Crowded point breaks

[steve shearer]

bet you didn't take that Nietzschean point of view when Carroll made you bawl at the Newport Peak that morning.

[Beanpole]

Agree with everything shearer has said. I find it preposterous that someone would complain they can't get waves. Whether one gets waves or not is entirely up to themselves. It is not for others to give or share waves.

And there we have it. Obviously missing the point. Sure you can go out of your way to make sure someone else doesn't get a wave. Remember we arent talking just scoring the best waves here we are talking about making sure that someone else isn't going to catch a wave that frankly you don't care that much about really. You just want to make sure that they aren't going to get it. Seen it happen plenty of times. Theres even a noob at Bondi that tries to do it all the time on his minimal
Its usually not the best surfers out there who pull these stunts. The obvious analogy is the guy on a mal who does the same thing to you when the tables are turned.

I've surfed in crowded conditions for my whole surfing life and a lot of the time things work well up to a point. Definitely not talking about pipeline because the type of clowns I'm talking about couldn't surf that in their dreams.

[steve shearer]

that is a breakdown in hierarchy and pecking order.

dysfunction.

Those line-ups: where clueless Euro snowboarders and aggro kooks and all kinds of flotsam and jetsam believe in the concept of equal rights in the ocean, are the most dangerous and least fun to surf in.

to be avoided at all costs.

[Beanpole]

The thing about this thread is that all the opponents of actually doing what they know they should do anyway immediately turn it into a case of us hot proper surfers and kooks. Not talking about that at all.
I'm just talking about those times when you could be generous and fair. Summers coming. Share the love.

So the question is would you give someone else a wave?
Have you ever given someone a wave when its crowded?

[Cuttlefish]

that is a breakdown in hierarchy and pecking order.

dysfunction.

Those line-ups: where clueless Euro snowboarders and aggro kooks and all kinds of flotsam and jetsam believe in the concept of equal rights in the ocean, are the most dangerous and least fun to surf in.

to be avoided at all costs.

The Pass?

[Trev]

The thing about this thread is that all the opponents of actually doing what they know they should do anyway immediately turn it into a case of us hot proper surfers and kooks. Not talking about that at all.
I'm just talking about those times when you could be generous and fair. Summers coming. Share the love.

So the question is would you give someone else a wave?
Have you ever given someone a wave when its crowded?

I generally give them a wave with two fingers.

[bumfluff]

Reg, if you think for a second that blow ins can't get a wave on a crowded point break by playing by the rules then I reckon your delusional.

Anyway I'm not one to try and go against locals but I'll be f*cked I'd I'll let anyone push me around. I did the righty by going out of my way not to drop in, so for that I'd expect to be given a fair go if I get in the take off area and wait my turn next time. Even moreso because I'm polite to locals and usually when you're polite to them, they'll let you get a wave if you're taking off as deep as they are.

This particular spot is simply a learning curve for me and I have every intention of going back and learning how the game is played.

[bumfluff]

surfing has never been a democracy....it just doesn't function like that.

It's hierarchical ......

so again, I'd say if you find yourself in competition with hot locals or struggling to get a decent wave count at a crowded spot, you are surfing in the wrong place.

I certainly wouldn't expect the Pipeline locals to somehow make way for me and allow me to "paddle deeper" than them so I can get my set wave.

Just doesn't work like that.

Yea but this isn't anything like pipeline. Pipe is in a class of it's own.

There is no aggro intimidation at this place, just locals taking as many waves as they can get loosely within the rules.

I understand how the game is played now and the game is fair.

[bumfluff]

if u can't stand the heat, stay the fk outta the kitchen, and go surf elsewhere til u can. end of thread.

FFS Iggy, go see a psychologist and get your delusions of grandeur treated..

We'll be here to help every step of the way, but only you can take the first step of admitting you have a problem..

[booradley]

F*#$n hell , you need look no further than this thread to figure out what's wrong with the world.
Guys near the top arguing that they should get more than they need or deserve - why? Because they can.
Nobs! It's called "greed" and if you can't manage generousity at that level then there's precious little chance
of it happening anywhere else. Hierarchy works when those at the top acknowledge that they have got things
pretty good and that it wouldn't hurt to be a little magnanimous now and again. Half the time, the tools being greedy in the lineup are not the best surfers just the best hasslers. Having said that, all bets are off at the Pass and Snapper

[Beanpole]

The main reason I went all peace and love in the line up is because as soon as you say "hey, I drop in at Snapper cause its crowded" every other mediocre surfer who is reading these threads partly to work out protocals in the surf thinks,"yeah, I'm pretty hot, I'm going to burn everyone at the local beachy."

Exactly what we don't want to encourage as summer approaches.

[Rustt]

Good surfers don't need to drop in.

[Cuttlefish]

F*#$n hell , you need look no further than this thread to figure out what's wrong with the world.
Guys near the top arguing that they should get more than they need or deserve - why? Because they can.
Nobs! It's called "greed" and if you can't manage generousity at that level then there's precious little chance
of it happening anywhere else. Hierarchy works when those at the top acknowledge that they have got things
pretty good and that it wouldn't hurt to be a little magnanimous now and again. Half the time, the tools being greedy in the lineup are not the best surfers just the best hasslers. Having said that, all bets are off at the Pass and Snapper

And Noosa.
Crowded point breaks like The Pass, Snapper and Noosa are what this thread is about.
Back to Bumfluff's original post and his questions about two possible stratergies.
Stratergy A: Dropping in only contributes to/creates the "all bets are off" sessions.
Stratergy B: Pushing in and trying to take off deeper (possibly deeper than your skills allow) also contributes to the "all bets are off" sessions.
See these two stratergies being employed all the time in sub 6' swells at Noosa.
1/2 dozen guys paddling for the one wave. Some pull back while two or three take off and eventually one of them keeps going. Not necessarily the guy in the best position to get much further down the line which then signals to the next line of opportunists to drop in on him in the hope he won't make it.
The guy who's got the wave in the first place is often having to surf through the crowd as those in front of him casually paddle while having a gawk at him rather than getting out of the way.
Mayhem.
Over 6' tends to make it a little less hectic as the clean up sets and the accompanying rip can also help cleanse the line up of the opportunistic.

[bumfluff]

1/2 dozen guys paddling for the one wave. Some pull back while two or three take off and eventually one of them keeps going. Not necessarily the guy in the best position to get much further down the line which then signals to the next line of opportunists to drop in on him in the hope he won't make it.

So if 3 people drop in, surely the guy on the inside or the guy to that is the most to the left?

Then it comes down to not snaking people in the line up.

It's just that some places, there is no "line-up" it's just a big floating group of chaos.

If 3 people end up taking the drop, who gets the wave? The inside guy or is it then a battle for who's going to make the first section?

[alakaboo]

Go back and read what Fong wrote.
3 people shouldn't be standing up. 2 should stop paddling.
If you really want to surf there, then spend time there learning the lineup, getting your face known, gaining confidence.
Won't make any difference, but at least you will help keep the other spots less crowded.

[bumfluff]

3 people shouldn't be standing up. 2 should stop paddling.

There lies the problem.

Thankyou.

[bumfluff]

Here's another question.

You've got a hollow A frame wave.

I'm taking off just to the right of the peak, and someone is taking off behind the peak and coming my way.

There's obviously a shoulder on both sides of the peak, so who has right of way?

The guy behind the peak?

I've noted it can often be hard to tell which way the guy behind the peak is going, left or right. Some people call it, but most don't.

[bumfluff]

oh gawd this is getting worse.

Do you realize how much of a dumb f*ck you are?

You'd be the first to have a cry if you got dropped in on, but on the other hand it's not acceptable to ask who has the right of way in a situation?

You can't have the cake and eat it lycra legs..