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Surfer dies at Rincon following collision with another surfer...
- Thread starter PLJ
- Start date
It's been there for a while - sorry to get off thread but judging from some of the comments - somewhat relevant. When i moved back to SoCal from Oahu in the early eighties .... i had some of the same feelings expressed here - crowds, shitty waves, attitudes etc ..... started branching into other things - i.e. rock climbing. When i started everything was outdoors .... you learned not just about climbing but proper safety, setting anchors, handling the rope, knots, figuring out what route to take, etc. After a few years - the first climbing gym opened in SoCal .... it wasn't long before a handful more opened. All of a sudden - you had people showing up at outdoor climbing spots who claimed they had been climbing for months yet didn't have a clue about safety, setting anchors, proper climbing etiquette and when you tried to coach or explain to them - they'd have a whole bunch of attitude. They would get stuck on a climb and freeze because they were so used to just following the color coded climbing holds and never had to think about what route they were taking and potential difficulty. The absolute worst though - were the Boy Scout or Church - father/son outings. The kids were never the problem - the "dads" were always the problem and a danger to themselves, their group and everyone else at the location. It was like a bad Chevy Chase or John Candy movie - where the "Dads" were out to prove to the other dads or their sons how macho they were when they'd hadn't been outdoors for years. As soon as we see one of those groups - we would bail to some other location as fast as we could.
LOL - was at a long right - paddling back out ... there was a kid on a longboard trimming a good 30-40 yards away. As he got closer - i started paddling to my right to give him a wide berth and go around behind him. As we passed in each - in parallel - him going from my right to left and me paddling to my right to stay out of the way - he inexplicably decided to straighten out and pointed his board right at me .... i didn't have time to duck dive basically - kinda of dove off the the side and held my board up to protect my head.
IMHO fly fishing depends on where you are and what you are doing. Some of the rivers/rocks, I would not want stiff old muscles and old ankles, on cobblestones, in current. Especially in the Winter; standing in that sh!t was fckng freezing.
In Florida the fishing crowds and the surfing crowds are about equally bad. To the point you are using terminal rigs you don't care if you lose, and you're beefing tackle up because you'll get dragged into other lines. People who have no respect for sport fishing and will fishing equivalent of snake/burn you. 30 miles out during Snapper mini-season and you could cast to 2-3 other boats without even really winding up and trying. Like bass flippin'.
The only time I really bother fishing 'spots' in Jacksonville is when it's raining. Otherwise, it's at least as big a shitshow as the Pier/Poles.
RIP to Rincon guy.
In Florida the fishing crowds and the surfing crowds are about equally bad. To the point you are using terminal rigs you don't care if you lose, and you're beefing tackle up because you'll get dragged into other lines. People who have no respect for sport fishing and will fishing equivalent of snake/burn you. 30 miles out during Snapper mini-season and you could cast to 2-3 other boats without even really winding up and trying. Like bass flippin'.
The only time I really bother fishing 'spots' in Jacksonville is when it's raining. Otherwise, it's at least as big a shitshow as the Pier/Poles.
RIP to Rincon guy.
I body checked a drop in the other day, he in turn landed on a soft top adult leaner. ‘twas cathartic. no major injuries that I was aware of. the snake apologized profusely and said he thought I was going left
The worst is if you were near a kids basketball hoop and the dad decide to play glory boy and relive their crappy junior high school basketball team experience around a bunch of 3 year olds. fkn idiots
I don't know what happened, but there is an epidemic of people that will paddle en masse into the path of anybody riding a wave. If the guy riding a wave is on a longboard and in a nose trim, they don't seem to understand that you can't turn a longboard from the nose (apart from a few subtle adjustments) but you have to cross step backwards until you get the controls as it were to dodge the kooks running frantically right where you need to go in order to make the wave. I can't believe this needs to be said, but if it is close, you paddle BEHIND the surfer. Unless you are way out there and can escape to the channel without having to alter the surfer's pass. You have to be able to run the vectors. And that is largely a lost skill.
And before the peanut gallery starts I probably rode a longboard maybe 5 times all of last year and not once this year.
And by repercussions I obviously meant the old fashioned head slap/mean words that used to be routinely directed at people that ruined waves paddling the wrong way or endangered lives through clueless behavior. And surf doesn't have to be huge for people to get hurt. I've seen hideous injuries in 3-4 foot surf.
This behavior is being taught by the way. Surfing a local point this last year, I had a surf school paddle out with 10 learners and one instructor. 4 times I had to kickout of a wave or straighten out to miss this instructor's pack of wide eyed beginners paddling the wrong way. I kept paddling back out by the way and he kept going "sorry man." The fourth time I pointed out the fact that he had said this four times now. There were some mean words on my part. Then I got heat from a number of kooks in the water about my "bad vibes." I had been utterly silent three times. Just shook my head and kept paddling by.
"The rules" are dead a lot of the time. Every wave is a party wave bro's. "Share the stoke." (every time I hear that phrase I want to smack someone) Order some new aloha seat covers for your MBZ adventure van and play the ukulele as you suck up the same parking spot 8 hours a day. With the five friends/insta-crowd that you took surfing with you.
CA Surfers in 2021 are embarrassing. Mostly they're a bad cliche at best.
And before the peanut gallery starts I probably rode a longboard maybe 5 times all of last year and not once this year.
And by repercussions I obviously meant the old fashioned head slap/mean words that used to be routinely directed at people that ruined waves paddling the wrong way or endangered lives through clueless behavior. And surf doesn't have to be huge for people to get hurt. I've seen hideous injuries in 3-4 foot surf.
This behavior is being taught by the way. Surfing a local point this last year, I had a surf school paddle out with 10 learners and one instructor. 4 times I had to kickout of a wave or straighten out to miss this instructor's pack of wide eyed beginners paddling the wrong way. I kept paddling back out by the way and he kept going "sorry man." The fourth time I pointed out the fact that he had said this four times now. There were some mean words on my part. Then I got heat from a number of kooks in the water about my "bad vibes." I had been utterly silent three times. Just shook my head and kept paddling by.
"The rules" are dead a lot of the time. Every wave is a party wave bro's. "Share the stoke." (every time I hear that phrase I want to smack someone) Order some new aloha seat covers for your MBZ adventure van and play the ukulele as you suck up the same parking spot 8 hours a day. With the five friends/insta-crowd that you took surfing with you.
CA Surfers in 2021 are embarrassing. Mostly they're a bad cliche at best.
I'm sorry about your friend rwright. I went to a memorial service this weekend for a 41yo friend, it just sucks!
Around here the problem with longboarders is they are the last people, ever, who will wear a wave to avoid ruining your ride. They'll do almost anything to not cop a wave.
I'd say last 10-15 years, of the head high or better waves I've paddled deeper at Mayport, more often than not the guy makes it a point to thank me for doing so.
You seem triggered. No one can avoid out of control surfers...no matter what kind of board they are on. No one can out paddle an out of control surfer.... so from time to time they are going to be heading towards you. All it takes is the simple and novice ability to turn. Change direction, bottom turn around paddling surfer, resume stink bug maneuvers.
It is 100% the riders responsibility to avoid running into someone. If a donkey powertrimming down the line doesn't have the skill to do that he doesn't belong in a crowded lineup.
You sound like a donkey.
It seems the number of people under the age of 20 or so that understand "paddle behind" = 0
At least in CA, most places on the East Coast too.
That goes from the very skilled surfer to the beginner. I can think of one (1) spot where this isn't a problem and that's because there are consequences.
Of course there are moments where you pull out and there's a guy right behind you but you either duckdive out of the way or do everything you can to give him open range.
There is nothing difficult about this, it's pure laziness/entitlement on behalf of the paddler. It seems a session doesn't go by without multiple waves being ruined by paddlers.
The problem is a lot of them can get away with it because everyone looks pretty generic.
As I read, I cringe.
I'm doing my best, as are other people here.
But I can't help it if I don't see you till the last 1/4 second when I'm coming down the line to hit a section. Once I see you I'll do my best to avoid you.
Further when someone is locked into a tube it's pretty much impossible for the rider to do play slalom with guys who decide to play in traffic.
This is why its the rider's responsibility to GTFO of the way.
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my kid called me out of bed to bodysurf yesterday
I got a throaty in and out barrel right in front of him
I made him tell me how awesome I was 5 times on the walk home
crowd avoidance and my schedule has kind of put me in a spot where I mostly just
open water swim or body surf to get my fishperson fix...on rare occasions I'll ride a
board if it's good out front, but fk driving and fk dealing with the crowds at the parking
lots.
mainstreaming killed surfing like it killed golfing
we're reaching the point where if you want that soul brother number one surf experience
you gotta pay serious green fees to get it
I got a throaty in and out barrel right in front of him
I made him tell me how awesome I was 5 times on the walk home
crowd avoidance and my schedule has kind of put me in a spot where I mostly just
open water swim or body surf to get my fishperson fix...on rare occasions I'll ride a
board if it's good out front, but fk driving and fk dealing with the crowds at the parking
lots.
mainstreaming killed surfing like it killed golfing
we're reaching the point where if you want that soul brother number one surf experience
you gotta pay serious green fees to get it
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This was actually how I got into SUP.
I lived in California and there was a wave I could SUP and no one would surf. Surfed it by myself for 2 years until I moved.
It got hard to motivate to get a small board and fight the crowd
This is clearly a major case of projection there Eyore. I haven't run anyone over since I was about 7 years old. I agree that in the end it is the surfers responsibility to avoid the collision. However, after you have wave after wave ruined by people who are paddling the wrong way, it gets old. If you are paddling out and people constantly have to screw ups to avoid your tardy ass, you have a problem. Most of the time I ride boards that would be considered undersized. That can be a problem as I am forced out into the flats to avoid the pack of wrong way paddlers, scrubbing off way too much speed, and then having to take steps to gain it back from a bad position. By the time I am back where I need/want to be, frequently the best part of the wave is over.
Hee Haw. Remember, to paddle BEHIND the people surfing and you won't have as many problems.
If you can paddle in front and are capable of a deep enough duck dive so that the surfer can go over you, whatever. Do it. I'm talking about a pack of longboarders, midsizers, softboarders sitting in a pack that have started paddling out of the way far too late and are leaving you with an obstacle course that requires going over the back or way out into the flats to get around. Sounds like you got sounded. Have you considered that fact that maybe you deserved it?
I brought the LB up because someone posted up pictures of the deceased on a longboard on page 4. He doesn't look out of control. The newbie kooks don't understand that a guy on the nose of a LB can't stuff an immediate cutback to avoid their bad decision to last second sprint into his path. It takes a few seconds to get back to the controls. It's not instant the way it is on a shortboard.
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I can’t have fun when that stuff is going on
It’s anxiety inducing
Keeps me out way too often
lefts go right. longboard elementary first day of class and yall getting schooled