Often you see people paddling out and head straight to the open face ruining the ride of a surfer smashing it up on the way in. "Not Cool"

I smiled when I saw Kristi posting these images.





Phill

great stuff , its not just suppers , you see almost every one going hard for the shoulder.

Inspiring Phil
The girl is a rockstar leading from the front.
Great lesson for all

I would say great if you are as competent as Kristi but dont try it if you are not as you will cause carnage for whoever else is behind you paddling out(and prob cop the next 3 waves on the head).

Dear Purplebeanie and Zuessman. I am in full agreement with you that a paddle out around the break is a lot easier. In fact in my opinion it is the only way to go. However, this is not always possible. It can be safer, but it can also be frustrating for the surfer riding the waves if you are paddling too close to the breaking part of the wave. Unfortunately with the ability for Novices to Surf a SUP they are doing so with little or no knowledge of surf skills or etiquette. The same applied to the Longboard resurgence in the 80's. You had people who had not surfed for years or never surfed having a go because it was easier than surfing a shortboard.
The problem lies in the fact that novices get frightened of white water and take the easy option to padddle to the shoulder. This is fine but too often they impede the surfer on the wave. We all need to be a bit tolerant or try and find less crowded options.
Purplebeanie, I do have issue with your statement that"you are not responsible for other peoples safety". This is not so in my opinion. Safety of all water users is a shared responsibility. This is why these forums stress that SUPpers wear a legrope, learn to surf away from others etc etc.
Watch out for yourself but also watch out for others.
ET.

E T said...
Dear Purplebeanie and Zuessman. I am in full agreement with you that a paddle out around the break is a lot easier. In fact in my opinion it is the only way to go. However, this is not always possible. It can be safer, but it can also be frustrating for the surfer riding the waves if you are paddling too close to the breaking part of the wave.
ET.

ET. I didn't say its "a lot easier"I'm talking about paddling out through the channel, way wide & clear of the breaking wave, so that you're no where near a surfer riding a wave. & that if you happen to fall off, finding yourself in the impact zone where you will be in the way of a surfer & you aren't competent in paddling over white water, then you should prone surf in to shore on the whitewash where you should be able to move over to the channel again to begin a safe paddle back out to the lineup.

GizzieNZ said...

OG SUP said...

Often you see people paddling out and head straight to the open face ruining the ride of a surfer smashing it up on the way in. "Not Cool"

I smiled when I saw Kristi posting these images.





Phill

Wasn't really a quality wave so who cares who did what really......at makorori point in giz part of the fun is paddling over the unbroken wave of the shoulder & admiring the buzz of fellow surfers rather than burying one's head in a bucket of mush

Hey Giz. You were out of the way on the shoulder weren't you?? Thats the point. You are in the chanel, on the smooth shoulder, out of the way of the on-coming surfers, watching them surf a wave without anyone dropping in on them, or paddling out in front of them in the whitewater. Bliss!

mmhard said...
I would say great if you are as competent as Kristi but dont try it if you are not as you will cause carnage for whoever else is behind you paddling out(and prob cop the next 3 waves on the head).

Except she aint making over that wave, looks like there's some one behind her!!!
Don't know why I'm even posting, I don't actually care...

Sparx said...
At risk of adding fuel to the fire...
I am going to assume that the pic was taken at onshore O'Grove? No deep channel and easy paddle out there. Its a close out that reforms and then closes out and then reforms and then closes out, and that's only at high tide. At low tide it just closes out!! So what do you do when there is no clearly defined channel and you are chasing peaky close outs over two or three hundred meters of beach? Exactly what Kristi has done! You stay out of the way of the bloke who has arsed the one peeler to come through in the last half hour and you take it on. As for the proximity of the bloke on the inside... My guess is that Phil is shooting from on top of the embankment up near the car park. Chrome dome is probably a good twenty to thirty meters closer to Phil than Kristi...seriously, check the size of his melon! Like I said, if that's Grove the lucky bloke on the mal has just scored a shoulder off the end of a two hundred meter closeout, every body is duck diving. Also going to guess that Kristi didn't make the foam climb, probably kicked her board over the back and if so, well done, don't think anyone with half a clue would have done it different.
Cheers
Sparx

Sparx. I am NOT having a go at Kristi. She IS doing the right thing. In SA the waves I ride have been described as "mechanical". Very predictable where they are going to break, very easy to paddle around white water. The issue is that people who have just bought a sup, and never surfed or suped before, are going out into the surf with NO knowledge and getting in the way. Like I said before COMMON SENSE and EDUCATION. Don't surf OR sup beyond your skills.

Sparx said...
At risk of adding fuel to the fire...
I am going to assume that the pic was taken at onshore O'Grove? No deep channel and easy paddle out there. Its a close out that reforms and then closes out and then reforms and then closes out, and that's only at high tide. At low tide it just closes out!! So what do you do when there is no clearly defined channel and you are chasing peaky close outs over two or three hundred meters of beach? Exactly what Kristi has done! You stay out of the way of the bloke who has arsed the one peeler to come through in the last half hour and you take it on. As for the proximity of the bloke on the inside... My guess is that Phil is shooting from on top of the embankment up near the car park. Chrome dome is probably a good twenty to thirty meters closer to Phil than Kristi...seriously, check the size of his melon! Like I said, if that's Grove the lucky bloke on the mal has just scored a shoulder off the end of a two hundred meter closeout, every body is duck diving. Also going to guess that Kristi didn't make the foam climb, probably kicked her board over the back and if so, well done, don't think anyone with half a clue would have done it different.
Cheers
Sparx

Actually Mr Sparks you were pretty close all round it was closing out Torquay Point on Sunday with 20+kn onshore and peaky waves and little channel. I was shooting from up high near the Surf Club good guess. The guy in the foreground was yards away from Kristi with a telephoto it compresses the distance he was in no danger. Kristi got to the top and then it kinda pitched her of backwards but it was a brave attempt. If there is a channel sure use it, if your at OG good luck finding a channel. You would be amazed how much white water you can get over if you go at it hard pull up and over and use the paddle to brace.

Great to see the differing opinions

I think the point is Kristi didnt go for the shoulder to get out, which she probably could have and spoilt the wave but she went inside through the whitewater and let him go without trying to avoid another surfer and ruining his ride.

Kristi is doing the right thing, thought it was more common down under.
Guess I was wrong to think that in a country with a more established
surf culture the lineup would be more organized. It's the same all over to some degree,
f#!k the other guy, I'm first.