Winter Kooks

I agree . Just paddleing out in winter surf show once commitment and stoke on surfing. Hey I dont got bothered by crowds or inexpericenced people in the water. If is see someone who looks outa place or in the wrong place I will give them some tips and a heads up. As for ppl dropping in on you well that one I cant fix .

I belive the Duke said that the ocean has enough waves for everyone.

I havent met anyone off here while out surfing yet , It would be to meet some of ya's. I have no shame in my surfing ability nor judge anyone else's. Look of the Gold Landrover in next time anyone is in OCNJ or Cape May . You'll know its me by what my board looks like

 

i like surfing.

me n my bros surf, its cool. we try 2 stay 'authentic' to live up 2 everyone's expectations of what a 'surfer' should 'b'.

 

surfing in the winter is just flat out harder. i surf so much worse in the winter, it takes me a few more minutes to get out, and its meserable out. I would of caught 3 times more waves than i did if the water was 65 degrees than 40 on sunday, but thats just how it is. I think it's a little odd seeing kooks out in 40 degree water, but as long they don't get in my way i dont really care.

 

I brought a friend out on sunday. . . went to the local surf shop and rented a mutant 543 for like 10 bucks. . . It was his second time surfing and he made it out there and had a sick time even though he got worked.

 

Ok Mr Teacher, what do you do when that person WON"T listen to tips on etiquette and continues acting like a total kook? (BTW, there's a big difference between a newb and a kook).

 

Its common knowledge to more experienced people but not to a newbie kook. Kooks shouldn't be near the jetty, its way to dangerous to be near the rocks, particularly on a strong day and if the currents are heading towards the rocks (both for they're board and themselves). Instead of hollering at them or trying to run them over to teach them a lesson for being in the way, tell them where it will be easier for them to paddle out (a rip) and where they should be in the lineup to try and catch some waves without being in the way of others.

Luckily the 1st couple of times I surfed, a few guys (whom I didn't know at all) we're courteous enough to give me some tips that I didn't find on the web anywhere (like riding out a rip...and waiting to paddle out right after you see closeout sets coming in...not when the waters have been calm for a while...cuz sure enough you'll be 1/2 way out and get bombed inside by a few close outs) and those 2 tips really helped me out.

 

Actually you are right...some newbies have knowledge and etiquette...just lack skill and paddle stamina and such. Some pretty good surfers can be kooks...usually they are just plain insane and don't care about others in the water, but surf pretty good none the less. I agree, there is a difference.

 

Why do you think they offered those tips Rob? Probably because you were respectful and stayed out of their way. Like I said a newb is not always a kook, just unlearned. A kook is plain ignorant. They either know the rules and don't care or feel they apply to them or the don't know the rules and don't care to learn.

 

I think what it really boils down to is that the conditions were too much for some of the kooks/newbies you saw out that particular day. I personally think offseason w/ wetsuit gear is the best time for newbies to learn to surf (maybe not the frigid winter, but the non-crowded offseason) but they should be out in smaller wave days and also not paddling out into a crowded lineup. There is tons of open beach these days with plenty of sandbar breaks to go around....no need for everyone to crowd at 1 spot.

Another theory for this flood of "winter kooks" could be non-surfers visiting beach-living-relatives for the holidays..and wanting to try surfing for the 1st time (like your summer vacationers whom rent a BIC log for a week and flounder around and reek havoc) Or its just the cheap wetsuit theory..one or the other.

 

Its kinda funny how this thread started . Just yesterday I was listening to my Sirius satilite radio and I had the Jason Ellis Show on like I normally do. He just started surfing recently and someone on a SUP called him a kook cause he went for a wave that the guy on the SUP wa spadling for what it wasnt even a fully formed wave .

He got into a disussion on why people call each other kooks and if being a kook meant that being bad a surfing to the point where you would not wanna pursue a carree in surfing and loose what the meaning of surfin is then so be it.
If you are considered a "kook" for your surf ability or etiquette then I guess all of us are kooks unless you are at the level of the Pro then ???. Yeah sometime you dont see a the other guy going for the wave you are. Acidents happen thats why they are called that.
I feel if a person has the passion for surfing so much that he or she wants to suit up and dance in the cold water of the winter season then so be it they have just as much or even more stoke on surfing as most of us who wanna steal there stoke by yellin at them or calling then name or threating them with a ass whoopin as I have seen over the years.
Maybe some who call the newb to surfing kooks cause they are more wraped up in catching so many wave or getting barreled so many time they forget they were beginers at one time too and maybe they were treated the same way so thats all they know.
I was never submitted to the Kook hazings when is was a young grom . The age group of people I surfed with varied in length and each person had there own style which was kool cause it showed me many differnt styles of surfing.

Surfing should be all about having fun and chanelling the oceans power and using it in a postive manner. Not keeping a detailed out of how many waves you caught and how many times a person droped in on you and ruined your wave

 

Matt,
467 posts since joining in October 2009. You're a KOOK!

 

Matt

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one. Why should their stoke interfere with mine? In the water, I am pretty competitive but I'll also give people pointers if they are respectful. However, if someone paddles out and shows 0 respect and etiquette, then they will have a very serious problem. To me it's that simple. Act correctly and a person should have no problems at any spot.

I've never bought into the whole 'soul' thing with surfing so maybe that explains things but more so, when I started, newb hazing was HUGE and it forced us to learn the correct way to behave in the lineup. That holds true today. Case in point, last summer in WWC, on a whim, i paddled out at the surf beach at rambler on a waist high day. the waves were fun but it was a zoo. On my first wave, i got dropped in on by about 6 people who had absolutely no clue they were doing anything wrong. On my second wave, the same thing happened and this time, I yelled and pushed people off their boards. On the paddle back out most people were apologetic and asked about what they were doing. I explained the whole dropping in thing and for the rest of the day I had no problems.

 

Is this thread really dedicated to whining about crowds in New Jersey in December? Stop your crying and find a new place to surf if you can't handle it. If you weren't able to enjoy Sunday b/c of what other surfers were doing in the water than you have a serious problem.

 

And what problem would that be? Not enough 'soul'?

 

Anyone having the cajones, and winter gear, to make a go it during these colder months is ok in my book. We have all been there at some point. We all get caught on the inside in the wash sometime, which is not fun with the winter gear and cold. In my 20 years of surfing the best advise I ever got was "Don't take the first set wave". If you don't make it...you're screwed.

 

haha most likely.