Softly, softly.

[StandUpVirgin]

 Maybe I'm a little sensitive but I have been vibed in the water a few times in the past 6 weeks some of it feels like a knee jerk reaction to certain surf mag attitudes to SUP.
 To my Knowledge I'm the first regular SUP'er around the Tortola area, people have passed through traveling but I'm the face that keeps coming back. I've been prone surfing for almost 10 yrs here & know a lot of faces & a few names that I always say hello to. But I have heard "Oh no, not that guy"  told to me by my son who paddled out first & was cussed out when I was on the shoulder of a wave urging the guy inside of me into it. I make a point of apologizing to anybody I think I've got in the way of & show good manners in the lineup, generally paddling away as soon as the crowd gets uncomfortable. But what I'm realizing is that no matter how innocent I feel in a given situation I do have a certain responsability. SUP'ers stand out, people notice us, it's very easy for some people to believe we're exceding our wave count even if we are on another lesser surfed break.
 I guess I'm saying that we need to be on our best behavior because we standout(up). I've swapped my board with others in the line up & it's a great ice breaker esp. if the guy is a respected local. Spot waves for others & they will appreciate it. Some people are grumpy to start with & it's allways hard to deal with them, don't bite back just paddle away & rip the waves some where else.
 The sport is going to boom, we need to educate newbies as they come into it so that we don't feel the heat.
                                          Paddle softly Grasshopper.

[cammar]

Nice post, Vergin.

Imagine tomorrow you go surfing and a guy shows up with a board with a little engine mounted on the tail. Even if he catches waves only when it's his turn, the other surfers would still be unhappy because in their eyes it would be like cheating.
I think SUP is the same thing. You're standing up, you have a bigger board, you have a better vision, you have a paddle. And you share the same space and resources with the prone surfers.
IMO, it doesn't matter what kind of water vehicle you're riding. As long as you wait for your turn, it's everyone's right to get a little share of the ocean's fun.
Unfortunately, most people don't think like that and simply don't like surfers with advantages.
Some shortboarders feel the same towards longboarders.

I agree with you: in order to change this feeling, the only way is to show that you actually don't take advantage of SUP status.

[kurtr]

One nice thing about our high visibility is that every time we're standing outside and let a few set waves go by, it's that much more obvious to the prone surfers waiting a bit more inside.  Our generosity is magnified!     

[cammar]

Unfortunately, more often it's the other way around: every time standuppers go for the set waves, their greediness is magnified...

[Richard]

No matter how quietly and softly you SUP, there will always be some surfers who are not going to be down with it.

Fortunately, most surfers in my area are pretty cool with it. And, I go out of my way to make sure that I'm not messing up someone else's sesh. But I get my fair share, for sure. I even get comments in the parking lot that I got the best rides out there. That's pretty cool.

Richard

[srfnff]

Over the past few months I've found that one thing that seems to help break the ice and fit in is to sit down. When we're standing all the time, we literally tower over everyone, which by default in the line-up is an aggressive posture. Granted, one of the advantages of standing is you can see the waves coming before everyone else, but it seems to help to sit down and talk at least some of the time. It also gives me a chance to rest my legs during those long sessions.

Lot's of folks want to know about stand up, and when I'm "down on their level" it's not so intimidating.

For what it's worth...aloha.