I’m no saint in the water and no doubt bother some because I do go after plenty waves but, sometimes things happen I just don’t understand…I wrote this after surfing one day in the late summer or early fall of 2006.

What is it about some guys? Is it so necessary to be competitive and aggressive all the time?

Today there was a nice fairly consistent SW swell with sets head high + a little. About 2:00 p.m. I went down for a surf at the point and after about 30 minutes in the water the crowed thinned out and there was enough surf to keep the people in the water in a good rotation.

I was paddling back out to the lineup when a set wave bowled up in front of me. I was in perfect position to turn around and drop in but I let it go because there was a kid just above me that started to stroke into the wave. Well he didn’t get over the edge, a good one got by. Oh well, happens all the time.

I get out to the lineup just when another set starts through. The first wave me and another guy are in position and the other guy looks at me and says go ahead. I take a few strokes and who hustles across in front of me to get position and drop in from behind is the kid that had just missed that other wave.

‘What? Do you not take notice who’s in the water’? I may be old but paddle strong. Kooks aren’t strong paddlers. I may have been on a tanker but I don’t wear a leash. Guys that don’t ware leashes in head high plus surf usually know what’s up and can surf. Pay attention…..Think.
So the kid and I both drop in shoulder to shoulder. Just as I’m about to set my edge I turn to the guy and say, “to bad you missed the last one.” I turn off the bottom giving him enough room, he turns up behind and above me so I slow down and straighten out a bit so he can go behind me and I can get him in front. Well when he turned off the top behind me, he fell, the nose of his board dropped inches from my legs. No harm no foul…I continued on... a nice ride.

I paddle back out to the lineup and after about a 5 minute lull get the second wave of a new set, one of the bigger waves of the day. Because of the chop I get hung up and ended up making a late drop that puts me a little behind. Fight through a couple sections, slide under some white water and just get back in the green when that same kid drops in on me. Don’t know if he heard me but I said “what.. again?” He squirted out in front, turned back, while I watched, squirted out again and then finally pulled out.

Do you think if a guy has gone that far without falling that he most likely is not going to fall at all and would like to have the wave to himself? Do you think that if you wait your turn there just might be a few slides for you?

Be nice, be courteous in the water. Save your aggression and competitive attitude for contests. If you have to be competitive then be competitive with your friends. Not strangers in the water.

I still remember the surf that day and the episode... good fun surf, funny how some things just get stuck in your head.

D.R.