Hows the reception now days :)

Hi sweepers

I used to come in here and give it to the sweepers, some were and still are friends who didn't know it was me hanging sh-t on them,I remember telling Casso that sweepers were banned from my beach as he was just about the paddle out, that look on his face was priceless, it was all in good fun.
So 10 or so years ago you lot were the dark horses of the ocean, picked on due to your choice of craft and being kooks, deemed as dangerous kooks and lets face it many gave your choice a bad rap from the start mainly due to shops selling to folks who had no idea of education of surf sweeping

I gave the sweepers sh-t back then but always respected the talented ones. The kooks scared everyone.

So long story short my question is.


How is the reception now?

You been good for a laugh and to stimulate self awareness of my place in the lineup, Thanks.
As a come n go workaway sweeper, I have differed to the proners on the basis of Power'ed to UnPower'ed , have a intro chat telling them if they can make a wave work for them , go for it. Call them into some good ones. Its Been along time since told to bugger off, get lots of" Hi's and how long you back for " these days .
I go upto the dodge sup newbies and tells them of other spots that would be better for where they're at, to get it sorted before they join the crew. I'm always looking for new peaks away from the crowd.
Thanks again for your perspective

Interesting question. As my surfing has to improved over the years the reception has relaxed. Generally try to surf away from the line up or on the edges. Not uncommonly get a kind word paddling back out after a good ride. Perhaps it is the beard that has gone from black to white. In general I try to stay away from other SUP surfers as most do worry me a bit. Weird . Cheers

Bob

Hopefully will be able to tell you in a few months time. Been out of the water for 6 months now, and at the time when I was in the water nothing had really changed. So will be interesting to see if there has been any changes in that time. But having said that, I can't say it was really a problem then. And without glasses I can't see expressions on faces, so filthy looks are wasted on me.

So in a couple of months I'll be the kook in the water on a sup while I find my feet again. But will be only small surf and short sessions to begin with and definitely I'll be staying away from others.
To rub salt in, I bought a set of C drives and Quabbas. I never got to try out the Quabbas

Things are pretty chilled and non confrontational where I sup surf but a I think because I am 60 they tend to not bother the old guy. Once they see you can catch a wave they tend to not worry and I tend to never hassle for a wave, why bother just get the next one.

I have surfed on SUP from Maine to Florida, Portugal and Thailand. I have experienced very little backlash.
At home on Cape Cod, we have a very strong SUP crew and we mix well with prone surfers. Never any drama.

When traveling, I use the same protocol that I did as a traveling prone surfer.... go softly and earn my place in the lineup.

I like surfing good waves, so I do not slink off to a crappy break. I have the same right to surf good waves as a prone surfer.
However, I do avoid breaks with a very limited takeoff spot because a few SUPS could ruin certain breaks.
I chose not to be the guy who opens the door to SUP at those breaks

I also stand up for myself, if challenged strictly because I am on SUP.
Note:
While there is no surfer in the world who has any particular right to restrict my access to the ocean, I totally understand that localism and lineup rules evolved to create necessary order to certain breaks.

Really good surf breaks need some method to protect them from total chaos... so creative, sometimes harsh behavior was the only way to protect the "worth" of a break. I have never considered this as "etiquette"....
it has always simply been "lineup rules"

As un-politically correct as it may seem, surfing is an Alpha sport. The best surfers control every quality lineup.
There is no "fairness" to surfing, there are simply the rules that must be followed.

There are many breaks available that do not attract the top/aggressive surfers. These breaks operate with more relaxed environment and are good places to improve your skills and learn to function properly in the lineup

Kammieland. A very chill spot with great views.

Varying degrees if I'm being honest, some breaks are ok while some are still full of the same mentality that SUP is an evil past time. None of it bothers me much, I just try and prove them wrong by surfing well and not taking too many or getting in anyone's way.

I try my best to do the righty as much as I can, surfing beach breaks mostly means I can just move to a spot that has less crowd. S*%ts me when I'm onto a good thing and crew paddle over and sit on me looking at me like I should move on ha ha

When it gets too crowded later in the mornings I call it a day, just too dangerous. Reef breaks I know well are ok as there are almost designated areas for different craft and I respect that.

Some breaks I still only surf prone, and am happy to. Interestingly I have come across a few really grumpy SUP surfers lately - try to smile and say gday and get donuts, must suck to be like that!

How's the reception when someone turns up to a line up without a leash . Personally I reckon you're a duckwit with you do that . Doesn't get much more selfish