Surfing Waves

i want your guys opinion.....

do you prefer a "crowded" backline or do you prefer going for a surf where there are not so many people??

typically I don't have that option as not too many places around here break. But, I'd choose an empty beach over a crowd as long as the waves are about equal.

Spent most of my summer driving 1-3 hours from my home break so I could avoid the crowds.

Of course, I do sometimes miss the "scenery."

i dont like a huge crowd but i dont mind a few guys out at a break. i dont have a huge choice as to where i surf because i cant drive yet but id probably be a little worried if i paddled out somewhere n it was completely empty.

If the crowd is full of hot chicks in next-to-nothing, I'm all for it.

I am with deadite all the way. Generally crowds suck. I enjoy surfing with my kids when we are all out together we can cover a zone.

Crowds are okay, as long as they are pretty much respectful, wether they're at theyre local break or not, and if they know the basic rules of not dropping in and what not, then its cool by me.
If not though (like most) crowds generally suck!
Hang Loose

Crowded always sucks, mainly because there will be a lot of long board riders out there who will get all the waves well before the waves reach the shortboarders line up.

I do prefer to have at least 1 other guy out as it's spooky when you are out on your own. It's also not wise to go out alone, anything can happen and it's best there is someone there who can help you or who can at least tell your loved ones what happened to you and why you won't be coming back.

im with aloha , i always think to my self if anyone else is out there then they will spot a shark or somthin and i would be able to paddle safety but wheen im on my own im awlays lookin out for things and currends and such things (even though sharks rarely enter are waters and when they are there either basking sharks or dolphins ) but i rarely am out on my own and when i do its swimming cos there aint no waves

i dislike crowds because i dont catch any waves for fear of upsetting someone, i dont mind surfing alone, i did it a few times last summer, on rainy days early in the morning, and yeah its a bit spooky but better than not catching anything.

i like it when others are out cos you can talk to them, if you want.. only if the other guys are nice though

I totally agree with babyboarder, i would learn faster if the beach were less crowded, sometimes i wakeup 3 am drive 2-3 hours, jus to get on the beach before the crowds awake, so i can catch more waves... I have surf totally alone, i know it's not best practice but if no one else wants to wake up that early in the morning I don't care.. I don't hate crowds, I can live with that, but the farther the better

i like it when others are out cos you can talk to them, if you want.. only if the other guys are nice though

one not very populer break near me no one talks there is so much tension in the line up you could allmost slice through it then when that set wave comes everyone goes for it, its the most agresive surfing ive ever seen reason why i will only surf it on a week day

but i perfer to surf with no croweds ive been out at sunrise before just me out with 3ft glass rolling in nothing beats it

It's crowded over here now even during the week as the kids are off from school.

Anyway this guy went absolute psychotic beserk at me this week, I guess I got too close to him but I never saw him and I'm usually very careful with these things, it happens to me at least twice a week that I almost get run over, but this guy didn't shout out a warning that he was there or anything and I didn't see him in the wave either so God knows what his problem was, I wasn't going to stick around and chat with him about what I had done. I just paddeled off in the other direction, usually I have a killer temper when someone yells at me but I was quite proud of my composure.

I would understand if I had consistently done something dangerous, but accidents do happen. When I see swell approaching I always turn around to look to see what the crowd is like behind me, I'm absolutely certain that if I was close enough for this guy to go insane I would have seen him. I remember staring down the face of the wave and realising I wasn't going to make it if some guy was anywhere near me I would have seen him. I'm starting to think he was either a nutcase or he mistook me for someone else.

If the crowd is full of hot chicks in next-to-nothing, I'm all for it.

For sure!!
But really.......the less people the more waves you have to surf.
But it is always nice to have friends out surfing with you.

Just a couple of friends and perfect waves ... :-)

wont get many out in the UK now not till the spring at least only the hardcore surfers go out in the winter there was only 5 people out at saunton today was perfect

i hate crowds!! i hate surfing alongside anyone unless theyre my mates ... being a beginner, id rather go way away 2 the crap surf than go near the locals who get mighty angus if u get in thier way!! meh!

For me, a crowd isnt so bad.... most of the time im away from the major section, and the people at my local break kinda.... dense... (no offense to them) and then wait in some wacked out stupid places... so all i do is paddle out and wait for the last wave of the set which is always the biggest, and no one is around me to get in my way.

However i do like surfing alone too... especially when good sets are rare that day.

Im very used to crowds. I go to Waikiki and I can easily count more than 50 guys and even a couple canoes in the lineup. I hit someone with my board once, got hit once in the face, got ran over by a skeg and also got a huge chunk of my board cut off (about 5 sq inches) but I still go. However I prefer no crowds but im afraid of it being too territorial and someone getting mad so i dont know.