Thoughts on waverunner tow-ins...

Completely unacceptable in a lineup. If they want to practice tow-ins, they need to go somewhere without people.

 

Waverunners tend to turn people into 'tards and strip them of all situational awareness.

They should have gone to an empty area, they have no business being near swimmers and surfers.

Ask them politely to move. If they don't, cold-cock the driver and steal their safety shutoff key. Then proceed to watch them bob around in the breakers while you throw seashells filled with seagull scat at them.

 

Erock knows how to get things done!

 

+1 to what these guys said. They shouldn't be out near you guys, effing up the set waves. And if I see dudes doing that, sorry, but I wanna see some big airs...if you're towing in to 3 footers and not even ripping I mean, come on.

 

if they do it near lineups, erocks response seems legit.

 

Yep that is bull sh!t in the lineup. This ain't mavs or chopes so there is no need for towing in and tow at's are so 2005! Follow what Erock said and all should be good.

 

That wouldn't fly around here, ass whippings would be handed out and rightfully so, I think they saw that video of what happened in Tahiti and they think they're jokesters

 

Down here in Florida you are only allowed to use jet ski's in certain marked places on the beach. At the NSB inlet or Ponce side they do not allow it. There's also just far too many people in the lineup to even consider that.

We also have a lot of kite boarders and they can pretty much go where they want except close to the inlet break.

Down here I think its just an issue of too many people so they try to keep the masses safe.

As for tow-ins in general if the waves are too big to paddle into then fine. If its a place like Jaws or teahapoo or like Popoyo Outer reef then I can see using them. Think its kind of pointless though if you can paddle into waves.

I am all for using them to get to the waves though.

 

+1 They even tell fishing boats they are too close to shore as well and tell them to go further out, I've only seen it enforced at the Inlet like you said though. Other places have nobody there to say anything, so depends on the beach.

 

Hey SUP, I heard in Cali they are trying to pass legislation that would make SUP's considered vessels (like jetskis) and that they need to stay 500 feet from surfers (thus not allowing you into the lineup)

 

Ya know, if there were a lifeguard on duty this would never have been allowed

Tow-ins for small waves are entirely unnecessary, rude & obnoxious, and probably wicked fun.

 

Yeah, I've heard that, would be a shame to consider them vessels, they're really just a LB with a paddle, they even make some very small and light compared to what they use to be. The people who are a hazard to others are making a bad name for them, and those are the people that don't belong in or around the lineup. If it's crowded it's never worth getting in the mix, and always better to find a peak to the side, if at all possible.

I personally don't take mine out that often just because I much prefer my shorty or LB, but when it's SUP conditions i'll take it out from time to time, but not really in the lineup, I go down the beach some and find a lonesome peak but usually after a few quality rides the pack starts making it's way over to snake the peak, so it's hard to avoid everybody, but I've never had an issue, probably because I understand etiquette and I know how to operate mine with skill.

Beginners should never take their SUP in the surf, I spent a good 6 months on flat water before ever surfing it, and I had years of surfing / lineup experience before ever getting one. I almost got ran over by some dude at Ponce Inlet one day when I was on my short board. He paddled in from behind me and tried snaking the wave and didn't even look, then when I yelled at him he got all wide eyed like "what I do", told him that he almost ran me over and to move on down the beach with that. If you can't function in a lineup, regardless of your craft, then move off to the side and take the scraps till you get the hang of things.

 

There was a discussion about this last winter and here's what i wrote:

 

We have periodic problems at Pumphouse and Reef Road with jet skiiers on big but not too big days. Mostly it is thing of the past, due to surfers constantly flipping them off, cussing at them and even following them to the boat ramp for further discussion. Word has gotten out. When it is a small day, there is usually a couple of idiots on rentals that chop up the lineup, but it is very brief. Rule of thumb: If they go by just give them the stink eye. If they come back flip them off and yell at them to get the F*** down the beach. If they don't comply, the crew will resort to harsher measures ( golf balls, coconut 2 man slingshots off the jetty, pieces of nylon rope cut up and thrown into their general area so it gets sucked up in the impeller, baby oil spray downs, and the aforementioned meeting at the boat ramp.)

I've got some good friends who tow in on big gnarly days, and they always show respect to whoever is crazy enough to paddle out. Of course, they are surfers, not jet ski cowboys.

 

I favor the coconut slingshot thing. Fire when ready, matey!

 

This is appropriate. In MN you need to register them as PWC.

DP, you're my boy Blue, but the volume on most SUPs is 3x the volume on a LB. Go duct tape 3 LBs in stacked format and tell me that's a surfboard.

 

This tow-in in the lineup is ludicrous. I'm all for rambunctiousness but not in a lineup. The Coast Guard would have a few things to say to these jamokes.

 

It is a blast! You should see the looks on the jet skiiers faces as they are headed out or in the inlet and one goes flying overhead as a warning shot. Plus it is great for grom morale, as two get to hold each one of the ends of the tube.

They are asshole machines. Unless you are part of a tow team, by and large as soon as you set your rear end on one of them and hit the throttle, you become an instant asshole.

 

find out who they are and approach them about it. people that do this are the worst and should be dealt with accordingly.

we had some kids around NJ doing it last fall and it was told to them to take someplace else. this isn't puerto guys.