" part of the game"? Sounds like it was almost game over. 5'+ at 11 seconds , cold water, and full rubber is probably a tall order to try and teach a buddy. Glad he is safe now.
Spicoli: You need to mull this experience over and decide what you are gonna learn from this. Read your own quotes. Either you agree with your first thought, that it was appropriate to take your buddy on his second day in the water into these conditions, or your second thought, that his land experiences probably weren't going to count for much when he got into trouble in the ocean. Your taking flak here because we've all seen and had to attempt to rescue inexperienced surfers and non-surfers get into trouble in the ocean, and the ends of jetties are where it ALWAYS seems to happen. Your describing something that is happening in the ocean every day the waves get over chest high, and still making it sound like something unforseeable occurred.
I live in MA. I have surfed the last few weeks as well, all over MA, NH and ME. You are blowing the wave height out of proportion. I say this not to try to be an a**hole, but I think a lot of people are reacting to you having a beginner out in waves of that size. You're inviting more backlash that way, when people think you're bringing a beginner into 9 foot bombing surf, when it's just not the case. Great couple weeks of surf for sure, but if this is the scale you're using, you'll be riding 23 footers with NJshred come hurricane season. Okay, that last part was kind of a**ish, but I mean it more to mock NJshred than anything else. Keep on getting out there and keep on training - you're right in that sense. I'm also not trying to discount your experience on the jetty. Lord knows I've had my sh** knocked around in waves smaller than 8 feet. Glad to hear you came out okay, and next time you get worked (because you will, everyone does), you'll have an experience to fall back on and know it'll be okay.
No shame in driving to the beach only to realize that the conditions are too out of control for your abilities. Happened to me plenty of times. My advice is don't get too excited to get wet, instead get a cup of joe, sit on the beach, watch the ocean at its worst and study it as much as you can. live to surf another day
I could be the only one who is wondering this, only because I'm just that way, but how long did it take you to type this? Or was this cut-and-paste from your college essay application thing. I tell ya, I'm exhausted just reading this thing. Forget responding with practical advice. You & your buddy Joe Frazier are alive! Live & learn & live to surf again.
You bring up a good point. First, let's establish our rubric of where wave height begins and ends, as it varies from one individual to the next on what constitutes the start of wave height. Any statement I'm making of number of feet is from ankle up (1ft=ankle towards knee). Many of you may consider a 1ft high wave to be waist height. The plan with my friend was to be in 2ft-4ft tops, and more like 2-3ft as once I'd brought him through the paddling out back to show him the progression of the waves in a set from ocean to shore we were heading in towards the shore for more repetition and ability to have feet on the bottom in between reps for purposes of discussion or walking through what to work on next. Yes, you can see that a number of posters felt free to fire away with flames prior to reading much of the prior dialogue as they are talking about me bringing my friend into 9 footers like it's a walk in the park. As for wave height around here on certain days lately, there was without a doubt 9 footers a couple days and evenings at certain breaks for certain sets at certain tide heights. That was the consensus of the half dozen riders out there who are locals and far more experienced than I, some a few decades. Was it cranking off the hook at 9 feet for days on end? No. Never said it was. Was I out there in multiple sets at that height at certain times? Yes.
I'll tell you what: You sit there and wonder how long it took me to type and I'll sit here wondering why you're opening your trap in a non-productive way. Maybe you order off the picture menu at fast food joints since words seem scarey (new spelling courtesy of njsurfer24). Let me know, because then I can draw you a picture instead of coercing you into reading those thousand words.
Psychological projection was first conceptualized by Sigmund Freud as a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously rejects his or her own unacceptable attributes by ascribing them to objects or persons in the outside world instead.
And they have some particularly thought-provoking threads: "Do you want this turd in your neighborhood" "Pit bulls are nice" "Gore sure to receive Devil's Pineapple up the A$$ Award" "Trash Truck videos" "Padres grow vegetables in bull pen" Sheldon Cooper's surfing saga should go over well.
Your explanation of how to measure a wave made my morning. thank you. not because it was right, or accurate, or even remotely close to how any experienced surfer measures waves, but because it made me laugh so hard i started choking on my cheerios. And whoever called you Sheldon Cooper, gold...
Since no-one has put 2 and 2 together...... You're all arguing with a GRUVI incarnate. Emass, I gave you an opinion and you come back with some snarky Star Wars BS? Come on dude, wasn't an attack....
Just had to add: You keep referencing all the "white" that was coming at you. I get the feeling you're burying your face in too much "white" before you paddle out and ESPECIALLY before you post on this forum. I understand that's your way to get your inner grom back, but dude--IT'S NOT WORTH IT.
That's funny. Even if you did recycle it. Listen, kid, if you're that sensitive / snarky you are gonna get your teets lit up on this forum by guys who are way better than me at forum ripostes. But, hey, sparky....."Have it your way"...! (playing off your fast food shtick)
God, what a waste of time. I didn't read your novels but take some advice, quit blabbering, stop dwelling, and get out and surf. a few things: - Beginners will always have less comfort level in the water the first time out than you think they will... maybe they are a good swimmer, maybe they are good in the ocean even... but you add a board, wetsuit, a leash and balance, that changes the ball game. Be smarter in the future. - Study the conditions before you go out. read about rips and jetties. Stand there and talk to the beginner about what you see before going out. It might seem simple to you, but it's a whole new world for them. - Don't rely on surf forecasts, and be your own judge when you get there (no offense swellinfo, you're on point) - Think about what you post... "I didn't have time to write a short letter so I wrote a long one." - Mark Twain
bro- listen... i dont mean to come across wrong, but the truth is the truth....you can type all you want and as long as you want, but seeing that your fairly new here- you not going to win with half of these guys. Im just saying... save your time and yout typing... i dont know about anyone else, but I really only skim over a long and exhustively written thread- i really dont have the time. What is all comes down to- is that you stated a report of the wave hieght in the third line of your post. "Conditions were 5.2ft @ 11s and fair" when any surfer worth his wieght reads this- he knows that is a fairly heavy and good sized wave. When i hear that- coupled with offshore wind- im running to the beach waiting to get barreled! I dont know where you got the report- was it from a bouy that is all the way out???? then that number could easily be cut in half...thats like saying - for instance- that Jersey gets 23ft waves. a better way to judge waves so that everyone one knows is "IT WAS WAIST TO CHEST HIGH" which - by the way - should be the MAX that you should take someone out in for the second time- for other ppls safety too. I would actually only take someone out in waist hi conditions for the second time. Thats 2 to3 ft waves. Think if there was a fisherman on the shore- he saw this and called 911 and jumped in the freezing water to save a life. Anyways- im just saying- calm down. Its ok. everyone messes up sometimes. learn the ocean and its currents... this takes YEARS and many mistakes. I have ended up on jetties before - im sure along with many others... Save your time and let it go....and no need to reply to me... im hardly on here... and probably will not check this thread again.
If it makes you feel better, I'll acknowledge your a MA surfer, who could've been in Jersey. But your buddy's greenness in large surf was topped by a factor of two by a 19-year old woman who surfed for the very first time with her boyfriend in triple-overhead surf during Hurricane Fabian at Newport 2nd beach (at high-tide!). This was while Wes and Randy Lane tow-surfed 4x overhead surf at Satan's Ledge. The buoys were 10 @ 17s. Some of the swells were like 16 feet high while they were still 800 yards offshore. All right, so it was a little rough, and the waves were like head-high plus. You just need to stay away from the hazards. I haven't read your post yet, but I promise I'll get to it.
