk. Their sailors, simply put. And you know what they say about sailors...

Once again sorry for the people I have offended. Call me a kook, whatever, I don't care none.

And to Ray. F... You may wanna ready my post again, I'm not the one thats gonna be calling the cops, its the parents of the little kids on the beach. And if you feel that fighting over cutting someone off and having them tell you to go home is justified, well then your only proving my point. A simple "sorry won't happen again," would be more than enough... But noooo, you military folk are ready to rip someones head off on the drop of a dime.

[BonerSurfs]

And as much as I sterotype. I know there are exceptions to every rule. Like Scypher, he seems like a nice guys, and is sympathetic to my situation. And hey, I'm stoaked you got to surf all those places in Africa.

And sorry can't help myself... But nice profile pic xJohhnyUtahx...

[bones]

bonersurf (or whatever)...i'm embarrassed to have a similar user name!! just got back from iraq...definitely no surf!! good to hear from normal military surfers!! and i would never rely on 'parents' on the beach to have my back. wuss.

[bones]

but to answer the initial question, i also met, while stationed in iraq, two awesome soldiers from oregon who surf almost year-round!! although beautiful, that must be COLD water! i'm joining them in september for a little surf trip. anyone surfed oregon?? will a 3mm suit suffice?

[eatswell]

oregon sounds cold. i mean i know what the water is like in sonoma, and marin county california. might hit 60 on a good year. though i have seen a good share of people swimming in the water out there, but they usually don't stay in long. i've never seen any surfers trunking it up there. only times i've had they got out within 10 minutes.


anyway people in the service are just like anyone else. of course they have outside interests just like someone of any occupation would. be it hockey, baseball. drums, motocross, painting, boating, surfing. i used to know a lot of coast guard guys who surfed years ago, but they have since been stationed elsewhere. a lot of coasties i have talked to actually say they get so sick of the water that when they aren't working they just don't wanna be in it. same with some guys who work on boats. if i could make a good living i would love to do something that would keep me at the beach all day. i mean if a pizza place or game stand on the boardwalk paid $50000 bucks a year i would do it haha.


oh and mister boner. the guys you have encountered seemed like real jerk offs. doesn't surprise me, because MOST people in this world are jerk offs. though you really have just as good of a chance finding an a s s hole who is a doctor, lawyer, florist, fricken pizza guy in the water or anywhere as you would someone in the military. so those military folk you've encountered that were jerks were just jerks, because they are. not because they are in the military.

edit - i apologize to ray f as at first i thought it was him who was making the posts that boner was making, and i mentioned his name on accident at first. sorry about that.

[Ray F.]

alright alright... My post may have been a little overboard. When I said 95% are kooks, i guess i really meant like 65%. I'm sure there are plenty of good surfers in the armed forces... But trust me, there are loads of overly macho, overly aggro kooks in the military that try to surf. Sorry, but its what I think and what I have experienced.

And like i said, I live in VB, where there is a lot of navy folk. Their sailors, simply put. And you know what they say about sailors...

Once again sorry for the people I have offended. Call me a kook, whatever, I don't care none.

And to Ray. F... You may wanna ready my post again, I'm not the one thats gonna be calling the cops, its the parents of the little kids on the beach. And if you feel that fighting over cutting someone off and having them tell you to go home is justified, well then your only proving my point. A simple "sorry won't happen again," would be more than enough... But noooo, you military folk are ready to rip someones head off on the drop of a dime.

Once again, I'll point out how bigoted your statements are. As eastswell stated, military personnel pretty much reflect the civilian populous, so if 65% of the military people you are running into are tools, it's in direct coralation of what's going on in the public. So effectively, 65% of the public are tools...and no...I don't know what they say about sailors. Who are the "they" that are saying whatever's said? Are "they" educated people with life experience or sheltered, inappreciative brats?

By the way, I don't need to read your post again. The intent of my statement very much covered having other people call the cops to bail you out of trouble after shooting off your mouth. You make it sound like civilians in Va Beach don't snake waves. What a joke. I've had more civilians drop in on me on my life than any military. Does that mean civilians suck? No. It means that some people are out there being greedy and some are out there learning.

Did you ever consider asking the guy (without a crybaby tone) if he understood the line-up? I bet not. Based on the tone of your intial post, you probably said something whiny, without direct confrontation and the guy manned up on you. Deny it if you want,but most here will agree...we've all seen guys like you. They get their panties in a wad, paddle back to their little clique and start with the passive/aggressive behavior instead of communicating like a big boy. You know how I know? Nobody's going to say let's take it to the beach if you ask them "What happened on that wave?" and progressively work up to explaining what you think happened and how the line up works.

As far as aggro goes, if you think Va Beach is aggro, you better stay in Va Beach. I was born and raised in long Branch NJ. If it gets to the point where a dude is talking $h!t in LB, somebody's getting hit. If the cops show up, it'll be after your arse-whoopin and there's little to no military to blame it on. I've surfed FL, SC, NC, Costa Rica & CA. Va Beach is as layed back as it gets.

[zach619]

but to answer the initial question, i also met, while stationed in iraq, two awesome soldiers from oregon who surf almost year-round!! although beautiful, that must be COLD water! i'm joining them in september for a little surf trip. anyone surfed oregon?? will a 3mm suit suffice?

September will have the warmest water temps in oregon. Although the weather up there is a tad colder than CA, the september weather should be clear and dry. And once you get up around Northern CA, the water doesn't get much colder as you head north. It is all about the same cold temp all the way up into Canada. Its not warm, but its not nearly as cold as it gets in the mid atlantic. The water never gets into the 30s or anything. I dont even think it hits the mid 40s in the winter... I think it hovers around 47-50 degrees. So, that is year round surfable in a 5 mil or a good 4 mil setup...

But like I said, a 3mil in september will be perfect. You would be cold trunking it. I mean, I am cold trunking it in San Diego in August, so definately bring a wetsuit.

But the waves in Oregon are REALLY good. They are better in the winter, but if a wide WSW swell hits (its hurricane season in the fall on the west coast too ya know =)) so if that happens, all the points and reef in Oregon will wake up.... Good luck... I have family up in Coastal Oregon and Have been meaning to drive up the coast for a visit. Maybe this summer some time.... They say its beautiful up there. Real rugged coastline... Crazy treelines... My aunt and cousin moved up there from Santa Cruz cause they could afford a huge house as apposed to a shoebox in Santa Cruz....

Good luck. Since you are going to meet up with guys from there, you will score for sure. They will get you where you need to be. Have fun. Make sure to post and let us know how your trip goes in the fall.

[BonerSurfs]

Alright Alright... my statements have been pretty off kilter. In reality, I'm a kind simple minded person. In the lineup I am usually more kind than I need to be, letting people have good waves if they haven't a good one in a while, letting goofy footers snake me on bomb lefts, and not getting all up in arms when someone cuts me off. If someone does cut me off I always exlain to them what they did wrong, and what not.

However... In the past I have been cut off by many a military personel, who insist upon snaking me every chance they get, and take any wave that they can catch, basically with no reguard or knowledge of surfing ettiquete. They also insist that "I cut them off," and that was "their wave man." Happens to me probably 5 or 6 times every summer. And virtually all of those times, the navy dude cutting me off is the one with the bad attitude, mouthing off to me. At this point is when I will tell them they have no buisness being out here, and tell them to go home. At which point they always want to fight.

Secondly, you guys calling me a wuss. Well that doesn't bother me one bit. I was a black belt when I was 13 and have continued to study wing chun, and jeet kun do until the present day (ya, straight up bruce lee ****). Yaaa.. go ahead and laugh it up if you want, most of you military folk do. But I assure you, I can more than hold my own in a fight. And call it a superiority complex, but when someone muscle milk drinking, agressive navy guy wants to fight me, I take pride in the fact that I will give this guy a run for his money. In all my years of sparring, I've learnt that its the smaller more agile guys that kick the most ass, big weight lifter types, though very strong, are usually to slow for their own good. However, all this being said, something that has been drilled in my head since I can remember is to avoid fighting at all costs. You will never catch me swinging first, and I try to diffuse confrontation if at all possible. Hence, me pointing out the parents that would call the cops on the drop of a dime.

And to Ray, for inciting that I'm a "sheltered, unappreciative brat, with little life experience." Well your barking up the wrong tree man.