Travis spews advise to the new guy 07-13-05
Got this email the other day:
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Hey man,
Long story short, I found your blog from 10 or so clicks off a google search. Anyways, I'm a new surfer looking to surf without making the 'pros/locals' mad. I've longboarded before, but I'd really like to short board. Everyone has told me it's really hard, but being a waterpolo player for 6 or so years, I find that when people tell me something in the water is hard, it's just their inexperiece in the water. So with that said, you seem to be a surfer who just likes to surf, and not be worried about the 'surf-scene' and I thought you'd be a good person to get advice from.
If you have the time, I'd love to hear what you have to say.
Xxxx
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Hey, bro.. Sorry it took me a while to get to your email.
I've never really had probelms with "pros/locals" as you say. Contrary to the popular image that surfing has to completely dominate every aspect of the surfer's life, most surfers are just regular people who happen to surf. Very few that I've met are really out to get anyone or prove anything.
And, common courtesy typically prevails. I don't know if you've ever read the so-called rules of surfing etiquette http://www.surfline.com/surfology/surfology_borl_index.cfm (this is just one. you could do all kinds of google's on surfing right of way, etiquette, etc.), but they are pretty simple and intuitive niceness and courtesy that I've generally stayed within the bounds of and stayed out of most trouble. The first and most horrendous offence is "dropping in" on a claimed wave (more on this later), which should simply never be done, regardless of skill level. But, in the same breath, it happens all the time. And, most people don't get too mad about it.
A friend of mine once said "You know, Travis. Now that I'm getting to know you better, I don't feel so bad about dropping' in on ya." And he did, too, about two sets later.
The worst places I've been, in terms of jerkish attitudes in the water, are the very good reef breaks where line up crowding can be a problem. The guys who surf there a lot know exactly where to be to catch the wave and can get there faster than the visitors, effectively locking them out. But, even then, I've recently surfed Topanga Point in Malibu on a few weekday mornings and found that in a light crowd, there are waves to be had for all.
Now, as for the shortboarding. I would advise a bit of temperance in that department. This advise is coming from a guy who rode shortboards for, like, 6 or 7 years and wasn't making a whole lot of progress. Surfing has a horribly extended learning curve, especially if you aren't starting at some age before you have pubic hair. What you want to do is learn to ride on waves. But, in order to do that, you have to stand up on waves, and in order to do that you have to catch waves, and in order to do that you have to find waves with nobody on them.
Think about it this way: If the waves are coming in at 14 seconds to 18 second period (typical wave period for fun surf), that's 200 - 250 waves per hour. Assuming that you are a great paddler from all those years of water polo, you'll be able to get in position for at best about a quarter of those, 50 or 60 waves. But, most of them will have other people on them, or you won't be lined up right, or you'll think it's better to wait for the next one. So, you might paddle after 15 waves. Of those 15, you might catch one in three - 5 waves. Now, hopefully, you'll get to your feet every time and surf off beautifully. But, as a beginner, that's just not true. On 2 of those, you'll fall right off. On 2 more, you'll get to the bottom, try to make a turn, and fall off, and the last one you'll go over the falls.
What you really want to do is maximize the time you spend actually riding waves. The best way to do that is with a board that is easiest to catch waves, easiest to stand up, and easiest to move around on.
With a shortboard, your wave count goes down significantly. First off, the longboarders at the spot will be catching most of the waves. Padddeling is harder, standing up is harder, and getting a good angle on the take off is harder.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love my shortboard. Its super fast, gets flying on the mid size or bigger waves, and turns like a sonofabitch. I bring it whenever I think the conditions are right and I'll have a good time with it. But, on any day less than that, I bring the board that I think I'll have the most fun on. Most days, I like my mid-sized board. It's 7'6", so it's not "officially" a longboard (8'0" is the limit in my mind). it turns a whole lot faster than a 9'0" or a 9'6", but it catches a lot more waves than my shortboard does in just about any size surf.
Besides, this is the era or the hybrid board. The longboard/shortboard decision that was so polarizing in the 1980s is gone. There are fishes, eggs, hybrids, semi fish shortboards, surftec boards, big-guy tris, the whole pug nose family (that's what I want next, about 7'0" or 7'2"), and whenever else you can imagine.
Sure, the "jocks" of surfing will always ride that "high performance" shortboard, and, yes, they'll get all the press, all the chicks, all the movie roles, and we'll always be jealous and feel inferior (which is what they want). But at the end of the day - fuck 'em - we had a good time, and the so-called "recreational" surfer (a step down from the so-called "hardcore" surfer) is the unspoken majority of the sport of surfing. You'll never see that in the magazines, by the way. Unfortunatly, those 'pro/local' guys that you are afraid of, write for, photograph for, subscribe to, run advertisments in, and surf in those magazines. The whole of the surfing media grosly misrepresents the sport it covers.
My advise is this: When you are starting out, catch as many waves as you can. Spend as much time on your feet as possible. Use the board that will most help you do that. As you become more confident, you'll gain some insight into how you want your next board to be different (like that pug nose 7'0" I'm looking for) and let that be your guide.
--------------------
Hey man,
Long story short, I found your blog from 10 or so clicks off a google search. Anyways, I'm a new surfer looking to surf without making the 'pros/locals' mad. I've longboarded before, but I'd really like to short board. Everyone has told me it's really hard, but being a waterpolo player for 6 or so years, I find that when people tell me something in the water is hard, it's just their inexperiece in the water. So with that said, you seem to be a surfer who just likes to surf, and not be worried about the 'surf-scene' and I thought you'd be a good person to get advice from.
If you have the time, I'd love to hear what you have to say.
Xxxx
---------------------------------
Hey, bro.. Sorry it took me a while to get to your email.
I've never really had probelms with "pros/locals" as you say. Contrary to the popular image that surfing has to completely dominate every aspect of the surfer's life, most surfers are just regular people who happen to surf. Very few that I've met are really out to get anyone or prove anything.
And, common courtesy typically prevails. I don't know if you've ever read the so-called rules of surfing etiquette http://www.surfline.com/surfology/surfology_borl_index.cfm (this is just one. you could do all kinds of google's on surfing right of way, etiquette, etc.), but they are pretty simple and intuitive niceness and courtesy that I've generally stayed within the bounds of and stayed out of most trouble. The first and most horrendous offence is "dropping in" on a claimed wave (more on this later), which should simply never be done, regardless of skill level. But, in the same breath, it happens all the time. And, most people don't get too mad about it.
A friend of mine once said "You know, Travis. Now that I'm getting to know you better, I don't feel so bad about dropping' in on ya." And he did, too, about two sets later.
The worst places I've been, in terms of jerkish attitudes in the water, are the very good reef breaks where line up crowding can be a problem. The guys who surf there a lot know exactly where to be to catch the wave and can get there faster than the visitors, effectively locking them out. But, even then, I've recently surfed Topanga Point in Malibu on a few weekday mornings and found that in a light crowd, there are waves to be had for all.
Now, as for the shortboarding. I would advise a bit of temperance in that department. This advise is coming from a guy who rode shortboards for, like, 6 or 7 years and wasn't making a whole lot of progress. Surfing has a horribly extended learning curve, especially if you aren't starting at some age before you have pubic hair. What you want to do is learn to ride on waves. But, in order to do that, you have to stand up on waves, and in order to do that you have to catch waves, and in order to do that you have to find waves with nobody on them.
Think about it this way: If the waves are coming in at 14 seconds to 18 second period (typical wave period for fun surf), that's 200 - 250 waves per hour. Assuming that you are a great paddler from all those years of water polo, you'll be able to get in position for at best about a quarter of those, 50 or 60 waves. But, most of them will have other people on them, or you won't be lined up right, or you'll think it's better to wait for the next one. So, you might paddle after 15 waves. Of those 15, you might catch one in three - 5 waves. Now, hopefully, you'll get to your feet every time and surf off beautifully. But, as a beginner, that's just not true. On 2 of those, you'll fall right off. On 2 more, you'll get to the bottom, try to make a turn, and fall off, and the last one you'll go over the falls.
What you really want to do is maximize the time you spend actually riding waves. The best way to do that is with a board that is easiest to catch waves, easiest to stand up, and easiest to move around on.
With a shortboard, your wave count goes down significantly. First off, the longboarders at the spot will be catching most of the waves. Padddeling is harder, standing up is harder, and getting a good angle on the take off is harder.
Now, don't get me wrong, I love my shortboard. Its super fast, gets flying on the mid size or bigger waves, and turns like a sonofabitch. I bring it whenever I think the conditions are right and I'll have a good time with it. But, on any day less than that, I bring the board that I think I'll have the most fun on. Most days, I like my mid-sized board. It's 7'6", so it's not "officially" a longboard (8'0" is the limit in my mind). it turns a whole lot faster than a 9'0" or a 9'6", but it catches a lot more waves than my shortboard does in just about any size surf.
Besides, this is the era or the hybrid board. The longboard/shortboard decision that was so polarizing in the 1980s is gone. There are fishes, eggs, hybrids, semi fish shortboards, surftec boards, big-guy tris, the whole pug nose family (that's what I want next, about 7'0" or 7'2"), and whenever else you can imagine.
Sure, the "jocks" of surfing will always ride that "high performance" shortboard, and, yes, they'll get all the press, all the chicks, all the movie roles, and we'll always be jealous and feel inferior (which is what they want). But at the end of the day - fuck 'em - we had a good time, and the so-called "recreational" surfer (a step down from the so-called "hardcore" surfer) is the unspoken majority of the sport of surfing. You'll never see that in the magazines, by the way. Unfortunatly, those 'pro/local' guys that you are afraid of, write for, photograph for, subscribe to, run advertisments in, and surf in those magazines. The whole of the surfing media grosly misrepresents the sport it covers.
My advise is this: When you are starting out, catch as many waves as you can. Spend as much time on your feet as possible. Use the board that will most help you do that. As you become more confident, you'll gain some insight into how you want your next board to be different (like that pug nose 7'0" I'm looking for) and let that be your guide.
posted by travinator @ 10:48 PM
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