James Wrote>> Someone clearly taught this attitude to him. Why does it seem acceptable in the surf culture? Is the testosterone that thick? Is it barracks life revisited? Am I an old fart? >> I should reiterate, the VAST, VAST majority of board surfers I've paddled around are cool people. There are several I call friends. I've had 200 to 1 (or more) positive interactions over negative. A lot of them are curious, some think it's pretty cool. I've been stuck in the parking lot on numerous occasions, having board surfers checking out my carbon-kevlar boat. There are a few jerks, heck, there are a lot of surfers, and I'll bet that statistically, there is no higher percentage of jerks surfing than there are jerks in the general population. Waves however, especially good ones, are a limited resource, and as with any limited resource, it creates competition, and that brings the jerk in people out, if it's there. And there does seem to be a culture in surfing that says intimidation is OK. But I think the problem of kayakers versus surfers is overstated. People behaving in a manner perceived as dangerous (as many kayakers do!) is the problem. I've been out a few times when there were people in SOT or whitewater kayaks, bouncing sideways through the lineup, in the soup and completely out of control, and they scare me. Getting dropped in on by some very experienced waveskiers at SanOnofre scares me. But again, I think it's the behavior that's the problem, not the craft. Steve wrote>> Surfrider beach in Malibu does not allow kayak surfing at all. There are signs posted that say "no kayaks allowed". Other places, like Silverstrand in Oxnard, don't post no kayaking signs, but your car is liable to get keyed if you are on the water there, and the boardies will not hesitate to tell you to get lost. >> I stand corrected, I wasn't aware of the beach in Malibu. I can only speak from experience, I've surfed at many, many spots in southern and Northern California, for many hundreds of sessions over the last 5-6 years, and I think the problems and issues between board surfers and kayakers is feared more than it is real. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I've seen out of control and disrespectful board surfers run off by other board surfers too. That's my point. Geoff *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Jul 09 2007 - 10:09:16 PDT
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