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Explanation of Localism
- Thread starter Truth
- Start date
sorry to hear the hypocrisy although it was really well said
A little over 40 years surfing the same mile of beach breaks and jetties. Started in 1982 right down the street from where I bought a house in the mid 90s. As I see it the total breakdown boils down to a few things.
Surf cams.
Modern surf forecasting.
The resurgence of longboarding.
Social Media.
Surf Schools.
Kids went soft in the era of participation trophies.
All the newbies thanks to Covid.
Entitlement mentality in society.
Up until about the year 2000 you pretty much had to live near the surf and check it. On the better days you pretty much knew everyone in the water and there was a well defined pecking order. Now with surf forecasts being so accurate a week out and surf cams all over the place there are very few sessions that go under the radar. Its just a total shitshow in the water these days. No pecking order and quite frankly, no order whatsoever.
The best solution I've found to the overcrowding problem is to post up and surf the heaviest wave in the area on the heaviest days. If you do this you will often find yourself in giant barrels, laughing while you're doing multiple cartwheels underwater, and sharing the lineup with just a couple other brave souls who love the thrill of adventure and all respect eachother.
Heavywater sessions are much more fulfilling than "fun" waves. Granted you will have some scares from time time to time. The small stuffs not even worth it anymore unless it's miraculously empty.
Heavywater sessions are much more fulfilling than "fun" waves. Granted you will have some scares from time time to time. The small stuffs not even worth it anymore unless it's miraculously empty.
yeah when its cold and overhead here, even with the hordes of adult learners in winter suits, if you‘re a competent veteran there is no competition. The good surfers are all happy to share and the soft toppers are just bug eyed and paralyzed by cold
Santa Cruz (Steamer Lane) 1977 was the first WSA Invitational I surfed at the "lane." I won my first and second heat, then finally took off my red body glove wetsuit to dry several hours before the finals. Surprise! Someone stole it, and I had to trunk it at 3 pm...5-4-3-2-1 Ice cream headache. I won the masters division in 1980 in good-sized Steamers and 1981 at the Rivermouth.
friends kid and another kid- both B grade pros came up for a swell - they were best surfers in in water but there were three dudes in their 30s that were back paddling and taking what they wanted - crowds that arrive for a swell show up and do that
kids complained so i said loud enough for all to hear - either burn them or quit complaining
they did not burn them - they let them get away with it bc these kids were scared of a confrontation - yes three were south americans -
you let that happen it will continue to
happen - see it happen all the time when mo one will step up and burn the bully or tell them
to wait their turn
i am fortunate enough to not have to play games here - paddle all you want around me - i sit where i sit - wait patiently for the best wave and go - i am a 3 wave in hour guy rather than a 10 wave guy so when i spin people know i have been waiting / havent been snaked or have had to snake someone in a long time up
here
but other day in Bali at Ulu got dropped in by pushed in surf school students on almost every wave
numbers here are just too great i guess thats how it would be at
home these days
i have always liked localism in the water - not the windansea parking lot clown enforcers but rather the locals that keep things in check in the water
kids complained so i said loud enough for all to hear - either burn them or quit complaining
they did not burn them - they let them get away with it bc these kids were scared of a confrontation - yes three were south americans -
you let that happen it will continue to
happen - see it happen all the time when mo one will step up and burn the bully or tell them
to wait their turn
i am fortunate enough to not have to play games here - paddle all you want around me - i sit where i sit - wait patiently for the best wave and go - i am a 3 wave in hour guy rather than a 10 wave guy so when i spin people know i have been waiting / havent been snaked or have had to snake someone in a long time up
here
but other day in Bali at Ulu got dropped in by pushed in surf school students on almost every wave
numbers here are just too great i guess thats how it would be athome these days
i have always liked localism in the water - not the windansea parking lot clown enforcers but rather the locals that keep things in check in the water
You’re dealing with waves of some consequence, not Beacons. Apples and oranges.friends kid and another kid- both B grade pros came up for a swell - they were best surfers in in water but there were three dudes in their 30s that were back paddling and taking what they wanted - crowds that arrive for a swell show up and do that
kids complained so i said loud enough for all to hear - either burn them or quit complaining
they did not burn them - they let them get away with it bc these kids were scared of a confrontation - yes three were south americans -
you let that happen it will continue to
happen - see it happen all the time when mo one will step up and burn the bully or tell them
to wait their turn
i am fortunate enough to not have to play games here - paddle all you want around me - i sit where i sit - wait patiently for the best wave and go - i am a 3 wave in hour guy rather than a 10 wave guy so when i spin people know i have been waiting / havent been snaked or have had to snake someone in a long time up
here
but other day in Bali at Ulu got dropped in by pushed in surf school students on almost every wave
home these days
i have always liked localism in the water - not the windansea parking lot clown enforcers but rather the locals that keep things in check in the water
If OT was here he’d say quit surfing now, ask me how.
You have no complaints jr. You’re scoring almost as much as life on mars.
this is why I stopped listening to the surf splendor podcasts. If anyone is going to come on there and talk about how core they are and how invested they while selling soft tops, they should be called out.
The montauk guys are the worst. If you don’t live here don’t surf here, oh but shop at what’s her names boutique (she was always a cool little kid and she’s hot so she gets a pass), take a lesson from prince douchebag, and buy my photo book. Oh make sure to take care of my homie behind the bar at surf lodge. After you’ve done all that, spend 100k with my real estate bro on an august rental, now GTFO we’re core bro and we can’t believe what happened to montauk over the last 15 years
FTR I grew up out there and get waves wherever and whenever. but even seeing it directed “elsewhere” is still nauseating.
FTR I grew up out there and get waves wherever and whenever. but even seeing it directed “elsewhere” is still nauseating.
A sense of order really helps and is way more pleasant than the alternative.
And ultimately there's the problem in the modern world...the world is just too populated many places with too many surfers to effectively implement a pecking order that isn't a shitshow in itself. A few years back I saw a pretty violent attack happen in the middle of a burn - guy in his 20s on a guy in his late 40s - guy in his 20s probably would have ended up killing him until 2 other guys paddle over.... "No, wait he's a local too!"
As for the CJ Nelson Scorpion Bay story, why did it ever get that far? In my experience if someone is behaving like a dickhead in the water and you call it out... others chime in, the humiliation factor is high, and the behavior usually stops or gets taken elsewhere.
There was a time when that worked around here. Those days are pretty much gone too. When you see the clips of NJ's best packing big tubes on the biggest days, they are doing it in fairly packed lineups as people converge on the zone from all over NJ and NY. Granted the best waves are being ridden by a select few who have the ballz to huck over the ledge but they are doing it among a pack of frothers and wanna-bees.