Surfing Waves

I don't buy it. I just took a look at this article.

https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/14400-sup-war-surfers-and-canoeists-fight-for-the-sports-governance

I know the surf industry wants to sell as many units as possible, but SUP riding really isn't surfing. I actually think it's closer to canoeing! It should be thought of as an offshoot of canoeing. Stop promoting SUP riders into surfing lineups. SUP riding is not surfing; it's akin to canoeing up and down the coast on long excursions.

Yeah here is Laird and Terry Chun cruising down a river on Sup

RinkyDink wrote:I don't buy it. I just took a look at this article.

https://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/14400-sup-war-surfers-and-canoeists-fight-for-the-sports-governance

I know the surf industry wants to sell as many units as possible, but SUP riding really isn't surfing. I actually think it's closer to canoeing! It should be thought of as an offshoot of canoeing. Stop promoting SUP riders into surfing lineups. SUP riding is not surfing; it's akin to canoeing up and down the coast on long excursions.

Way way back in the forum, we had nasty post from Kayaker who felt entitled to ignore all the safety rules and etiquette in surfing, put all SUP in canoe categories then this will invite non aware canoeists and kayakers to join the fray.
I see SUPing as a number of Genres; genuine surfing at whatever size, maybe subcategories , big and ordinary.
Ocean paddling, distance, downwind and ocean swell. Flat water, lakes and ware bodies, then finally down river paddling and maniac paddling rapids and water falls, etc.

Opinions of what is and isn’t surfing, includes surfboats, dory surfing , the original Peruvian reed surf boats, skim boards, surf kayaks, surf skis, body boards, kneeboards and paipos.
My invitation is to view the attitude of the rider as to whether it is surfing or not!

It has long since passed since one type of craft could lay exclusive claim to be surfing.

I don't really care what you call it. I call them vultures. They 'stand' deeper in the line up and always pick the bigger waves! I try not to get annoyed by them, but sometimes I do.
Then again I've gone to spots dominated by SUP surfers and they tend to be older and more polite. So I've actually had some of my best surf sessions with a bunch of SUP surfers. I think it just depends on the attitude of the rider. I have so much more fun with courteous surfers than greedy selfish ones.

Ratfinksurfer wrote:I don't really care what you call it.

I think you should care because if the SUP industry establishes that SUP riding is essentially surfing and not canoeing, then you better be able to live with more SUPs in surfing lineups. If you enjoy surfing with 1/3 to 2/3 of the waves at a spot going to SUP riders who catch waves outside the surfing lineup and then surf through the lineup, then it probably doesn't matter. It does seem, however, that the question has really already been decided. At the end of the day, it's probably better to worry about plastic clogging up the ocean and let our captains of industry determine what surfing lineups will look like.

jaffa1949 wrote:It has long since passed since one type of craft could lay exclusive claim to be surfing.

The question isn't about watercraft. Plenty of different watercraft can surf on waves, sailboats for example. Should sailboarts be in surfing lineups though? Most people would say that they shouldn't be because they're too big . . . they're BOATS! Boats have a completely different function and use than a surfboard. My argument is that SUPs are like boats (canoes really) that have a different function than a surfboard. Therefore, they don't belong sitting outside of a surfing lineup snaking all the waves. If we can get people to accept that SUPs are canoes, then there won't be the expectation that you can buy a surfboard or SUP (no difference in the eyes of the surf industry) and take it out to your local surf break and ride it. If a SUP is considered a canoe, then the consumer has a different expectation of the purpose of their SUP (canoeing as opposed to surfing). Don't get me wrong, though, you would still be able to surf with your SUP, but you just wouldn't take it to a surfing lineup.

Goofy footer!

More from the X-Files: Extreme Surfing
http://www.surfresearch.com.au/00000000x.html

My simple homily is to put all the boards on the beach let them sit there through the tides and whatever, it is only when they are picked up and carried to the surf that the attitude and personality of the rider becomes evident!

What are you going to do?
Get City Hall to draft an ordinance!
Please don't!
Mix bureaucrats and surfing , there will registration, classification of surf breaks and requirements for surfers to meet ability standards, maybe even purchasing tickets to surf a break!

The waves are somewhat self policing handing out beatings with karmic nature, discouraging those who have not the gonads to persist!

jaffa1949 wrote:What are you going to do?
Get City Hall to draft an ordinance!
Please don't!
Mix bureaucrats and surfing , there will registration, classification of surf breaks and requirements for surfers to meet ability standards, maybe even purchasing tickets to surf a break!

We don't have jet skis competing for waves with surfers. We don't have powerboats racing through surfing lineups. Thank goodness for laws and common sense. Just because somebody makes an argument for common sense management of a resource (the seashore-a public space), doesn't mean they're asking for the heavy hand of government. Since I believe in democracy and debate, instead of leaving everything up to big business to govern, I think it's important to make your beliefs known. It's telling about the state of democracy these days when so many people simply want everything to be decided for them (obey and forget the details). We might as well have a king.

One thing you and I would agree on Rinky, and quite a few others, common sense ain't so common anymore.
It has been overcome by greed and entitlement and yes pretty sure if there weren't specific regulations we would probably have powered water craft amongst us !

Another thing coming through which has been banned from the surf zone in France........ foil surf and wind and sail craft. Way beyond the dangers of ordinary boards of any size..

There have been court cases here in Australia where negligent surfers have been banned from the line up at specified beaches for a prolonged period.

jaffa1949 wrote:There have been court cases here in Australia where negligent surfers have been banned from the line up at specified beaches for a prolonged period.

I always was wondering why you left Australia.

jaffa1949 wrote:
What are you going to do?
Get City Hall to draft an ordinance!
Please don't!
Mix bureaucrats and surfing , there will registration, classification of surf breaks and requirements for surfers to meet ability standards ?

You may have touched down on a point. In the U.S.A., Canoes users may need to wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved LIFE VEST. Surfers on surfboard don’t have that requirement. So that may be the reason to be categorized as surfing versus canoeing/kayaking.

waikikikichan wrote:

jaffa1949 wrote:There have been court cases here in Australia where negligent surfers have been banned from the line up at specified beaches for a prolonged period.

I always was wondering why you left Australia.

My wife is half Austrian, half Scots , growing up between the two countries, we have settled in the town in Austrian where she spent her school holidays.
Our son lives ten minutes away, ( He surfs)
We both had major life threatening health issues, we recovered, but we decided that we wanted to explore this side of the world and I could surf the Atlantic breaks. Flying from Australia for a month or two expedition is too expensive, to do repeat trips. So resettling was an answer.
I always considered myself a citizen of the planet rather than a rabid nationalist.

Both my wife and I are still rebuilding our health and the house we purchased so a work in progress.
Pocket version of what we are doing , here we are seen as nicely crazy seventy year old Australians!
Maybe we are!

Surfing is either riding in the surf - so a location based definition
OR
The act of using gravity to accelerate a body downward which also generates lift which allows the body to maintain its altitude.
In this case a glider pilot riding a thermal is said to be surfing.

Old Hawaiians say surfing is to accompany the wave toward the shore. Any way you accompany a wave toward the shore is surfing. However I understand the objections to SUPs

waikikikichan wrote:

jaffa1949 wrote:There have been court cases here in Australia where negligent surfers have been banned from the line up at specified beaches for a prolonged period.

I always was wondering why you left Australia.

I never believed it was because of his love of Bratwurst either.

jaffa1949 wrote:One thing you and I would agree on Rinky, and quite a few others, common sense ain't so common anymore.
It has been overcome by greed and entitlement and yes pretty sure if there weren't specific regulations we would probably have powered water craft amongst us !

Another thing coming through which has been banned from the surf zone in France........ foil surf and wind and sail craft. Way beyond the dangers of ordinary boards of any size..

There have been court cases here in Australia where negligent surfers have been banned from the line up at specified beaches for a prolonged period.

Yeah, I think we pretty much agree. With the sheer numbers of people starting the sport and the surf industry only interested in driving those numbers higher common sense becomes essential. I doubt the guys in the Wavestorm boardroom are having conversations like this:

Phil: That new Wavestorm SUP is going to sell like crazy.
Bill: Yes it will! But wait Phil, what's going to happen if we sell all the units we produce? Won't that create havoc in traditional surfing lineups with all these SUPs flooding into them?
Phil: Oh yeah, that's right, you have a point there. Maybe we should rethink this.

Hell, in the US we have companies selling opiates and getting government approval to do so. So I doubt our corporate culture is really thinking about the long term impacts of their products on things like quality of life or surfing lineup tranquility or even basic safety.