61–70 of 71 posts
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Not every place is hostile, from my personal experience surfing all around the world (Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Philippines, etc) I only experienced hostility in SoCal. So maybe it's just the US thing.
you've never been to Hawaii, apparently
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The hostility depends on many factors. Some areas are more hostile than others, and individual spots. Here are some things that could lead to a negative atmosphere developing, from the point of view of a non-local surfer arriving in the lineup: - snaking (cutting in line) - dropping in (taking off when someone is on the wave) - sitting at the main take off with the locals (many spots it takes time to earn a place the…
What is a “sensitive” location? Like a nuclear sub base?
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I’m not a surfer, so I imagined that Dylanfm was describing driving: Here are some things that could lead to a negative atmosphere: –tailgating, –slamming on your brakes for no reason forcing everyone behind you to stop, –swerving in front of someone, –running stop signs, –stopping in the middle of the lane to unload passengers, –turning without signaling right in front of an oncoming car, –driving the wrong way down…
Taking pictures in public is not antisocial. Not being good at surfing is not antisocial. "Being loud" on a public beach is not antisocial. Being in a group larger than 2 people in a public place is not antisocial. Believing that you have a special privilege to possess, use, and regulate public lands for your own purposes over those of others, IS antisocial. Surfers beat people up to impose their rules. This is wrong…
I've been surfing for over 20 years and have never seen a surfer beat someone up. I have experienced bad vibes in the water and that's when I get out or move elsewhere.
Popular surf spots have signs up outlining some of the "rules" I listed earlier. It can help a lot. But things still get chaotic and many of these points also directly relate to safety in the line up.
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This completely. Even in traditionally hostile places, if you show up enough times and get to know the regulars, you'll be totally fine.
This culture sounds like, "at first they wouldn't hire me, because I looked different. But I kept coming around, and they let me start sweeping the floor."
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>if you show up enough times and get to know the regulars, you'll be totally fine. This makes me frown slightly in vague annoyance. Why should I need the permission and tacit approval of "the regulars" to choose to start surfing? It kind of reminds me of those groups, usually of old men, that you see occasionally decide a bar is "their bar" because they've been going there a while, and try to push other patrons out t…
> If that's really how it is, I'd be one of those wave stealers, and I wouldn't apologize for it. No, you would not be for very long. You would very quickly hurt yourself and others, at which point common decency might suggest you should apologize. Perhaps you are unaware that surfing right of way is first about safety? People who respect the lineup almost always get waves, regardless of skill level. Regulars don't j…
I guess that depends. If people are trivializing safety by using it as a token in a game of brinksmanship, I will not apologize. I'm happy to wait my turn, all I want is equal and fair treatment. If I find that other people are trying to place me at the bottom of a "pecking order" at a public beach, then I'm not going to play along. If you let people bully you that way once, they'll do it forever.
I'll wait until everyone else has gone at least once, I'll clearly signal that I'm going to take the wave, and then I'll take it. Try to intimidate me off by committing on the same wave to muscle me out, and you'll find me totally willing to call your bluff. We'll both go in the drink, if necessary. Try it a second time and you'll find I'm willing to do that _every_ time. At that point, the ball is in your court to drop the elitism and start sharing like an adult, or roll the dice enough times that one of us gets seriously hurt. I won't be intimidated by this cliquey highschool shit. It's a shared beach and we all pay our taxes, everyone has a right to equal use.
That having been said, this is all hypothetical, because I don't surf and hate beaches. Fucking jellyfish man.
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> If that's really how it is, I'd be one of those wave stealers, and I wouldn't apologize for it. No, you would not be for very long. You would very quickly hurt yourself and others, at which point common decency might suggest you should apologize. Perhaps you are unaware that surfing right of way is first about safety? People who respect the lineup almost always get waves, regardless of skill level. Regulars don't j…
>at which point common decency might suggest you should apologize. Perhaps you are unaware that surfing right of way is first about safety? I guess that depends. If people are trivializing safety by using it as a token in a game of brinksmanship, I will not apologize. I'm happy to wait my turn, all I want is equal and fair treatment. If I find that other people are trying to place me at the bottom of a "pecking order…
I wish surfing culture wasn't so hostile. Unfortunately, there are a finite number of breaks and waves each day. So as the number of surfers increases, it amplifies the tension in every lineup. It's like biker culture -- if there were only a handful of roads. The only way I've been able to enjoy surfing is by paying an instructor to help me navigate the lineup and actually catch a wave.
Imagine if somebody built a tow line on a popular break. Then surfing could be more like skiing or snowboarding. Snow sports don't demand that you walk up the slope every run, we have machines to do that for us. And you don't have to have great timing and a lot of experience to pick a ski run. Anyway, I'm terrified of sharks. So I'll stick to the snow.
A good rule of thumb is a person should not surf a spot which they could not swim without a board. This keeps people from getting in over their heads and drowning.
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> If that's really how it is, I'd be one of those wave stealers, and I wouldn't apologize for it. No, you would not be for very long. You would very quickly hurt yourself and others, at which point common decency might suggest you should apologize. Perhaps you are unaware that surfing right of way is first about safety? People who respect the lineup almost always get waves, regardless of skill level. Regulars don't j…
>at which point common decency might suggest you should apologize. Perhaps you are unaware that surfing right of way is first about safety? I guess that depends. If people are trivializing safety by using it as a token in a game of brinksmanship, I will not apologize. I'm happy to wait my turn, all I want is equal and fair treatment. If I find that other people are trying to place me at the bottom of a "pecking order…
A person usually only has two options for getting waves, whether they like it or not:
[1] Show respect, humility, and make friends [2] Be the stronger/faster paddler
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>at which point common decency might suggest you should apologize. Perhaps you are unaware that surfing right of way is first about safety? I guess that depends. If people are trivializing safety by using it as a token in a game of brinksmanship, I will not apologize. I'm happy to wait my turn, all I want is equal and fair treatment. If I find that other people are trying to place me at the bottom of a "pecking order…
This is just trying to elbow your way into an established community of without proving your mettle. This is exactly the wrong way to try and earn respect. Whatever you do, don't try surfing. With that attitude, you will get into a fight in the water with people that fight in the water, and you will lose the fight. Or if you don't get into a fight in the water, they will follow you out and fight you on land. Yes, it c…
> "You've read your last complimentary article this month. To read the full article, SUBSCRIBE NOW" I don't remember clicking a newyorker.com link until now, but apparently at some point I reached some limit. Is it just me, or does this sort of article limit behavior train you to simply not click those links, knowing you won't be able to read them?