Nobody owes you anything

Like this...

 

you know, sometimes spreading, or sharing, the aloha involves calling people out on their behavior. as someone else mentioned, it's all in how you approach the transgressor.
while i am not shy about correcting people who do stupid things in the water, i refuse to get upset or loud unless the transgressor puts me or someone else in a potentially life-threatening situation. that just doesn't happen often in nj.
but spreading the aloha doesn't necessarily mean that it's ok to drop in on someone or get in their way while paddling out. it's more about taking steps to ensure that you don't mess up someone's ride or endanger them. b/c, honestly, how would you feel if the situation were reversed? would you just be ok w/ it? i highly doubt that.

 

Pumpmaster, notice he says "The Johnny Come Latelys who don't get it will sell their gear and move on to some other activity. They are the speed bumps in the water." I agree totally. I just don't let speed bumps make me lose my **** and rant on forums.

You act like what Salt said only applies to surfing, those values apply to life as a whole. That's what I'm trying to tell you, quit trying to hide your disappointment with society as a whole, behind a surfing rant.

And as for PeaJay, get over yourself, "Surfing defines every part of my life" So am I to be penalized because I don't live and die with my board by my side? Because I like to travel and do other things? Yes, I play golf and yes I moved away from California, because I didn't want to surf every second of everyday (and the money is better here for me), I like being well-rounded and I'm terrified of becoming a 40+ year old man that still judges his life by how well he surfs.

 

there has to be some kind of code in the lineup or you get chaos and everyone loses. the code we have evolved over decades and is what it is because it's what works best. there are times when the code doesn't prevent conflict but this really doesn't happen that often. it just seems that way because it's posted about and argued over on a public website.

just be nice and try and see things from other people's perspective:

1. beginners are frothing and desperately want waves even though they can barely surf and don't know the code

2. locals surf a spot their whole lives and all year long and don't like giving up waves to new people who don't know what to do with them.

locals need to be more patient and not get angry unless someone is clearly an unrepentant azzhole. beginners need to recognize that they have to earn their way on to the peak through practice and experience and in the mean time need to find another less good spot to surf. on good days this usually sorts out itself but on small crappy summer days things can get out of hand.

for me, getting angry over a crap wave is not worth it and should be beneath a 'good' surfer. but on the other hand, beginners should recognize when they are wasting waves on good days and getting in the way of better surfers who have been waiting perhaps months for swell.

it's never gonna be perfect but a little empathy goes a long way.

 

I am what you'd consider a summer surf kook, i'm from Annapolis, MD and I live in OC all summer, I DONT consider myself a local, cause i'm not... but I do think I deserve respect from the OC community because I repsect OCMD and the surfers and locals in it. And I surf year round, just obviously not all the time because of the travel. But, i'm a junior in high school, and recently over the past year i've seen so many fake posers rise up from the grave. Being able to rent a board and take lessons, or using a SUP has made all these kids from my school think they are surfers. I understand everyones frustration with this having experienced it. I've only been surfing for about 4 years and i'm still grasping it. Surfing is close to being as "uncool as rollerblading". But all these stupid kooks will never gain the same feeling from surfing as we will, nor will they earn any respect from anyone, if someone is just sitting in the lineup wasting space, and acting all hard cause they can paddle around in one foot shore break, I will be an asshole to them. Call me a kook, call me whatever you want, but we need to do something to these posers because they are destroying this beautiful lifestyle us surfers have been shaping for decades.

 

kyle, the rant is more about the people who feel they can do whatever they want whenever they want in the water. its the sense of entitlement. as stated numerous times on this thread, the newb who is humble and respectful will get help. I operate that way too and will offer advice to anybody who is cool and respectful. Those people who understand their actions will affect the other surfers deserve the help they get. the ones who dont give a crap are the ones who should be regulated. The lawsuit thing (as brought up in the leashes thread) really does bother me since the last thing we need is cops and lawyers involved in surfing issues.

 

Well said my friend.

 

The problem is you don't see the entitlement you're showing by thinking you own any part of the ocean, or some unwritten code is gospel. No one like to involve cops with anything, so guys are asses that do, but is something like giving up a wave or wearing a leash that big of an offense to you.

Sorry, it's just not for me.

 

but yet you just agreed with what Travy said which is exactly what I'm saying. The only difference is that I believe that in very rare instances, getting aggro is acceptable.

 

I agreed with this:

"for me, getting angry over a crap wave is not worth it and should be beneath a 'good' surfer. but on the other hand, beginners should recognize when they are wasting waves on good days and getting in the way of better surfers who have been waiting perhaps months for swell."

Basically saying, you should never take surfing or any other sport so seriously, unless the put you in danger, let it go. That's it...Getting aggro is never acceptable, unless you are being put directly in danger, period.

And I understand where you're coming from Pumpmaster, but how many threads are you guys gonna post like this. As you can see I've never really posted often, until yesterday, because I just like to check my forecast and read something if it's interesting. But, this is enough, I'm tired of you guys acting like every time it's good out there's 50 kooks just snaking every wave in sight. It's just not true.

Then, you fellas want to turn it into cold-water Jersey thing or a liberal vs. republican thing, which it's not. This is just one guy trying to get a bunch of close minded people to realize life is too short to blow a fuse over surfing. Unless something happens that sends you home in worse physical condition then when you paddled out, let it go. There's plenty of other places (bars, concerts, sporting events) to get all drunk aggro and pick on smaller guys then you, save it for there please.

Once again, Go Heat!

 

Might well have been. But I couldn't read it. I see a block of unbroken text like that and my brain freezes. Paragraph breaks are your friend. I think I'm going to write a book, "Punctuation for Surfers."

One more point. The original post mentions lawsuits and people suing each other. Has there been some recent case of a surfer suing another surfer or something that I missed? Just curious. Anybody got a link?

 

its from the leashes thread where somebody said that they would sue if hit by a board with no leash.

 

Nope, basically just a bunch of grumpy old guys complaining about something one guy said one time in a forum. Don't worry I've been out surfing a few times the past week and haven't been threatened with a lawsuit yet. But then again I'm considerate and wear a leash.

 

Nobody is penalizing you Kyle, you can live life any way you want to. What i was trying to say is if you can't grasp how surfing can influence life choices than I don't believe you to be a surfer. my opinion not fact. I have other influences but besides my parents none have been around as long as surfing has. I work for a company that is reducing energy use. I come from an environmental/conservational background because my love for surfing( and fishing and hunting) spawned a love for the planet and its finite resources. The choices i make on what i put in the garden are influenced by what i don't want running off into the water. i chose to eat organic and live healthier for many reasons, one being so i can surf. the othe reasons include so i can play ball with my children and love my wife like i did when we were kids. i met my wife doing the environmental work that was influenced by surfing. I know more about weather than most people and why do you think that is. Surfing.

like it or not surfing is self regulated and it is not changing. it isn't just hassling someone for snaking or dropping in. Ever see someone step in when someone is getting overly hassled by a more expericened surfer? it happens. you ever see a local tell a younger surfer to pick up his trash? have you ever seen a more expercienced surfer give a wave to a leeser experciened one? It happens. You come from places like the pacific northwest and California. I've been there and self regulation happens there too. Maybe even more so. and you will see it in Jupiter and other plaves in FLA believe me.

FYI after my last post yesterday i shut the computer, the whole family worked in the garden( i'm planting CORN!), ate dinner, went to the beach and got some waist high little waves that the whole family could ride, and then got italian ices before bedtime. tonight i'm going fishing. tomorow i'm playing softball. How's that for well rounded? and I am almost 40.

I shouldn't had been rude. you are not nobody. I'll just call you Kyle. you can call me PJ. How's that?

 

Fair enough.

I understand self-regulation. Just don't think you're the cops, judge, and jury.

But please tell me PeaJay, what is a surfer then? I go out, and without a chip on my should surf as much as the next guy, respect the ocean and others around me. What else is missing so I can fit into your "surfer" label?

I work for a charitable organization but I don't walk around calling myself a philanthropist, what makes you a "surfer" and me not one? Just sounds like you love to have that label attached to you, I could care less.

 

I might print this entire thread out and use it as toilet paper....

 

you guys crack me up with your expertise of "what is hardcore" and "who should or shouldn't be in the water". What a joke.

The words that come to mind are "delusions of grandeur".

Every one of you guys was a "newbie" or "kook" at one time, and every one of you "got in someone else's way".

Tough talk on the internet is lame and sad.

 

thanks but do you agree that if someone is blowing wave after wave and getting in the way of others who aren't falling, they should go somewhere else?

i'm a proficient surfer who doesn't fall very much and even i will take it down the beach if i know it's too big or fast for me to make many waves when others are. even good surfers need to know their limits and abilities and stop clogging up the lineup when they're in over their head. beginners even more so.

 

try not worrying what i think
but i think you do have a chip on your shoulder.

if you understand self regulation then you understand that with it you do not need cops, judges, or juries because everthing will sort itself out.

 

Good man! I really respect this.