Surfing Waves

http://www.theinertia.com/surf/10-types-of-people-youll-find-in-every-lineup/
1. The Soothsayer- predicts conditions, never right.
2. The ‘If Only’ Guy- always says it’d be better, “if only…”
3. The Always Happy Guy– zen master, just happy to be alive and in the water.
4. The Always Angry Guy- gets the barrel of his life with a frown.
5. The Blind Man- insists he didn’t see you screaming down the line.
6. The Tech Master- equipped with a Trace, GoPro, waterproof smart watch, full carbon wrap surfboard, Sharkbanz and shark repellent leash, Rip Curl heated wetsuit even in the summer.
7. The Rootsy Dude- no leash, rides only board designs developed in the 60’s and 70’s (i.e. traditional longboards, fishes, and single fins), beavertail wetsuit.
8. The Screamer- yells curses after every completed ride
9. The Talker- friendly enough, but always trying to talk everyone’s ear off
10. The Gear Geek– Always wants to take a look at the undercarriage of everyone’s board.

I am 11. the serious guy who wants to learn to surf but if he engages with other people it's always friendly

That's pretty funny.....missing from the list is The Snake & The Aggro Psycho (often the same person) - both are self explanatory.... The Overmatched Kook - constantly out of breath and paddling crookedly with their legs wide apart after either pearling and the board explodes up in the air in the aftermath or caught inside and the board explodes up in the air in the aftermath...... The Unwitting Bobber - not really sure what they are up to, they never paddle for a wave and just kinda sit in one place in a daze (unless they are being slowly dragged by the sweep)......The Social Butterfly/Sunbather - oblivious to everything around them, there to talk, meet people and do weird sunbathing positions on their board between sets....Mr. Surge - paddles for every wave but never gets one until you do.....The Shadow - goes wherever you go and paddles for whatever wave you paddle for.

BO has some amazing Grommets who paddle in after school and kick everyone's @$$...and a radio controlled surfer who entertains us between sets.

My experience has been similar to big H's rather the main 10 haha. On my only trip to Kuta beach, I remember seeing a lot of bobbers and wondered what they were doing. About 6 germans just sitting on their boards doing nothing. I was there about an hour and don't think I saw them catch or attempt a single wave!

benjl wrote:My experience has been similar to big H's rather the main 10 haha. On my only trip to Kuta beach, I remember seeing a lot of bobbers and wondered what they were doing. About 6 germans just sitting on their boards doing nothing. I was there about an hour and don't think I saw them catch or attempt a single wave!

They can serve a purpose though.....bobbers can alternatively be called The Place Holders; when paddling back after a wave you need only go to the same spot you were previously in relation to them before catching the wave.

There's always the one beginner "Gidget" or surfer chick. All the guy surfers trying to give her advice or telling her to go on this wave. The all the "one ups" on each other start to begin to get her attention.

Another name for bobbers around my home break based on surf comps.
Bobbers are priority buoys , paddle around them and you have priority .
Channel markers is another name.

Big H wrote:Bobbers can alternatively be called The Place Holders; when paddling back after a wave you need only go to the same spot you were previously in relation to them before catching the wave.

I'm guilty of letting waves go by while identifying the bobbers. I don't see too many now that the waves are bigger and everyone paddles to keep warm!

I'm 3 and the bobber. Don't want to be the bobber but there are just too many people paddling for a wave and the ones that I don't paddle, no one gets the wave. The one I do paddle for, everyone drops in on me.

Sometimes I'm 6 as well when I do wear a waterproof watch or a gopro. Very rare these days.

Ex-overmatched kook here and guilty of 5 as well... but NO MORE! As of now I'm trying avoid the bobbers sitting deeper than me as I make a drop. They are worse than traffic cones! I had to pull off a hairy turn to go through between the 2 of them the last session At least I know I can pivot turn if I must.

I've heard bobbers called 'tea bags'

dtc wrote:I've heard bobbers called 'tea bags'

Possibly just made my day

I'm probably the 3 and a "bobber" sometimes too. I also do the whole shadowing thing, but only because I'm trying to learn to better read waves by watching better surfers - I'm not good enough to be any serious competition

As for being a surfer chick, I haven't noticed any greater propensity for surfer dudes trying to give me advice, but I do notice that sometimes there's a lot self-conscious one-upmanship amongst the guys - not just around me obviously, but around all other surfer chicks. It's actually quite hilarious to watch!

BoMan wrote:BO has some amazing Grommets who paddle in after school and kick everyone's @$$...and a radio controlled surfer who entertains us between sets.

BoMan, I always liked the atmosphere when surfing at BO. I surfed there regularly for 4 or 5 years. I was back up there in 2014 touring one of my good buddies from Germany around NorCAL. He made my photo at notable location. Do you recognize where I am standing?

For the uninitiated, "tamalpais" comes from the nearby Mount Tamalpais in Marin County, California. The name, Tamalpais, was first recorded in 1845. It comes from the Coast Miwok (native Americans) name for this mountain, which translates to "west hill."

billie's Believe It or Not: Mt Tamalpais is location for the birth of mountain bikes (bicycles).

It's so laid back that the door is always locked. I've never made it inside! 2Mile is the place for me.

My local break has all 4 types that Big H listed. Probably 80% or more in the line up fits in one of those types. What's the correct ettiquet around those guys??? Some days the line up can get really crowded while the ridable, decent size waves are far and few in between so I want to maximize my session without offending the others.

My local break has me usually and the other old man who used to longboard but I heard he passed away which may explain his absence in the lineup so just me unless someone gets hard up for waves or the waves get good. There was a nice young couple who frequented the rivermouth break but I haven't seen them in a while. Hope they are still alive. There are other surfers from time to time but I am only out for 30 minutes so I don't often get to catergorize them Bobbers... I don't know but then I pretty much stay out of crowded lineups.

oldmansurfer wrote:My local break has me usually and the other old man who used to longboard but I heard he passed away which may explain his absence.

"[death] May explain his absence"

Old man, either you are an eternal optimist hoping to surf after death, or you have been watching too many zombie films!

I just knew his first name and in talking to someone else they told me he died from some neuromuscular disorder or at least a guy with the same first name and about the age of the guy who surfed. I figured it was him since he hadn't been surfing at all since the time of his death. If he had been surfing during that time then he would be a zombie. That he had a neuromuscular disorder may explain why he started to shy away from the unscrupulous days that I loved to surf. Before he would be there with his longboard finding a spot where he didn't take too much gas. The last time I talked to him he said he was going to a spot nearby where the waves were mellower.

Morrocan line ups have:
Shadows
That one guy that snakes you every time you go and yells that you dropped in on him when you have priority
The UFC fighter: that one dude that tries to get in fist fights with anyone he can
Laid back happy fat guy: Those guys than lay on SUPs and get better waves than most people at the break and are just joyful
Silent: me I don't talk much when in the water only thing I say is outside to beginners that are sitting in the impact zone(Depends if it's crowded, if it is I let the clean up sets roll in and wipe away all the kids )
Shortboard "master": that one guy that rides a 5'9 and can't even catch a wave because he's way over his head