ATTENTION- SUP rights may need defending in the South Bay

[SoBaSuP]

Some of you may be familiar with the website www.swellmagnet.com.  Below is an excerpt from their surf forecast page this week.  As you can see, the promoter of the site is making an active effort to restrict the use of SUPs in the South Bay.  He has contacted Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, and his deputy, and has set up a forum to foster anti-SUP sentiment.

  I see the reference to "mob mentality" and "real touble" as a thinly veiled suggestion of illegal violence against SUPers.  Also, as has been stated many times before, all his typical anti-SUP arguments are equally applicable as complaints short boarders can make against long boarders- weigh more, harder to control, ridden by "novices."  And many SUPs are in fact smaller and more skillfully ridder than many longboards.

I thought other SUPers would be interested to know about this now, since sometimes it is easier to thwart regulation before it gains momentum.  I hope people will take the time to respond to the Supervisor Knabe.

Here is the excerpt:



"Here's the latest in the SUP saga. I sent this letter to Steve Napalitano and Don Knabe to see if they could help us come up with some sort of a compromise.

My name is Michael Durand and I own and operate a surfing website called Swellmagnet.com and also write a weekly article for the Beach Reporter. The reason for my correspondence is that there has been an alarming rise in the Stand Up Paddler, AKA "SUP" population over the last few years. At first it was tolerated by the recreational surfers in the line up, but now it has become increasingly dangerous and needs to be regulated before more people are seriously injured or even killed.

These large water crafts are much closer to boats than they are surfboards, weigh much more, are powered with an oar and very hard to control. With the boom in the sport, more and more novices are entering the surf line up and aggressive confrontations, violence and injury by collision are inevitable.

In San O'nofre these "SUP's" are relegated to a certain stretch of beach, away from the general population of traditional surfers and things seem fairly harmonious. If there is a way to segregate them in the South Bay, I'm all for it, otherwise they should be forced to register their vessel, pay for the CF numbers and remain 300 yards offshore.

Please let me know what I need to do to initiate a solution. If it is a petition, a Government meeting or working with the lifeguards, ie a "blackball" type of ban during certain hours. Who is in charge of regulating all of LA County?

If nothing is done soon to remedy the problem, there is going to be some real trouble. I am in the water every day and a lynch mob mentality has been bubbling over. Mark my words it's only a matter of time before something serious goes down.

I recently posted a short editorial on this subject and the response was passionate and overwhelming - see link below
http://swellmagnet.com/sup.html

I look forward to hearing your response,
Best regards, Mike email"

[Strand Leper]

SoBaSup,

Please PM me with your contact information.  I am very, very hammered right now at the office, (two attorneys at my firm just were given alternative employment options), but will make this an absolute priority in my off hours.  I need everything you have and will get a letter out on my firm letterhead ASAP... and direct the LA Supervisors to contact the OC Supervisors to see how we handled things down here.

Since I am in OC, I will need to be representing someone in LA in order to have standing... so if there is a group, or a bunch of individuals who I will be representing... I will need their names and contact information.  You can PM me on this.

As they say, "Rock and Roll!"

Thanks,

Tim

[Gdub]

Tim,
Thanks for fighting the fight, first in OC, and now stepping up to the plate in LA.
Gerry
LA SUP surfer!

[corran]

My response to Mike from swellmagnet.





Hi Mike

I'm a shortboarder. Have been for over 20 years. No wait... make that nearly 30 years.

Like you, i'm concerned with safety. When I go surf, I want to have fun, enjoy the waves, and the good times with my friends. It really bugs me when some "wanna be" surfer is dropping in on me when its my wave, cutting line, snaking me or other surfers, acting like an ass, or being out of control. In all my years, I've seen it all. Beginners in breaks they should not be, with boards so big that they can swim onto waves they shouldn't be going for, wiping out and basically being dangerous. Almost as bad, people on boards too small, so they can't get out, or can't get onto waves early enough and they end up going over the falls and taking you out. It just seems like wherever you go, you can always find some idiot where they should not be, on a board they should not be on. I've had boards cut badly from some idiot "wanna be" hot-shot grub on a little board that was dropping in on everyone. I have a good friend who got badly cut by some idiot longboarder who was a wave hog.

Interestingly enough, what I've never been hit by an SUP. I've also never been dropped in on by an SUP. In fact, while I've seen as many beginner SUPers out there as surfers, I did notice that as a whole they seem to be more respectful of lineups, surf etiquette and almost obsessively aware of safety. As animosity towards SUP began to develop, so I got more confused. Why all this animosity? Because they look different? They're certainly not any more dangerous, and seem as a whole to be more concerned with line up etiquette than almost all surfers.

Still, like you, my first take on SUP was " that's plain dumb". It looked stupid, and certainly didn't look like any fun. A friend of mine did it and tried to get me to try it. NO THANKS! It looks gay! And I let him know it too. Anyway, one day, when the surf was really crappy, and it was  20 degrees out, he was out there on this stupid board and I was on my little 6' thruster and he said "do you want to try this?".

"NO, I do not". So he changes tack. "Actually, I'm really cold. The water is warmer than the air. Can we switch for a few minutes so I can warm up".

"OK, FINE... give me that stupid thing".

I caught one wave, surfed it in, and had an awesome ride. It was really fun. After about 30 minutes, I'd had a half dozen waves (more than I'd had in the last 3 hrs on my shortboard) and I said to myself "You know, I was wrong. This is fun. It might look dumb, but this is really fun"

Several things have changed since then, and several have not. What has not changed. Every time I go out on my shortboard, I get dropped in on by shortboarders. I still never get dropped in on by SUPers. I've still had several close calls with shortboarders and longboarders. I have not with SUPers.  Today, many SUP's are smaller than longboards. The paddles weight the same as a fin set, and are less sharp. The skills have evolved and changed and SUPers are ripping shortboard breaks as well as shortboarders with style, control and grace.Today, I am less concerned about being in a lineup with SUPers than with longboarders or punk grom shortboarders. And today, I am also a SUPer. I'm still a shortboarder at heart, but I SUP too.

Why? Because it's a lot of fun, and my experience with the kinds of people who SUP is that they are tolerant, respectful, safe and understand more than most the "stoke" of surfing. As such, I like to hang out with these people. They are agreeable and fun.

I'm proud to say I'm a shortboarder. I'm equally proud to be a SUPer. I still ride my 6' thruster.  I SUP on a 7' board that is lighter and smaller than most surfboards.

I am also convinced that the prevalent attitude towards SUP is NOT that they are dangerous, but that they are different. Your view of SUP is what mine was before I tried it and before I made friends with some of them. Today I can say that a lineup of SUPers is a safer place than a line-up of grom wanna be shortboarders with something to prove, or longboarders with their 10' and 11' tanks with little skill, and less understanding of line-up etiquette.

I understand your concerns, but I also know that they are unjustified. Your fear is perceived, not real. SUP is not going to take over surfing, or surf spots. Its too hard to do in places where shortboarding is fun, and the skill set needed limits the people who will be there. In the breaks where SUP is easy, surfers generally don't go. And there is so much stigma attached to SUP, that they are as a whole more concerned with safety and line up etiquette than normal surfers. SUPers are no more going to steel your waves than they will your "fun tickets". The "fear" is unjustified. It all comes down to "they don't look like me therefore I don't like them".

You don't have to worry. Nobody does. It's not a take over. It's not a conspiracy. Its just surfers like you and me, enjoying waves in their way.

Have a great 2010 season, and take some waves.

Corran

[Strand Leper]

This was my response:

 I am a lifelong surfer.  I have never ridden a longboard.  I now SUP most of the time.  I like to SUP in uncrowded breaks, but unfortunately, (or fortunately) I live down the beach from Salt Creek.  Most of the time, I SUP the boulder field about two hundred yards south of there, but when I see a bunch of rights reeling off the point unridden, I paddle up to the Creek and ride them.  I also often SUP the wave at Gravels... when the crowd shows up, I usually paddle back to the Ramp, (the boulder field in front of my pad).  I surf for at least a little while on each day that I SUP, unless it is really small.  When I see SUP'ers kooking, or clueless, I let them know where they should go to learn... and what the rules of the road are.  When I get burned by a shortboarder, I let it go.  My surfing SUP's are 8'0" and 8'5" (by 27 and by 29, respectively).  As to being out of control and dangerous in the lineup, I make sure that I don't slide the tail in front of other people.  When I backdoor a peak, I make sure that if I get pinched, no one is going to get worked, except for me.  When I started, I made sure that I was nowhere near any other surfer.
 
Now, (unless I am at the creek), I tell everyone in the water that if I am either on, or paddling for, a wave that they want, call me off.  Most of the time, if there are others in the water who are not my good friends, I just paddle to the next empty peak.
 
Regulate the lineup... the way lineups have always been regulated.  Let people who are newbies, or selfish and clueless ("kooks") know what the rules are... if they act like dicks, karma or the locals will get them.
 
To be quite frank, I have never, ever met an SUP'er who has acted like may of the ones described in these forums, (taking all the waves, telling everyone to f off when called on it)... I will accept that they exist, however, as I have seen longboarders do it time and time again.
 
There are kooks on SUP's.  There are kooks on longboards.  There are kooks on shortboards. 
 
I didn't realize that surfers were into government telling folks what to do.  I thought that surfing was kind of a rebellion against all of that stuff.  I thought that's what fistfights in the lineup were about... organic regulation.  Be careful about calling in the government to regulate SUP's... they may just decide to regulate all watercraft... nice tax revenue there...
 
My two cents as a lifelong surfer and SUP'er for a year and a half or so.
 
Tim

[Supperson]

Well said Tim

[NCBA]

You would have to be an a** wipe to write a letter crying about SUP in the lineup to a county supervisor. LOSER! SUP hate was so last year. This will be the year of the  "closet" SUPers. You know, shortboarders who admire it silently, may claim to do it for only fitness reasons only. Next year, more than Naish will be advertising paddle boards in surf mags and we''ll have "water" world peace.

[Strand Leper]

Thanks for the kind words Supperson, and NCBA... such a perfect line... "SUP hate was so last year..."  

Not to generalize (but I will) but is the irony of the crime laden, felon infested ranks of the young shortboarder going to the authorities to help him catch waves and fend off the evil SUP just bloody freaking hilarious???

This guy is also probably wearing the ironic and iconic "Obey" t-shirt when he wrote this plea to the almighty County Supervisor, not realizing the incongruity of someone wearing the rebellious "Obey" t-shirt begging for the authorities to help him to ............ catch more waves.  What do you call double irony?  Is it like multiplying two negatives ... each irony cancels the other out and the situation becomes congruous rather than incongruous?  How many times can I use the word "irony" in one post?

You seriously cannot make this stuff up!

Tim

[corran]

I see a T Shirt...

"SUP hate was so last year..."

 

[CT]

If nothing is done soon to remedy the problem, there is going to be some real trouble. I am in the water every day and a lynch mob mentality has been bubbling over. Mark my words it's only a matter of time before something serious goes down.

Yeah, sounds like a threat to me too.  A premeditated one at that.

This whole thing is ridiculous.  Can't we all just be adults and settle it amongst ourselves?  Don't be a little girl and go crying to your mother every time someone does something you don't like.  Getting the government/law involved is NOT the solution. 

[corran]

Here is the thing I don;t get...

WHY does anything even need settling?

I don't bitch at some surfer because he's on an CI board instead of a Lost, or a fish instead of a thruster... what should it matter if you're on a SUP, Longbard or shortboard?

This is the base... the whole thing is just petty and stupid. Never mind getting government involved... there should be nothing to settle period - by ourselves or otherwise.

Corran

[Tom English]

Nice work Tim.  Thanks for stepping up. 
Aloha,
Tom English

[Strand Leper]

Corran,

You are on it... as usual... setting 'em straight and having fun in the process!

Tim

[Strand Leper]

Tom,

Thanks for the prop's... after reviewing everything, this one will just be a nice and informative letter to the supervisors requesting to be kept in the loop if there are any additional regulatory considerations.  Never again idea to threaten violence against another group as you are seeking guidance from your regulatory overlord.

Thanks again... I've gotta come down your way and surf with you guys sometime, I am only fifteen or twenty offramps away.

Tim

[SD Ryan]

It's not just beginners that are the problem.

A few weeks ago I was SUPing at a local semi-remote reef in good head high surf when three other guys came out on SUPs.  There were a half dozen or so 'regular' surfers out, which is starting to get crowded for this spot.  About 2/3 locals.  I saw the other SUPers once before about a month earlier.  They were from a town about an hour north and didn't know anyone out.  They could surf well enough but they definitely used their boards to force their advantage on the crowd.  I'm pretty laid back in the water but it got to the point where even I was getting pissed.  To be honest, I was embarrassed to be on a SUP with the way those guys were acting.  Guilty by association, ya know?  After one of them burned a local (for the second time) words were exchanged.  The new SUP guy looked at me and was like "can you believe that guy?"  Like I was gonna be on his side just because I was also on a stand up.  I just kinda shrugged him off.  About 30 minutes later another surfer started yelling at me when he missed a wave saying he couldn't get position because he had to stay away from me for his safety.  He later apologized explaining he was just pissed at the other SUPers and was taking it out on me.  Finally, after an hour or so of this, this 'leader' of the three transient SUPers burned me on a solid set wave.  Then he paddled out and was like "hey buddy, did I leave you enough room?"  Like it's somehow ok to drop in on other SUPers if you're also on one.  I made it clear that there was not enough room (true) and that they gotta throttle back a bit.  Soon after they left and things were much better.

The point of this story is that in some ways we are our own worst enemy.  If we don't do a better job self policing (like the kiteboarders do) then not only is heavier regulation likely to happen but personally I'd even support it, if only to help prevent loosing the ability to SUP altogether.  I could not believe that three out of town people would show up at this particular spot, on SUPs, and act like such assholes.  They were nice enough guys in general, and again they could surf ok, but they were out of line, oblivious to the fact, and it caused problems for me and others.

It didn't help that one of the guys had shorts on over his wetsuit and stickers all over his board.  Didn't bother me, go surf in a bozo suit if you want, but if you're trying to advertise that you're not from this particular spot that's a good way to start... 

OK, I'm done venting now...  I hope if those guys read this message they understand I'm not trying to call them out personally but I'm more than willing to talk to them directly if that's what they want. 

This is about the bigger picture. After the incident word spread and I had to spend too much time on and off the water over the next week doing damage control.  All this from three guys, two hours, at a remote spot...