Wow, Summer is here and there are about 20 SUPs in the water. They love sitting at the peak really far out and then snaking people. It's a chore just to avoid these assholes when paddling out. I guess when you're fat and can't paddle a surfboard you have to cheat with the SUP Anyone else noticing this new SUP trend and more of these in the water this year?
it's hardly new...there have been SUPers at my usual summer spot for at least 2 years now. & yea, they can be annoying, & most of them are incompetent & dangerous, but it's something i'd like to try. from everything i've heard, SUP is a great workout, esp. for balance & core strength. my complaint w/ them is how they seem to sit right on top of you when you've found a nice little peak to yourself. but that's not something only SUPs do; regular surfers do it, too. \ best make your peace w/ them. in this age of "everybody surfs", SUP is here to stay.
Yeah I have seen a cpl out at the 2 places I surf in the summer. They havent become a pain in the ass yet. The one guy stays out of ppls way and goes where it is empty to avoid any issues so that cool with me
most of the sups in wb stay out of the way but most of them are out way past everyone just sweeping their way up and down the beach and thats cool and sometimes will they snag a wave but that doesnt bother me if its only one and then they move on. but suping is cool and i one day would like to try it.
I agree 99%. My brother is a fly fisherman. He is a purist. And we agree that SUP's are spin fisherman of surfing. They annoy the "purists" and they catch everything. But I would like to try it.
I did not respect the SUP surfing until I witnessed it on a regular basis, done the right way... There is a guy in my town nick named "Butter". He is a huge guy, weighs at least 260-275lbs... He is in his mid to late 30s and has been a local legend for about 25 years. His claim to fame is that he rides GIANT funshape shortboards... Basically like 7'6 - 8ft boards or so and this guy throws these thick boards around like they are potato chips... He shreds, throwing every bit of his 300lbs into every turn..... So, he is sick to watch.. So, anyway, a couple of years ago, I noticed him showing up and coming out on his SUP board.... Now, most people take out SUP boards when its REALLY FREAKING SMALL OUT... So, it just looks retarded when you see some guy stand up paddling into a 2 foot beach break... Its pointless. It closes out and he looks stupid... Butter started taking his SUP board out when it was OH+ - DOH... He shows up on the reefs and just KILLS sh** on this SUP board. I mean, he gets 300 yards rides, going like 200 MPH... Just flying, throwing this thing around like its a 5'10..... Sometimes he will bring it down to the pier and surf it in the large days at the beach break.... It is a work of art... Seeing him take off on a super fast punchy beach break, get a little barrel, come out on this 12 foot monster, slam the lip, all while he has his paddle tucked in his arm like a ski pole... I mean, It isnt my cup of tea right now... But my main problem with SUPs is that they are usually operated by kooks in 2 foot beach breaks..... its like longboarding in general.... All my shortboarding friends and I only grab the logs if its like nkee high out... But every once in a while, you gotta take your log out when its firing and it gives you a whole new respect for it... Longboarding a Head High day will make you fall in love with longboarding.... But then when you try it and its 2 feet, you get bummed, like... wow, this sucks.... Same with SUPing... If people would ride these things on good waves, it would look a ton better.
snaked by a sup a few months back. good waves. and a sup er (that ive never seen) came in and sat 20 ft outside of line up and snaked many peeps..it was only a matter of time before he fell in water and got cold. we all had wetsuits on still. just one bad experience...parrots are here...
i am sure i will see plenty of them out today. i call them novelty surfers. most of them just bring down boards, and usually bring their boards in the water, and just do nothing, but take up space. even when there are no waves they just sit around in the designated surfing areas swimming around on their boards to impress their girlfriends.
i mean it they're floating all over the place! it's funny, because a couple weekends ago when there was a good swell there was not many people in the ocean surfing or better yet people floating around on their boards. the only people out were locals to the breaks, or people who actually REALLY surf. i surfed two different spots today, and people were all over which is no surprise. though tonight at sunset there were like three times as many guys out there than i saw a few weekends ago at sunset when the swell was shoulder high. i can't blame a person who is new to this whole thing who is seriously trying to learn about things, and doesn't really have much knowledge, but is trying learn the flow of things out there. though a lot of these guys that come out in the summer are the same people who have been coming to the beach in the season, and getting in the water with their boards for like 5, 10, even 20 years some of them. just year after year when the weather is warm they came out there with their boards. i recognize some of the faces even after 8 or 9 months yearly of not seeing them. some of them i actually think are trying to impress the avid surfers more than anything. i piss myself when i see some people come out wearing suits that the water is just 15 degrees too warm for. another favorite is after 5;00 when the lifeguards leave, and the flags are pulled out, and the designated surf, swim, and bodyboard areas no longer apply, and guys put their boards in spots that don't even break. they sit their embarrassed trying to pretend ''oh this sucks. i've been waiting here in my spot for 45 minutes now, and no waves. guess i came at the wrong time. oh well i'll keep waiting!'' by the way i am not angry about any of this at all. i am mildly annoyed, and majorly amused by this stuff. i'm just glad that unless there is a storm bringing a good swell that june for the MOST part is a mediocre month to surf at best on the east coast.
Lumping all stand up cats into one "kook" group is not really realistic. How many short-boarders come flocking to the ocean as soon as they can get in the water without a wetsuit? Those are the tourists that look like surfers, talk like surfers, but aren't really surfers at all. Where were they in February? When are people going to realize that it is the rider, not what they're riding? Try educating people on what they're doing, let them know that there is some order to the line up. Some people may just not know that what they're doing is wrong. Tell them that they should go further down where no one is. I like to standup, but why would I want to hang around other people and share waves when I can paddle 300 yards down the beach where no one is and have all the waves I want. That's the beauty of stand up, you can get away from the crowds, quick. If you've told someone that they're picking off all the waves, they've dropped in on you a few times and didn't apologize, and they're really not getting the whole "system" to surfing, by all means, let them know that they're a d%$@; but not all stand up cats are kooks.
I totally agree. There are kooks AND solid dudes on every type of board. I can think of examples where someone has pissed me off on a SUP, longboard, shortboard, fish, and bodyboard. Not all SUP'ers are kooks, I just don't want to see them sitting outside of me.
And as far as all the comments about SUPers sitting outside and getting all the waves... Is that the same thing as what all the longboarders attempt to do already? =) Get a wave, then paddle to the outside and try and sneak past you. Thinking that no one will notice them paddling back into the first position of the lineup if they sit 30 yards outside... Yes sir. We all saw you.
I like to stand up, but I dont like to be in a crowd. I dont understand why someone on a stand up board would willingly hang around a bunch of other people when you can just paddle down the beach to another spot that's breaking. We're not talking some point break where there is one spot that is breaking; this is the east coast full of beach/sandbar breaks. I also think that we should all honor the pecking order that has been in place for surfing for as long as people have been chasing waves. Just because I can take every wave that comes doesn't mean I should. There is an order to things, and that should be respected. Stand up boards are bigger, and you have a paddle too, you have to be cautious of your gear. As far as respect, respect is earned, not a given. Where were all these "stand up kooks" when I was charging Bill? Sitting on the beach like they should be. Where where all these "stand up kooks" in January and February when the water was 42*? Sitting in there warm houses wishing for the "surfing season" to start when the water gets warm. I put my time in and learned how to control my board. I paddle assateague, and rarely see other people jockying for waves. A crowded lineup is no place for a beginner with a 40' kill zone. Put your time in, learn that there is an order to things out there, and don't hover above prone surfers and sit 30' taking everything that comes in. RESPECT.
I know in Stone Harbor from 10 AM to 5 PM from Memorial Day to Labor Day, there are designated surf beaches (and this includes SUP). I'd imagine the SUPs would move if they could.
I completely agree with your whole bit about respect, but I just need to respond to the above statement. "Where were all these 'stand up kooks' when I was charging Bill?... Where were all these 'stand up kooks' in January and February when the water was 42 degrees?" To tell you the truth, those "stand up kooks" who everyone loves to bash were probably tearing **** up on a shortboard during Bill and in January and February in 42 degree water! What everyone doesn't realize is that most SUPers are just surfers looking to experiment and ride every type of board out there. These unfairly labeled "kooks" are good surfers all around. I'm telling you man, the three or four standups who surf my break are such studs on a shortboard that I can't even let you get away with that statement. I look at it like Stoney does, there are both solid riders and posers on EVERY TYPE OF BOARD. it's not only stand up. honestly, i can name more kooks who ride shortboards (mainly guidos and bennies) than who ride longboards and SUPs. I'm not trying to pick an argument here because I agree with most of what you said, but it is not black and white like everyone makes it out to be. Those "stand up kooks" in your words are not stand up paddleboarders at all, they're surfers. and btw, a note to everyone who bashes stand up paddleboarding in general, y'all should try it out-- it's a lot harder than you'd think, especially in bigger surf. so most of these guys/girls who SUP aren't kooks, they're experienced surfers. i mean c'mon, you've gotta be a pretty damn good surfer if you're gonna learn how to maneuver a board that thick and long!!!! you say give respect when it's due, so why not respect these guys who have indeed earned the respect (on a shortboard, SUP, and a longboard)? i'm not a SUPer myself but I know where to give respect and I can't let everyone just rip on these SUPers. then again, there will always be a few kooks who ride SUPs, just like those who ride shortboards and longboards. it's not just black and white
LOL. Most SUPers are kooks and bennies that bring their SUP cadillac board in the summer. Paddling and popping up on a surfboard make it difficult compared to the giant SUPs. Also, it's obviously a lot harder to keep balance on a shortboard than a huge cadillac SUP. Some SUPers are surfers, but most are lazy who can't handle real paddling on a surfboard. Shakagrom, btw, you are a benny. Your may come down in the summers and have a second house near the beach, but you are a benny and not a local. Maybe you can surf and your not a kook, but still a benny.
I have to agree thats one thing I hate about most people who longboard or start surfing and stick with a log. I see that alot and I dont reall agree with it . If I catch a wave as I paddle in I wont go back the same spot i was in sitting out side. What pisses me off is when I do catch a wave and every one see that I have caught the wave and am already doing a bottom turn they insist on tryin to paddle for the wave I am up and already riding. Sometimes in the summer its so back you actually gotta push on the nose of there boards as you go by them to keep them from dropin is as you go by them Ahhhh the Joys of summer.
shoot , all i know is we aint go no SUP's on ROCKY TOP that kook **** dont fly around , GOOD OLD ROCKY TOP VIRGINA BEACH
Yeah... Like I said in my statement, all of the locals that I surf with ALL respect the rules on their longboards. Its the touristas that dont get it. Another rule that guys in the summer just dont get is this: "Technically" if you take off on a left, and you are in an outside position in the lineup, but the wave swings in your way so the peak happens to hit where you are.... I hate it when that happens, and you paddle in and take off on a wave, go up and do a roundhouse cutback just to see some IDIOT just now paddling in from behind you. That pisses me off because they are really following the basic ediquitte rule that whoever is inside on the line-up position gets the wave.... But my point is, you can't get mad at a longboarder who is at a further position that you, but is able to get up and riding first. So there is that old sketchy surf law that is: "Whoever gets up and surfing first, regardless of position is the owner of that wave"... So there is some grey area that gets sketchy as the crowds get thick... Its like, if I am on my third fu**ing turn and you are just now standing up paddling down the face, you lost your position a long time ago.... I think a lot of guys, just out of macho instinct will just paddle in anyway, just to try and prove a point. Its like, once i see some guy go, I am not going to drop in behind him and start hooting like its my wave all of the sudden.... So yes, I guess the moral of the story is that summer sucks... And even when everone follows the rules, it can get hairy.... But it never has to do with the size of ones board. All the locals do the right thing. We all give waves to each other if the next guy is in a better position. Cause a lot of times, when we are all jocking deep for position, a wave will come where the guy on the shoulder is setup better, so we all conceed and let whoever is setup the best go.... But once all the touristas come to town, we have to stop being all nice to each other and get into that summer state of mind, where its every man for himself.... its always the guy who you don't recognize that is acting a damn fool out there.... Well, at least the enormous influx of Brazillian kooks stopped coming to my town. They packed our lineups every year, and then 2 years ago,,,,, POOF... they all vanished, never to return. I am very happy. I have talked with a ton of Brazillian surfers, and in their country, they dont follow any surf rules. Its just a madhouse. Every guy I have ever called out had no clue what we were trying to say.... So, if you start seeing 1000 brazillian tourists coming to down, run... run far far away.
