SUPing in SF

[jp5]

Same old story, too many surfers and not enough waves. At most breaks SUPers are about as welcome as kayakers and jet skiiers.

[victor]

give the surfers a break, literally.

if we had to paddle out for half an hour and wait in line hoping to catch an 8 second ride back to the beach we'd be pretty grumpy, too.

[Epenrose]

All agreed on this one, Victor and Eric made some really good points.

If you surf as well as stand up you'd understand why. Takes a lot of years to be able to take waves in a more crowded spot.

All of sudden someone shows up on a $1900 stand up with paddle starts taking waves and the trouble starts.

Surfing is also a pretty equalizing sport, $150 for a used board and $100 for a wet suit and you are set. Within reach of many people and their form of recreation within budget. If a surf board & suit cost $2k we'd probably lose 90% of people.

The great thing about stand up is that you can get to and ride spots normally not accessible and that is what I think we should be doing on stand ups. Outside at OB, outside at Bolinas, outside at Pacifica, all open and nobody to bother. Leave the inner peaks for short and long boards. Get a ride and kick out so everyone gets a ride, especially on the inside.

I have yet to be out on a day I couldn't find my own little spot alone.

A golden rule may be if you can't surf a shortboard at a peak and take waves competing with other surfers you probably shouldn't be on a stand up as you don't really know what you doing, even though you think you may.

[streetsailing]

Yeah, we should all be happy that SUPs are so expensive, otherwise there would be a mutiny in the surf scene and everybody would be catching a lot more waves on top of each other.

[swchandler]

Having been a dedicated surfer for 23 years before starting to windsurf 24 years ago, I know that there's a lot of truth to what Epenrose and Eric are saying. Although I'm not into SUP, and don't expect to start, the surfing game is a kind of complex scene that requires a balance between aggressive and passive tendencies. You must assert yourself to earn your share of waves, but you also have to share with others. Nobody appreciates the inconsiderate wave hog, no matter how good they are.

So, with the introduction of the SUP, and its distinct advantage for getting into the wave early, the SUP rider must develop a far more passive role in the lineup to even begin to fit in. Ideally, SUP should be done away from the crowded surf spots. Maybe this sounds unfair to the SUP rider, but that's the only way things will work out without a lot of potential grief.

[Epenrose]

swchandler. Spot on, couldn't have been said better.