Kneeboard Surfing USA Community Forum

I emailed the local Huntington/SealBeach chapter of Surfrider last week
inquiring about enforcement of existing laws to restrict SUP's in the lineup
and wondered about where they stood.


....no response!

It will take someone getting hurt and getting a lawyer before the lifeguards
and cities wise up....until then Surfrider is no help!

Maybe you guys should look to the "fast-track" thing like Disneyland? You know, get a ticket and show for your wave. Or kneelos at dawn, slashers at 7, sponges at 8, tankers at 9, sups at 10, and then start all over again.

SUP’s are not surfers
They are Personal Flotation Devices


SAILBOATS AND MANUALLY PROPELLED VESSELS
Personal Flotation Devices: Vessels less than 16 feet in length, and all canoes
and kayaks, regardless of length, must carry one Type I, II, III, or V Coast
Guard-approved personal flotation device for each person on board. They
must be readily accessible and of an appropriate size for the intended wearer.
PERSONAL FLOTATION DEVICES (PFDS)
The minimum requirements are:
_ Except canoes and kayaks, all boats 16 feet or more in length: One
wearable life jacket (Type I, II, III, or V) for each person on board and one
throwable (Type IV) in each boat.
_ Canoes and kayaks of any length and all other boats less than 16 feet in
length: One I, II, III, or V PFD for each person on board.

The law……..

I don't think they're going away.... but I got to admit, listenin' to the longboard crew that's usually hogging all the set waves at Maka's Point havin' a moan about those paddle guys gettin' all the good surf is music to my ears....

I SUP surf but do it on beaches that are not crowded. Most of the newbies do not have any etiquette.

"they learned to surf in a bathtub"

California Harbor & Navigation regulations expressly forbid any vessel using a mechanical means of propulsion (oars; paddles, etc.) from operating around "bathers" which includes surfers.

I've spoken with Sacramento on the issue and they agree that paddlers should not be in the line up. The only way paddlers would be allowed at a State beach is if the State rangers had previously been contacted and a zone set up for the paddling activity.

I'm going to take them on up here. I'm running for county supervisor and ,if I win, I would be in charge of all the beaches from the Pajaro River mouth up to and including Capitola: goodbye paddlers.

Maybe a KBing only zone, though.............

Bee- I will contact Surfrider. Its always the same: too many issues and not enough warm bodies.

When I helped start SF, my thought was of an organization with over 100,000 members (much like the numbers the the Sierra Club had). Ultimately, every issue comes down to dealing with gov'ts and politicians and they only understand one thing......numbers of people who will vote for them in the next election.

SF is up to approx. 60,000 paid members currently. But if we could double that, the powers that be would listen a little closer and a little quicker. and SF would have the staff to deal with more issues in a timely manner.

Thanks Surfhorn.

As you are well aware SUP is in its infancy.
Very few of the guys are what could be called 'veterans' of the sport here
in my piece of Southern California, usually they are advanced surfers trying to pick up SUPing also.

Also I notice that contests are starting to be organized for them.
You combine the lax attitude the 'lifeguards' have towards them,
probably one or more of them in the ranks who appreciate the sport,
combined with the higher profit margins on these boards through shops
and the shapers....and it really boils down to a need to enforce the existing laws against this.
From my perspective, these are forces combining such that its just a matter of time before the tide turns and they become an established
and ensconced reality in the surf lineups.
I'm wondering if not a few of them are members of Surfrider also??
Most certainly betwen shop owner and SUP/surfboard shapers, they are!

However, a Surfrider lawyer or lawyer armed with a personal injury lawsuit involving a youngster
against the responsible city, lifeguards, and the SUP'er would get the ball rolling in this area. Surfers enter a risk zone
when they surf, but that risk does not include accepting risk from prohibited craft which includes SUP (equipped with oars).
Consequently, the city, lifeguards, et al could be held responsible.

Exactly, Bee. Its the same thing as when 'Windsurfers' hit the line up. Mostly it was veteran surfers who were trying a 'new thing'. It took a Malibu local windsurfing Malibu, spearing a woman in the head at 30 mph, that banned sailed boarding in certain lineups.

I used the same tactic when I served on a City of Santa Cruz committee, trying to establish year around lifeguard response. On course, the City's Risk Manager (one of the most useless administrative positions ever created....all they ever say is "NO" to everything) said "No". And I said.... 'Fine. The City and County of Santa Cruz markets the beach and the ocean to the world. When the first person drowns, the Surfrider Foundation will show up with our atty's and file a wrongful death suit based on the City's marketing pratcies and the attractive nuisance: the ocean.'

We prevailed and S'Cruz enacted a year 'round Volunteer Ocean Rescue program. This was in the Fall of 1984 and it was the introductory project for the fledgling Surfrider.

A few weeks back I was sitting in the car with my girlfriend at Fort Point checking things out when a sup guy starts paddling toward the line up. She asks me "what's that"? So I explain the sup thing, she says "oh, THAT'S stupid." Then she asks what they do with the paddle when they catch a wave. I tell her they just hold onto to it, she says "oh, THAT'S stupid". I adore her.

..

2nd week on kauai they had a surf warning for all south facing surf spots.Anyways,The whole crowd from the bay on down showed up at pakalas.About six paddle guys were getting the bombs,and truely were very good at what they did.Inspiring!The place was packed from the inside through the middle and partly outside.
I was the only KBer... Got my share.
there's a small crew of Paddle guys would show up around 8-9,right after the work crew left.I'd get a solid hr. with just a few local boardies.Anyways there'd be these 4-5 older guy come out every day,paddle around.Being there every day,going on the last few yrs, we got to know each other quite well,and I got heaps of respect as a person and as a KBer.
Turns out one of the locals goes to SC every yr,As his wifes family is in the farming game in the central valley.Surfs the lane and is friends with doug and susan haut...small world.
The surf scene there is much more together than here.Can you imagine one KBer surfing with a handfull of paddle guys...
This thing is growing.And the problem as I see it is that these folks were the shites at surfing,and the'll probably be the shites at this endeavor also.

cheers

This topic reminds me of the us versus the goat boaters(surf ski's) back in the 80's snaking our waves and causing carnage in the line up. Thank god they have become almost extinct here, but we are getting more and more SUPS here, not so much in the line up yet. Over here in Australia most popular beach breaks do display surf etiquette signs maybe they could be displayed over there, getting the arrogant barstards to read the signs could be the problem though..........