I just had an encounter with a very nice surfer out in the lineup today. Lately I've been using my dad's board and I'm not totally used to it yet. Today the waves were a little smaller than they have been the last couple times I went out and as the tide came up I was having trouble catching as many waves as I'm usually able to catch because the waves weren't forming up as nicely. I guess my frustration was showing because an older surfer came up to me and politely asked "may I make a suggestion?" I said sure and he told me that I'd paddling for the waves lying too far back on the board. I guess I wasn't properly trimmed as I was paddling for waves and that's why I was having trouble. Sure enough I started paddling a little further forward and it made a world of difference. I'm not an amazing surfer but I'm also not a beginner. It was a little embarrassing to have made such a "rookie mistake," but it was really nice that there was somebody in the water nice enough and polite enough to point it out in a non-judgmental way. I guess sometimes it's hard to see what you're doing wrong when you're in the moment. Anyway, I just figured I'd share this because I thought it was an instance of "this is how surfing's supposed to be."
as the local prick at my local break,i most always try to help people struggling.it's the kooks who want to compete with me or don't heed my advice on getting out of the way that suck.so yeah,we are nice,in a direct sort of way.
It will change your surfing forever To keep the nice vibes alive, here is another paddle pro tip that someone once advised me when i was younger.. DON'T LET YOUR FEET DRAG IN THE WATER WHEN YOU PADDLE..
yes- i totally agree- it makes your session so much better when the vibe is good! Why dont we all do that??? maybe summer would not be so bad with all the summer pros if we just stepped out and offered some friendly advise or just encouragment! like hooting them on when they drop into a good wave.
Good vibes are great. But to go off on a tangent...I never know when to give a struggling beginner advice and when to lay off. If I see someone struggling and they seem to have a negative attitude I tend to let them do their thing. But if they look like they're actually gonna make it past the summer I try to help them out. Nothing worse than getting a blank stare when you give someone sound advice.
I surfed small crummy waves on tuesday, but good enough for loggin'. Paddled out to my favorite spot where there was one guy out there by himself. As soon I got out to where he was and I said hello, he gave me a look and rode the next wave to the beach and left. But that same day, on the beach, I was trying to move my center fin up and it was stuck, and out of nowhere a dude in a farmer john suit came up to me with a rubber mallet and got the fin out for me. I think he said his name was Chris, so if you're on this forum...THANKS AGAIN! you made my day, and sorry to the other guy whose spot I invaded.
LOL. I watched this guy sit there for 15 minutes and the only wave he paddled for was the one he ran away on.
Saw a kid struggling on a soft top this weekend. Asked him how he was doing, and he told me it was his first time surfing. Just gave him a little tip that he was popping up a bit early, and make sure he's on the wave before standing. Worked out for him on his next wave. He paddled back out, "Thanks man, it worked, it worked. That was awesome." Don't think I will remember any particular waves from that session, but I will remember that exchange for sometime. We all had to start out somewhere.
Who knows, maybe he was already there for a while and got it in and was ready to go at that point, or maybe he had limited time and somewhere to be, or hell, maybe it WAS you and he just wanted to be alone again HAHA
I know. I sound like a curmudgeon. but its true sometimes im the reason for the bad vibe. if i had an hour of surf by myself and then a bunch of guys paddled up i'd be in a better place. im not Bad Vibe Bob all the time. a couple of weeks ago i paddled out to an empty peak at first light. no wind, small long period peelers. i took out a longboard and was just cruising. i also had nothing else to do all day. other guys started coming out on logs and fishes. some were friends some not. we were all catching our share and having a good time. some conversation but mostly quiet. real peaceful vibe. two dummys on shortboards paddle out, catch no waves but paddle for all of them including the ones with guys already one them. between that and the idiotic loud chatter it changed the vibe from good to bad. i actually heard" Yo these new booties are so warm yo. not like my last booties which were like you know, cold yo?" i had started to drift to another empty peak to get few more to myself before breakfast when this big older guy that has been around here since the beginning of time and looks like he should surf in a viking helmut drifts over to them and says "hey guys keep it down, save that chatter for the diner, you're jamming us all up." everyone including the dummies started laughing and the vibe was good again. he regulated the line up and brought peace and order back to the break. we all don't do stuff like that because we can't pull it off. I couldn't.
Can't say I blame you honestly, I always try to get a session in before anybody else is in the water, but there's always a few who show up after a few rides. As long as I have gotten a few good rides with nobody around it doesn't really bother me as much when the late comers start filling in. Having a session to yourself or just a few others who keep to themselves is definitely the way to go though. I know what you mean about paddling out in a funk and surfing it out of your system, been there many times, and it works. Now if I could just find a Viking helmet like that dude i'll be able to scare off the Chatty Cathys
Maybe I was too eager to say hello lol. I've been lonely surfing by myself all winter. I must have been wide eyed and smiley
A while ago there was a girl out having trouble catching waves. Too far back on the board, nose way above the water. She said something about not being able to catch anything. So, I offered up the tip of moving further up the board and not having the nose stick out of the water so much. Her response made think she got what I was saying, but then she paddled off...too far back on the board, nose up in air. ha
I gave the "you should move forward on your board" to a complete stranger only once (why do so many people have this issue when beginning surfing?). Two waves later, I watched him nosedive and come up holding his head, apparently he caught the board to his head while underwater. Felt like a real d***after that one.
I've been surfing for something like 10 years and had the problem that day. For me it was partly because the other days I was recently out, if I wasn't further back on the board I would have instantly pearled. After a few days of waves where I had to lie further back on the board and instantly make a hard bottom turn when I popped up, I had trouble adjusting to the waves being smaller/being on a different board (with significantly more rocker). It's not easy to know exactly where to lie on a particular wave for a particular day. I think it becomes easier with experience/familiarity with a board/etc. I think we sometimes take for granted some of the fundamentals of surfing once we become proficient and see them as easier than they actually are.
NIce post, it's always puts a grin on my face to hear about all the truly cool encounters. always be the good guy when ya can!
