Kneeboard Surfing USA Community Forum

...back in the water after two weeks out with stitches (the annual knife fight with the skin doctor). 2', crowded as hell, friday afternoon with a crosswind...

i rode a LEFT from tamarama all the way over to bronte. someone yelled out "all hail to the kneeboarder!"

With the delay of the KSUSA contest until November, it was a real treat for me getting a chance to surf with so many of the Kneelo Cove crew this morning south of the Huntingtong Pier, plus having Southpeak Brad and Joe Coyne drive up from San Diego. Wow, about 10 of us out in 1-3' surf, but still having a great time. Amanda, Mark R. and others sitting on the beach just enjoying the pleasant morning, knowing there was better surf yesterday and also coming in tomorrow.

No scene comparable in NorCal to the whole Kneelo Cove thing, that's for sure, and I had a really fun morning. Driving back north tomorrow...

Yeah, fun to see everyone yesterday and to surf with you Scott. I liked tyring Joe's new fish and your stubb, and having a front row seat for Ed's closeout hit in knee deep water...that he made

Decent swell up here.to hh today,nice clean lefts.Seadrift side down about 4 houses no nut jobs,just the locals.They're always giving static about being from bolinas... :lol:I always say, where were you in 62?... Ya all were just a gleam in your parents eyes!

The bay is stuffed with sardines.Birds are going nutz and at least 500+sealions are wreaking havoc.The stripers are here in force.Lots of small fish to about 5lbs.Good sign for the future.

Florida was good today, chest to head high with offshores all day due to a strong low north of us. I got two sessions today, one with my brother Leif, who's relocated to Melbourne-stoked!

headed to Hatteras to meet up with Landlocked, and hopefully score off that low, ....

wed, thur, fri and this weekend at the cove.. super fun combo swell and a lot of kneelos havin a great time in the springtime conditions great to willy kelly and anthony and thier friend scott from humbolt, hayward and his clan from the southbay, the kneelo from seal beach ( originally from OZ) and fish's mates and the usual suspects of the cove rippin it up fun times

I don’t care what sort of session you had today, April 26—I don’t think it was anything quite like mine…

I paddled out into good Saturday afternoon surf at 4 Mile on a 4-6’ combo swell with some bigger sets. I stroked past the small crowd at the inside peak and sat outside near the point waiting for something good, something bigger that would fire though the whole outside and the inside lineup (rather a rare wave but a real gem when you track the good ones down). It finally came in and I began my race across from the outer peak through the inside. As I was flying along with the inside surfers moving out of my way, suddenly there was one surfer actually trying to drop right in front of me, not even looking back. As he immediately tumbled while trying to stand up, his board crashed into mine. Thankfully, neither of us were injured, but as I turned my board over, there was my right futures fin box ripped up and hanging half way out of the foam, with the fin bent perilously close to falling out altogether. I yelled at the guy that he screwed up my board, but he was quickly paddling back out and paid me no heed. I flipped the board over to protect the fin and eventually proned whitewater in this fashion into the beach. I walked/jogged the ½ mile trail back to my car for my backup board, headed straight back to the beach, and began paddling out on a search mission for that guy! It all brought back my memory of about 20 years ago when I carelessly lost control on a wave at 4 Mile and put a gaping hole in another surfer’s board as he was paddling out. He was so pissed and would settle only for me paying for a professional repair, which I did, of course—I felt like such kook.

So I’m about 50’ from the beach paddling out in the rip, and here is the exact dude right there on his way in! “Hey, you’re the guy who just screwed up my board dropping in on me!!”
“Eh? What? I don’t speak English well” he replied in his thick Brazilian accent. He didn’t seem to be focusing very well either.
I pressed my point. “You need to pay for a repair to my fin—you were careless and broke it.”
“Eh? What? Well, okay I pay, but I have so much pain…my legs. I cannot paddle! What you call it?
“You mean cramps—you have cramps?”
“Yes, yes…so much pain. Never in both legs! It hurts much…cannot paddle!” His eyes are getting full of fear.

By now we are drifting at a steady clip in the rip and starting to head south towards 3 Mile and the rocks. So I have him grab hold of my board, and show him that I have flippers on to help move us toward shore. This is turning into a full on surf rescue now as we are about 300’ out. Holding both boards while he hangs off the back, hanging onto my leash, I keep kicking and reassuring him. He keeps asking, “can I touch the sand yet?” “No, just relax--we are slowly getting there.” About 10 minutes later we finally get washed into the shallow water a few hundred yards down the beach, without being swept down to the rocky point.

Gratefully, he gets his toothpick of a board back from me, and begins to collect his things to go back to the car with his friend.
“Thank you! Yes, I will pay you—maybe not all at once, okay?”
“Okay, I don’t mind. Just do the right thing. This is what you should do when you damage someone else’s board.”
“Yes, let me give you my phone number. I live in Santa Rosa.”
I borrow a pen and paper off a stranger on the beach. He dictates, I write it out, and have him visually check each number to make sure I got it right. I returned to the surf on my backup board and had just a killer session—the crowd thinned way out and I had my pick of almost any wave I wanted. So much fun…

On my way home I stopped by my favorite ding repair guy, who gave me the $80 written estimate. I texted the guy as soon as I got home so that I could email him the full estimate, send pics of the damage and arrange payment.

He gave me a wrong number…

What's even worse Scott, he didn't even really have cramps.

Aloha Scott,
Thanks for sharing your story with us. Sorry to hear of your board damage and your wave ruined.
On the other side of you "bad experience".
1. Thank God you or the other guy did not get a serious injury. Even if the lame dude was wrong, knowing you, you would have felt terrible if he got a skeg through the head and become brain damaged.
2. In the "Book of Life" (if there is one), it is recorded that Scotty has a "gold star". He returned injury with helpfulness. Speaks of where your heart is at.
3. You did not lower yourself and resort to violence. (Enough of that going on in the news these days.)
4. You still had a killa of a session. I admire your stamina, physically and emotionally!

The dude has some negatives to work out in his life. Hopefully he gets the education to not do what he did to you to anyone else. And the balls to hopefully make it up to you one day.

There is a lot of ignorance, selfishness, fear and irresponsibility out there in this world. Most of us have waded a few times in those dark waters ourselves. Hopefully we have swam through those dark waters into a more a pure and clean line up. A place in our lives where there is sharing and caring, knowledge and respect.

But if you do, do something stupid, or careless, do what Scotty did, ... take responsibility. Apologize, make it right, (your example of doing something similar in the past and paying the other surfer for the damage you did) and learn not do do the same negative again.

Surf on Scotty, but learn to yell loud and early at kooks dropping in. ha.

Too bad Scott!! Especially when you consider how much less crowded it is up your way. I'd hope that his friends, or others who were hopefully more aware, would shout out to him to watch out if they saw what he was doing as you were flying along on that wave.

Good post Day!

Scott, those numbers were in Brazilian, you gotta translate em first!

Great story, well told, good example to boot.

Ken!

Great comments

I'm a bit puzzled...

What was his proficiency level? That's a bit of a trek for someone who seems that out-of-place in that particular line-up

Cowell's was just a couple more miles...

Anyhow, good karma prevails and that story deserves a good say... good onya for doing the right thing until it hurt!

In other surfing news... shout out to Scott down South of Ventura. Had fun! What I didn't recall was meeting Shawn (sp?) last time I was down there. Steve Neil... you, Scott, Shawn... say the word when you get up this way. You have a tour guide! (just add a few months or so... )

Hope the graduation ceremony was cool for you Scott... sure you're proud!

Scott!! You got surf on Saturday!!! ? I'm so jealous!! Bad spring conditions around these parts lately. The winds have begun...

Mutiny, Ler and me ruled the whole southside today. We were like three wave sharks looking for the next meal.