Longboarders don't own the waves

[FormosanSurfer]

has anyone heard the speciak olympics song its well gd and i think locals do have priority cause if some dickhead comes oneday on a swell board and starts dropping in on good waves that your on the top of just about to dropin and they get there first thats rude!


and locals rule!!!

I was surfing in Santa Theresa Costa Rica where I don't think there is any such thing as a local.

[tomcat360]

Hey, that's mine!

Ok so I stole it from Gulfsurfer, but he's not here anymore.

I suppose I could share.

[jethrodog]

FormosanSurfer, that is too bad about Santa Theresa. I've never had a problem there, I love it. I hope this hasn't put a negative look on Costa Rica for you.
In fact the only time I have ever had problems in CR is whenever I surf where there are lots of gringos. It seems as if the gringos bring the crime and violence and piss-poor attitude with them. I don't understand this.
Bummer.

*edit* after reading this it sounds like I was maybe blaming you for your problems. That isn't what i meant! Sorry if it sounded rude.

[FormosanSurfer]

FormosanSurfer, that is too bad about Santa Theresa. I've never had a problem there, I love it. I hope this hasn't put a negative look on Costa Rica for you.
In fact the only time I have ever had problems in CR is whenever I surf where there are lots of gringos. It seems as if the gringos bring the crime and violence and piss-poor attitude with them. I don't understand this.
Bummer.

*edit* after reading this it sounds like I was maybe blaming you for your problems. That isn't what i meant! Sorry if it sounded rude.

I share your sentiments about the gringo surfers but these drop-in kings were actually Italians. Anyway, there is nothing a few drop-in jackasses could do to ruin my trip. I got quite a few barrells and some of the best waves of my life.

[jethrodog]

Awesome. I am in Mal Pais for February, hope the waves stay good 'til then for me.

[FormosanSurfer]

Awesome. I am in Mal Pais for February, hope the waves stay good 'til then for me.

Where you staying? Hostel Brunella in Santa Theresa just remodeled and it is really sweeeeet.

[jethrodog]

We're at The Place Hotel for the first ten days. Then we are swinging south near Jaco. We just bought a place 15 minutes north of Jaco and we are going to work on fixing it up a little. We'll stay there, work a little, surf lots. Then we are heading back up tp Mal Pais but haven't gotten a place to stay yet.

[rich r]

On the locals getting whatever wave they want - you got my drift, jethrodog.

You paddle out into a break where there are a bunch of locals - don't go getting all bent out of shape if they don't immediately let you take a wave, especially if they're outside, and you're inside instead of sitting on a shoulder somewhere.

I'll paddle up by the lineup, and sit and wait. First time out, there's no point in trying to challenge a local for a wave, even if you have priority. It's better to go for the wave, see they're going for it, and wave them onto it, saying "It's yours."

A couple give-ups like that, and I usually have one of the locals passing up a wave and letting me go on it. From there on out, it's priority, with a bit of a nod to the locals for something good.

The key is don't be rude and most times, people will do right by you. If you go out somewhere where no one knows you and you start screaming about priority and rules right away, well, people will ignore you at best.

[FormosanSurfer]

On the locals getting whatever wave they want - you got my drift, jethrodog.

You paddle out into a break where there are a bunch of locals - don't go getting all bent out of shape if they don't immediately let you take a wave, especially if they're outside, and you're inside instead of sitting on a shoulder somewhere.

I'll paddle up by the lineup, and sit and wait. First time out, there's no point in trying to challenge a local for a wave, even if you have priority. It's better to go for the wave, see they're going for it, and wave them onto it, saying "It's yours."

A couple give-ups like that, and I usually have one of the locals passing up a wave and letting me go on it. From there on out, it's priority, with a bit of a nod to the locals for something good.

The key is don't be rude and most times, people will do right by you. If you go out somewhere where no one knows you and you start screaming about priority and rules right away, well, people will ignore you at best.

I totally agree with this. Back when I was a local at a surf spot, I always appreciated it when visitors respected those of us who surfed there every day. But this thread isn't about locals, its about some Italian tourists who thought they owned the waves because they had 11ft boards that could catch a wave when it was still a little ripple. Had they been locals, I wouldn't have minded so much but the fact is they weren't and what they were doing was rude as hell.

Another story of rude as people is the gringo who called my friend a fleshin' bitch when she caught a wave he was going after (she had priority).

[GowerCharger]

we get a lot of that goin on on the smaller clean days - longboarders sitting further out catching waves earlier, but it shouldnt stop you getting waves.

Most longboarders will generally surf further out on the shoulder than shortboarders on a clean open wave, leaving plenty of room inside for you to take off, often enough room to share the wave - you can surf in the best parts of the wave while they do their "standing still plodding along" thing out on the sloppy fat shoulder section.

And bear in mind, if you are in better position to take the wave at the peak when it gets to you, it doesnt matter if the guy on the plank has taken off further out and is standing already, if you are right on the peak (closer to the curl) then its your right of way (as long as you didnt paddle inside him after he went for the wave to "snake" him)

[Broosta]

Sorry but its always been 'first surfer to stand has priority on that wave', and when two or more stand at the same time then its 'closest to the whitewater has priority'.
Otherwise you'd get people taking off on you when you do a big wrap around cutback claiming they were closer to the whitewater(curl) at the moment they took off - which is obviously bollox so the rule is deffo first one standing takes priority.

However if a longboarder takes off on the wave way out back before you and glides along the face way in front of the whitwater (assuming off course the wave is peeling!) and you want this wave, I would just go for it if it looks like you won't interfere with the longboarder's ride.

Strangely when I was at Hossegor on a small clean busy day we had the same problem with an Italian longboarder sitting furthest out and repeatedly taking all the waves. After a while this french guy started shouting accross the lineup in english to the Italian telling him not to be greedy and share the waves - it worked and the Italian went further down the beach and everyone else scored some more waves .

[rich r]

Italians notoriously just do whatever they want and wait to be told they shouldn't be doing it. Not just in surfing.. but they are typically gracious if someone says something.

They figure if someone isn't complaining, then it must be ok, even if it should be common sense that it isn't ok.

Generally, the Italians I've known are very nice, but come across as pricks at first go because of this little trait.

[GowerCharger]

Sorry but its always been 'first surfer to stand has priority on that wave', and when two or more stand at the same time then its 'closest to the whitewater has priority'.
Otherwise you'd get people taking off on you when you do a big wrap around cutback claiming they were closer to the whitewater(curl) at the moment they took off - which is obviously bollox so the rule is deffo first one standing takes priority.

thats not what i said, i was talking about taking off at the peak, if your taking off right at the peak its your wave, even if roy stewarts been riding 100 yds out along the shoulder for half a mile before the wave breaks im still gonna go. And in this situation where theres a group of longboarders claiming priority on every wave that comes through then you have to play the rules a little differently, the rules are there to prevent collisions and arguments but also to ensure everyone has a fair crack at getting waves, if some guys are takin th piss and hogging all the waves then sometimes you have to just drop in, its not just black and white.

[northswell]

^^^^i'm with him^^^^^


even if your up before the guy nearest the the peak pull out, do the right thing. There is way too much dropping in these days even when you give a shout poeple ignore you

[dougirwin13]

Urm.

Chill guys.

Fact - if they are being xxxxx there's nothing you can really do about it.

Slash their tires, smash their boards and beat them up (assuming it works out that way).

They'll still be arseholes.

-doug

[el_timmo]

has anyone heard the speciak olympics song its well gd and i think locals do have priority cause if some dickhead comes oneday on a swell board and starts dropping in on good waves that your on the top of just about to dropin and they get there first thats rude!


and locals rule!!!

dude you mystify me!

[Phil]

Sorry but its always been 'first surfer to stand has priority on that wave', and when two or more stand at the same time then its 'closest to the whitewater has priority'.
Otherwise you'd get people taking off on you when you do a big wrap around cutback claiming they were closer to the whitewater(curl) at the moment they took off - which is obviously bollox so the rule is deffo first one standing takes priority.

thats not what i said, i was talking about taking off at the peak, if your taking off right at the peak its your wave, even if roy stewarts been riding 100 yds out along the shoulder for half a mile before the wave breaks im still gonna go. And in this situation where theres a group of longboarders claiming priority on every wave that comes through then you have to play the rules a little differently, the rules are there to prevent collisions and arguments but also to ensure everyone has a fair crack at getting waves, if some guys are takin th piss and hogging all the waves then sometimes you have to just drop in, its not just black and white.

ive had a full on argument with a guy at fistral becuse ive taken off at the peak worked my way out to the shoulder cut back and nearly hit some cocky shortboarder that thought it was ok to take off inside of me becuse i was on the shoulder.

its never been the closest to the breaking wave its allways been cloesest to the peak regardless of how close they are to the breaking part of the wave. the thing is though on crowded breaks you just have to take what you can, and hussle for position becuse its the only way to get waves at times

[bluesnowcone]

if theres someone riding the wave then i recon you shouldn't try to ride it no matter what the other guy is doing, alot of the time i go out for a surf and hardly catch anything, you just got to put up with it and when something comes your way go for it.

[drowningbitbybit]

ive had a full on argument with a guy at fistral becuse ive taken off at the peak worked my way out to the shoulder cut back and nearly hit some cocky shortboarder that thought it was ok to take off inside of me becuse i was on the shoulder.

Now thats just cr@p (him, not you). Clearly its your wave then
Thats not the same thing at all as the longboarder standing up when the wave is a mere bump and riding it 50 yards away from the breaking peak.

its never been the closest to the breaking wave its allways been cloesest to the peak regardless of how close they are to the breaking part of the wave.

Ha ha. I think the longboarders and shortboarders will often see 'peak' and 'breaking' differently

The BSA doesnt help (well, okay, it does, but perhaps not as well as it could) - its little leaflet thing says quite clearly "Closest to peak has priority" but then follows it up with "Remember, if someone else is already riding the wave you must not take off."

[rich r]

I don't see how anyone could be up riding the wave when the wave is not breaking. If it's a shoulder, then the wave must be breaking a few yards behind them, at most, no? And if they took off on a shoulder, then the wave was already breaking when they took off, anyway.

I'm confused. Where are these longboarders that surf magical non-breaking waves?