Not wearing Legropes

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surfin39
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Not wearing Legropes

Post by surfin39 » Sun Feb 25, 2007 9:43 am

After the Saturday and Sunday early I usually grab a coffee and head back down and sit on the beach for a while… anyway I was watching this particular peak at Narrabeen this morning and there were a few guys not wearing leggies.

I saw these guys at Narra a few weeks back when it was about a foot, and they weren’t wearing leggies. They kept falling off and their boards would wash through where there were a lot of swimmers and kids on boards. I moved my kids out of harms way but when they came in I asked what was with not wearing leggies and this guy said “ man, it enhances the freedom of surfing”. I told him it enhanced the danger to all the people and kids in the water because he kept falling off anyway, and he said that they shouldn’t be in a surfing area anyway (despite it being only a foot of slop), which is fair enough.

This morning at Narra I watched these guys taking of on a 2 – 3 foot peak that quickly closed out and of course they did not make a wave in the 20 minutes I was watching and their boards were washing around causing havoc for the other guys paddling back out.
There was a young kid about 14 who wasn’t a bad little surfer, and I watch one of these leggie-less guys take off right in front of him, fall off, and his board goes flying hits the kid and hits his board.
The poor kid gets out holding his shoulder where the loose board had hit him and clearly upset by the ding in his fairly new looking board. I asked him what the guy said to him about it , which was “you need to learn to get out of the way”, although if that guy was wearing a leggie the kid would never have been hit.

Now for my opinion; if you don’t want to wear a leggie surf somewhere where you can control your board, rather than on a closeout where you are probably going to loose it. If you are going to surf in a crowded area and let your board go flying everywhere and hit people, grow a brain and stop being an arrogant pr!ck, you are the problem, not some other poor person paddling out. Wear a leggie for the safety of others, not to satisfy your wanker ideals of the freedom of surfing.
As a father I am clearly sympathetic of the kid who got his board dinged because of someone else’s arrogance and lack of ability, and if that was my son that pr!ck would have experienced the freedom of not wearing teeth.
Next time I see those jerks in the water they’re going to cop an earful from me.

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Post by smackthatlip » Sun Feb 25, 2007 10:41 am

Heaps of fun going leggyless; in the right conditions. Smallish, uncrowded and providing you can actually surf. Don't blame you for having words to the blokes in question. With the answer he gave you about 'enhancing the freedom' , are you sure it was'nt Bohdi and his click :?: :!:

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Re: Not wearing Legropes

Post by Purple » Sun Feb 25, 2007 10:45 am

surfin39 wrote:...and if that was my son that pr!ck would have experienced the freedom of not wearing teeth...
you would have violently assaulted the guy if your son's board was dinged ? as well, while your son watched on ? you are no better than those you criticise.

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Post by kreepykrawly » Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:12 am

If a kook's board hit my kid's board i would "re-shape" the offending board.
If it hit my kid i would re-shape their face .
Surfin 39. Which street ?

Purple i bet you walk around with a limp wrist and talk with a lisp.

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Post by Chrisp » Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:22 am

I'm with your surfin39, I know I don't have the ability to surf without a legrope, so I wear the rope, it's saved my & other peoples arse & face on occasion...... If I were to surf without it there would be no swimmers & very few surfers around,

I definately understand the frustration, but are we headed toward a law like in France where it's compulsory?

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Post by Sleepy » Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:24 am

awww kk's made a new friend.

this surfing sans legrope seems to be increasing in popularity. why, at sydney's crowded beaches, i have no idea.

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Post by kreepykrawly » Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:38 am

Sleepy wrote:awww kk's made a new friend.

.
Im not on here to make Friend's.In fact i wish everyone would hate me more. There's far to much positive energy in here for my liking.

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Post by rabbity7 » Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:58 am

I do it occasionally. It helps you to get in a different mindset. You stop going for moves u know u wont make and so u don't fall off as much. I find it really improves my surfing. Plus like that guy said it makes u feel more free. When u do fall off you have to swim after it which helps u to get fit. Before I tried it I thought it wouldnt make that much of a difference but after about a month of surfing no leggie you feel so much fitter and u don't even think about ur board. For some reason you just dont loose it, most of the time anyway.

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Post by ric_vidal » Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:04 pm

kreepykrawly wrote:There's far to much positive energy in here for my liking.

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Post by bombora » Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:32 pm

Love fish/shortboard no leggie surfs IF it's pygmy and uncrowded and no swimmers in the shorey. Never use one when on the mal but am always conscious of those around me. Those blokes mentioned at Narra are the type who may screw it for everyone; I understand several yankee beaches are now compulsary legrope zones because of injuries to swimmers and other surfers, and their litigation culture! Anyone confim this?

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Post by Nick-W » Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:09 pm

Ive been hit in the head twice at DY. Once by a nice heavy long board which he couldn't handle in the conditions (absolute half wit), he was oldish, so i only got a little angry...
The second time was at the point and one of the Sunday Surfers ditched his board because again he was out in conditions too big for him. I snapped on that one and he ended up paddling in (i felt tough...so manly)

Point of the story...they are dangerous objects and could very easily kill someone in normal circumstances with a legrope. No need to increase the risk...how free will you be after your jailed for manslaughter?

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Post by Beanpole » Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:50 pm

Good for working on footwork on the mal and its character building to have to swim when you blow it on any board but really its too crazy out in the surf most of the time anyway.

Then theres that big fin chop on an old board of mine thats sitting in the rack.
Some goose, a goose who could surf in this case, decided to go for a 360 directly in front of me :shock:
No legrope, no worries. Its not like he wouldn't pull it off would he :?

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Post by moreorless » Sun Feb 25, 2007 4:06 pm

I sometimes surf without a leggie, but only if it's small, uncrowded and breaking close to shore (like this morning - and not at Narra). I'm responsible about it and would definitely either pull back or pull off if I thought there was any chance that I might fall and hit someone. I learnt to surf in the pre-leggie era, so know what it's like to be hit by a board and to have to dodge the incomings. As long as you're competent, realistic and responsible there shouldn't be a problem. It sounds like the guys at Narra were none of those. I'd hate to see the wearing of leggies become mandatory but, as ever, a bunch of idiots might spoil it for everyone else.

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Post by surfin39 » Sun Feb 25, 2007 5:02 pm

kreepykrawly wrote:If a kook's board hit my kid's board i would "re-shape" the offending board.
If it hit my kid i would re-shape their face .
Surfin 39. Which street ?

Purple i bet you walk around with a limp wrist and talk with a lisp.
It was at the gardens KK, and just for the record I do hate you , so after we deal with the freedom wankers, we can belt each other a few times...

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Re: Not wearing Legropes

Post by surfin39 » Sun Feb 25, 2007 5:05 pm

Purple wrote:
surfin39 wrote:...and if that was my son that pr!ck would have experienced the freedom of not wearing teeth...
you would have violently assaulted the guy if your son's board was dinged ? as well, while your son watched on ? you are no better than those you criticise.
I was speaking metphorically , but I am better than those I speak of because I have a fully developed brain and I'm not an ignorant knob

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Post by whitey » Sun Feb 25, 2007 6:02 pm

I surf with no leggy a fair bit, but not living in sydney I usually surf without the crowds. Whenever it is sizey, or with people other than my mates out I will always wear a leggy.

One time a few weeks ago though, I was out on a little beachy with some of my mates and this one guy was out with no leggie on. His board (an old style gunnish board, had plenty of meat about it) was wreaking havock within the crowds, with my mate copping it on the shoulder. If he hadn't gone in after that he would have definately copped a mouthfull.

It is slefish to surf without a leggie when your board endagers others. But when there are no people around it does enhance your surfing and your fitness riding without a rope.

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Post by surfin39 » Mon Feb 26, 2007 7:10 am

Crisp and Whitey are on the money

Whitey wears a leggie when it's crowded, and Crisp has considered his ability to wether to wear a leggie or not, and that consideration for others is a better surfing attribute than ability

After seeing the responses I suppose surfing has to be a balance of what the individual want's to get out of it, but also consideration for others as you would have out of the water

Discaimer: KK is exempt from all consideration for others and may or may not choose to redecorate your face for non use of legropes or anything else for that matter.

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Post by _cant_touch_this » Mon Feb 26, 2007 11:34 am

i love surfing without a leggie, however like others have said - you just have to use a bit of common sense to determine when you can and cant do it. if crowds are minimal the surf isnt all that powerful il more than likely ditch the leggie. after a while you do get the hang of being able to grab your board when you fall off during a turn.
as for the benefits, a few months ago i went through a stage where id snapped all my leggies and couldnt afford another. luckily we were in a bit of a windslop cycle so i surfed for about 2 weeks almost every day without a leggie. i found that i began surfing each wave more wholly, rather than blowing it all by trying something above my ability on the first section, and as a result, my surfing improved greatly.
the bottom line though is that if you want to surf without one, then make sure you can actually surf! and when something does go wrong, swallow your pride and accept responsibility... it aint THAT hard people... :roll:

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