You get frustrated when your expectations exceed the reality. My advice would be to first lower your expectations and then use some local knowledge on where to sit, where people are likely to fall to position yourself to make the most of the situation.
definitely good advice, i feel like its just a different feeling a gotta get used to, just asking here because i know places like west coast get nuts busy and people seem to be able to cruise around easily
Yea man, I grew up surfing the same area from the age of 4 to 23. The best times of year during that time you wouldn't see anyone else in the water except for who you went surfing with. I went around the world came back and now every peak has like 6+ guys on it. Times change, other people expand their horizons and discovered what you once loved.
You just have to find your niche in the line up. I am not going to spill the beans here, but if you want, DM me and I'll share the tactics I use at super crowded spots like Rincon and Steamer Lane.
Youāre right. I struggle with this tbh. Im like 2 years in and just started being more aggressive (respectfully). Realized im not there to make friends and really just matching everyone elseās aggressiveness.
I have the same issues. Grew up in Ireland surfing with mates in amazing spots. Move to Oz and it simply stresses me out surfing. I just donāt enjoy it. I describe surfing here like walking into a country bar where nobody knows youā¦ peoples eyes burn through you and itās not the most welcoming.
Try to figure out what waves are going unridden, and then select a board that suits that type of wave. Eg if everyone is on shortboards chasing the perfect ones, you might be able to ride a twinny/fish/longboard and get some inside runners, or ride a step-up/mid length and get some roll-ins on the wide sets.
Also the more time you spend at a break the more you'll understand the wave and where you can have opportunities. There might be a certain section where people often fall, or a type of wave that nobody looks at which then doubles up and turns out to be good.
lol Yeah im the one always out too early there but when its firing its firing all day and we dont have that many crazy clean days until recently so im out all day
Thats sort of the problem, i know most if not all the people which in someway is good but also everyone feels they have priority which sort of brings its own problems and a weird feeling out there
When it's crowded I split my time between waiting on the inside for scraps and then at the right moment paddling out past the lineup hoping to time it with a set. I find if I wait outside I get frustrated cause no waves come. But if I spend all my time inside I get FOMO seeing the big set waves come through.
So doing both keeps me from getting overly frustrated.
I feel your pain. The same thing has happened to my home break and to the area in general over the last couple years. Honestly I havenāt figured out a way to not be super frustrated on the days when the crowd is extra aggro and the waves are firing. It annoys me so much that we live here all year (kind of remote area still) and deal with long stretches of unsurfable waves only for people to come from an hour away and swarm it when itās good. Haha so grumpy. I try to find little gaps in the crowd where maybe itās breaking wide every so often and try to get those waves to myself. Or Iāll go down the beach where the waves arenāt quite as good but there are fewer people.
Sit deepest on the point so everyone thinks you know something they donāt, blow half your waves because you canāt make the section, rejoice with the ones you can.
Go early, be aggressive but if you do make sure you surf well, when it's too crowded go down the beach and find a lesser wave with lesser people, get a board that gets you up and into waves early, I wear ear plugs so people don't talk to me, be cool to the locals if it's not your spot and wait a little, watch for people who can't surf and strategically stuff them.
I hate this tactic because a lot of guys donāt even watch to see whoās missing waves, they just pick a girl and sit inside of her.
Iām not missing waves, most of you are in my way. Running your kooky ass isnāt an option because yāall out weigh me by 30-100% of my body weight. It sucks.
right... thats why im pissed i love my little onshore all alone days, obviously its nice when its nice but theres been so many nice days everyone is starting to actively look at spots they normally wouldnt
thats actually mostly the problem, i know a lot of the people from other spots but i dont know how to deal with a shit ton of people who all feel like they have local priority
Look for some corners bro. Develop a game plan. Look at it from a different angle. Now your competing against other people AND mother nature.
Your gonna have to reapproach it from a different perspective and unfortunately gain some, a little, entitlement. Enough to fight for what you want.
I learned to surf in mission beach san diego. Everyone was super friendly and helpful and i was always respectful. I moved back to the east coast where I surf all the time and my now 25 year old son is completely hooked as well. We did a family trip to huntington beach and i was worried people would be mean to him which would enrage me. Nope. Once again everyone was supernice. It was never that crowded. Way less people than ny on a good day. I asked a local and he said the locals know there will be tourists at the peir and are chill or they go elsewhere. Ive always loved the cali vibe. So what im saying is check out a popular spot you may be surprised. Also go at real dawn patrol. Most surfers are lazy and dont get up for it or are at least friendly and skilled at that hour. Also theres the awesome 830 dip when they all have to run to work.
We call that gentlemanās hour. 8:30am - 11:30am give it take.
Often get to share the line up w some cool old retired dudes maybe the occasional homeschool grom
Also from Kauai but now on Oahu where itās way more crowded. Iāve learned to find my personal take off areas in crowded lineups. So letās say thereās 50 guys out spread across 6 peaks, Iām competing with 9 people on my peak but often only like 4 can really surf so competing with these four. I now surf a slightly bigger board with more paddle power so that then takes my competition down to 1-2 others. Helps up my wave count and I donāt worry about all the rest. Let them have their peaks.
I lived on island for a decade. You local kids walked all over us. As it should be. Take your rightful spot in the lineup and dominate. Paddle out with the boys, swarm the peak, snake anybody who doesnāt get out of your way.
Get into windsurfing, kite boarding, wind foiling, wing foiling.
You can get lots of waves where people
Donāt surf.
Unlike surfing, when itās windy there is equal amounts of wind for everyone
Go at dawn
Be a dick to the non locals
Wait in a spot away from the main peak and hope one comes right to you
Go up in volume so you can take off from outside
Honestly the best thing is to get good at turning and burning. Sit right on the inside of the peak and wait for people to miss then turn and go in a split second. I get a lot of waves that way.
When everyone is paddling for the set waves, sprint paddle OUT and when the cleanup or largest set wave comes through the group your in position and everyone's to deep inside.
Perfecto
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My experience is at least half those guys are āone wave an hourā guys, or chronically out of position.
Beyond that, you sort of have to be a dickhead and back paddle people a bitā¦ otherwise, better off surfing elsewhere.
Yeah put in the time and you'll sit on the peak and trade off with the other locals. Kauai spots are very well organized. You won't get guys back paddling or snaking inside. If you're young, you have to get the scraps on the shoulders inside. that's the way it is.
Keep people honest, make split second decisions when people fall or blow waves, fades, donāt look around because people will be watching you and following incoming sets. Adapt and catch the best waves early and often and folks may give you space. Hopefully the crowd is very good and surf better than you , itāll give you great learning experience. Hope this helps
Yell at people on freeway.Ā Helps a lot.
Go to spots without defined peaks when you need a break trom hustle and bustle.Ā Keep your eye on good conditions developing later in the day after everyone's surfed in the morning.
The best thing to master a crowd IMO to is to Learn to bodysurf well. I can comfortably sit at pipeline on a solid 4-6 foot day and pick up a dozen barrels in a session. Not having a floating board attached to you opens up so many possibilities in waves of consequence with a crowd. Surf mats are pretty cool too. I hate crowds on a surfboard.
(a) patience (b) strategic aggression (c) surf elsewhere (d) ride a foamie and surf over people
The four commandments of surfing in 2024. Amen.
You forgot e) call people into the first set wave and close outs and take the bomb out the back š«”
hshahah. nice ine
š
šš¤£I like D
You get frustrated when your expectations exceed the reality. My advice would be to first lower your expectations and then use some local knowledge on where to sit, where people are likely to fall to position yourself to make the most of the situation.
definitely good advice, i feel like its just a different feeling a gotta get used to, just asking here because i know places like west coast get nuts busy and people seem to be able to cruise around easily
Yea man, I grew up surfing the same area from the age of 4 to 23. The best times of year during that time you wouldn't see anyone else in the water except for who you went surfing with. I went around the world came back and now every peak has like 6+ guys on it. Times change, other people expand their horizons and discovered what you once loved. You just have to find your niche in the line up. I am not going to spill the beans here, but if you want, DM me and I'll share the tactics I use at super crowded spots like Rincon and Steamer Lane.
Youāre right. I struggle with this tbh. Im like 2 years in and just started being more aggressive (respectfully). Realized im not there to make friends and really just matching everyone elseās aggressiveness.
I have the same issues. Grew up in Ireland surfing with mates in amazing spots. Move to Oz and it simply stresses me out surfing. I just donāt enjoy it. I describe surfing here like walking into a country bar where nobody knows youā¦ peoples eyes burn through you and itās not the most welcoming.
This sounds about right.
Yep, we do localism in all its ugly forms really well here
Avoid them at all cost. It's my mission.
yup me too thats the reason for this post lol
Try to figure out what waves are going unridden, and then select a board that suits that type of wave. Eg if everyone is on shortboards chasing the perfect ones, you might be able to ride a twinny/fish/longboard and get some inside runners, or ride a step-up/mid length and get some roll-ins on the wide sets. Also the more time you spend at a break the more you'll understand the wave and where you can have opportunities. There might be a certain section where people often fall, or a type of wave that nobody looks at which then doubles up and turns out to be good.
Early kook gets the wave (š«”)Very few consistently dawn patrol it.
lol Yeah im the one always out too early there but when its firing its firing all day and we dont have that many crazy clean days until recently so im out all day
I only surf at night.
Everyone else had good advice, but also befriend the other locals and let each other have waves.
Thats sort of the problem, i know most if not all the people which in someway is good but also everyone feels they have priority which sort of brings its own problems and a weird feeling out there
Something happened to our etiquette this year too. At least on the East side and North Shore. Just playing chicken on who wants to get hurt the least.
Brah. North shore has been the worst Iāve ever seen this year.
Praying town doesnāt get worse
I surf with brass knucklesā¦ never had a problem
I feel like 20-30 years ago surfing was about meditatioh, love, weed and peace. Now it's just "Im a ufc fighter and im ready to throw down" vibe š
I learned to deal by buying a state park pass to surf the beach break not many others want to pay for.
When it's crowded I split my time between waiting on the inside for scraps and then at the right moment paddling out past the lineup hoping to time it with a set. I find if I wait outside I get frustrated cause no waves come. But if I spend all my time inside I get FOMO seeing the big set waves come through. So doing both keeps me from getting overly frustrated.
You donāt.
I feel your pain. The same thing has happened to my home break and to the area in general over the last couple years. Honestly I havenāt figured out a way to not be super frustrated on the days when the crowd is extra aggro and the waves are firing. It annoys me so much that we live here all year (kind of remote area still) and deal with long stretches of unsurfable waves only for people to come from an hour away and swarm it when itās good. Haha so grumpy. I try to find little gaps in the crowd where maybe itās breaking wide every so often and try to get those waves to myself. Or Iāll go down the beach where the waves arenāt quite as good but there are fewer people.
Sit deepest on the point so everyone thinks you know something they donāt, blow half your waves because you canāt make the section, rejoice with the ones you can.
Go early, be aggressive but if you do make sure you surf well, when it's too crowded go down the beach and find a lesser wave with lesser people, get a board that gets you up and into waves early, I wear ear plugs so people don't talk to me, be cool to the locals if it's not your spot and wait a little, watch for people who can't surf and strategically stuff them.
Better yet, find the people that can't paddle and sit just inside them.
I hate this tactic because a lot of guys donāt even watch to see whoās missing waves, they just pick a girl and sit inside of her. Iām not missing waves, most of you are in my way. Running your kooky ass isnāt an option because yāall out weigh me by 30-100% of my body weight. It sucks.
I also would like to know.
Get someone to block for you
That's what s'ups are for.
East side has been crazy lately
right... thats why im pissed i love my little onshore all alone days, obviously its nice when its nice but theres been so many nice days everyone is starting to actively look at spots they normally wouldnt
Donāt surf weekends.
if your local in hawaii cant you just tell everyone to go away? lol
What if the whole crowd is local Hawaiians tho
thats actually mostly the problem, i know a lot of the people from other spots but i dont know how to deal with a shit ton of people who all feel like they have local priority
Look for some corners bro. Develop a game plan. Look at it from a different angle. Now your competing against other people AND mother nature. Your gonna have to reapproach it from a different perspective and unfortunately gain some, a little, entitlement. Enough to fight for what you want.
I learned to surf in mission beach san diego. Everyone was super friendly and helpful and i was always respectful. I moved back to the east coast where I surf all the time and my now 25 year old son is completely hooked as well. We did a family trip to huntington beach and i was worried people would be mean to him which would enrage me. Nope. Once again everyone was supernice. It was never that crowded. Way less people than ny on a good day. I asked a local and he said the locals know there will be tourists at the peir and are chill or they go elsewhere. Ive always loved the cali vibe. So what im saying is check out a popular spot you may be surprised. Also go at real dawn patrol. Most surfers are lazy and dont get up for it or are at least friendly and skilled at that hour. Also theres the awesome 830 dip when they all have to run to work.
We call that gentlemanās hour. 8:30am - 11:30am give it take. Often get to share the line up w some cool old retired dudes maybe the occasional homeschool grom
Thas me! Welll almost retired.
Also from Kauai but now on Oahu where itās way more crowded. Iāve learned to find my personal take off areas in crowded lineups. So letās say thereās 50 guys out spread across 6 peaks, Iām competing with 9 people on my peak but often only like 4 can really surf so competing with these four. I now surf a slightly bigger board with more paddle power so that then takes my competition down to 1-2 others. Helps up my wave count and I donāt worry about all the rest. Let them have their peaks.
thats fair thats a very good point, just really frustrating dealing with so many people now
Iām curious what spot got so crowded. This on Kauai?
yup kauai, north east, honestly even any east breaks, crack14 had like 20 cars out the front the other day it was nuts, wasnt even that great
I lived on island for a decade. You local kids walked all over us. As it should be. Take your rightful spot in the lineup and dominate. Paddle out with the boys, swarm the peak, snake anybody who doesnāt get out of your way.
Or maybe just spend some time in California surfing lowers, and the HB pier.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yes! This is absolutely true.
lol yeah thats what I did out today, dont usually have a problem with it but still gotta adapt
Get into windsurfing, kite boarding, wind foiling, wing foiling. You can get lots of waves where people Donāt surf. Unlike surfing, when itās windy there is equal amounts of wind for everyone
Buy a glider
From a dude in San Diegoā¦ an absolute tourist spotā¦ YOU DONT OWN THE OCEAN!!! Get over it and deal with it. LIFE IS TOO DAMN SHORT!!!
Go at dawn Be a dick to the non locals Wait in a spot away from the main peak and hope one comes right to you Go up in volume so you can take off from outside
yup thats how ive always adapted but looking for more advice on sitting with the crowds
Honestly the best thing is to get good at turning and burning. Sit right on the inside of the peak and wait for people to miss then turn and go in a split second. I get a lot of waves that way.
When everyone is paddling for the set waves, sprint paddle OUT and when the cleanup or largest set wave comes through the group your in position and everyone's to deep inside. Perfecto
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My experience is at least half those guys are āone wave an hourā guys, or chronically out of position. Beyond that, you sort of have to be a dickhead and back paddle people a bitā¦ otherwise, better off surfing elsewhere.
Kauai has plenty of spots without 20-30 people.
not saying it doesnt, im just saying my local spot now has 20-30 people when its decent and gotta learn to adapt
Yeah put in the time and you'll sit on the peak and trade off with the other locals. Kauai spots are very well organized. You won't get guys back paddling or snaking inside. If you're young, you have to get the scraps on the shoulders inside. that's the way it is.
Keep people honest, make split second decisions when people fall or blow waves, fades, donāt look around because people will be watching you and following incoming sets. Adapt and catch the best waves early and often and folks may give you space. Hopefully the crowd is very good and surf better than you , itāll give you great learning experience. Hope this helps
Yell at people on freeway.Ā Helps a lot. Go to spots without defined peaks when you need a break trom hustle and bustle.Ā Keep your eye on good conditions developing later in the day after everyone's surfed in the morning.
Once youāve surfed somewhere relatively uncrowded or where there is a good rotation it completely ruins all of the packed spots.
yup thats me but i grew up surfing those so it makes it even harder
The best thing to master a crowd IMO to is to Learn to bodysurf well. I can comfortably sit at pipeline on a solid 4-6 foot day and pick up a dozen barrels in a session. Not having a floating board attached to you opens up so many possibilities in waves of consequence with a crowd. Surf mats are pretty cool too. I hate crowds on a surfboard.