I just noticed the facebook copy is very hard to read. I have pasted it here unedited instead.


The gift

What Stand Up Paddling brings to surfing.

By Stuart Murray

I used to call myself a surfer and to tell you the truth I was pretty
happy with that. Living what I thought was the dream life by the
beach. I grew up in a surfing backwater and left there to spend my
years travelling the globe in search of the perfect wave. We all stop
somewhere and I settled down enough to carve out a career as a
surf coach. I had also grown enough to appreciate the waves that
rolled up to my local beach. I did not feel the need to complain too
much about the flat spells, the tough conditions or gripe about the
crowds. I had learnt the ways of getting a few waves on busy days
and how to get one in an onshore.

I noticed though that for many around me the joy was gone. Many
came from habit as at least a salt water anaesthetic would numb
the madness of their busy life, blunt the knife edge of the city and
silence the deafening roar of their own negative thinking. They
surfed but the joy was gone.

As a 12 year old I watched a TV show about brave men zig zagging
down large waves in Hawaii with the names like Larry Blair and I
was filled with awe. Scouring surf mags fuelled my passions and
after I bought my first car the travel bug was set. The mags themes
looking back now seemed to revolve around the search for the
perfect wave, sex and improving performance.

Surf coaching has taught me so much. I notice more those in the
surf who were not so skilled or confident and those intimidated by
the bustle of the crowd. In contrast each winter I would watch a
lady of 60 years plus walk into the water every day in a bathing suit
and swimming cap and body surf a few waves on her own and think
that she was the true surfer. One year she did not come back and I
wonder what happened to her. Other times I would take the time to
give a tip to those struggling or suggest a safer area for those new
surfers lost in the arts of the rip while trying to not interfere. Slowly
for me the joy was coming back...

One day I was injured and as a couple of mates surfed I patched
together a driftwood shack on the beach for relief from the sun.
From my humble shelter I watched with wide eyes two people
paddle around the headland while standing on boards. I had never
seen such a thing and they paddled into wave after wave and my
life changed forever.

Trying this new sport I became a complete beginner and was nicely
humbled. Ask Laird Hamilton and Kelly Slater about their first days
and they will relay a similar story. I persisted and soon enjoyed the
freedom of hidden gems. Waves never surfed before, uncrowded
waves, true surfing camaraderie and a new label for myself. I had
been working on the classic waterman skills of swimming surfing
and paddling and with this came a new set of values.

I now class myself as a waterman with the values of the simple joy
of sharing the ocean and respect for the community and
environment. Waterman to me is an attitude not a measurement of
skill.

Our labels, surfer, longboarder, windsurfer, grommet, old man,
chick, surfski, body boarder, clubby etc have been too long used to
divide us. They are not ok when used as weapons to divide. A
long boarder who said to me as I paddled past his peak “your not
going to surf here on that are you?” conceded I had a valid point
when I replied “It’s not the equipment that’s the problem it’s the
user.”

Our kids watch us and our discrimination or joy becomes their
habit. A new generation of Stand Up Paddle kids will grow up with a
cracker set of values from the waterman ethos. Stand up Paddle
offers surfing the gift of reminding us of a cracker set of values.
Values of the ocean we share and the people we share it with. The
simple joy of sharing the ocean and respect for the community and
environment.

The gift is now on offer to the surfing world.

I use this as a loud opportunity to state to all all Stand Up Paddlers
to not use Sup as a way to get one over another.
My snapshot of Sup etiquette rules is summed up here.
Some of the gifts of sup are learn to let some go, smile and hoot
for others, call the sets, surf the crappy uncrowded wave, explore
the empty wave round the corner, surf to your skill, watch the sky
and read the ocean and leave the surf a better place than when you
entered it.

Brian Keaulana reckons it’s the Indian not the arrow and I reckon
we can all check ourselves next time we surf and that’s a gift to a
sport screaming for air and a timely call back to the simple joy of
sharing the ocean.

Suplove said...

I now class myself as a waterman ...

...

Waterman ...

... waterman ethos.

<Vomit/>

Suplove said...

A long boarder who said to me as I paddled past his peak “your not
going to surf here on that are you?” conceded I had a valid point
when I replied “It’s not the equipment that’s the problem it’s the
user.”

Nope, it's the equipment. Kooks on SUPs have the ability to totally circumvent the pecking order that develops over years in the water. Kooks on any other craft will last 1 wave if they try to dominate the peak.

I think the rules for sups should be the same for jetskis, if there are surfers in the line up then they (sups & jetskis) should stay 50m+ from the surfers.

I can only think that suplove is trying to stir sum sh!t by posting this.

doggie said...

I think the rules for sups should be the same for jetskis, if there are surfers in the line up then they (sups & jetskis) should stay 50m+ from the surfers.

I can only think that suplove is trying to stir sum sh!t by posting this.

Think you find it is 200m for jetskis

I think you will find he is genuine and believes surfing on a shortboard scratching for waves against 30 others looses its appeal after a while.

Horses for courses, the surf around Perth does not suit a 6 2 wafer thin board for most people to enjoy it.

The attitude that shortboards are holier than thou and are the only board allowed in the surf is very childish.

Enjoy what you ride and call a kook a kook not the board they ride. Lots of tools on shortboards. Longboarders should not be calling the kettle black either.

jedijunglsno said...

doggie said...

I can only think that suplove is trying to stir sum sh!t by posting this.

Some people put themselves down, and they don't even know it...

How so young jedi?

hilly said...

doggie said...

hilly said...

doggie said...

I think the rules for sups should be the same for jetskis, if there are surfers in the line up then they (sups & jetskis) should stay 50m+ from the surfers.

I can only think that suplove is trying to stir sum sh!t by posting this.

Think you find it is 200m for jetskis

I think you will find he is genuine and believes surfing on a shortboard scratching for waves against 30 others looses its appeal after a while.

Horses for courses, the surf around Perth does not suit a 6 2 wafer thin board for most people to enjoy it.

The attitude that shortboards are holier than thou and are the only board allowed in the surf is very childish.

Enjoy what you ride and call a kook a kook not the board they ride. Lots of tools on shortboards. Longboarders should not be calling the kettle black either.

I actually never mentioned shortboards at all hilly!

Quick look above you have ventured into the SHORTBOARD forum you can still escape if you go fast

I live here.....

Do you really need that explained?

The guy is quite genuine, he's surfed most probably longer than most, and put his post on here as well as on the other forums as a genuine peice.

By jumping straight in with your claims that he's tryin to stir sh1t you come accross immediately as a narrow minded short boarding local.

I have no wish to debate this with you, and you may not be said narrow minded short boarding local, but that's simply how you come across.

jedijunglsno said...

Do you really need that explained?

The guy is quite genuine, he's surfed most probably longer than most, and put his post on here as well as on the other forums as a genuine peice.

By jumping straight in with your claims that he's tryin to stir sh1t you come accross immediately as a narrow minded short boarding local.

I have no wish to debate this with you, and you may not be said narrow minded short boarding local, but that's simply how you come across.

If he was genuine he wouldnt have posted it in this forum, it is shortboards after all.

jedijunglsno said...

Suplove said...


Ps I thought to be fair I would post this in the surfing forum too.

Stuart Murray

Yeah obviously out to stir sh!t

Easy to put the word "fair" into a sentance. <see I just did it.

I think if he posted it on the sup forum none of this would be going on and infact he is violating a couple of forum rules, so yes he was stiring IMO.

jedijunglsno said...

doggie said...
[
Easy to put the word "fair" into a sentance. <see I just did it.

Well to be fair it's easy to put any word into a sentence when it's quoted out of context, isn't it? <see I just did it too, but mine made sense, and I spelt sentence correctly

Ok then you win jedi, but only the spelling war!
I thought that you wernt going to debate me on this jed but dont you see, you have come to the dark side, no escape now

doggie said...

hilly said...

doggie said...

jedijunglsno said...

doggie said...

I can only think that suplove is trying to stir sum sh!t by posting this.

Some people put themselves down, and they don't even know it...

How so young jedi?

That would be your many visits to the hallowed grounds of the sup form to sling sh!t I would say master doggie

I have never slung sh!t just had quality debates and never called anyone out ect.
If you can prove it do it!

Suplove said...



Ps I thought to be fair I would post this in the surfing forum too.

Stuart Murray

Doggie said

You shouldnt have, idiot!

yes you did call him an idiot doggy, and i bet u feel really bad about it. Stand ur ground doggy, sups **** me to tears.

hilly said...

doggie said...

I think the rules for sups should be the same for jetskis, if there are surfers in the line up then they (sups & jetskis) should stay 50m+ from the surfers.

I can only think that suplove is trying to stir sum sh!t by posting this.

Horses for courses, the surf around Perth does not suit a 6 2 wafer thin board for most people to enjoy it.

The attitude that shortboards are holier than thou and are the only board allowed in the surf is very childish.

Im from Hamersley where you are from Hilly and I have lived in Perth for most of my life and Im 38, how can you say that Perth dosent suit a 6,2? are you from Mars?

And I have never said that shortboards are holier than thou, get off it mate.

new board arrived and has had one run, 4-5 ft glassy waves, probably a bit big for it but it went well, a lot faster than i expected, made a couple late take offs, had the feeling it was gonna slip on bottom turns, but i pushed it and it didnt, just feels way different to thruster, a bit more skatey. Gonna give it a run tomozz, conditions a swell should be just right down here. cat ya

I reckon you need to keep your mind open to all alternative surf craft, different conditions days situations call for different water tools.

Judge the person on how they act not on what they are using to get there kicks.

Tommy Carrol and Laird Hamilton two blokes with bigger cojones than most are happy suppers at times!

Havent tried one myself but they don't look very practical in sucky waves to me.