Legrope War Lost At The Pass
Legrope War Lost At The Pass
With the Easter break inbound, arguably the most crowded week of the year, and a swell stacked forecast on offer for the North Coast it seems timely to update the on ground reality at Australia's most crowded (or Top 3) wave: The Pass.
As a quick preamble, Byron Bay over the last 2 decades has become one of the Worlds most famous tourist destinations, increasingly beloved by the rich and famous.
It's hard to pick up a glossy magazine supplement in the current era without some breathless description of the wonders of this former town that spent the majority of it's post-European era bathed in blood and animal fats.
Despite the millions of words written about the town, often including testimonials about the wave quality a simple description of one of the most common every-day occurrences at the Pass has yet to be evinced. It's a person - man, woman or child staggering out of the surf or wandering in the car park bleeding from a head wound caused by surfboard impact to the cranium. Usually the adult is heard asking if the wound requires stitching while the child is looking for Mum or Dad.
While deaths are rare, if we count head trauma as our metric the Pass may be the most dangerous wave in the World. It stands above Noosa and the Superbank in that regard for it's sheer ease of access.
Any tourist intoxicated by the magic of Byron Bay can manage to wrangle a surfboard off the beach into the line-up on any given day. The sheer incompetence of the untrained visitor creates a uniquely dangerous environment. Added to this volatile mix of course is the unleashed log rider, who have become the focal point of rage from recent incidents. A little unfairly in my opinion.
What's the situation now, post the recent life threatening injury to Matt Cassidy? TL:DR- no change to the status quo.
After a ten year hiatus I now surf the Pass regularly. Bathymetry, orientation and wave quality drew me back. Easterly winds and onshore dreck are transformed by the NW alignment and sandbank at the Pass into sublime peelers. Eventually I realised if I was going to stay in the area I wasn't ready to cede the line-up to dangerous kooks. My kids have come with me on this journey. Before every surf they get the same pep talk which the referee gives to the combatants in a UFC match: protect yourself at all times.
I'd only just paddled out with my son for a pre-dawny last week when a logger got pitched on a steep section and a loose log went careening past us. I used to shout, admonish and carry-on but before I could do even that, he was body-surfing the next wave in. Before sunrise the crowd is already building. A group of logging babes, or whatever the collective noun for them is - a slide of lady loggers? - has taken up station on a favourable corner of the bank just past the boat launch. They are voracious in their wave appetite. That's not part of the tourist copy either. They relentlessly burn my son on every wave he catches.
Don't worry about it, I tell him, just let them know you are there and eventually they will kick out.
After successfully snaring a set wave unencumbered I watch a dude on a fish who making a good fist of stylishly climbing and dropping get stuffed by a log babe. They kicked out beside me and the dude looked very exasperated, ready to dish out a lecture on etiquette.
The babe eyeballed him and in the most deadpan voice said, “Sorry, I thought you were my boyfriend”.
How do you respond to that?
I could see fish man's mouth moving, his gums were flapping as they say, but no words were coming out. Eventually he muttered, “OK, fine” and paddled away.
Protect yourself at all times.
In terms of actual threat versus perceived threat I'd rate the incompetent tourist over the leashless logger any day of the week. The primary problem is total unawareness. A typical tourist on a renta-board has an incredibly constrained field of view (FOV). When they put their head down to paddle for a wave their sensory systems become overwhelmed and their FOV shrinks to a tiny sliver. They literally cannot see someone screaming down the line at them, they cannot see someone in front of them- everything becomes a blur. Paddling in and losing control, the board becomes a loose missile - constrained by a legrope, sure - but capable of a surprisingly large circle of damage.
Pick them out, I tell my kids, give them a wide berth. Never assume they can see you, or avoid you. If they drop in, straighten out immediately. Never give them the benefit of the doubt. Protect yourself at all times.
For such a soft wave, it's incredibly thrilling.
My son gets a bomb. Three hundred metres down the line, throwing mini-buckets every twenty metres. Another successful go out. We avoid injury, surf rage and carpark rage.
If you paddle out this Easter, be aware the war has been lost. Leashless logs, crowds of crazy incompetent kooks, strategies and wiles you haven't even dreamed of. Chaos rules.
It's fun, it's thrilling, dangerous as hell and the waves are unreal.
Buyer beware.
Remember the golden rule: protect yourself at all times.
Read more from our ongoing series here:
Feb 2023: Calls For Legrope Awareness After Another Serious Injury At Byron
Feb 2019: Legropes and the Law
July 2018: Surfing without legropes like 'driving without brakes'
Feb 2015: Longboarders, legropes, and a dirty big laceration
Mar 2013: Longboarders, Legropes and the Law
Comments
It does sound like the most dangerous wave in the world. The whole area looked chaotic last time I was there.
Over the past 6 years, whenever a riderless board has bounced end to end towards me, I’ve punched out the fins of 12 boards, then launching the boards onto spectators rock.
Legropes came out in 1974, get on it and secure your craft to your own body parts
Enjoy
Troy Gainger
And the Riderless Finless..
Do they also get Spectator Rock Treatment....?
Good article, but you can have it.... :)
"Sorry I thought you were my boyfriend"
Psychologically woven apology
Or in other words: "I know I'm doing the wrong thing but I'm too self-centred to give a fuck about anybody else on the planet."
dead right mate... symptomatic of the self-entitled p platers that plague the surf breaks from Noosa to Winki pop and Bells.
The percentage of girls in the line up would top out at 5% if that. Given how aggro and competitive it can be I would almost always give them a pass. Women get fucked over by men all the time, would benefit everyone in those tourist and crowded spots to lay of the aggro.
Agreed. But, ever been confronted with …” whatcha gunna do? Hit a chick?!” defensive response/routine, after blatant drop-in after drop-in after drop-in after… ? It’s a real mind-fuck.
cuts both ways.
yeah a classic but works both ways
Sounds awful. Wish I was there.
ha! "thanks, i hate it."
It seems to happen at all popular breaks. I was out Ulu’s about a month ago with the other 100 or so surfers. There was a pommy fella out there and it was his first time on a board with 4 to 6 foot sets. Other learners were getting pushed onto waves. Truely nuts
"Sorry, thought you were my boyfriend" ... great line
Best one I've ever heard.
Heard another great one, but it's not fit to print on a family website.
Vale Byron.
Agreed
as long as they will congregate at byron , the rest of us should be fine .
i hope .
Begun the spread has.
The most assured way to watch the spread these days is through the Real Estate pages. People mostly associate surf tourism with surf schools and board shops, but in 2023 it's biggest sector is AirBnB investments and real estate inflation.
2013
I live in Noosa, my eldest got clocked last November by a leashless finless hipster at one foot nationals (huge egg on head), every surf with my two girls was filled with anxiety and rage (age 9/11) as I watched as you said the babes burning everyone/the kooks completely unaware of their trajectories (nicest people who encourage my girls and dont view as a burning opportunity are older competent mal riders either sex). It is insanley furstrating as I genuninley view small points - as a kiddy wave. Bought both girls helmets which they wear every surf there now, not at sunshine just the points, and my anxiety has dropped massively. Yes they can still get hurt but not as bad - im enjoying the surfs with them now at the points, despite even with the usual corwds etc.
The days when a couple of slaughterhouse hands could distribute decomposed cattle innards, heads and hooves around the car park are long gone, though they worked a treat.
A lot of these woman are man hating LESO DYKES....
Righto grandpa, time for a bex and a lie down. And some time away from the forums too.
I haven't heard 'bex' being used for a while. My old man was a fan back in the day, before they got banned around 1977. "From the mid-1950s thousands of Australian women swallowed millions of evil-tasting powders carrying the brand names Bex and Vincents. ' Their contents, indicated by the generic term APC, were aspirin, phenacetin and caffeine. In combination they were both addictive and deadly."
One of those phrases that's been around for decades.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bex_(compound_analgesic)
I remember the old saying when someone was walking along the road, driver would slow and ask "Wanna lift?", response was then "Go drink Bonnox", hilarity ensued!
Not sure why Bonnox would give you a lift. I think it was like vegemite from distant memory!
They were still available in the 90’s
Classic
"Righto grandpa, time for a bex and a lie down. And some time away from the forums too." Just...well...appropriate really.
guess who the bully in the line up would be?
Fatso is not exactly a guy who could chase you up the beach
Fatso might have verballed you in the past, but wouldn't and now couldn't chase you up the beach. He's now just content to be surfing seriously again after a 5 year hiatus!
The guy that takes his young son out there & pushes him into waves with people already riding the wave has gotta be the biggest dickhead out there. Nearly ran into the poor kid when I was flying through a fast section & the old man just pushes him straight onto the wave in front of me & I had to straighten out to avoid hitting him. Seen him do it multiple times on multiple occasions , he usually hangs just out from spectator, which is a pretty hectic section , just can't fathom the guy , maybe he doesn't like his son.
Agreed!
Good article Steve, but I think this needs some clarification:
"While deaths are rare, if we count head trauma as our metric the Pass may be the most dangerous wave in the World. It stands above Noosa and the Superbank in that regard for it's sheer ease of access."
That may be true for real waves, but if you include fake waves, I'd say the Tulla Tub has a much higher injury rate.
A legrope is not an optional accessory.
"Legrope War Lost At The Pass"
what happened?
"The babe eyeballed him and in the most deadpan voice said, “Sorry, I thought you were my boyfriend”.
How do you respond to that?"
"Well, you did just fuck me over on that wave."
Hmm it's a good point - While the practical radius of danger around a beginner with a leg rope is much smaller than the leggie-less soul surfer on a log. The frequency of board loss and generally hazardous behaviour of the beginner is much higher.
Been surfing there a bit in the last few weeks and I have to agree 100% on everything you have written, especially the female crew who just burn you relentlessly just off the boat ramp. Dont surf after school drop off time!
Its the funnest wave, especially lately and its also the scariest. Like Matt said, protect yourself, I use a special grovel board I am completely ok with sacrificing so if I get nailed I dont really care
Farquarson - there are some more of these guys and kids a bit further north and south of there and it made me realise why these young kids coming through have little respect or knowledge of how the line up works when daddy puts them in the peak of the lineup trying to get almost every decent wave. They don't learn etiquette, how to read a lineup or how to move around a lineup without getting in the way. It actually hinders their development
I've just returned home from a few weeks away: one week was spent in Noosa.
The lack of etiquette and simple manners, mainly from the manbun hipster crew, and to a lesser extent young girls wearing nothing more than a piece of string, was appalling.
In contrast, the older crew were happy to call you into a wave.
Still, I can't see myself going back there.
What were the manbuns wearing?
Piece of cotton! Organically grown of course.
So True I call this lot the Kelly Dads and Mums as they all want their kids to be Kelly Slater and want all the set waves.
The best surfers learn to grovel for waves from a young age. The smaller inside ones, the shorey double up, the wide ones, the one towards the end of the set that break further in etc etc.
The new age of coached kids....they all look the same little robots. What they don't realise is that this is happening in every coastal town from 1770 down and around and up again so lots of competition for their little Kelly.
Would you consider a leg rope a safety device? They have never been manufactured or sold as a safety device. A surfboard also is not a safety device. When you have surfer connected to a legrope connected to a surfboard...none of them equates to any established, proven safety device.
The whole original idea of legrope use is for one of convenience in not becoming seperated from your board for too long.
Surfer safety in any line up was not the intention of the legrope.
Use of legropes also carries inherent risks such as getting caught on submerged objects ( drowning ) board recoil back on to surfer, legropes getting entwined with other board riders legropes etc, etc.
Going for surf with out a legrope in crowded breaks is really, really dumb.
Remember legropes are not a safety device & are not desingned to prevent accidents.
I get your point, but they do prevent a lot of injuries.
Surfing Manly day in, day out, the amount of people who'll take off on a close-out in front of you, either stack it or not notice you and be falling just immediately out in front of you, without them I would have copped a lot of injuries (even being super aware and trying to read where they're going to go and stack).
There's the discussion that maybe the beginners wouldn't be out there without them, but everyone falls and to have boards flying through the inside while paddling back out isn't workable.
I for one am stoked for the leg rope as it's saved me being hit countless numbers of times.
On the article though, I agree with Steve that is the beginners that you have to most watch out for thanks to the reasons stated.
I feel surfing in crowds at Manly also helps driving, ie being defensive and seeing possible accidents before they happen.
Same with riding a bike in traffic. Makes you a better driver when you're behind the wheel because you're better at anticipating things before they happen.
Not to mention the heightened awareness of having no protection with the lycra
Agree with you Craig.
My hope is that learner surfers read forums like this & understand the importance of building physical ability & mental awareness even before paddling out.
I was fortunate that I had three older brothers who taught me surfing etiquette from an early age.
As a kid I spent hours swim pool training & board paddling in the Noosa river to develop the surf strength even before I was allowed out in the surf.
When I was allowed in the real stuff I was ,"told" where to learn to surf off the main breaks & if I got too cocky & broke the rules I paid the penalty big style!
Weak excuses for dropping in are just not accecpable...but education is key.
Fashionable excuses for not using a legrope is not cool either.
The invention of the legrope has probably been the #1 accessory that has contributed to the rise & rise of surfing popularity across the world leaving us with a contradiction of sorts!
The contradiction is ....( I can hear the rocks on the roof now) if legropes were abolished then we would have significantly less surfers in the water. Why? Because it would be just too hard for people & they would give up & walk away never to surf again.
Legropes are the Yin Yang of our pursuit! Peace.
Fooman writes "Surfer safety in any line up was not the intention of the legrope."
Sir Alexander Fleming was experimenting with the influenza virus in the Laboratory of the Inoculation Department at St. Mary’s Hospital in London in 1928. By pure accident, he discovered penicillin. His petrie dish full of influenza virus "WAS NOT THE INTENTION" of penicillin. Yet here we are.
There have been countless inventions that have gone onto serve a different or multiple purposes. So your narrative is dismissed.
"Swiss physicist Walter Jaeger was trying to invent a sensor that could detect poison gas. Instead, his device registered the smoke from his cigarette— a discovery that led to the invention of the modern smoke detector."
Sir Alexander Fleming & Walter Jaeger never went surfing!
But EVERY surfer has benefited from Sir Alexander Fleming & Walter Jaeger's "accidental" inventions. Again, your opinion is dismissed.
True. Although, Byron Bay being ground zero for anti-vaxxers does complicate the issue a bit in regards to this discussion!
Not getting separated from your board IS safety I would think. If you’ve surfed big waves with a horrendous rip to the horizon or had to climb your leg rope in deep hold downs - it may have saved your life. More than once. I know mine has.
Wearing a leg rope is part of being a responsible surfer...
it is for your own benefit but it is also for the benefit , and safety of other surfers .
I remember the pre leg rope days , and the biggest risk as a young grommet was getting cleaned up by a lost board in the whitewater bouncing around like a pinball.
Leggies aren't marketed as safety devices because (a) the effort involved in getting something approved as a genuine safety device is bigly, and (b) if you say it's for safety then you're gonna get sued when it breaks and damage to people/property occurs (including your board).
Noosa is hectic and I've seen the finless leggyless rider out there. He's local crew and normally up the top of nationals or at tea tree. And to his credit he has pretty next level board control given what he does without a fin, in big and small stuff and better than 80% of folks out there. But yeah, he's a liability.
While the leggyless are a big risk, I agree wiht others that at The Pass and Noosa it's the total newbies that are the biggest risk given their sheer numbers and total lack of skills and situational awareness.
I'm a bit of a angry hairy looking cunt so logger babe or not, I make sure to give people the strong impression that if they're dropping in I am going to accelerate and deliberately crash into them. If I go down, we both go down, and it'll be you who is worse off given my velocity and thus increased mass. Works most of the time to be honest. If the bluff doesn't work I just bail like the pussy I am hahahaa.
I wonder if the Lady Sliders you mention are the infamous Byron Bay Murfers. In which case you might get a bit of joy reading this random piece on them that set their worlds on fire a couple of years ago. There's a fair chance learning that they're mostly millionaires with extended family wealth and trust funds will make you a bit angrier though.
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/07/the-coast-of-utopia-surfer-moms...
Oh I know most of those murfers.
V. familiar with the backstories.
The logging babes are a younger crew.
It's funny you mention that, recent travels up that way had me thinking that perhaps the younger beautiful loggers are the next generation of city/international money? I mean, if you have it, there's not many lifestyles on the planet that beat it.
It's also a very healthy, active, aesthetic femininity - I definitely approve. Contrast to the push in shortboarding for the girls to do the blokes' moves with power etc etc and the focus on this - the loggers are the ones on the right path.
She's lucky that guy on the fish wasn't JP Azevedo.
Sounds like an absolute cluster fuck!
I take great delight in seeing a board come towards me and I grab it and whilst in the whitewater I crack the fin at the very least. Had the odd one hit me over the years.
@surfer1971.
Fucking gold! I'll be trying that next time some selfish prick puts my life in danger, just so he/she can look COOL.
Describe the magic of Bryon?
Alas, good luck out there!
this article stirred up a few emotions. i disagree FR re leashless loggers being targeted unfairly - they are self-entitled scum and deserve whatever shit they cop. beginner kooks are dangerous too, but they dont understand, leashless loggers are well aware of what they are doing which makes it worse. and dont get me started on logging babes who burn everyone. really frustrating because they abuse the fact they know they can get away with it. if a guy did that, eventually someone will give them some karma. i think i'd spend more time fighting than surfing if i went to the pass
I don't condone drop-ins (I hate it so much like the rest of us) but I have to play devil's advocate for the lady loggers.
If any of you have ever had a bona-fide female surfer in your life you'd understand the frustration they have to endure having to deal with all of us male frothy kooks who paddle around like rabid dogs "hunting" down the next wave. And then just because females do not paddle as aggressively for waves, the rabid dogs make the decision for the female that the female is not "committed" and so hastily burns the female, or intimidates the female into pulling back.
So I can understand why some power has been taken back. Good on them. The lineup is way better having chix with stix amongst it.
@Denyer
As a surfer of 45 years I agree females have had the raw end of the deal out in the surf for most of history. I love having more female surfers in the water, but they have to play by all the same rules as everyone.
Are you saying they get a free-pass to act the dangerous fuckwit just like a bloke, due to the unjust gender history of surfing culture?
What about when they burn all the blokes who pay them respect and always have?
Not buying it,
Whoever wants respect should give their own respect back. If they want blokes to use their manners [as I also want them to] then they need to call-out the individual blokes who are being greedy fucks, not be a hypocrite and act just like them.
To me there are not females/males/LBT people out in the water.
There are kind and considerate people and then there are greedy fucks. A bit like life hey?
I've surfed for 40 years without getting hit by a board because I keep out of people's way. I never use a leash, the clubbies don't either, cause they can swim.
What happened at Swellnet, did someone lose a girlfriend to an unleashed man bunned logger?
Maybe we can have our own beaches with "unleashed logs allowed" signs.
Troz. Have you surfed the pass/superbank recently? You simply can't keep out of people's way at the pass/superbank anymore. Just too many people. If you surf there, you accept that you may get run over by something/someone. I simply avoid it due to that issue. It's not worth the risk.
I wouldn't be backing the clubbies so hard. I was one for many years and although some have great ocean knowledge, most are a bunch beers drinking yobs. [The motto of the slsc I was in growing up, was "Drink to vomit" How downright charming Eh?
A loose rescue-board is the largest and most dangerous surfcraft there is. oh,, apart from an slsc paddle ski, or throw in an old style slsc row-boat for pure carnage!
Spot on Surf Rat.
$40 bucks for a legy is I reckon the best money a surfer ever spends, especially for the safety everyone else
“Sorry I thought that you were my boyfriend” is a bloody good one but there are so many possible R rated combination responses to that one that would all get you Bexed
My call is, that if I make a stupid reckless decision in my car and hurt someone (reckless driving, drunk driving) what is the difference to making a stupid and reckless decision to not wear a leg rope on a 15-20+kg 80+L log that hits a kid and seriously hurts them?
You can go to jail for the blatant road fuck up so why not for the one in the surf that could have been easily prevented with a $40 legy?
I have seen broken jaws, cracked skulls and lost teeth from bloody wayward Mals
A couple of months ago I saw a wayward replica 10ft old mal with nose riding rounded rails that went the whole length of the point fin up either in the foam ball or getting spat out into the pocket for the people that were now on the wave and didn’t see it, to run into
The legrope topic is not a war, it is just is a common bloody courtesy to your fellow man, woman and “they” to wear a bloody leg rope
Surfers used to be lawless rebels, now listen to us rattle on about litigation. If it looks dangerous don't go out. Meanwhile, I'll keep riding my MR softboard unleashed through the windy Perth slop.
Pass & east coast points are a different sport to Scarb/Contacio/Triggs.
The rebelling was against mainstream culture ie selfish, dog-eat-dog, lacking compassion etc.
Yeah Fair Enough
But you obviously don't have a couple of learner kids out their trying to navigate the wayward Mals left right and center when it is a needless extra hazard that shouldn't be there if people respected their fellow surfer and wore a bloody leg rope on a super crowded point wave where any thing can happen
Glad I left Byron 20 years ago. I occasionally hear from old mates how bad it has become and although I miss the great waves in that area I reckon I would have just about given up surfing by now if I'd stayed.
No doubt leg ropes have contributed to ever increasing crowds in the surf but I'm thankful (in my 70s) that I have one for my own safety (don't want to drown in a strong rip). It's sad to see all the great old surf spots become suburbanised but with increasing population and leisure time it's inevitable.
For dropper innerers on a clean perfect wave like the pass, particularly ladies, I favour the polite yet firm Roger Federer backhand “parting of the waters” technique… sidle up beside them as you glide past and gently open your arm outwards using mainly the back of your palm and forearm. Kind of like you’re a New York City doorman (door opening outwards)… and the offender is the door.
They’re either off the back of the wave or falling safely backwards behind the lip.
Much more graceful than the ugly push, and involves controlled leaning pressure.
Of course all this assumes they haven’t already burnt the section on you.
@SteveShearer
Can I ask you to elaborate a touch more on the motivation/message behind this article?
Individuals will take what they want from a story and are usually completely bias so I'd like to remove myself from that equation and get it straight from the horses mouth.
I normally wouldn't bother with such things but after reading it, I was left with the distinct feeling we should all acquiesce to the madness of crowds? Which confuses me as that doesn't seem like the way you or most surfers live their lives.
No motivation SR- just an on the ground vignette.
People can take what they want from it.
I do think an acceptance of crowds is mentally healthy for a lot of places- but that is purely my opinion.
Others think differently.
I've developed my own strategies for dealing with or avoiding crowds- if it gets too much I walk down the beach with a fishing rod. Or along a cliff line where the biggest danger is falling basalt columns, which would crush you to death in an instant.
Thanks for your time Steve. Much appreciated.
I agree an acceptance of crowds is healthy as that's the reality these days. Everyone deserves the ocean and no one has a right to stop anyone joining our fun.
I do not believe an acceptance of dangerous actions towards others is good for for us though. I feel that vignette doesn't see the light of day much unfortunately. I really can't think of another part of society where we tolerate putting the lives of others at risk so much just for our own fun. I hate laws and rules and don't want to live in a nanny-state, but they are needed to reign in the ignorant selfish idiots out there who constantly put other's lives at risk.[The no-leggie-crew]
Being a prick in the surf is one thing and I don't think we can change those people.
Being a dangerous idiot in the surf is very different and should NEVER be tolerated They should first be diplomatically educated, and if that fails, be called out for the selfish fucks they are and sent to the beach to learn the rules. I feel it's everyone's job to help with the education or we will all have to deal with the downside of clueless surfers.
Soft right hand point. It's going to be crowded. And like Crescent Head, it's going to be crowded with 'types'. Watch your head.
There a menace to society the vast majority of loggers , parading around looking cool with no leggie . Surfing a crowded as break when it's winding off and having zero control if they loose a board and can't duck dive . It's not them it's everyone else that they should think about in the act of being too cool . Nice line by the girl but nothing like a little spray to remind them .
Remember thinking this after returning from a chopes trip. Pass was the first spot I surfed back at home and it honestly felt way more dangerous dodging boards/humans than scratching under tow sized sets at chopes
The Pass today. A lady friend maybe 60, born and raised in The Bay. A 2 ft wave comes, a guy way back, she paddles in, he catches up. She gets off, he paddles over and gives her a mouthful. With his final words if you were a guy I'd punch you in the head ! To a woman who has suffered at the hands of drunken aggressive partners. She was scared, shaking.
We saw the guy in the car park with a van and local company on the side of van. Didn't approach him. Think you know why. This woman is a beautiful soul, extremely loved by all who know her. And from a big local family.
An apology would be nice dude !
With all due respect to the horrible situation your friend found herself in canetoad, a simple apology really would be appreciated.
I've had numerous instances of drop-ins recently where 16-23 yr old dudes (aren't they always!) have a look back up the line, then go anyway. More than a couple of times they get spooked as you get close and fuck up the take-off, causing their board to hit my head - 'cause I ain't backing down, nor straitening out.
Then the smart-arses give me shit, knowing they are unlikely to get the punch to the face they so richly deserve.
Less entitlement, more consideration is what's required.
Drove into Byron Bay maybe 15 yrs ago & haven't been back since! After living @ Lennox/Ballina during the early 80's & surfing The Pass & Clarkes when the swell was too North for The Point, it was a GR8 wave with no kooks in the lineup when it was on! Seems to me that the place is now overrun with hipsters, Whippies, alternates, tourists & the so called yuppies. Just another paradise lost to the almighty $$$$, so glad I was there way back when!
Living in Coolangatta since 1989, I am a regular out at the Superbank and I have found inexperienced tourists, hipsters and babes on logs not wearing leashes the most dangerous in the water. I have been run over twice this year by a log rider. I now wear a helmet for head protection. Hipsters claim they never fall off, which is total rubbish. I often see them nose diving or going over the falls on shallower, faster breaking waves and their log is washed through cleaning up other surfers who happen to be in the unfortunate position of a log barrelling down towards them. If a log blatantly drops on me, I shove the nose of their log down and continue on my merry way. If we drove on the roads like we do in the surf, there would be countless serious accidents resulting in deaths or serious injuries. Give respect to earn respect.
free ride 76. What about an artical about this topic. What seems another issue is the dads pushing their kids onto waves that someone else is all ready on at well known point breaks. The excuse for burning us old guys seems always to be it’s a kids wave so you old buggers shouldn’t be out here. I learnt to surf on average beach breaks on my own not being pushed in by my dad at premier surf breaks when they are small. There will definitely be some good discussions going on!! This practice pisses a lot of people off!
Lived on the G.C. for 25 years and used to drive to Byron on a semi-regular basis, enjoying both Wategos and the Pass. As everyone else agrees on, it's a circus now and I haven't been there for over a year, and at least 2 years since I surfed the Pass. I may look at it again mid winter when the crowds aren't there to that extent.
Byron is dead to me. I have no inclination to return.
But kudos to those who refuse to cede to the masses of morons. It's very admirable but just seems so futile.
I gota say ive seen a lot of dads pushing kids into waves on the inside of somebody who is already paddling and commited on many ocasions at various spots and the poor committed self propelled paddler getting abused for dropping in on the kiddies ..
But the kid / dad was on the inside yeah? Therefore pull back and let the little person have their ride
But the kid / dad was on the inside yeah? Therefore pull back and let the little person have their ride
Yeah solitude on the inside but pushing after somebody has already caught the wave from wider out happens a bit on point breaks ...You cant just claim the wave because you went on the inside after somebody is already on it ..
Are you talking about ‘inside’ as in closer to breaking section of the wave?
If a person is already up and riding from further out the back, and then a person snakes and takes off late ‘inside’ but they’re a) not in the optimal take off spot and b) likely too deep c) too late to the party, then I can see your point.
I’d have to see the circumstances. I think I get what you’re saying?
I can also think of the scenario where person on long board can paddle onto a wave nice and wide, where as short board is inside closer to breaking wave (by necessity). I don’t think just because someone out wide has a shit load of foam they have priority over people deeper waiting their turn. In most spots anywhere I would have to say the inside person should have complete right of way (snaking etc not withstanding)
It's all OK. I was on a screamer at Currumbin alley last week and a (gorgeous) young French girl - new that because I saw them getting ready pre surf - just took off on her softy and went straight ahead. She got really upset with me as I tired to pull back but the board hit her and then her boy friend who was patrolling the take off zone in protection had a go at me. I didn't know what to say so just paddled back out - not a problem - just the new world. We all know we're good surfers and also know that it doesn't matter how many kooks are out at the Pass, Bells, Snapper (maybe not Snapper) you'll get a wave.
It's really weird and seems widespread, the dispassion with regard to the fates of others you describe - like an alternate reality, a new world indeed.
Excited for the next level of innovation in popular surf culture to begin. Bring on jousting sticks I say.
Hoping to test out my prototype jousting pole this weekend. A spear gun could also be applicable.
On a more serious note its all good and well fending for yourself out there and I’ve always been able to navigate the lineup out there without any major mishaps or injuries but it’s a completely different ball game if you have your young ones or significant other out there.
Some people need to check themselves thinking they are John John slater or Joel Tudor attempting world domination and intimidation of less capable humans on 1ft waves. So hard core man.
On the contrary the best part about surfing on the north coast is on the rare occasion the waves actually get over 4ft the crowd dissipates and the fair weather fuck stain wanna-bes are sipping lattes reading poems at a cafe somewhere.
"and the fair weather fuck stain wanna-bes are sipping lattes reading poems at a cafe somewhere."
Bahahaha.
Of course Byron not only draws crowds but plenty of comments...great article FR and I got to use your golden rule...and after reading it made my way up there for Thurs afternoon session and again good Fri morning...it's such a beautiful wave and although crowded with possible danger at any point
I only saw one drop in where the dude was forcibly pushed off....most people were respected having scored the wave...I only got 3 waves in total but the experience was worth it and they were memorable...I'll be back when I fly back to Ballina from melb.....
I surfed there Wednesday and Thursday before Easter & it was crazy. One guy did a cut back over the top of me as I duck dived, somehow I didn't get hit.
There was one mal riding girl who dropped in on someone every wave but always gave them a lovely smile
I definitely won't be surfing it during the Easter weekend.
Not enough man bun finless bum squatters in that clip for my tastes.
Perhaps someone should set up a surf school to teach the art of bum squat surfing to grow the art and make lineups more inclusive and soulful.
Could rent out clip on buns as an extra earner.
Lmao! The first bum riding takeoff and bouncing, outta control board running over stuff
Edit: devils advocate, that was an excellent grab rail skier stance crouched takeoff in a critical steep part of the wave so I guess I would score it.
Answering the crew's request for more Buns & Bums...for those who surf!
Chix version of same session (Part 2)...Yes! Yes! Please be true!
Easter Bunnies mop up The Pass to restore Surfing's virtue...stuff dreams are made of...Salute!
Don’t worry about looking left. Just go.
Get a rage blister brewing up on the back of my neck just watching that video. Makes me glad to be a booger so you don’t really cross paths with shoulder hopping free spirits.
Looked at the cams early Tuesday , looked good , a bit grey & rainy & relatively uncrowded , a small window before the Easter crowds. Had a great surf everyone was chilled & only saw 2 legropeless finless surfers & they were dropping in on every wave. Perhaps the recent article & the accident has woken the legropeless crew up a bit . I think the surf media should keep up the articles on this issue until it becomes uncool to not wear a leggie.
It's such a stupid mindless trend on so many levels , that has nothing to do with actually riding a wave ( which is why we all surf ). Ask yourself what your mind is doing when your riding a wave. Are you thinking about the leash around your ankle , the lower back pain , the mortgage? None of those things , your mind is in a complete state of thoughtless awareness engrossed in riding the wave . Apart from when the leggie sometimes gets tangled around my leg , I don't think I have ever ridden a wave & thought that would have been better wave if I wasn't wearing a leggie. Mindless stupid , dangerous trend. Keep up the articles swellnet
Queensland and New South have been the epicentre of the demise of any sort of respect in surfing for many years. For other people, the environment and the fact that many of their famed point breaks are massacre sights. Now swarming with privileged, self entitled white people mindlessly displaying their ego. This culture is emanating out across the country and festering, even being found now on the far flung corners of the South Australian coastline. A sad indictment of what surfing has become.
100%
Diminishing functioning lineups need respect to be surfed at the full potential for all users. If you continually snake those who wait or burn time and time again you are just adding to the disfunction. You are the problem. You raise the frustration, anger and impatient in others. Creating the clusterfucks of humanity.
Crowded lineups can function with some order if all play ball. In both regards to safety and enjoyment of all. from 2 to 10ft plus. Communication is a forgotten art and often why the best wave of the day goes through unridden. Surfers have curated their own mess through entitlement. You kill half the fun, style and soul of the sport when you contribute to this mess. If you don't give a fuck nobody else will, regardless of skill or wave. You don't need to sit right on top of someone if you are waiting as you should be. Part of surfing used to be being aware of how to maintain functioning lineups. Not a dysfunctional free for all. Sad to see how ugly some spots have become far from the free sprit of finding freedom with etiquette, respect, and style. Regardless of where you ride or what you ride. This problem is a result of numbers who don't give a fuck. The patient will only be so patient until they are sucked in to the orbit of disfunction to get their fill. Yes surfings a selfish sport at times but certain issues and circumstance's are proving we are somewhat going bout it wrong. From pro to beginner it started with us. Disfunction is a result of what we accept and have created. Far from functional, far from fun. Why add to it at home or abroad? No one rates a snake, No one rates a cunt.
Have said this before on this site, but where I live and surf (surf coast), it’s not so much getting dropped in on which is the problem, which occurs on occasion but is usually followed by them quickly pulling off once they realise you’re up and riding and hear a quick yep on their inside.
The main issue I find is snaking, especially those who catch a wave and then have no issue paddling just far enough past you to be ready for the next set wave. You’d think they’d know not to turn and paddle for it as you’ve been waiting and they’ve just caught one, but sure as shit they don’t, and they turn and go regardless and will no doubt call you off it if you do get the wave you have been patiently waiting for. Being reef breaks it’s so obvious when they paddle past you and there’s no excuse for it other than them being greedy pricks.
You can be having a great session where everyone gets it, that one guy paddles out and it all turns to shit.
100% on the money. Like you my pet peave is when someone gets a wave and then paddles straight past you and sits on your inside and proceeds to paddle for the next one. Happens on all of the surf coast points but Winki is another level. It seems the longer you've lived there, the more likely you are to do it as well.
Gold Jedi!
I hope FR gets paid by length of thread.
Ripping lately!
No disrespect to FR, but given it's such a polarising topic, any article on legropes is pretty low hanging fruit in terms of generating audience participation.
Anyhoo, until someone dies from a stray log to the head nothing will change in terms of laws around legrope use at busy spots like the pass. It will take that unfortunately.
Day-to-day, what are the top 3 most crowded breaks in Australia?
1. The Superbank (Snapper, Rainbow, Greenmount would probably come in at 1, 2 & 3 if you split them up, chaos!).
2. The Pass
3. ???
3) Any point with reliable mobile reception
Hahaha
Throw a few foilers out there to mix it up a bit, then the real carnage begins
Ah man, I remember surfing the pass , wreck and broken head in the 90’s…. I was lucky in my teenage years then , dad was coming towards the end of his career and would take his long service leave and we would holiday there all the time. I was in heaven coming from the far south coast of nsw where you would never really get out of a wetty… just the length of the ride , surfing a long point break, beautiful clear, clean warm water. I would get burnt, sun stroke a couple of times. One arvo a storm came over ,it was about 3-4 ft and pouring rain, everyone bailed and at one point I looked around and could see 5 water spouts happening at once. Dad , my little brother and I stayed out and got wave after wave…Used to score the wreck where I thought I learnt to do proper turns… one nice day the pass was about 2 ft and an old bloke said it was 6 ft plus at lennox(I was about 15) I said dad where’s Lennox?.. it’s heaps bigger down there ( SE swell) . He took us down there, they didn’t come out, I made the jump off got a few waves and got pumped on one and remember thinking this is a real point wave open to the open ocean swells… ended up moving to Lennox in my 20’s , surfed all over the place…. I loved it. Boulders ended up being my favourite spot to surf. The crowd was always much more mellow than the point.. The sand was always changing and the waves were always changing with the tide every session. You could score in between the crowds cause different parts of the bank would start working if you really watched it… have so many classic memories from that era…. Best fun a young bloke could have in my humble opinion… and the point in my late 20’s early 30’s in my mind I did the best surfing of my life, remember one junky 6-8 ft weekend morning was pretty crowded , I paddled out past everyone out to red rock, took off on a double up drew out a long bottom turn and pulled into one of the biggest barrels of my life, standing straight up, arms wide, crowd hooted…. Only a Murfer knows the feeling… hope my kids get to experience some of it when there old enough… oh yes leggyz are good, it’s just common courtesy… imagine having to live with knowing you really messed someone up… not worth it… enjoy…
You think with all that "dirty" money in Byron the could provide a Legrope service, so as no one would get injured by a stray board.
Just set up a wall in the car park with 200 leggies.
I wouldn't know the place even though I spent a few years there around 02 05 .....
Daddy pushers, non-leggy hipsters, log babes, mamils and "surfers" from countries completely surrounded by desert...they're all out there, game face on. Easy to paddle out when you simply walk half way up to your waist, lie on the back on your board, legs spread (wish boning as I call it), unable to duck dive jack shit. I spend half my time watching the ones to avoid just so I can stay away from the carnage that will undoubtably unfold. They come and sit near me, I move off. No use yelling or vocalising at these foe, they don't think its for them, they've been surfing for ten minutes so they're experts. Forget etiquette, that's long gone, assume everyone is dangerous unless proven otherwise. I surf like I drive, defensively. Its the only form of protection I have and even then its a long shot. Choosing to surf the points has its drawbacks but the reward still remains the prize.
Nearly ran over a sea turtle once on a takeoff at the pass. He looked up at me with these big, dark, beautiful eyes that said "Hey, don't run over me dude," (Crush the turtle voice) so I pulled out of the takeoff.
tbb era > Gromz & chiko chickz fought over the posh incoming bouncing loose boards.
He man Surfers would shout & chase us thievin' gromz away.
Chix would smooch sunscreen over the Champ's Board..."Get off! Chix can't surf!"
Early 70's a loose board was seen as free airbnb gift from Huey!
Never once heard or seen any complainin' of scoring a free ride!
Can recall fightin' off 10 to 20 hurtling themselves at loose boards on incoming sets.
Poor loose boards never stood a chance!
We 70's Groms would do anything for a ride on a board...
So True...we was poor & desperate! (Despite 12yr/old tbb havin' a daily paid job)
1975 Huey : tbb is found {Guilty}
Kook Grom tbb borrowed neighbour's Mc Tavish Blue Bird.(Of course he said no...Maybe!)
Back then all Goldie boards came with the industry standard Sock Leggie...
Got a small ding on Crowded Surfside Bus... into Greenie Line Up...sock came undone!
Lifeguard confiscated it...(1 week later!) Returned the Bluebird to Neighbour with ding! (Oops!)
Grom swears he wouldn't notice...much!
1975 Later ...tbb's surfie / Skate Deck head neighbours were holding a sacrifice to Huey.
Yes! Burning a Homemade Surfboard...no joke...
Proper Huey Ritual + tossing on Tracks Issues to stoke up the Swell!
This sacrificial board looked as if a Shark took a large bite outta it + Open Dings on all rails!
Spew coloured green with dark brown toxic foam thru it's guts...
You bet...Filthy disgusting blacker than black gross wax melting in the flames..."Drool"
A Gromz dream board!
Huey was calling tbb, thru the dark night it was...no backin' down...Now or Never!
Demanded that these pure evil Huey worshipers set the Shark bitten battered board free.
Pissing themselves at neighbourly kook Grom'z manly mandate.
Said sure Grom! " If you wanna walk across the Hot Coals & reach into the Flames!"
Then wot...The Glittering Prize was tbb's...Yes!
Thought they had to pee on me or somethin'...Nope! So cool...too easy!
Board's dings cut tbb to shreds...still the best board ever for sure coz it had a decent sock leggie!
Yeah! Hole in the fin leggie job...not one of them plush plug'n'play models!
Anyhow! That's how ya score yer first board Gromz! Wot!...Stop laughing!
Why should they tbb...you were the Ultimate Grom kook! Well maybe so! But...not alone!
Still today Gromz fight over busted up leashed Pro's Comp Debris
WSL " High risk sharp edged UFOs" pepper the shore during comps
Gromz don't mind & WSL encourage the Gromz to fight over incoming dangerous debris.
Whole world stands testament to fighting over incoming Lost boards is still way Cool.
Very rare to see WSL Pro show responsibility or empathy to persons or environment.
Just abandons his lethal weapon mid heat...Fuck them all...where's my caddie! Give me more! Now!
Illicit trade in foreign Toxic WSL merch is worth a pretty penny!
Many of crew here see & support such & even laugh this off, none ever say it's dangerous!
Pause!
Why the double standards & Why not call out the Truck Loads of leashed shit littering our beaches.
Crew know that crashing UFOs are way more risky than best practice smooth VIP Modules.
Hands up!
Do Shapers intently design boards to be more dangerous than broken unidentified leashed debris!
Clearly not! So why promote this as fact...Coz that's how non boardriders like tbb read this.
tbb only sees blame apportioned to those responsible enough to claim their shit.
tbb seldom sees leashed surfers give a shit about their high risk well exposed toxic payload.
[Factcheck] Crabs can pick & spread foam from an open board thru whole foreshore over night.
Correct! Suffocating & Intoxicating the whole beachscape..."Just one unclaimed broken slab!"
Recap! One surfer not claiming their broken toxic slab kills off the beach in just one tide!
Everyone must claim their shit or ban themselves from the beach!
Still everyone to this day cheers on the Grom fight over the exposed toxic UFO shards!
Nearly all of this Toxic Debris was unleashed upon society by Expert / Pro leashed Surfers.
Big wave communities thrive on collecting Priority Leashed Pro Waste at Hottest Spots.
Never once do these communities expect non leashed long boards in the mix...probably freak out!
Yes! New industries follow wasteful leashed surfers losing their shit & Join bits back up.
No one, absolutely no one complains of leashed Lost Boards only ever non leashed boards.
Why?
All here know more leashed slabs wash upon our shores than non leashed boards.
Plus all here know that Leashed surfers are least likely to retrieve their increasing garbage pile!
Very rare & almost unheard of to see a non leashed Surfer walk away from responsibility.
So rare that Lifeguards mount a rescue happening upon a non claimed Longboard / SUP
[factcheck] Within hours a lost longboard / SUP is posted on Police Missing Persons! Yep!
On the flip...Lifeguards are least concerned over scattered busted up toxic slabs.
They know this ship has well sailed & these are the scum of society...never claiming responsibility!
More often than not > Leashed surfers abandon their leashed more dangerous Payloads!
Everyone here knows this to be true...so why pin all this on the most responsible surfers!
Repeating...none see long boards litter the Bins or beaches...only ever piles of leashed boards!
Check out the mass graveyards of broken boards from leashed surfers...
Bog Standard Board Safety reviews tally increasing injuries with leggies...no brainer!
More shit in the ocean = More injuries caused by more shit that has no place in the ocean.
True! Surf injuries ramp from least protected weekend warriors to > Highest Safety Mandated Pros.
WSL Requires a 24/7 MASH unit before first heat hits the water!
Millions of Waders spend more time in Wave impact zone than Boardriders + Lifegaurds combined.
99.9% wade back out just fine...coz they don't care to be clobbered or rebounded by shit!
Aussies get cancelled why?
Coz once a year the safest of all surfers crowd to race safety craft & knock themselves out.
Ain't no one gonna change that or stop them from doin' it...cause they set the safety standards!
Anyone got an answer for that...Salute them all!
Surfjustsurf!
Had a win yesterday… was surfing with my wife and daughter at a fun tweed beachie, slow 2 foot peaks everywhere.. chose the peak with no one on it and shared a couple of sets.. of course two dudes in full man bun uniform appeared on their logs.. after. Brief chat and hello, I asked them to move onto the next peak as I was worried they would lose their boards and hit said wife or daughter.. they argued that they would never let that happen… but then conceded and did paddle away after I insisted….
Sure enough about 10 mins later one them
Loses his board and smashes into the other one….
Stoked they moved
Haha, what idiots.
It's Titanic syndrome, "This ship is unsinkable/I will never lose my log"
Hubris
These are typical Byron no ropers
https://www.facebook.com/reel/5977796835671579
ISA are pushing for Longboards in LA Olympics...
(Would Olympics mandate Leggies)
Part 1
If crew think tbb's above Leashed Story of Abandonment is a line in the sand.
Yer sadly mistaken...tbb has not unearthed 80% of this half baked Leggie mandate drama
Been playing it down the worst of it...this be the polished turd versions.
Here's an another most obvious example for Leggies to shine at Surfing's Greatest point in time!
Lets just see how IOC/ISA/WSL managed to wipe away 50 years of Leggie Legacy!
You cannot make this shit up!
Leashed Gold Medalist lost his shit on first wave of Final!
Without doubt the Worlds greatest AD to ban Leggies from Surfing Competition.
Gold Medalist snaps his board.
Front Half completes Rad maneuver surfs ashore to podium perfectly well with out Surfer.
This was the longest ride in the comp...by a riderless slab of foam...Judges all scored [10]
Failing attempts to bodysurf or ride rear remnants our Champ Wades ashore in #1 Athletic Event
Seemingly drowning not surfing each time a wave touched him...Ooh! Wotz this shit!
This Dude can't surf without All Earth's Resources attached to his utility belt...fuckin' hopeless Surfer!
Oddly finds time to unleash sharp edged broken rear craft with fins to endanger his own exit.
Never once looks behind himself to check on his abandoned barbed craft clocking him.
Frightfully we see his broken board hurtling ashore at speed fins up on the very next trailing wave.
Correct! Rear end also surfs better without the gold medalist who failed surfing with it on every wave!
Sadly that's not a joke...it is the sad truth of Surfing's greatest moment! (Laugh and Cry!)
Broken Surfboard Debris surfs better & safer in Olympic Final than dangerous lazy Leashed Surfers.
tbb can both feel & vouch for that 500x over...safer to surf a sea of riderless boards...Olympic Event?
Greatest fuck up for Surfing & Leggies in one foul swoop..."Team Marine Debris Rules"
So yes...His abandoned jagged edged fins up board expertly surfs around owner & his caddies...[10]
Sushi Train Olympic Final...that be a ratings winner!
Olympic Divas board ditch requires assist from not one but 2 caddies
#1 Caddie sprints down beach flickin' thongs jiggling his Olympic leggie tilling the comp sands.
First replacement board was rejected by Diva Athlete for being too smoochie (Wave Hugging!)
Competitor Bullies #1 Caddie to unleash leggie from his shitty $Trillion Globetrotting Companion!
#1 Caddie does this and also wildly discards another Earth sapping slab into the Olympic Cauldron.
#2 Caddie sportsmanlike spears a pointed third board at both of them...but misses! (No medal!)
#1 Caddie struggles with leggie thingy on Board 3...as all do...(Great Advert for useless annoying shit!)
Competitor bullies useless caddie that be fucking around with that there retard Leggie thingy.
Hero snatching the leggie > hog ties Caddie & trips him up in Typhoon seas tidal surge.
(Near Death Tally now stands at 6)
Then Olympian likewise struggles at Medal Attempt at wrangling the dumb arse Leggie Thingy...
Hoorah! Tricky Dicky finger amputating thingy is on...Legends!
Caddie #2 mops up unloved abandoned now leashless Board 2 + front end of Board 1
Caddie #1 Chariots rear end abandoned leashed Board 1 up the beach to Olympic Gold Medal Podium!
Yes! Of course with trailing leggie tilling & trawling the wave zone for pippies.
You know...coz it's a piece of fuckin' worthless shit or something more sinister by the look of it!
Never in history of Surfing has any seen this priority level of Leggie Abuse!
Say Wot...about leggies! Now means shit forevermore thanks to the Surfing's Olympic Leggie Ideal!
All have drowned or died or abandoned their cheapest seats during record on/off Leggie attempt.
Leggie Medal Event > On / Off / Drag / On / Off / Fuck it / Fuck it / On / Drag / Off / Off - Gold Medal.
How can one even contemplate a bigger Olympic sized leggie fuck up!
That leggie Shit be like dead & buried in all of 2 minutes...Worst thingy of all time on world stage!
Part 2 ISA Leggie Mandate is the Olympic Leggie Mandate (Yes! They do have one!)
Leash / Legrope Policy : Does date back a good while with exact same Rule/s
(a) As a risk management precaution, and subject to the ISA Technical Director's approval, the ISA has a (Mandatory Leash / Legrope Policy) at Events, due to the 'Potential Risk' to other participants.
(All Contestants) are to use a Leash / Legrope while Competing or Practising within the Confines of the 'Contest Site and / or any area under the jurisdiction of the contest administration. Leashes / Legropes are to be of (Any Types) that are commercially available.
(b) Free Surfing with or without a leash is at the rider's discretion, however the ISA recomends the use of a Leash if there is a possible danger to third parties.
Fines :
$200 Not Testing / wearing Sticker-Flag-Wristband-Vest (No Fines for not wearing a Leggie)
$200 Helping return competitor's board to lineup (Recapping Leash Mandate...Huh!)
So! Get fined for rescuing a struggling surfer with a mandated leash malfunction...Wow! Tough Gig!
Either that or Leggie Mandate is full of shit...crew can choose which is the bigger lie!
https://isasurf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/ISA-RULEBOOK-April-2022-c...
So! Do surfers abide by this or does ISA take action against those who breach their Leggie Mandate!
If so...just how many would breach ISA Leggie policy?
Well tbb did need to check on half a dozen ISA Long Board Finals Vidz...
Coz it still kinda depends on where ISA comp is held > See below Nations...
During small surf into the finals...most Top Tier surfers will abandon their leggies.
Mostly because surfing small waves relies on endless walking & weight tranference!
As surf increases in Size to overhead, most are obliged to conform with Leggie safety mandates!
Mostly coz Bigger surf requires more central control - restricting movement. (Leggies are fine!)
Eg : Small Surf...More leashes on polite newbies then less so for Expert rogue Surfers into the finals.
Less than half WSL LB will wear leashes (vs) More than half ISA LB will wear leashes
All wear leashes in Hazardous overhead Surf.
Once again as tbb previously shared...
Hawaiians are least likely to leash as they're renowned Plank walkers.
USA are also reluctant to leash due to renowned hard / fast weight transfer maneuvers.
South Americans / Japanese also move freely & are also less likely to leash...50/50
Mostly Aussies / Kiwis / EU will abide by Leggie mandates...sound familiar (Cough!)
Olympic Long Board Leggie Mandate complies with ISA leggie Mandate...(Almost!)
https://www.olympic.sk/sites/default/files/field_media_file/2019-11/Toky...
In practice it plays out like this...
Tokyo 2020 - Not enforced
France 2024 - Enforced (US-Hawaii ignore)
US 2028 - Not Enforced
Oz 2032- Enforced (US-Hawaii ignore)
US-Hawaii would simply claim Olympic Sites are not ISA comp sites!
Forcing IOC to draft amendments or rewrite rules...Surfing is cheapest sport! Go figure!
Doesn't Patagonia have a stack of no-legropers as "ambassadors"?
Probably. The Patagonia/Nathan Oldfield/Morning of the Earth Revival (Wealthy Edition) universe produces a lot of no leg ropers and inspires many more.
What's the corporate/legal/public affairs implication for a company that may present imagery that may lead to members of the public getting head injuries?
like surfing you mean?
that title pic shows that wave to be j bay like, when whenever ive been there its too fat for a fish and too sectiony for a log
Def not too fat for a fish or fast/sectiony for a log, bank is in great shape.
In the 60s we had this problem too. But there was no leggies. What the difference was I think is that people in the water then were surfers that paddled out on the shoulder and we new being in front of the oncoming surfer in dangerous.
Now days everyone is in the water and most of them are in the way, especially of a rouge board. That's why a leggie was invented and should be used.
If you score an empty break GO FREE and take off that leggie. There's a time and place for everything. Like being nude at the beach. I can't let my Ol' body be free anywhere, I have to find the right place, a unclad beach.
The masses of clueless, self-entitled, me, me, me, tic toc, home and away clones have finally taken over and shafted it for everyone. I feel so lucky and privileged to have grown up surfing in the 70's when only losers surfed. R.I.P. surfing.
Ha ha haa...! Nailed it.
I‘m still laughing.
Love me some NZ gore special effects
Jesus Christ !!!
He's not the messiah...
But he is a legend, in his own bath time.
What's with the youtube comment about him being one of the shearer clan?
I didn't get that either ld... local family, or an obscure comment about unco bozos razing heads off?