Surfing Waves

I'm a butt-boarder, and have been since I was 43; I'm 64 now.
My board is a Wavermaster Strata, and I love it. I've often heard
from my stand-up friends how they hate surfing with us butt-boarders.
We don't know the rules of wave courtesy, and we're always hogging
waves. I'm on vacation in Costa Rica, Playa Tamarindo, and today I
had a conflict with a stand-up surfer. We were surfing the reef just
off the beach, where it makes sort of a point break. The drop-in
area is small, only 20 feet wide or less, so it doesn't take many
surfers for it to get overcrowded. There were two guys in front of
me in the line-up. They'd passed over several waves I'd have taken
in their position, and were talking to each other when another nice
wave started building. I thought they were going to pass again, so I
started paddling, looking over my right shoulder to time the drop-in.
I'd just made the wave and turned to face forward when a guy on a
surfboard zipped right across the wave in front of my board. The wave
was breaking on my stern by then, and I couldn't pull out. I tipped
to try to slow myself, but the wave had a grip, and I ran into him.
We both came up spluttering with him shouting that I'd nearly broken
his foot.

Was I at fault? Absolutely! He was on the inside of me on the shoulder
of the wave, and although I didn't see it he must've stopped jabbering
and got on the wave before me, after I'd turned to set up. By the
rules it was his wave. But he was behind me, and could clearly see
me setting up for the wave, and I had no idea he was there until he
crossed in front of me. In my opinion, his insisting on his rights was
a bit like the skipper of a run-about colliding with an ocean liner
that was on his port side on an intersecting course. According to
COLREGS, the run-about has the right-of-way, but any skipper with good
sense would give way in these circumstances. If I'd known he'd already
dropped in, I would've done everything I could to give him the wave.

It's situations like this that cause me to tell my stand-up surfer
friends who hate to surf with butt-boarders that this butt-boarder
often feels the same way.

All goes to show that its always worth a double check...

yep double checking is important the amount of times ive had people dropin on me afer i though it was all clear is just not funny.

I need to touch up on my surfing terms what exactly is butt-boarding

isaluteyou wrote:I need to touch up on my surfing terms what exactly is butt-boarding

I think but boarding is WaveSki / PaddleSki / SurfSki all mean the same thing I've noticed that people like to use the different names.



I've linked this due to the size of the pic.

http://www.surf-blog.net/images/lapalue/waveski-lapalue-2.jpg

no offense to any waveski surfers but you guys ruin the line up you shouldnt be near standups anyway. Sorry ive had several bad run ins with middleaged jerks on those things. No offense meant to anyone

arghh!!!! canoists!!!! there was a few of those guys out with us a few months ago. Ever had one of those things coming at you with great velocity

I always thought they were a great Idea For When there was NO surf, it meant I could still go play in the water

But after looking at Kitey and the vids he's put up I need to get me a kite.

Butt boarders=Goat boaters stay in the rivers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

man they do hog the waves where i live

Don't even get me STARTED on kayakers/canoeists!

smittypaddler wrote:

According to
COLREGS, the run-about has the right-of-way, but any skipper with good
sense would give way in these circumstances.

Actually, the ocean liner would have right of way anyway because it is the less manoeuvrable craft.

el_timmo wrote:

smittypaddler wrote:

According to
COLREGS, the run-about has the right-of-way, but any skipper with good
sense would give way in these circumstances.

Actually, the ocean liner would have right of way anyway because it is the less manoeuvrable craft.

So do longboards come under the oceon liner regs

But the surfer is not under power, and the goat boat seemingly is. Therefore, you treat a surfer like a sailboat, and give way.

Eh?

These people in canoes, or what ever they want to call them, show little or no respect in the water and are sometimes down right dangerous. Thats my opinion only.

i must say you do get some angry butt boarders, but then again you get angry surfers who drop in, i think its all down to the person, but the anoying ones stereotype the rest of the buttboarders, i get it all the time cas im a longboarder ans most people hate longboarders because aparently we dont care about anyone els, but its only a few like that.

smittypaddler wrote: I'm on vacation in Costa Rica, Playa Tamarindo, and today I had a conflict with a stand-up surfer.

No xxxxx! Thats my beach! Hahaha crazy. The surf sucks here this time of year, good luck finding something.

never heard of "butt-boarders", but im guessing its goat boaters right?

so you dropped in on someone, and because you have no control over your "craft" you went crashing into him and where lucky to have not caused him a serious injury? sounds like typical goat-boat behavior to me. get back in the river.

sorry but i hate them too they are always in the way

yep i totally agree especially beginners... if something is so difficult to monouver [sos about spelling ] then why do you take it into a packed area of surfers? especially when you don't no what your doing... i went kayaking in France and i'm not sure if it's the same but it was so difficult it was me and my mate in a 2person kayake and we were so cra lol - it was hilarious... but this was in a lake - with just people like me.
so yeah my point... go somewhere where theres not so many people or a lake
xx

Doesn't look like you're going to get much simpathy hear smitty...