A new kind of snake......

[Big H]

So I saw and experienced something that I'd hadn't before.....super low tide today so the beach break was really a shore break....short rides, paddle outs took less than 30 sec....

There was a kid out there today, Indo teenager, who was a special kind of wave hog.....insatiable appetite, he would try for minimum 2 sometimes three waves a set (set being 5-6 waves).....he'd take the tweeners as well; have to admire his stamina.....

The break is a left....he was small enough that he could get in relatively early (heavy as toast) and here was his insidious technique.....there was a fair amount who never managed to catch a wave (as always) so he disregarded them when going for a wave.....occassionally they would get on but would only go straight and everyone drops in on those guys anyway since their catch frequency is 1 out of 15 or 20 tries.....that wasn't the dirty part......what this kid would do was paddle with his head up watching whomever else was going for a wave, and then he would take the wave in the opposite direction of the person that he managed to single out as being the one that was going to actually catch it....he was so small he would always get up first and then he'd ride right at whomever was paddling even if that meant riding the wave as a right and driving straight at the curl.....if he was uncontested or in priority position then he would take the wave as a left as the wave IS a left....but if he spotted someone deeper than him who was going to make the wave, he'd still take it but go at it as a right.........

.....and then he'd do his level best to catch the very next wave that he could.....

Anyway, I observed this from a distance, then found myself in the same space with him and he did it once, so I pulled back.....second time he did it I managed to catch the wave at the same time as him and we were both arched up gliding in and had a split second staredown about 5m apart both poised for the wave....he went ahead and took it and I popped to a seated position on the tail and rode straight down looking at him the whole time (too late to pull off)....he was riding into the curl this time BTW and I correctly had priority - as if that mattered.....

Anyhow, he started to say something to me in English and I ripped him a new one in bahasa detailing to him how greedy he was trying to take every wave, what I'd seen him to do other people and how the hell was he going to take my wave and ruin it trying to steal it by riding the wrong way!? A moment of shocked silence, a grumble and we paddled back out......he went well outside and sat out a few waves, then rejoined and I noticed he stopped going right and lessened his frequency.....

.....a new kind of snake......

[BaNZ]

From what you explained, it sounds like it is a left break. The kid would get on every wave and if there is someone on it, he would go the opposite direction which would be right. Then if no one has caught it, then he would go left. I don't see a problem in that? I know it isn't good etiquette. But in crowded areas, I don't mind people going left and right as that is pretty normal. Or else there isn't enough wave to go around and I'm not travelling a long distance just to catch 1 wave an hour.

[BoMan]

It sounds like this break is like a freeway! Maybe you could make some money writing sig alerts for Magic Seaweed. Just imagine....

[Big H]

From what you explained, it sounds like it is a left break. The kid would get on every wave and if there is someone on it, he would go the opposite direction which would be right. Then if no one has caught it, then he would go left. I don't see a problem in that? I know it isn't good etiquette. But in crowded areas, I don't mind people going left and right as that is pretty normal. Or else there isn't enough wave to go around and I'm not travelling a long distance just to catch 1 wave an hour.

He would only go right to cut someone off that was deeper than him. Pretty much the opposite of good etiquette.