Surfing Waves

“Too many damn surfers, not enough waves, that’s why there’s localism, man,” said one, plucking a beer from an ice box. “If we let every nice guy surf, there’d be a hundred guys out here. You have to nip it in the bud. The reason it’s not crowded is that people protect it.” - California's surf wars by Rory Carroll in The Guardian.

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/may/18/california-surf-wars-lunada-bay-localism-surfing

As the number of crowded breaks has increased so has the violence of localism. What can be done to manage neanderthals and restore aloha?

I have run into localism here on Kauai and on Oahu but it was to me a fairly benign or even beneficial force because I was accepted as one of the locals eventually. No idea what it is like these days because I am the local where I surf.

BoMan wrote:

surfrage.jpg

“Too many damn surfers, not enough waves, that’s why there’s localism, man,” said one, plucking a beer from an ice box. “If we let every nice guy surf, there’d be a hundred guys out here. You have to nip it in the bud. The reason it’s not crowded is that people protect it.” - California's surf wars by Rory Carroll in The Guardian.

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/may/18/california-surf-wars-lunada-bay-localism-surfing

As the number of crowded breaks has increased so has the violence of localism. What can be done to manage neanderthals and restore aloha?

The Lunada Bay boys mentioned in that Guardian article have been hit with a class-action lawsuit.

http://www.theinertia.com/surf/surfers- ... surf-gang/

When I first started surfing Hanalei (around 1972)I ran into some localism. I had been there a few times but this day it was mostly a bunch of guys I knew from High school out there. One of them told me that I needed to backdoor the bowl in the next couple hours or I wouldn't be allowed to surf there. I was like " Seriously?" and he said "yeah the braddas gonna kick you out if you don't". That particular day and on other days there was a big gap between the peak we called Impossibles and the peak we called The Bowl. It was a 10 to 20 or maybe even 30 yard long section of wall that didn't break. You had to speed pump through it but that was a task I was well skilled at. They told me that not only did I need to speed up and get through that section in between the peaks but I had to time it so that I hit the peak after it threw over so that I actually entered the tube from the backside after it was a tube. The bowl was a peak that got bigger than the wave previously and often had a huge hollow tube. Many of my attempts were too early and resulted in these fantastic tube rides. Some were too late and I got pounded. Then after almost the whole 2 hours I caught a wave and entered after the lip touched down and I made it out of the end. It wasn't a nice tube and in fact there were numerous chandeliers or whitewater falling from the top of the wave into the tube but I made it out the end all wet just as it collapsed. So I was able to surf longer that day but the bonus was I got numerous incredible tube rides which maybe I wouldn't have if I wasn't trying as hard to backdoor a tube.

Over here in Japan, at some breaks, if you don't have a certain type of board or a certain brand of wetsuit, you won't be "allowed" to surf there. Also the car license plate say what area you're from, so the locals know you're a outsider as soon as you pull up.

So you might say " those little people aren't going to mess with this big American, Aussie, etc. ". Think wrong, the best surfers in the world John John Florence, Dane Reynolds, Kolohe Andino, Yadin Nicol and Conner Coffinn, needed to get permission from the local area boss to surf this one break in Shonan. He told them they could only paddle out one at a time ( that's why you see 3 of them watching from shore on the video ). And if they first weren't introduce by Shuji Kasuya respected as the "Tom Curren of Japan", it wouldn't have happened.



http://www.surfingmagazine.com/photos/b ... e1CwTce.97
"This was the time an American was allowed to surf this wave"

Bo, thanks for the Guardian story link. Such morons. There are ALWAYS more waves.
dsantosyoga, thanks for the link to the update about federal retribution for the morons.

I don't surf well enough to go the really good places where there may be morons like this. However, my visit to a secret surf break this weekend included my 45 kg Ridgeback and another "friend" carried in my backpack in case the local morons thought they were invincible. I guarantee, a wetsuit and surfboard would not provide adequate protection for the locals from my dog and the other thing I brought. Scouts motto: "Always be prepared."

I'll hit anybody that says I'm aggressive! Actually fighting at my age might be presenting cheques my body cannot cash!

Would rather be elsewhere anyway!

waikikikichan wrote:Over here in Japan, at some breaks, if you don't have a certain type of board or a certain brand of wetsuit, you won't be "allowed" to surf there. Also the car license plate say what area you're from, so the locals know you're a outsider as soon as you pull up"

Interesting. I can understand the board thing, but what's up with the wetsuit brand? Is it that only wetsuits from a local company are accepted at that particular break? Seems a bit odd if it's just a matter of "we only surf [insert wetsuit brand here] over at this spot, you're wearing the wrong brand, you can't surf here"


I'm not good enough yet to go out looking for the best waves, but I do enjoy paddling out at different spots. To a certain extent, I feel localism is all a part of it. I don't believe in any type of physical confrontations but can see why locals would want to protect their spot. All of us who surf should be able to understand. How frustrating is it once summer starts and the inside gets clogged with swimmers/spongers/surf schools etc, or even SUPs, how many would love to be able to do something about it?

From what I hear though, Lunada is a different beast. Dbag trust fund babies who don't have to work for a living, so they can maintain their spot through verbal/physical intimidation on the daily, coupled with complacent law enforcement makes for a bad situation.

Australia may have a solution to thin out the crowds and reduce violence. Snowdonia in North Wales has an artificial wave pool. We need a few of these in California!

Managing director of Surf Snowdonia Steve Davies said "To be able to say 'that wave is mine and nobody else is going on it and I can perform across the whole width of that wave and I don't have to worry about hitting somebody or worrying about safety', that has got to be the ultimate ambition of every surfer."

http://news.sky.com/story/1401304/wave-of-violence-on-oz-surfing-beaches

This looks FUN…I would try it