Laird

I hate em. They dont belong in the line up with regular surfers as they are a danger. I have seen a guy in PR get his head split wide open by one. My friend moved back here from Hawaii and thats all he talks about. He proceeds to tell me that everyone will be riding one soon and nobody will be surfing anymore HAHAHAAHA. I will be sure and tell Kelly and the whole tour that surfboards are out and SUP's are the shiz. I think the final straw for me was during the craze I see this chick doing that crap on a SKATEBOARD! Pushing her skateboard down the street with a stick looking all agro. Jesus, why don't you just carry around your bike or better yet push your car to work. I'm over it. The only satisfaction for me has been the longboarders complaining that the SUPers are taking all the waves, wow how does that feel?

 

Maybe...but he is a great actor.

 

Ok so i've tried to not respond to this thread for obvious reasons, but after reading some of the responses i think i'll go ahead and weigh in on the subject from a perspective most on here do not have. Being a prone surfer for approx. 17yrs prior to picking up an SUP about a year and half ago has given me the opportunity to experience both sides of this debate and I gotta say I agree with both sides to an extent.

I make sure to stay out of the crowded line ups as much as possible, no matter what equipment I choose to ride that day, simply because there is plenty of beach and peaks where I surf so I don't have to force myself into situations where I may get frustrated, however, some days it's no avoiding it as they seem to follow anybody who's catching a lot of waves, same thing happens when i'm fishing, I catch a fish and next think you know there are 20 people crowding around asking me what i've caught and some go as far as trying to put their line in next to mine (very annoying).

I've been in the water on my prone boards and have had morons on SUP's circling and making it very difficult to get a wave. Solution, I paddle away from them and catch waves a few yards down the beach, if I get followed then I make sure they have just as hard a time as I do, and if they don't get the hint then I speak up and ask for a little room to work, if that doesn't work then that's when things could get ugly, but i've yet to get into it to the point it becomes physical.

On the otherhand, i've been on the SUP, off to the side of the most crowded part of the line up catching waves on a peak all to myself, when a group of prone surfers will either paddle straight out in front of me or right next to me making it difficult again to get a wave. Sometimes guys will block for other guys and just dare you to run them over, others will simply drop in no matter what. I let the small stuff slide, but if it becomes apparent they are out to ruin my session then I have no issues speaking up.

Lastly, and this situation happened just last night, i'm on my LB in a spot all to myself for a good 30-45 minutes and I was catching one right after another when 2 short boarders, 1 long boarder, and 1 SUP guy roll up on me and try to hi-jack the peak. I guess they weren't catching anything 50 yards away, so they figured this guy over here wouldn't mind sharing since he's catching so many. Well, it got a bit retarded after a few minutes of guys going on every wave with no regard for the fact that I was there 1st and was solo for quite some time. Uncrowded beach, lots of peaks, but the one I was on was the one they chose. Well, after about 15 minutes of this crap I decided to start taking the peak back and they shortly paddled away back to the hole they crawled out of.

Moral of the story, it happens to everybody, everywhere, no matter your equipment, there are transgressors from all walks. If you think SUP's are the problem, you're mistaken, it's the person riding it. If you think it's the loggers or the shortboarders that are the problem, guess what, you're wrong, it's the person riding it. You can't generalize based on the dumb asses of the world, because there are many that don't fit the stereotype. I'm 31yrs old, I burn one (or two) daily, I drink beer, I have a foul mouth, I don't wear "trucker hats", I don't drink Joni Juice, and I don't believe that SUP is like "walking" compared to prone surfing as being described as "crawling". They are apples vs. oranges, I love them both, and feel they both have their place in the world.

 

A lot of the angst over SUPers has to do with the fact that there's a bit of a "craze" or "fad" over it right now. And like most people who jump on every fad wagon that comes along, the vast majority of them try it for a while, then give it up, or move on to the next big thing. As a result, there are a lot of inexperienced, insincere SUPers out there who don't know the unwritten rules and codes of conduct that more serious, experienced wave riders do. And many of those don't even have the wherewithal to even recognize that there ARE such rules and expectations. So when "That Guy" comes paddling up the beach toward the lineup, or carrying his board and paddle to the water's edge, you can't help but feel like: "...great..." Laird does his own thing, and I don't think he cares much about what everybody else in the world thinks. Take me for example... I want to shag his wife. But he doesn't care, because like towing into giant Jaws or doing 360s on a SUP, I'll never do it.

 

Most pictures are worth 1000 words. This one is worth at least 10k.

 

You will find this at the Puntas bakery. Worth about 10K too

 

Those things are so easy to get around on, just don't "paddle" out where guys are sitting. Do it outside. Very simple. Love it when girls get in the water, but don't feel bad for her at all.

Manisses: Great post. I usually never read posts that long.

DawnPatrolSUP: You gotta stop fighting this fight so hard... it's never going away. But respect.

 

I hear you, hope it didn't come across as "fighting it" so much as just making more sense of the situation to those who only have a one sided perspective, meaning those who only have experience surfing with one type of equipment. I share many of the same concerns most of you have, but I choose to give each person the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. Respect back at ya brah

 

I will say this. At the beach where I go in the early morning, there is a group of SUPs (usually 4 or 5) that I surf with congregating about a 1000 yards down the beach from where most of the prone surfers are. These guys are in there late 40's through 60's, and I would say each of them has at least 30 years surfing, some more than 50 years. I have learned a lot about surfing and surf etiquette from them (being I am the rookie) and appreciate them much. I think many of the younger surfers on this forum may come to appreciate the continued development of the SUP, as their shapes and performance continues to improve, and when the day comes when due to injury, "wear & tear", and/or age, "popping up" will present issues unfamiliar to youth, then they will have something to ride, continue to enjoy surfing, an maintain the stoke.

I think the bottom line issues are respect & safety, which the knowledge and application of etiquette would resolve.

 

Hi I am not Kelly Slater. If you have a problem with SUPers enjoying the ocean and doing something that is very challenging and rewarding for them then you need to re think why it is you go out surfing. If you come out of the water complaining about anything other than your own personal performance then you are the problem, actually if you come out the the water complaining then you should probably rethink your life. SUPing is not a real problem, ease up. If you aren't getting waves because of a SUP then you probably have a problem getting waves in the first place, not their problem. My advice for anyone who wants to complain about SUP again...

1. Get off the computer.
2. Get active.
3. Watch a surf video and observe what they do.
4. Go surf.
5. Realize that the only thing stopping you from getting any wave is yourself.

 

that's cool you can actually pick that beast up. you must be burly.

 

Next up, a new type of Hawaiian outrigger canoe that can hold 2 or more 'surfers', with a better planing hull that can rip waves..
..working on a design now. We'll show the SUP's how to dominate a spot. What's next?

 

^This, I don't care what people ride as long as they can respect the lineup and the ocean. I think it's the trendiness of the whole thing that leaves that initial bad taste in the mouth. I was thinking about this thread yesterday chuckling to myself, you gotta give it to the OP, f**king hilarious, downright funny. I've yet to see an SUP'er with the trucker hat though, but I can tell you that when I do, I'll definitely have another little laugh, thanks OP.

 

Way to bring it back around full circle. Glad your Pops is able to continue his stoke, it's something I hope I never lose.

 

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Post of the year, even this year.

 

If SUP is at a peak with other prone surfers, I always drop in on them. You can't play with the big boys when you use a crutch. Go to an empty peak or SUP in a bay.

 

I hate this thread.