Everybody knows that as soon as someone tells someone else about their surf spot that next thing you know a million people are there and it gets packed and it turns that once hidden gem into a lump of crap. That might not always be the case, but I think its a fear that all surfers have. Even I have had a few lessons from the locals and I took those words to heart. I don't want my favorite spots to get turn into a mess either and I will also work on sharing waves.
This is what all locals fear:
Surfers were run over and cut each other off as many riders go for the same wave. Others were run over as they tried to paddle out.
The more people that paddle out in the same surf beak equates to a higher the risk of injury. It gets even more dangerous as the size of with wave gets bigger. I personally know someone who lost an eye in a surf accident after getting his lease tangle up with another guy then a set wave hit him and the other guys board took out his eye- for life. I know another guy who broke his neck paddling out on a big day and was brought back to life on the beach (by my friend and is still surfing today). If you want to see some nasty things that can happen do a google search forSurf Accident.
Please give this some thought- Do you really want to cause harm to yourself or to others by surfing in crowded areas? Do you really want to cause harm to yourself or to others on purpose by “protecting” your local surf spot?
Pascal Dattler suffered severe head trauma at on Friday when hit in the head by another surfer's board at a crowded surf spot. Photo: Tweed Daily News
Kala Alexander, the Wolfpak's enforcer and most notorious member, in May 2008.
By MATT HIGGINS
SUNSET BEACH, Hawaii — They are known as the Wolfpak or simply “the boys.” They use fear and their fists to command respect in the surf along the North Shore of Oahu, a seven-mile stretch of some of the world’s most renowned waves. At the celebrated Banzai Pipeline, they determine which waves go to whom, and punish those who breach their code of respect for local residents and the waves.
Localism has two major divisions; Local #1 (Non-violent) people who go to the same spot all the time and know how the waves break and know the regular people that hang out and surf there. Local #2 (Violent) same Local wave knowledge and they don’t want others (non-locals) to go to that spot and are willing to intimate, beat up, vandalize or use other scare tactics to keep outsider (non-locals) away.
I fall into the first division of localism (non-violent). I’m a peace keeper, I’m out to keep people safe and out of trouble. I’ve helped rescue a few new surfers here and there. In some cases that meant I had to leave to keep myself safe and out of trouble too.
Let’s face it the beaches with the biggest parking lots will obviously have the most surfers out in the water, like El Porto in Manhattan Beach (CA). Porto also consistently picks up the most swell in the South Bay area. It also has some of the best surfers battling it out for prime take-off positioning. Short boarders, long boarders, Sup’ers, knee boarders, body boarders, body surfers and the occasional swimmer and converging in the water in front of the paved metered parking lot.
It’s the same scenario at Manhattan Pier, Hermosa Pier, and the Avenues in Redondo. Easy beach usually access means more people. A longer walk will change things only a little bit. The Cove (Malaga Cove / Bluff Cove) in PV (Palos Verdes) is a little less crowded with Sup’ers, knee boarders, body boarders, body surfers and swimmers. Its watercraft diversity has thinned for two reasons; 1) it’s a long half mile hike from the cliff down to the rocky shore line below and 2) some of the Locals (local #2’s) have been known to make things uncomfortable for non-locals (sometimes verbally sometimes physically). There are lots for really fun surf spots between PV and El Porto. I encourage you to try surfing different spots, and ride different styles of boards. It may give you a new perspective and appreciation for your home breaks.
I have A Modest Proposal when it comes to surf exploration. Become a local (#1) and if you can’t become a local (#1) then please try see the beach or surf spot like you are a local. Here is a list of a few things that have helped me stay under the radar when I’m surfing new spots.
·Locals want to keep their beach, ocean, neighborhood clean. This is your opportunity to win a few points by picking up any trash you see laying around. Try not to make a big deal out of and you’ll get even more points. By picking up trash it shows the locals that you care about the area (and you might pass as a local yourself).
·Don’t bring a crowd with you. It’s ok to bring a friend but don’t bring lots of friends. If you want to bring lots of friends then you should surf at a spot with lots of metered parking.
·Paddle around the impact zone whenever possible. The impact zone is where the waves are breaking and where most of the other surfers are going to be taking off on waves.
·Share waves. That means don’t take off on every wave that comes near you. Let a few go by for others to enjoy. These days it usually a one person per wave sport and there is etiquette involved. Closest person to the peak get the wave, don’t drop in on someone else that has already caught the wave. Sometime there's a line up where you just wait your turn. In the early days of surfing people shared waves all the time and by shared I mean rode the same wave together. There was a more the merrier attitude from the early 1900’s thru the 1940’s. Something changed somewhere between the 1950’s and 1970’s and it became a one person per wave mentality.
·If you do get snaked (someone drops in front of you on a wave) try not to let it ruin your day. There will always be more waves. If the person who snaked you is a newbie give them some encouragement and some safety tips (like a good local #1) they might not know all the rules of surfing etiquette. Remember all surfers started out not knowing everything. If they are not a newbie then just be careful, that person might just be looking for a reason to fight (and you might be out numbered). If it looks like it might get ugly - leave. There is no shame in walking (or paddling) away from a fight. Plus who wants to surf a spot where it has a crappy vibe. There are waves all over the place. There could be waves breaking just a few yards farther away that might have a happier vibe.
·If you’re still a beginner don’t go off the beaten path yet. Stick to the areas near operating lifeguard towers and if you can stay a little farther left or right from the main breaks. As a beginner you are at the highest risk of getting hurt by your own board. It can take some time just to learn how and when to paddle out. Then you have to figure out how to stand up on your board and that’s where the addiction to the stoke really starts.
Imagine your surfboard defining your place in society. In Ancient Hawaii, it did and in a way it still does. Most of time it is really dependent on the surf break that defines the hierarchy. At places Old Mans in San Clement the top dog is the longboarder, then shortboarder and finally bodyboarders. I'm pretty sure body surfers don't even exist there and all the SUP riders are all down the way at Dog Beach. At Haggs (Haggerty's) in Palos Verdes (south Los Angeles) the top dog is the shortboarder and that's pretty much it. SUPs, Longboarders, bodyboarders, body surfers and anyone else that wants to surf there will pretty much end up in a fight if they decided to paddle out into the line up when the local shortboard crowd is out. At EL Porto (Manhattan Beach) it's more about style and looking good on whatever board you are riding and there is a pretty good mix of all types of wave riders in the water like most of the SouthBay beaches.
So where do the Alaias wave riders fit into the hierarchy? Good question, I'll get back to you on that in a few more paragraphs. Better yet lets start with this: what is an Alaia?
www.surfscience.com defines the Alaia as follows:
Alaias are thin wooden finless boards whose history traces back to the people of Hawaii before the 20th century. The predominant material used currently is Polonia which is light, extremely strong, and will not delaminate or have problems from taking on water. Alaias will last a lifetime if treated well and bring the rider back to a simpler form of surfing waves.
Alaias will vary in size from five feet up to ten feet in length and from 15” to 19” in width. They are very thin boards, typically ranging in thickness from ½ inch to 2 inches. According to Tom Wegener’s web site, tomwegenersurfboards.com, the rail’s hard edges act as a long fin when it bites into the wave and “the gentle curves on the bottom hold the board into the face of the wave.” The board’s light weight allows it to accelerate quickly down the line and it is usually sealed with oil, making the Alaia very slick and fast in the water.
Surprisingly, flex plays a large role in an Alaia’s performance. The thin shape allows the rider to manipulate the board’s rocker on the wave to generate more speed or facilitate turning. On his website, Wegener explains that the nose of the Alaia can be pushed down when in trim or catching the wave. This reverse rocker makes the board faster. Conversely, the nose of the board will be pulled up when turning. This makes the board turn quicker and project out of the turn when it relaxes back to its original shape. The result is a very lively board that is best ridden with a controlled slide in the wave’s pocket.
Back to the basics of riding... Using what's available...
I think this guyANTHONY RODIERsummed up the Alaia surfing experience:
Alaia surfers represent an open minded approach to chasing moving water, experiencing the flow, the velvety feel and the utterly perfect trim lines of the ancient Alaia. Welcome and please enjoy as we try to communicate what it is about these boards that is so pure, addictive and so very exciting. We hope to provide information and dare to educate so hang on, in a low crouch stance. Mega shakas to Tom Wegener, who without his rediscovery of these boards and subsequent undying passion for them, we would still be thinking no fins, no fun.
The Ancient Hawaiians called them ALI’I
The ruling class had its own board made of its own wood, the olo. 14’ to 18’ in length, not only was the olo a bigger board, but it was constructed of the more buoyant wood of the wili wili tree and further defined the class separation of kapu.
The ali’i even has their own breaks, and under kapu, any attempt by a commoner to paddle out among the elite was punishable by, among other things, death (much like todays heavy localism at places like Lunada Bay where people outside of the local social class will be beat up but probably not killed).
Surfboards were sacred, their construction ritualistic. Kahuna would search for just the right tree, sacrifice fish as an offering to the gods and stand guard over the specimen overnight under prayer.
Only after successful completion of the ritual, could the tree be felled, and once it was cut down, more sacred behavior was practiced by the kahuna.
Finer shaping was done with blocks of coral and stone..
First the board was rough-shaped with an adz. Then, the wood was shaped and planed with blocks of coral or stone. Once shaped, it was applied with a finish, such as the root of the ti plant or the stain from banana buds. The board was then treated with kukui oil to give it a glossy finish.
When the surfboard had met the kahuna’s approval, it underwent a final ritual of dedication, and only then was it offered to the sea.
So back to that question from earlier... Where do the Alaias wave riders fit into the hierarchy? I think Alaias riders will be the first to bridge the gap between Longboards all the way to Bodyboarders. Alias wave riders will be the new classical progressive group to emerge and may end up defining a generation. First because they are not so easy to stand up on so not everyone will be gravitating towards these as much as they might to SUP (Stand Up Paddle) boards which are super easy (and no waves a required on a SUP).
Who knows maybe one day surfers will be able to to ride both a SUP and an Alaia... Like this guy:
Here's another perspective of this guy in action:
Alaias are finless kind of like a bodyboard and I think all those good bodyboarders that can do drop-knees and 360 spins while will have a huge advantage riding Alaias boards, much like a Jamaican bobsled team they could take the world by storm.
Drop Knee Bodyboarding
Alaia cutback
Longboarders will excel due to their knowledge of trim and smooth style.
Shortboarders will be able to pull insanely complicated combination maneuvers that will be difficult to judge against the normal shortboard standards in a contest. I'm really looking forward to seeing someone complete on an Alaias in a standard shortboard contest.
Here are a few examples of Alaias in action:
Alaia Building, Riding, Sliding
So try to make one... Here's how:
Alaia Shaping Time Lapse - J Sun Alaias
Respect Wood: Build an Alaia
Alaia shaping part 1
Next step Learn how to ride one... Here's how from Transworld Surf:
Finally the last thing to do is go out and have fun. Make the best of whatever your local surf break has to offer.
Prepare to turn heads as you become a pioneer of the classical progressive group that is emerging and may end up defining a generation or at least inspiring one to try a wider range of sliding toys.
I tend to keep a low profile when I paddle out to surf. I look calm and comfortable as I paddle out, like all locals do, but I’m not a local at all the places I surf. Like most surfers I like the least amount of people out in the water and those good places are getting harder others to find. Actually it’s pretty easy to find an empty break in the South Bay, there are lots of them but some are monitored and enforced by locals so be careful.
It helps if you know how the different beaches break on high and low tides so you can pick which direction to go (north or South). I’m not going to tell you where my favorite South Bay secret spots are- that wouldn’t be any fun. Everybody knows that as soon as someone tells someone else about their secret surf spot that next thing you know a million people are there and it gets packed and it turns that once hidden gem into a lump of crap.
This is what all locals fear:
I hear it all the time:
"This guy thought he owned the waves and he kept dropping in on me so I pushed him off," he said. "When he came up he came at me and it was on."
I've been surfing here for a long time and I've never seen so many people in the water. There are hundreds and hundreds of people and not enough waves to go around so I reckon it'll get ugly," he said.
Surfers were run over and cut each other off as many riders go for the same wave. Others were run over as they tried to paddle out.
"It's insane, you have to psych yourself up just to paddle out because you know, sooner or later, someone's going to have a go at you."
The more people that paddle out in the same surf beak equates to a higher the risk of injury. It gets even more dangerous as the size of with wave gets bigger. I personally know someone who lost an eye in a surf accident after getting his lease tangle up with another guy then a set wave hit him and the other guys board took out his eye- for life. I know another guy who broke his neck paddling out on a big day and was brought back to life on the beach (and is still surfing today). If you want to see some nasty things that can happen do a google search for Surf Accident.
Please give this some thought- Do you really want to cause harm to yourself or to others by surfing in crowded areas? Do you really want to cause harm to yourself or to others on purpose by “protecting” your local surf spot?
Pascal Dattler suffered severe head trauma at on Friday when hit in the head by another surfer's board at a crowded surf spot. Photo: Tweed Daily News
Kala Alexander, the Wolfpak's enforcer and most notorious member, in May 2008.
By MATT HIGGINS
SUNSET BEACH, Hawaii — They are known as the Wolfpak or simply “the boys.” They use fear and their fists to command respect in the surf along the North Shore of Oahu, a seven-mile stretch of some of the world’s most renowned waves. At the celebrated Banzai Pipeline, they determine which waves go to whom, and punish those who breach their code of respect for local residents and the waves.
Localism has two major divisions; Local #1 (Non-violent) people who go to the same spot all the time and know how the waves break and know the regular people that hang out and surf there. Local #2 (Violent) same Local wave knowledge and they don’t want others (non-locals) to go to that spot and are willing to intimate, beat up, vandalize or use other scare tactics to keep outsider (non-locals) away.
I fall into the first division of localism (non-violent). I’m a peace keeper, I’m out to keep people safe and out of trouble. I’ve helped rescue a few new surfers here and there. In some cases that meant I had to leave to keep myself safe and out of trouble too.
Let’s face it the beaches with the biggest parking lots will obviously have the most surfers out in the water, like El Porto in Manhattan Beach (CA). Porto also consistently picks up the most swell in the South Bay area. It also has some of the best surfers battling it out for prime take-off positioning. Short boarders, long boarders, Sup’ers, knee boarders, body boarders, body surfers and the occasional swimmer and converging in the water in front of the paved metered parking lot.
It’s the same scenario at Manhattan Pier, Hermosa Pier, and the Avenues in Redondo. Easy beach usually access means more people. A longer walk will change things only a little bit. The Cove (Malaga Cove / Bluff Cove) in PV (Palos Verdes) is a little less crowded with Sup’ers, knee boarders, body boarders, body surfers and swimmers. Its watercraft diversity has thinned for two reasons; 1) it’s a long half mile hike from the cliff down to the rocky shore line below and 2) some of the Locals (local #2’s) have been known to make things uncomfortable for non-locals (sometimes verbally sometimes physically). There are lots for really fun surf spots between PV and El Porto. I encourage you to try surfing different spots, and ride different styles of boards. It may give you a new perspective and appreciation for your home breaks.
I have A Modest Proposal when it comes to surf exploration. Become a local (#1) and if you can’t become a local (#1) then please try see the beach or surf spot like you are a local. Here is a list of a few things that have helped me stay under the radar when I’m surfing new spots.
·Locals want to keep their beach, ocean, neighborhood clean. This is your opportunity to win a few points by picking up any trash you see laying around. Try not to make a big deal out of and you’ll get even more points. By picking up trash it shows the locals that you care about the area (and you might pass as a local yourself).
·Don’t bring a crowd with you. It’s ok to bring a friend but don’t bring lots of friends. If you want to bring lots of friends then you should surf at a spot with lots of metered parking.
·Paddle around the impact zone whenever possible. The impact zone is where the waves are breaking and where most of the other surfers are going to be taking off on waves.
·Share waves. That means don’t take off on every wave that comes near you. Let a few go by for others to enjoy. These days it usually a one person per wave sport and there is etiquette involved. Closest person to the peak get the wave, don’t drop in on someone else that has already caught the wave. Sometime there's a line up where you just wait your turn. In the early days of surfing people shared waves all the time and by shared I mean rode the same wave together. There was a more the merrier attitude from the early 1900’s thru the 1940’s. Something changed somewhere between the 1950’s and 1970’s and it became a one person per wave mentality.
·If you do get snaked (someone drops in front of you on a wave) try not to let it ruin your day. There will always be more waves. If the person who snaked you is a newbie give them some encouragement and some safety tips (like a good local #1) they might not know all the rules of surfing etiquette. Remember all surfers started out not knowing everything. If they are not a newbie then just be careful, that person might just be looking for a reason to fight (and you might be out numbered). If it looks like it might get ugly - leave. There is no shame in walking (or paddling) away from a fight. Plus who wants to surf a spot where it has a crappy vibe. There are waves all over the place. There could be waves breaking just a few yards farther away that might have a happier vibe.
·If you’re still a beginner don’t go off the beaten path yet. Stick to the areas near operating lifeguard towers and if you can stay a little farther left or right from the main breaks. As a beginner you are at the highest risk of getting hurt by your own board. It can take some time just to learn how and when to paddle out. Then you have to figure out how to stand up on your board and that’s where the addiction to the stoke really starts.
