The Trails Less Travelled

[Smokin Rock]

Darcy,
i hope you did'nt take my post as me pointing the finger at you. i'd really like to see more of your stuff. it was pretty damn entertaining to see such good surf at the gathering. i was only suggesting maybe a more tactile approach so you would'nt take so much heat and keep em comin.
i think that it's pretty cool you're sittin on the beach and documenting and then sharing with us all. especially with good surf firing.
i imagine all surf photogs must deal with this conundrum at some point in their careers.
BTW i've been waiting forever to use "conundrum" in a post so i'm really stoked.
aloha,
mike

[Jack Beresford]

Surfing one of the most crowded breaks in SoCal it seems somewhat futile to get upset about crowds. They're here to stay - and it's only going to get worse so why waste the energy.

However, I don't think it's right for magazines, Web sites and other sources to publish "How to surf xyz spot" with detailed instructions and maps (as Surfing recently did). One of the coolest things about surfing is discovering new places - or having a friend/family member show you a new spot. In this "ready to eat" society too many things are too easy for people. Let them work for it the way we did and they'll appreciate it that much more!

Do unto others... to me this always seemed like the best way to resolve these types of questions.

[MWROBERTSON]

I love localism or at least love the humor of it all.

I try to always be cool and low key when surfing certain spots. More times than not guys have been real cool and invited me back the next day. I.e. Yokahama Bay, Makaha, Hollywood by the Sea, Big Rock, The Ranch, Oregon Coast line, Moss, Santa Cruz, Sunset Cliffs, Morro Bay area etc.

What really makes a local anyway? Someone who had the privilege of their parents buying property by the ocean. Or a trust fund baby surfing his life away at a quality spot? Even better, someone being successful enough to buy their own property with their own hard earned bucks. Their are some legitimate locals and they do deserve respect. Doing some research will tell you who's legit, and who's a wanna-be-transplant!

Whatever the case I've rolled off my board in laughter when I hear some of the territorial crap that some spout off. Granted, we want some semblance of a mellow vibe and low crowd factor but does any human really have any more right to a spot than you? NO

Maybe in some places there is a granted hearchary, but in CA if your a resident and a tax payer for God's sake surf away.

Always be cool and respect the locals. Give them their waves, often they will share with you. Show up with only yourself and one other and most times it will be ok. Gatherings are great but can be deadly at the wrong spot.

What the hell, are grown men/women going to act like school kids and start fighting. Rise or stoop to the ocassion I feel like a jerk when I have to go to that level.

Darcy, if someone threw your camera off a cliff. Remember, someone surely knows that looser. Get a name file a report and press charges. Remember, destroying property, assult, vandalism are all crimes punishable by law. And yes, it will be inforced! Especially when you know the County DA, Judges and attorneys. Have a list of them when you travel.

[Cripple Crusader]

If you travel and surf a spot, be polite. Is that so difficult?

As far as I'm concerned that is the answer...... RESPECT!!!

You wouldn't climb over the fence and sh*t in you neighbours yard, but by all means surf there!!!

It's all about attitude.

A little respect goes a loooong way.

And the flipside is I'd expect the same from the locals!!!!!

[ScottMac]

..

[KAVA]

Remember, destroying property, assult, vandalism are all crimes punishable by law. And yes, it will be inforced! Especially when you know the County DA, Judges and attorneys. Have a list of them when you travel

uh what country do you live in? lol! say they have guns and speak with a foreign accent and you might get a proper response. all things in their place. if you want to be a dick and want things to escalate then by all means dont pay attention to the locals where you visit. on the other hand be low profile, and show respect to the place your visiting and have another visit without incedent. as for the response thing heh heh! police are locals too Homeboy!

when working for a certain state beach (heh heh). I was standing with a peace officer observing the San Bernadino native (ie: later his license proved this) that had just gotten himself stuck in the sand while trying to 4x4 it accross several of our landscape islands. so i look at the peace officer and say what are we gonna do?? he looks at me and says "let him get himself out, then i'll give him a ticket". so after he paid the tow truck driver $300. He also got a $300 ticket from the state of california heh heh and the locals lived happily ever after...

THE END

[Jerry]

Sunset Cliffs was an uncrowded paradise when I surfed it in the 60's.
The North Oregon coast was an uncrowded paradise when I surfed it in the 70's.
Siargao Island, The Philippines was an uncrowded paradise when I surfed it in the early 90's.
They are uncrowded paradises no more
Photo's of these places dident kill them.
They just hastened their demise

[MWROBERTSON]

KAVA

Read closely!

[KAVA]

Always be cool and respect the locals. Give them their waves, often they will share with you. Show up with only yourself and one other and most times it will be ok. Gatherings are great but can be deadly at the wrong spot.

I know im just having a laugh that guy was sooo bummed and felt like such a fool and we just sat back and laughed and then it started to rain..... it was classic!

[stemple]

Before I went to the north shore I read the data on sunset. I learned about the break and where and how to surf/survive it. It helped and I got a few waves that still remember to this day.

enough said

[Beeline2.0]

..

[Scott]

Great collection of posts here! Reading this has been facinating. Darcy, thanks for raising all of this so that a truly world-wide collection of surfers have been able to weigh in.

"Censorship" is indeed a powerful word, and a recurring theme in some of the posts. That word gets a knee-jerk reaction in the U.S., right up there with "racism". No one wants to get accused of wearing either label. While racism is especially an attitude (although it can also be institutionalized), I've been taught that "censorship" is really something that only the government can truly do--to bring the force of law against the publication of something. Individual citizens can't really "censor" anything unless the courts are backing them up. "Community mores" is a more appropriate title in what were talking about in this thread: it's when people howl and scream about wanting to stop something from being published, whether it be a porn shop near a school, a film defaming religious heroes, or even, I suppose, publishing the name of surf spots prized for some degree of anonymity. But it's not really "censorship" that they're committing when they tell someone "you better not publish/write/film that!"--there is no force of law from the government keeping free citizens from expressing themselves. The protestors are just trying to form some sort of community consensus to press towards a desired result.

Certain communities of surfers feel strongly that certain spots in their locale should not be photographed, and if photographed, not published or generally circulated with the names of the spots.

What I'm enjoying in these posts is seeing whether many of us out there feel that local surfers' wishes to preserve the anonymity of their spots should be respected or not. If pressed far enough, the law will certainly come down on the side of freedom of the press/photog. But does that make it right to do?

I think Jack's "Do unto others..." maxim introduces the higher law.

We really, really needed these posts to get us away from "what is the current state of kneeboarding?" threads of late!! Keep up the good work, Darcy!

[lowrider]

Actually when Darcy made the orginal post to this thread I thought
the only logical follow-on was going to be 'Surf Pictures'.

...that looks like a line-up not far from here!

[JackG]

This is an interesting topic. Where I live doesn't have the best surf, but apparently has the sweet weather and beautiful coast. We're quite popular with the Europeans (I can tell it's spring when the German tourists return), and the Hollywood types. I've lived in and around here for over twenty years. Twice I've had popular magazines publish "where to go" articles about literally my front yard.

The first time it happened I was living in a rural area and Sunset Magazine decided the canyon was worthy of day trip article. One day I was eating lunch and looked out the window and people were having a picnic just beyond the property line. I don't know how many of you have ever lived out in the sticks before and can understand how shocking this is when you are used to your space (except for presidents coming and going) to have people picnicking in what you consider your front yard.

The second time was a just a year or two ago, and Los Angeles Magazine profiled the "Top 50 beaches in Southern California". The one down the street from me was the second one in the north to south list (the first in the list was one canyon down from the Sunset article). Things were nuts that summer with parking and traffic. Imagine a friend having to park a block away to visit your home. Imagine not being able to go to your own beach, and I'm not even talking about the surf, just the beach, because there were sooo many people and dogs that it wasn't safe to be there. Luckily things have chilled, and the LA crowd is finally not coming by so much. No one parked with their car encroaching on my driveway once this summer. I don't think it works that way with surf spots though.

I was really glad to see that my humble break wasn't in Wesley's surf book, not listed on www.surfline.com's map, and that it was rated a poor break on another website. I must confess to not always giving accurate depictions of what I think the break is going to do as the tide changes when asked by a college kid with a cell phone in his hand. I've been yelled at on the west side of Santa Cruz when unloading boards from a Volvo with San Jose dealer frames. I've had friends who had cars keyed in Palos Verdes three miles from the homes we grew up in.

Yes, I'm rambling. Darcy, publish the pictures. Naming names? Well, I don't think there are too many locals at Fullers, but maybe respect for peoples front yards demands some occasional digression.

[RW]

Darcy,

I would pay for a ringside seat to watch you beat the crap out of a crew of territorial assholes anyday. What they don't know....should painfully be delivered in spades.

Regarding the defense for localism/censorship/community dictated narrowmindedness......too bad soo sad. Keep shooting away and posting the pics complete with the names.

I've no tolerance for territorial behavior in any way shape or form. If I were in your place I'd be putting those pics on all the major surf bb's just to make a point of how absurd all this localistic posturing really is....even some of the watered down veiled "advice" you have recieved on this thread reaks of hypocrisy and insecurity.

For anyone to dominate a break, secret or not, takes years of water time so who cares if someone new shows up, any competant local shouldn't threatened by the new faces......but then that's really the crux of it all anyway....average surfing skills.

For example, that secret spot behind Bud's, or for convience, "BACKYARD's", has been in the spotlight of the surfing conglomerate forever and yet it is still a refuge from the maddening wannabe hordes seeking fame and star status. Why? Becuase it's a godawfull nasty place to surf....and especially so on it's best days. The place alone controls overcrowding. I've surfed Yard's for 34 years, way before Bud set up his central command post, and it's still as open as it was when it was just a handfull of daredevil madmen all those years ago. Seeing pics of it won't change the static dynamics of the place. It controls itself and the crowds.

So from my perspective over these long years, it's blatantly apparent that localism, and the closed door community it attempts to enforce through intimidation and violence, are more about group dynamics driven by personal insecurity regarding mediocre performance abilities rather than crowd control. I didn't buy into it then...I won't by into it now.

Mark is correct. Use the law here in the States at every opportunity to ensure your rights and safety as a natural born tax paying US citizen. If you are outside our borders then mind your manners and keep a cool head.

Here in the GrandPooBah State of Kaulifornica, being a dominant surfer has always been more about gang mentality than actually being a good all around surfer/waterman. The list of surf spots decried as being owned and opprated by locals is enormous. Most of these breaks are not worth the energy expended "protecting" them. Beats me why someone would risk their liberty, and their health, to keep another person from surfing their crappy little wave.

Jack is right, the Insta Loc population is only gonna get bigger. The failure of Localism to preserve the status quo of yesteryear was spelled out since eary '80. Individual ability usually controlls the pecking order in premiere surf....inspite of the inbred local mentality still roaming around in the channel and on the beach...some things will never change, but the perpetrators can be held accountable for their actions in accordance with our laws.

Localism sucks. It perpetuates nothing but bad vibes..especially amongst those who advocate it. It consumes every conscious part of their surfing experience like a black cloud blotting out the sun's golden rays. The NewBreak crew continually eat their own when there are no invading targets for their violent behavior....like underfed rats in a cage, they can't escape themselves.

To paraphrase Owl Chapman circa 1970: "A local is just a dirtbag who doesn't travel." Or something to that effect.

Seeing how Darcy is only sharing her private pics with us she's not really broken any taboos really. She's not a journalist by profession as she is not being paid for commercial profit, under no obligatory contract to any person or corporate entity, nor is she soliciting surf publications to buy her work. Seems that her gracious efforts to document this new wave KB fad is being misconstrued as a threat and the ugly side of surfing is making itself known even here in this little macrocosm. How absolutely revolting. Get over it people. Yur just gonna chase away one of the best things going on around here.

Support your local KneeRiding photographer....especially the really cool free ones. Buy some of her pics to balance out her expenses to keep her stoke up too.