Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You

[yankee]

The last thread I started, I was alternately pummeled and ..... pummeled.

Whatever. Gotta luv democracy in action, right Lee...?

So here's my question:

if you are sitting, waiting for waves, minimal lateral movement for whatever reason & here comes a set....you start paddling & yes, this is a good one & yes you're right where you want to be....but all of a sudden, the SUP guy who has been trolling further out, back & forth he goes 30-40 yards at a time, pushes in to where you are & steps right into that wave & you have to bail or else you're going to drop in on his arse.....

Am I missing something here ?

I always thought the term for this behavior was 'snaking' the lineup. Like, if a guy on a surfboard did this he'd pay a price. However, I see it happen all the time with SUP pilots. And no one says, or does, anything.

And, yes, it really pissed me off. To the point where I'm actively thinking that next time screw him, I'm going & if he has a problem with it after we collide he can deal with my straight right to the beak.

I'm not kidding. I can back it up.

But, maybe I am out of it ? What is your opinion here...?

Is snaking, snaking ?? Or are SUP guys exempt because they have this mobility that puts them in the wave so quickly ?

[zach619]

that is a grey area. There are multiple lineups, and in order to be a part of one, you ahve to lineup next to the people, so they guys with bigger boards will always be in position, and unless you can go that far out with a shortboard, they WILL AND CAN paddle past you in the lineup because you are "Inside" with regards to their position... Longboarders do the same thing. And i can't get too mad at them, cause the right spot for their take off is a long further out... So when I really get pissed about it, I run back home, grab the long board, paddle out and get the inside position, thus getting waves in front of them all day. You can only fight fire with fire... Cause to be a part of the lineup, you have to be in position. So you cant ask an SUP guy to sit on the inside where you are lining up... That is not their lineup... but out of respect, they should give you some... I would talk to the guy... Just say look man, if you are going to take off on every way, its only a matter of time before you collide with us. How about after you ride into the inside, you let us go and we share... jsut be civil. you are both right.

[yankee]

that is a grey area. There are multiple lineups, and in order to be a part of one, you ahve to lineup next to the people, so they guys with bigger boards will always be in position, and unless you can go that far out with a shortboard, they WILL AND CAN paddle past you in the lineup because you are "Inside" with regards to their position... Longboarders do the same thing. And i can't get too mad at them, cause the right spot for their take off is a long further out... So when I really get pissed about it, I run back home, grab the long board, paddle out and get the inside position, thus getting waves in front of them all day. You can only fight fire with fire... Cause to be a part of the lineup, you have to be in position. So you cant ask an SUP guy to sit on the inside where you are lining up... That is not their lineup... but out of respect, they should give you some... I would talk to the guy... Just say look man, if you are going to take off on every way, its only a matter of time before you collide with us. How about after you ride into the inside, you let us go and we share... jsut be civil. you are both right.

That's decent, and it could work.

My issue was more with the fact that the SUP pilot was roaming up & down & barged in where I was patiently waiting. But, I do see your point.

[zach619]

Yeah, like I said, its a di** move for sure... So, he should be a lot cooler about it.

[yankee]

That's part of the issue, for sure.
A nod or some sharing goes a long way in the water, and everywhere for that matter.

[njsurfer42]

"with great power comes great responsibility." ~ spiderman


the issue w/ SUPs, in my mind, is not the fact that they can take off further out (as zach already stated, that's their line up), but the fact that they can move so quickly from one peak to another. in nj, w/ it's peaky beachbreaks, it's very easy for them to move around. even the most aggressive longboarder can't move around the same way a guy on a SUP can.
to my mind, this ability gives them the RESPONSIBILITY to be more considerate of others when sharing the line up w/ non-SUP surfers. they have to be able to empathize w/ regular surfers & think about how they would feel if the situation were reversed. just b/c your toy allows you to catch waves sooner than another's doesn't give you the right to take all the waves.

[leethestud]

thanks for the shout out yankee. The stud tells it how it is, nothing personal.

SUP... I still blame Laird

occasionally a ripper will pick one up, but in general: they are kooks. I say we corner them in the showers and tell them "its our break you yuppie scum... wait, that would be a waist of time, we are just going to f$ck you up..... (insert red hot chili peppers)

Either that or we go down to the chrystal coast where its "gnartastic" every day and like 10-15 feet. ANyone else been following those user submitted reports...?

[DaMook]

lee only Damook uses the 3rd person around here.

SUPs look like a lot of fun, but more times than not, they are being navigated by guys who can't paddle-popup-and surf. They don't know the rules or the ethics of the water.

I have discussed this with other surfers in my town that we should storm the town council meetings and propose that the SUPs have to use the kayak beaches, especially during the summer. However, the SUP epidemic has not reached a pandemic proportion just yet.

The argument would be simple-maritime rules. Any vessel propelled by a paddle x amount of feet long needs to be registered and have numbers on both sides of it. Right? It would never happen, but the moment a kid comes screaming out of the water and needs 20 stitches to close up his head would be the turning point.

[Recycled Surfer]

Most of the SUP riders where I surf are very good long and short boarders who been in the line up for a long time without the paddle. These guys are cool and pose no problems. The problem I see is the guy's who turned to SUPs because the couldn't surf. They got no clue and are a danger to everyone - true Kooks. Most of the time they know the suck and stay out of the way. When they become a danger or start snaking everyone you got to set them straight - if not - they will park their a$$ 20 yards out and live there.

[mOtion732]

if you are sitting, waiting for waves, minimal lateral movement for whatever reason & here comes a set....you start paddling & yes, this is a good one & yes you're right where you want to be....but all of a sudden, the SUP guy who has been trolling further out, back & forth he goes 30-40 yards at a time, pushes in to where you are & steps right into that wave & you have to bail or else you're going to drop in on his arse.....

laughed at your use of the word 'trolling', because that's what they're doing. you're waiting around on a day w/ long, drawn out sets and one finally comes your way. you paddle for position and you're set up perfect, then boom, this ****ing boat w/ this old troll at the helm is coming at your face and you have to pull off.

i swear they just feel entitled to every bump that comes through just because they can take it. some of them are ok, and take those outside waves that may not bowl up for the shortboarder to take, which i have no problem with. it's when they feel obliged to take every wave that comes through just makes you want to flip out.

coast guard even classifies them as vessels.i think that says something right there