The Zealous SUPer – A modern day parable

Dog, you can't leave us hanging like that.

 

i think the moral is to not sup when its big cause one whack from that thing and....

 

i think the moral is to not sup when its big cause one whack from that thing and....you're dead?

 

Well said dog. Now meet me at Nantasket on June 8th for the longboard classic.

 

I like the fact that your parable can be applied to a non surfing lineup, on land, or even on the internet. Well done! Over zealousness can be a prickly issue. Too bad it will go right over certain peoples heads.

 

Bravo. Excited for part 2... "The Very Bratty Shortboarder"

Don't blame all of em just because of one of em!

 

In the beginning there was a plan for a floating Starbucks

And then came the waves and surfers.

And the coffee was strong.

And a concerned darkness fell upon the face of the coffee drinking surfers.

And the beach was devoid of port-a-johns.

To relieve the darkness, brown trout were hatched and sacrificed.

And the other surfers spoke among themselves saying,

"The water smells like a crock of sh!t and it stinketh."

And the surfers went unto the lifeguards and said,

"We surf in a sea of dung and none may abide the odor thereof."

And the lifeguards went unto their managers and said,

"It is a sea of excrement and it is very strong, such that none may abide by it."

And the managers went unto their directors, saying,

"The surfzone is a vessel of fertilizer, and none may abide its strength."

And the directors spoke among themselves, saying to one another,

"It contains that which aids plant growth and it is very strong."

And the directors went unto the city managers, saying unto them,

"It promotes growth and is very powerful."

And the city manager went unto the mayor, saying unto him,

"The floating Starbucks in the surfzone will promote the growth and vigor of the city, with powerful effects."

And the mayor looked upon the plan and saw that it was good.

And the plan was approved.

This is how sh!t happens.

 

i got whacked by my 11 ft surfboard which is a longboard; not a sup. the bruise lasted 6 months…same
deal from a sup and i'd be oscar pistorious…though i'd never shoot anyone..at least not through the bathroom door.

 

Funny how I see a parallel between Roy and Wayne in this parable. One bad apple spoils the bunch.

 

It does have a slightly mysto-crypto whiff to it, Carter, good call.

 

Yeah... I actually never had anything against SUPs. The only guys that would ever ride them were incredible skills locals, I.E. Butter Joyce, so not only did they Make SUPing look awesome, they always played by the rules. Seeing Butter out on a 12 foot day on an SUP made me have nothing but love for them. He made it look SOOOO much fun.... So I never had an issue....


Then.... I went to Hawaii, Maui specifically. And EVERY break I went to almost had dozens of these guys. Most of which had NO CLUE how to even get into the waves... They spent most of their time, trying to balance, spin around, just to let the wave go beneath them....

Of the locals I met, they ALL shared a disdain for SUPs and more importantly Laird Hamilton. One of the bartenders I met, actually carried with him, a personal letter the Mr. Hamilton, just in case, in the off chance that he would ever see him. He wanted to hand deliver this note of outrage, about how Laird Hamilton ruined the island that he loved so much and that he in effect, had spread this poor behavior to the rest of the world....

I wouldn't take it that far, because again, I live in a Place where SUPs are the norm. Shortboards, Longboards, SUPs.... We all live together in the lineup and have nothing but respect. Never been snaked by an SUP since I moved here, and I have never snaked one. Everyone around here on one, knows the code and knows how to surf...

So I am back in my original thought cycle about SUPs.... They look freaking fun. I want one. Because all the other guys I know around here, that sometimes shortboard and sometimes longboard, also sometimes SUP. They follow the rules and we all live happily ever after....

So i guess it depends on where you live... I mean, we don't have the same crowds that we did back in OC MD. If you surfed 48 straight mid-day back in the summer, the lineup was so packed, so tight with non-surfers, kooky tourists and just too many human bodies, making the simplest little 2 foot almost unridable due to all the hazzards, so in a place like that, I would hate SUPs. But again, that was my fault for surfing 48th street in the mid-day.... Life is never good that time of day, that time of year....

Down here, in the middle of July, we don't have anybody out on a board... Maybe one here or there, but at the popular surf beaches, its the same old guys, even in the summer... Not sure why.

 

Guy's got stones SUPing into a 12 footer...I stick to my board if there are waves, when it goes flat the SUP comes out.

Go for it, its a lot of fun. You'll never see me anywhere near a lineup on the SUP, but I dig just getting out past the surf zone and paddling around, chasing dolphins and any fins I see, paddling across the inlet to Masonboro Island and exploring, hitting the back sound channels and marshes. Since you're down in HHI (my brother and his wife and their fam live there and my 'rents have a place there) there are tons of places you can go exploring. I hit the lakes around here in Raleighwood all the time, all winter long. Love being out in the middle of the lake in Jan w\o a soul around, sipping some rum, just me and the birds of prey hanging around.

Great core workout too, rather do that any day than crunches and such.

As long as you're not kooking out in the lineup who cares? Let the haters hate.

Feel free to PM me if you want to talk about boards. Or if anyone is interested they can start a thread, I ain't no expert but I will tell what I know.

 

u guys didn't see that new sup step off technique,i think its on magicseaweed.so people are doing step offs into massive waves by paddling in on the sup,then jumping on a normal board.i think its a pretty cool idea,eliminate a jetski and incoperate a huge canoe stick

 

I feel obligated to respond here so here's my take on the subject. #1 Anybody who is being over zealous ends up coming off like a jerk and is a menace to have in the lineup, regardless of craft. So there are offenders of all wave craft genres. That being said, it certainly is more dangerous than most other crafts being utilized so that immediately gets people's attention. One thing I learned was that SUP surfing is not as easy as it looks. It takes a skilled person to navigate one of these without incident in decent sized waves.

Anybody who isn't quite there yet in the skill department really should be practicing somewhere away from people so the only person you can hurt is you. To be honest though, I haven't ridden my SUP in any waves in nearly a year. I got this Coil Flashback Fish for my B day last April and I have been addicted ever since. I pull out the LB on sh*t days but when it's good I pull out the 6'4". The SUP sees a lot of flat water these days, I like to fish from it too, which is a whole different experience.

I'm sure i'll pull it back out and surf it again but I see that happening more in the summer just to ride something. I guess I got sick of lugging the thing around and always having to hold that paddle. It's so much easier grabbing my light weight Coil and running off into the water. Plus I started on a short board and feel most comfortable on one.

I've learned to surf a SB, LB, and SUP at this point. Gives me variety and each one makes me better at the other. I think what I'll do eventually is get a more high performance SUP so I can enjoy it a little more. Taking the board I got into 8ft waves wasn't very easy to do, I catch and ride the waves, but it's a tank and isn't as nimble as I'd like, I think it's just the wrong design. I've seen some seriously HP boards out there that you can surf like a SB almost, I think my next one will be about 8ft, which is 4ft shorter than my current, so a big step up in difficulty but definitely doable with my surfing experience.

Back to the topic at hand. Over zealousness makes an ass of people typically. I think whoever that person is will find out the hard way and hopefully for his / her sake learns the rules and how to behave. I've had to bark at a couple SUP'ers when I was riding my Coil for coming too close to me, back paddling me, and dropping in on me and others and they have always apologized and paddled down the beach. I think communication is key in the lineup if someone is out of line.

Anybody thinking of getting one and needs any advice shoot me a PM. The prices have come down a bit on them, some are still expensive but you can get a decent board for a good price these days, includes the paddle, and some will even deliver it to your home if you want.

I really enjoy having mine and will probably always use one, it opens up so many more options for being on the water and for various different reasons. It's a great cross trainer for when it's flat, and you'll be surprised how much better of a surfer it will make you. Your core and legs get so much of a work out from balancing at all times while standing on a floating board in moving water, which means on big days where it's good all day and you don't want to leave the water because you're shredding on your SB or LB, your legs won't gas out allowing you to pump down the line all day without fatigue in your legs. My SUP got me rededicated to surfing, and really took me to the next level to be quite honest. I wouldn't trade it or get rid of it for anything...

 

blaster's sister's crotch?

 

... In that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.