Surf Boats in Crowded Surf

[Kunji]

Was surfing the Point today at DY with at least 30 other blokes spread out between First Rock and the shoulder. A surf boat was out doing its business out the back and decided they would line up a set on the shoulder and just plow through whoever was in their way. People were scrambling, ducking, diving and freaking out.

The surf boat, of course nose dived at the bottom, recovered for a bit and then jack knifed inward toward the point where the majority of the people are and everything came unstuck.

I was paddling back out from the set before and saw everything. When the boat jack knifed it came towards me. I ducked dove but was not comfortable with the amount of depth that i got so i bailed underwater and was very lucky not to get struck. Not so lucky were the 3 blokes beside me who got creamed by the boat. Not sure how injured they were but it makes me imagine how a reckless incident like that could have gone wrong. Had any one of the scores of people that were in their road got knocked on the head they would have either been killed or knocked out. And lets not muck around if you get ko'd out on a day with the conditions like they were out there, you'll drown.

I thought the surf clubs were meant to be the protectors of the people in the water. I thought that they would have the experience and wave knowledge to do better. I cant believe the arrogance of these people to plow their boat through a crowd like that. I came up expecting to see people lying face down in the water. The boaties are lucky for their sake that that wasnt the case. And the hide of one of the old bastards we were screaming at saying that they will be back out and that "we better get out of the way next time".

This incident has angered a lot of people. Have the surf clubs gone too far?

[scroopulis]

Coops I know exactly that feeling of having to bail in front of those bastards. I had a similar thing happen to me a couple of years ago. That fat stupid sweep (after ploughing through about 6 guys) told me I should not have been in the way.

If the guy had not have weighed more than a small aircraft I would have provided more of a protest but, unfortunately, the numbers were stacked against me. I went in, with a board thast resembeld swiss cheese. Mate, there's prob not much you can do apart from fire bomb our local KFC.

[Deesee]

About 6 years ago i was out at Wanda and a surf boat dropped in on a long right i was on, and jack knifed towards me. The only thing i could do to not get creamed was jump into the boat to the shock of the crew. about 10 metres later without saying a word, i jumped back out into the water. Massive ding, and a snapped fin, which when i paddled in they didn't want to know about, and put it back at me like it was my fault. I was more in shock than angry.

[drowningbitbybit]

Yup. Idiots with some misplaced moral high ground thing going on.

[otway1949]

Yep that's the Dee Why boat crew.
Each new generation of crew has to try the Point regardless of conditions and crowd, carnage in the sixties was incredible, every loose board and broken toothpick was washed through the pack claiming more until a log jam took out every learner in the basin.
Similar mayhem at the Bower, also of course the Longy Bommies and I imagine elsewhere, and those pricks would try to stop us surfing the point.
Video the cuffunts hand to your nearest surfing lawyer, Sixty Minutes or ACA mention the words "reckless endangerment"
Their wedgies have tightened on their brains.

[boogaloo]

Don't let them get away with it.

File a complaint with the local council and cc the club captain.

This is a serious safety issue and the council will have to do something about it.

[otway1949]

Don't let them get away with it.

File a complaint with the local council and cc the club captain.

This is a serious safety issue and the council will have to do something about it.

Too true boogaloo a real cool way to stew the crew, any more and I'll sound like Dr Seuss, but you're right

[Cpt.Caveman]

Good idea.

I can think of many scary scenarios - surf-boat crew member cops nose of surfboard in face while ploughing through surf break, surfer gets killed by large surf-boat travelling through crowded line-up.

Ridiculous!

[oldman]

Imbeciles!

[Karlos]

I'll echo boogaloo & say file a complaint with the council Coops. These f*ckers have to be held accountable.

[Kunji]

Yep, another poster from these forums who was out is in the process of writing a series of letters to the appropriate peoples.

Ive never seen anything like it.

[Trev]

Coops, if someone else is lodging a complaint, make sure you do, too - separately.
And include the newspapers in your cc list.
And maybe Bronwyn Bishop.
They heave no excuse if the surfers were there before they rowed for the wave.
"Reckless endagerment" is right.

[munch]

I'd look at getting the waterways involved as well, you'd have to be sure they have broken a plethra of rules;

- uncontrolled craft
- more than 10 knots within 30m of other craft
- leaving the scene of an accident without rendering help to others, and not filling in the appropriate accident report (this is a biggy me thinks)
- ...

Might be a few

And any sort of evidence that others have would be very helpful.

Also they may try and spin some sort of "conducting patrol" argument - be prepared to combat that, or put your argument of why they weren't in your complaint, like when was the last time you saw someone saved by a lifeboat :?

Good luck Coops and all involved.

[still here]

I remember thinking it was hell dangerous when I saw that surfboat paddling out . They hardly ever manage to bring them in successfully while maintaining control .
I missed seeing the incident , but to head out through yesterdays crowd and then try to ride a wave in is madness .

I hate the arrogance of the typical crews of these stupid watercraft , and it does not surprise me to read of one guys comment that they'll "be back and everyone better get out of the way next time " .

Yeah I'll write a letter to the council , and I hope some others do too .

[Grooter]

One of these motherfuckers has been spotted at Big Left at Flinders several times over the last 12 months. Came so close to hitting a mate of mine in bigger surf when it came through the line-up he was lucky not to have been killed about 9 months ago

They belong to some Ocean Thunder race competition and the boat in question is one from Rosebud down here with "Marthas Cove" advertising on it, I think it is black in color.

[WANDERER]

Coupla years back I got hit in the head with a paddle and the paddle dinged the nose of my brand new board (1st surf) and the cunce didn't even acknowledged that they had hit me?? WTF???

I've said it before, it's about time that there was a forced seperation between the sports club side of SLSC's and the actual life saver side because it's obvious that the "we are saving lives" call is being abused so these mongs can do whatever the fark they want whenever they want on the beaches. IMO surfboats shouldn't be anywhere near a populated line up, FFS these nutbags go nuts whenever a surfer goes near the flags, but clearly it's okay for the same mob of faarkwits to drive massive boat uncontrollably through a line up of surfers, I mean for christs sake if something easily manouvreable like a waverunner has to stay clear of surfers of swimmers doesn't it make sense that surfboats should too??

I hope this gets sorted out before someone is seriously injured, though sadly I fear that is the sort of thing that will need to happen before these cowboys get taken to task.

[Nick Carroll]

Coops -- get as many witnesses as possible. The clubbies will rally "community leaders" behind them, but said "community leaders" will soon change their tune if they're confronted by a couple of dozen furious eyewitnesses who're willing to put it in writing. So will the club captain etc.

Surf boat danger is the surf clubs' biggest blind spot. They honestly have no idea how many people they've pissed off over the years. It constantly undermines their stated goal of public protection. Not every surf boat crew is reckless and irresponsible, but the sensible ones consistently refuse to straighten out the fools. Many members of surf clubs view this behaviour with anger and disgust, and if pressured, will also make their feelings known within the club system.

I would urge anyone who's felt endangered by a surf boat to make a noise about it, 'cause if you don't, it's only a matter of time before the next serious injury.

[Spoon]

Why do we still need them