Surfing Waves

Hey guys and gals! My name's Rob and I'm totally new to surfing, and excited to be on this forum (reddit is my other go-to for surf questions).

My question today is about listening to lifeguards... I gave some background below for context, but skip ahead if you want a TL;DR.

background:
So I was out at Laguna beach today, and was messing around with a softtop 8ft longboard in big surf about a quarter mile or away from a lineup (which is rockpile). Being a bodyboarding I know how to handle big surf, but I'm sure I looked a little clumsy on the surfboard regardless. I caught a big one and ate it, made it back through the set. Caught another one and managed to stand a little. WooHoo! Can't wait for my first surf lesson, I thought to myself!

So here's where it gets interesting. I notice one guy from the lineup paddling towards me, and after about 5 minutes of waiting he finally gets over to me. At this point I was in front of Cleo St., which I knew was a good distance from RockPile. I could only assume he was coming to say something to me, I mean for anyone who's been to laguna, the RockPile spot is pretty far from Cleo St. He finally gets to me and says, "Do you know what you're doing out here?!?" in a confrontational voice. I was like, "Well, I'm a sponger so I'm pretty comfortable in big surf." Just messing with this 8 footer my friend lent me. He says, "Well I'm a lifeguard, and you can't come in the water anymore. I'm kicking you out!" I don't really like confrontation and didn't feel like explaining myself to a complete stranger who paddled his board so far just to tell me to get out of the water. So I went in and moved further away, and enjoyed a couple sets.

TL;DR:
So anyways, my question is... What do I do when someone (lifeguard or surfer) tells me to get out of the water saying I shouldn't be out, even when I'm 100% confident in the conditions? Assuming I'm not anywhere near a lineup or dropping in on others. What happens if this happens in a lineup while I'm sitting on the shoulder? Am I required to listen to lifeguards? How do I handle these types of situations? Am I making a mistake?

Thanks guys,
Rob!!!

Could you take him?

In the spirit of good vibes and assuming that you want to return to the spot, I'd go in, check in with the lifeguards on the beach in the tower and get clearance for surfing in that spot after explaining to them what happened. Show the lifeguards the respect they deserve; you might need saving one day and for all you know that guard had a reason for telling you to get out (rip, boat zone, shallows with big hidden boulders you can't see.

Big H wrote:Could you take him?

Haha maybe an arm wrestle on the beach!

Big H wrote:In the spirit of good vibes and assuming that you want to return to the spot, I'd go in, check in with the lifeguards on the beach in the tower and get clearance for surfing in that spot after explaining to them what happened. Show the lifeguards the respect they deserve; you might need saving one day and for all you know that guard had a reason for telling you to get out (rip, boat zone, shallows with big hidden boulders you can't see.

Yeah man, for sure. I go there all the time, and I never see lifeguards there (except on the busiest days of summer). This is the first time I've come across a person who was surfing who claimed to be a lifeguard. (Where's your red wetsuit? lol) I meet people in the lineup all the time when bodyboarding who are super cool! Yeah I'm thinking he just saw me struggling with the 8ft soft top board which is kinda new and different for me.

I was just wondering if I have to listen, since he did not respond to my attempt to explain myself. He looked younger than me (27), just a kid with a douchy attitude. But yeah, much respect to lifeguards I know he was just trying to help in his own way, and I did move further away.

Maybe I should have asked more questions. I'll be sure to strike up a convo if I see him again, or remember what he looks like.

EDIT: I never get grammar the first time through ; )

6two6rob wrote:I was just wondering if I have to listen

Well, in one sense, obviously yes, he knows his stuff, and in his professional opinion you were endangering yourself...



...but in another very real sense, I have met some lifeguards who were complete jerks

Surfies v clubbies. An argument as old as time.

Just wait until the clubbies run their events right in the middle of your favourite break ...

(Clubbies are lifesavers - life saving club)

Don't know about California and lifeguard authority, but here is my two cents worth!
How are you to know he is a life guard, were you in a restricted area?
Restricted area= yes go in! For that reason alone.
Non restricted area and you were looking for a break away from traffic , your call not his!
If he was concerned then your answer about capability should be enough! (Bear in mind a lot of soft board beginners think they can handle it) .
If he was a local trying warn you away ignore and continue surfing.

Rule of thumb, if you would have ignored him from your body board and you could handle conditions, do so at your own risk!

Stop being a Jerk. You even admitted you were just fooling around ( jerking around ), BEFORE even your first lesson. So yeah, you can handle yourself on a bodyboard ( we call them Speed Bumps ) in big surf. But from his eyes you were in trouble and came over to help. Let me tell you this if you ever come to Hawaii, if someone talks to you and gives you a bit of advice....... it means they care about you. If no ones says something, it means they don't give a s--t if you drown. People like you make it harder on the next guy who really is in trouble. Maybe that lifeguard guy will be hesitant to help out someone who he think is in trouble all because the last guy was a jerk.
I hope you remember this post you made 10 years from now when you try to help someone and end up meeting yourself.

Just for your guys entertainment, here's a picture I took at RockPile Laguna, thanks to my friend Derek's iPhone 6s waterproof casing...



The Kayaker dropped in on this guy riding a step-up board. Funny sh1t!

waikikikichan wrote: Let me tell you this if you ever come to Hawaii, if someone talks to you and gives you a bit of advice....... it means they care about you.

Yeah I know. I mean, it can be very dangerous out there when mother nature is doing it's thing. I quite comfortable in the water, but who knows I could easily get into a situation where I am outside of my comfort zone. That's why I always try to be as respectful as I can. And ask for advie when I feel I need it. There's so much misdirection out there.

I mean even Laguna beach when it's overhead can keep you underwater for a good 6 or 7 seconds. If it's a big set it means 6 or 10 waves consistently beating you up. I had one wave so powerful, it nearly pulled the leash plug out of my BZ bodyboard a few months ago. Trying to carve and the lip landed on top of me. It was like a dog with a chew toy shaking it around.

waikikikichan wrote:( we call them Speed Bumps )

I have not heard of this terminology yet... But thanks for sending shivers down my spin at the idea of a 150+ lb surfer putting plastic fins though my back!

I had a friend get his surfboard sliced open in a "speedbump" sort of accident. haha

Tea bags , shark biscuit, all apply, another note after rereading and my reply. There is great deal of difference between body boarding big surf and soft boarding or any surf boarding , his question was probably legit as you would have looked like an absolute kook! Stay small in what you can surf not go out and try big because you could on a body board.

jaffa1949 wrote: His question was probably legit as you would have looked like an absolute kook!

Yeah. You right I probably looked pretty kooky. Back to basics for surfing! Knee high rollers for a while. Surf class won't hurt either, I'm guessing YouTube isn't the best coach.

There some youtubes that might be helpful for a newbie particularly about paddling popping up and positioning in the lineup. Members of this forum use youtubes to help their surfing as well. My opinion is that someone watching you is better at least until you learn the basics. After that watching others helps "monkey see monkey do" kind of learning. However I was a body boarder who was used to huge waves before I started surfing. I started however in small waves initially, maybe chest high. I didn't get instructions other than "surf a lot" and I didn't ride whitewater. I was bodyboarding in the same lineup with the surfers so I knew the rules but I still stayed away from other surfers till I got i down a bit. However once I got it down my wave size went up rapidly.

I forgot to mention there were no lifeguards where I learned to surf. The surfers were the lifeguards. We were the only ones there to help anyone in trouble.

6two6rob wrote:

jaffa1949 wrote: His question was probably legit as you would have looked like an absolute kook!

Yeah. You right I probably looked pretty kooky. Back to basics for surfing! Knee high rollers for a while. Surf class won't hurt either, I'm guessing YouTube isn't the best coach.

Youtube is definitely the best coach, I learnt more from youtube in an hour than everything my instructor taught me in 4 sessions, I cut off the sessions now and just go alone with a friend, not worth my cash, all the coach does is make sure I'm not carried away by the current, other than that, they're coaches that only teach the basics in whtiewater which I'm far past.

Here are two channels that helped me loads:
https://www.youtube.com/user/surfcoaches
https://www.youtube.com/user/SurfSimplyVideos

They'll explain the basics of surfing and what to do and what not to do.

You can have a junk coach just like you can have a junk youtube

oldmansurfer wrote:You can have a junk coach just like you can have a junk youtube

I see. Thanks for the YouTube suggestion, very helpful! Also, I will be making friends out there who are much better surfers, so I'll be sure to listen to constructive criticism. I'd hate to form bad habits so I'll take it slow.

Bad habits are like STD's, once you form one, it can come back even when you think it's gone.

waikikikichan wrote:I hope you remember this post you made 10 years from now when you try to help someone and end up meeting yourself.

Yeah. I'll remember. Thanks man, I'll try and be more aware as to how I come off too when speaking to LifeGuards or other surfers.

LOL yeah It's probably good to not mention you were a bodyboarder till they get to know you since many surfers hate bodyboarders. I was lucky to grow up on a small island and my friends surfed. They would notice me bodyboarding poaching waves off them. I was staying out of their way and catching stuff they missed so they invited me to come join them in the main lineup. Then they would invite me to come with them when they surfed. When I started surfing they were the guys I surfed with. But I surfed almost every day by myself for 2 months before I started surfing with them. They actually invited me to go surf with them since they all knew I had started surfing. So my first outing surfing a lineup with others was with a group of guys I knew from when I was a little kid. But in general surfers don't like bodyboarders