OCMD banning stand up

I can see why they would do this.. it's basically surfing, but you can go anywhere. At my beach, some people use them, and when they go in the swimmer area, the swimmers clear out because they don't want to get hit.

Also, who uses bodyboards larger than 42 inches on decent waves? Its usually easier on shorter, heavier boards to get more speed.

 

I don't really care about SUP riders too much, it's unskilled kiteboarders that scare the crap out of me. I was lifeguarding the other day and this kook couldn't control his board and was going full mach into the swimming area and came within about 2ft of a little kid. It's stuff like that, that pisses me off

 

That would piss me off as well, I usually see at least one kiteboarder each time I hit the water but have never seen one do something as dangerous as that... usually they are pretty skilled with it, but there is always one or two that makes a bad name for the rest (that goes for all types of crafts)

 

Not being a jerk, but why would anybody want to go to a beach with such regulation? I would rather drive 3hrs each way to another spot that doesn't have the Gestapo watching your every move. Solution seems simple to me, don't go there...

 

Completely assinine. The only reason there is surfing blackballs is because surf boards are hard and can really hurt/knock someone out or cut someone with a fin. A beater board/stand up body board is made of foam and is harmless.

 

This regulation is typical for just about all Mid-Atlantic/NE beaches. It only applies to summer, which they keep extending in OCMD. When I was living there in the late '90s, the surfing beaches were in effect from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Now, I think it is from Mid May-Oct or something. Funny thing is, in nearly 20 years, they haven't expanded the surfing beach access at all.

The solution of not going there is not necessarily an option for some people (people who live/work there and don't have 6 hours to waste driving somewhere else). The only solution is to surf early or surf late if you want to avoid the crowds at the surfing beaches.

 

Gotcha, so again I ask, why would you want to live there again? I'd move 1st chance I got If I were in a sh*t hole like that

 

Have you ever been to OCMD? It's not the nicest place on earth, but I certainly wouldn't classify it as a "sh*t hole." I don't live there any more, but my parents still do, and for 9 months out of the year, it's a great place to live. From June-Aug, it's a zoo. There are places nearby where surfing is not nearly as regulated during the summer, so if you have a clue, you can avoid dealing with the surfing beaches.

 

I'm 6'4" 240lbs and a 42" board is like an Aussie for me.

 

So I've been riding stand up BB for years...

with my good friends in OC and Bethany. We are all surfers who enjoy getting out there on our Herlihy's (google "toobs herlihy") when the guards are up b/c the surf beaches are just zoo's. We don't need to use our 46" Herlihy's to ride stand up, but it sure is a heck of a lot easier--and much more fun--using them rather than our smaller sponges. I'm pretty outraged, to say the least, that the city is banning stand up BB and boards over 42" although I've only heard that they are banning the latter (can anyone verify that they are banning stand up?). It's a pattern that isn't good for anyone who enjoys riding any sort of water craft in OCMD. First you can't surf, then you can't do stand up BB, then no more boards allowed when the guards are up, and so on. I can't make it to that council meeting but I really hope everyone who loves the ocean and the water sports we get to enjoy in it make it out and fight for us (cue braveheart music).

Someone get a hold of Colin Herlihy and make sure he goes to this thing please. He is by the far the best candidate to represent stand up BB in the area.

On a better note, it's almost fall my friends...

 

OCMD is def not a sh*thole...there's a lot of really good breaks and when it's firing can be easily just as good as anywhere else on the east coast...but the one block uptown and one block downtown thing during the summer is a joke...if they are really concerned about people getting hurt why not open it up to two streets, I've surfed during the day there a couple times years ago, but now I don't even bother...I got a good one for you....About 4 years ago I went to one of the designated streets to get in a sesh, you wouldn't believe the hassle I got from all the people on the beach, the lifeguards told them they couldn't go out if someone was surfing and the people started acting like complete bafoons...it pissed me off so bad, these a-holes sat there and complained instead of walking about 50 ft either way and getting in the water...when i was a kid i loved summer, now every year I hate it even more. September 1st can't come soon enough!

 

ok, internets tough guy.

maybe you can answer this: what's the point of surfing a SUP? can you do anything w/ it that you can't do on a longboard? on a shortboard? or do you just do the same stuff, but in a more ungainly, ungraceful manner that lacks anything approaching style & flow?

 

Easy fella, no tough guy here, I just don't subscribe to the same set of rules you's guys have when it comes to surfing equipment.

#1 i'm a SURFER 1ST, i have been surfing for about 17 years now, only last year did I get an SUP, and it was GIFT for my B Day, i didn't run out and purchase that myself. It came about by seeing guys catch tons of waves on very small days where my shorter boards wouldn't get it done. I would say, "looks at these guys catching all the waves while everybody else just paddles their arms off only to not catch a wave.... all session. So my wonderful GF (now fiance, getting married in Oct.), decided to surprise me with one, and I have picked it up rather quickly and gotten pretty good at it.

Now, i'll reitterate that I surf my prone boards MORE than I surf my SUP, but when the conditions call for it, i'll bring the big f'ing board to the water and catch tons of waves on a day where you normally wouldn't bother. Hope that makes sense, lots of people on here have issues with SUP's in the water, and I get it, I too have had some run-ins with dudes who have no clue, and I agree that those people should stay far away from lineups.

Lastly, just because I have the letters S. U. P. in my screenname people assume that's all I do, which is untrue. The past several storm systems we've had I was only out on my Fish and HP LB, so it is what it is. I like to have a quiver to adjust to the conditions, thus enabling me to catch as many waves as possible in every session, which i believe we all are pretty much looking for the same thing. And to finally answer your question, "doing stuff" on the SUP is very very challenging given the size of the board but it's not impossible, just takes LOTS of practice. Ya it's not as fun as catching a 5ft wave on my Fish, but on small days where my Fish won't cut it, the SUP is fun.

 

Makes me just shake my head when i hear about this stuff up there you guys have to put up with. I don't mean any disrespect to you guys by saying "sh*thole", I'm sure the area is very nice where you live, but the regulations i've been hearing about from South Carolina, all the way to New York and beyond is completely out of line, and you all should be doing something about it, or moving somewhere FREE (how our country use to be). Here in FL I have never heard of or seen any such regulations, from the bathing suit rules, to the swimming vs. surfing designated areas, to leash laws, to not being able to enter the water outside of certain hours... we don't have any of that in FL (at least not where I surf), and the water is warm most of the time, only need a 3/2 in the winter, sometimes a little more rubber is nice, but you can get by.

 

I think you have three things going for you in Florida that prevent this kind of regulation.

1. It's warm there year round, so you don't get this massive influx of people going to the beach during the summer. There's also not as much novelty associated with the beach there since you can pretty much swim in the ocean year round. In the Mid-Atlantic/NE, you've got about 3-4 months where the water is swimmable without a wetsuit.

2. You're on a peninsula which is sparsely populated away from the coasts, so there isn't a large population living inland that can only go to the beach when the kiddies/college kids are off of school.

3. Population density is much higher in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast = more summertime beach tourism = mostly swimmers. So, swimmers dollars > surfers dollars = swimmers get what they want.

I would imagine that major tourist/spring break destinations in Florida may have some of these regulations (Daytona, Miami, etc.). I could be wrong though. By the way, I'm not defending the regulations, just trying to give the rationale behind them. Freedom would be nice, but with freedom comes responsibility, and apparently, nobody wants that anymore.

 

ok, but here's the thing: those days you're talking about, those little tiny days? i can catch those waves on my 9'6". that's why i don't see the point in taking the nuclear option & bringing a barge out into the line-up. at least w/ a longboard, you can walk it, hang 5 or 10, do cutbacks & foam bounces...the few SUPs i've seen that aren't completely flailing only stand there, splay-legged & hunched over like that guy in paris, dragging their paddle in the wave. doesn't look too interesting to me. i have a pretty liberal outlook regarding surfcraft. the whitebread tri-fin hpsb has it's place, but so does the mini-sim, the log, the fish, etc...but for what a SUP enables, it simply doesn't make sense to me. that was my initial complaint, but after witnessing several near misses between loose SUPs & other surfers, & after 2 "encounters" of my own (spaced 2 years apart-8/10 & 4/12), my objections became more vehement & based more on the safety factor.

btw, i never made any assumptions about the craft you may or may not ride predominately. also, congrats on the engagement. i'll be getting married myself next july.

i'm pretty sure i've said this before (not in this thread), but i have no issue w/ SUPs when they're used for paddling. i paddle a prone paddleboard very frequently & i'll admit that it looks like a fun challenge for covering distance & exercise. all water craft have their place. i just don't believe that the SUP's place is in the surf zone.

 

A neighbor's friend had one on the beach 4th of july and we all tried it. Ugggh! Can't see the fun at all especially considering the cost and bulk of the dam thing. I'd have to get a trailer for my bike or drive to the beach and pay to park. We even had some pasty white friends from Ohio try it out and they all said "why wouldn't you just get a surfboard?"

I'd rather spend all day catching knee high shore break on a sponge...which I did...i think he may have been insulted after he lugged that expensive bohemoth of a vessel to the beach hoping we would try it.

Just my $0.02

 

That's a fair response, and I can see where you are coming from. Things are just different here, we don't have much of a crowd issue, and I surf all the spot in FL you would think would be crowded, being the best wave on the E. Coast and all, but it's really not much of an issue, there are those days, but generally speaking I can have a peak all to myself or just a few people around and not too far away from the Jetty either. SUP's belong just as much as short boards, long boards, sponge, etc., it's just a matter of skill level, ettiquette, and common sense. If things get too crowded, I move away, it's simple. I plan on expanding my quiver too, i'll be picking up a 6'4"-6'6" short board this fall, and by next spring i'll probably pick up a 9.5"-10ft Log too. I'm greedy or I just really enjoy having options, I want all kinds of boards and I want to use them all, i'm really that simple, has nothing to do with anything else.

 

I hear ya, It's normally very discouraging and not too fun for newbies in the beginning. SUP'ing is much more difficult than it looks. I use to think, oh that thing is like cheating, but you know what, after personally taking the time to learn how to use one and have gotten my skills pretty dialed in, i've realized that it's actually very fun, it's not cheating, and it poses challenges that other water crafts don't. Sure, you can catch tons of waves on it (a good thing if not abused), but it's what you do once you catch that wave that matters.

Most people can't even stand up on them without falling, it takes practice. The 1st time I took mine to the surf it humbled me instantly, don't knock it till you try it.... that's all i'm saying. And by trying it, I don't mean do it once, fall down and then say oh this sux, and move on, or... don't try it, that's ok too. I'll leave it at this, SUP isn't for everybody, it's probably not for most, but there are those (myself included) who have gotten over the old way of thinking (i tend to be closed minded too) and have accepted it's place in the world.