Why has SUP Bashing become fashion and to many second-nature?

I was riding my longboard the other day at a well-known reef when this came to my attention. It all happened when ... a wave came and the SUP surfer was sitting -- oops, no, standing -- deeper in the pocket. His wave count was lower than the wave count of most of the other surfers in the water. Now when he finally caught a wave -- and he was no beginner -- a guy on a longboard immediately looked at me and said of the SUP surfer: D*#% SUP's!!! Ironically, the guy who yelled was a beginner. This obviously shows that the beginner was parroting what some other more experienced, cool surfers have said in the past, at least in his experience. So, why this SUP bashing?

Options.

1) SUP surfers catch more waves than the rest.
2) SUP surfers are visually disturbing standing up among a sitting crowd.
3) SUP surfers utilize a threatening paddle.
4) SUP surfers are green monsters.
5) SUP is different.
6) SUP is new.
7) SUP is old.
8) SUP surfers have poor surfing skills.
9) SUP surfers are disrespectful.
10) SUP boards are more hazardous.

Which of those do you find to be the most pressing reason driving the SUP Bashing Fashion? List them in order of importance and add reasons that you think are relevant but are not in the list above.

From my understanding SUP board builders challenge their clients/sup surfers to surf new breaks, ones that are not so popular. Being on a stand up gives one the opportunity to travel great lengths as opposed to the prone position that we are so inclined. This tool, so say the sup board builders, should drive you to surf locations less accessible by land. With that being said they should not paddle out to their local spot with 20+ guys on it. We know this will never happen, however...

As for the story of the longboarder in icthus first hand account...now he knows how shortboarder's feel.

Dude, that's it! I don't see shortboarders going on a limb bashing SUP's. For picking up on what you said, shortboarders already know what it's like to have longboarders up and going before the wave actually jacks up. So, SUP's, from the shortboarder's standpoint, is just another longboard, at least insofar as catching waves goes.

But this gig is new for longboarders -- they've always had the upper hand on the ability to catch waves. Aha! Now longboarders are like a bunch of babies crying: "He's catching the wave early Call my momma, I want my wave back!" So shortboarders have their revenge at last.

Thanks to the SUP crowd! SUP's are doing a great service to the surfing community: teaching longboarders what it is like to be on the other side of the coin. Now we just need to make sure that the lesson goes full circle. SUP's have to pick up either a longboard next to a SUP or a shortboard next to a longboard, so they themselves learn the great and beautiful message that they are teaching those spoiled longboarders. It sounds that by the end of the day, everyone will end up being at least a bit more mindful of the fellow surfer who is sitting on a smaller board.

But wait! If this is right, then SUP's are doing a service to the surf community. This doesn't fit the SUP Bashing Fashion. But I want to be cool. AAAAHHH! What's going on here!

I have no problem catching waves while SUPs are out when I'm on my longboard. I can sit deep and still out paddle and maneuver most people on SUPs out in the lineup. On my shortboard it sucks unless its a steep, critical takeoff for someone on a SUP. Otherwise there is always the back paddle on the inside section.

Billy, this is exactly what I've found. On my longboard, I can sit deeper, still have a pretty good paddle, maneuver swiftly around the crowd, and end up with a big advantage over the SUP's. Yeah, they can catch the waves earlier, but they are not as agile around the crowd and can't take off as deep. So I end up have a definite edge on the SUP's when I'm out on my longboard. So what's the deal with this SUP Bashing? There are so many people out there bashing the SUP's, so come on what's the reason? Do any of the 1-10 reasons listed above apply? Or are there others? Come on! If you're corageous enough to bash them down the beach, voice your take!

Whatever you may think about SUP surfers, this guy is definitely no beginner. Here is Leleo Kinimaka -- who's pretty much Hawaiian Royalty -- pulling into a nice one at Cardiff yesterday. Photo: Tom English.

Note that he is not a green monster either! So, no beginner and no green monster. And like Billy said, no wave-catching advantage to the longboard. So what's the beef?!

P.S. Hey guys, I want to congratulate everyone for not being kook enough to use the word 'kook' on this thread. For some reason, I get a hint that more often than not kook-name calling surfers fit better the label than the ones being called.

I try to surf spots where these guys don't. That way I avoid any problems. I am always more stoked when I see them not standing on just one peak. It seems alot more beneficial if the stand up guys take their show on the road and travel up and down the beach and catch waves along the way. That way they don't mistakenly get into hoarding mode.

Oh and by the way, KOOK!




Just kiddin.

Wave-hogging is definitely not called for. Wherever you're, whatever you're riding, wave-hogging is not right. And it's a bummer that there are always some wave-hog and disrespectful dude in the neighborhood, shortboarding, longboarding, or standing up. But if Billy is right in that they don't have a wave-catching advantage, which seems correct when around the crowd, then why is there a SUP Bashing Fashion? There are SUP hogs just like there are shortboard and longboard hogs. So, as far as I can tell, that doesn't set them apart in anyway, at least insofar as wave-hogging goes. So why the SUP Bashing?

P.S. And whatever you say, Oceans Rising is definitely not a KOOK!

It just seems that people are always looking for the scapegoat. Yesterday, I was on a peak and another shortboarder was a bit further outside of me. It was a perfect peak to be split and I asked which way he was going to surf so I could take the other side. He didn't answer. Asked again as we are both now paddling for the wave he reluctantly claims the left. At this late moment I jam on the afterboosters and get into the right. I paddle back out to the peak and see him still there. He take the next set wave right. I take the one after that. I blow a closeout reentry and lose my board. I see him inside and get stoked because he's walking toward my board to stop it from going into the rocks. I thank him and he starts to rebuke me for having ruined his wave by paddling in front of him. I stayed well to the right of him. He just wanted someone to blame for his inability to catch the wave. I did not respond. People like that do not deserve a response.

My point being that personal responsibility is a heavy cross to bear and most of the human race would rather blame someone else than improve.

Wow! That's deep stuff! Oceans Rising got all philosophical and I think nailed it.

QUOTE:
My point being that personal responsibility is a heavy cross to bear and most of the human race would rather blame someone else than improve.

And look, you didn't even have to use the word 'kook' ... hahaha. So after a few exchanges, Oceans Rising has given us what looks like the explanation of the SUP Bashing Fashion. That is: instead of facing their own inadequacies as surfers, many rather blame on the SUP's. Psychologists call this 'projection.' Projection explains it.

Heck, i've got the stones to say it, I don't like SUP's!

There are some that i'm okay with, they would be the experienced surfers that crossed over to the new trend from surfing to SUP that carry over the respect and common sense.

BUT, the most part of my experience is with clowns that are very inexperienced and dangerous. They are basically learning how to surf on these Ford Exursion versions of SUP surfboards. Big, bulky, difficult to maneuver and control and they're out there in large crowds charging head high surf. When i see a SUP falling over just trying to paddle around (and they are out there doing this on shoulder+ high days!) i move away from that guy quickly. I don't agree with other longboarders whining about SUP'ers taking waves. Those are lazy surfers that just sit around and wait for waves to come to instead of trying to move around a little and get position. If they hack you, have a polite talk with them!!

My problem is a safety issue and 90% of stand uppers i see (at the shores especially) are dangerous and i challenge anyone to say otherwise. Yes, there are a lot of beginners out surfing, but i'd rather dodge a normal size longboard or shortboard any day over those HUMMERS the SUPPERS are cruising around on.

Props to the good SUP'ers, it doesn't look easy.

This has been a fascinating thread. I completely agree with oceans rising, people always want to pass the buck and blame someone else. SUP is quite a work out and should be conquered on the bay side before entering the surf zone.

So, it looks like we settled on an answer: SUP Bashing arises out of the basher's frustrations with himself. So, after having identified the driving force behind it, what are we to think of the SUP Bashing Fashion and the people that partake in i?

The SUP Bashing Fashion.

It looks like it's an unwarranted movement driven by the basher's own shortcomings, rather than a feature of the SUP surfers themselves, making the fashion largely irrational.

The People Partaking in It.

If the movement is irrational, then (and here I don't think I'm committing the whole/parts fallacy) the people partaking in it are acting completely irrational, at least insofar as they act out of the frustrations with themselves. Having said that, though, there might be some cases where the bashing is warranted, but generally, at least if the posts on this thread are correct, that doesn't seem to be the rule and the driving force behind.

The stand up paddle board is probably better for some people at different stages of their respective surfing experience. I don't think people would necessarily start at the SUP point, but would incorporate it into their personal idea of what might be on a "fun to do" list. Personally I don't have any problem with that type of surfing, but my boards in the last half of my surfing experience have been mostly in the 9'10" to 10'4" range. Some even up to 10'7". So I have mostly always had an advantage catching waves early -and so never felt the need for stand up paddle boards. Some paddle boards are much wider and longer of course.

I have friends in my age bracket who due to physical changes associated with aging have switched to the stand up because of the apparent ease of paddling and less restrictive posture for someone say... who has spinal issues. So whatever keeps you riding is always good.

I hope when our friends on the little boards get old and realize the switch to longer is inevitable, that they will be as forgiving to the SUP or the "old longboarder", for whatever reason- Fun or necessity.

Whereas for some, none of it is ever "necessary" because they don't surf.

Ghostrider

excuse my ignorance and intolerance, but SUPing is downright dumb. unless you're laird hamilton (who made this dumb fad popular) at 20 foot teahupoo or bonga perkins at giant sunset, you can lie prone on your board like the rest of us. SUPs harbor inferior performance (try doing a turn on a 10'10" versus the 9'0" longboard you'd otherwise be on) and increased grief from the rest of the water. no one wants to look at you being all "souly" in your trunks because you don't have to feel the 58 degree water as you stand 100 feet further out the back than everyone else. furthermore, most SUPers i've encountered in the water ARE kooks. they take their limited knowledge of how to surf a normal longboard, and instead of applying and increasing their knowledge of how to surf by stepping down to shorter, more performance oriented boards, they decide to add an extra accessory (a giant oar) and learn to surf all over again, except this time the goal is to get performance out of a board twice the size of their already too long log, and in turn clog the lineup twice as much. i could go on and on, but i'll go surfing now instead, and hope that i don't encounter any SUPers out in the water (because we all know that the only reason there's beef with SUPs is because we notice then and, well, to notice them they must be surfing the same waves as us, which totally dispells the fallacy that they surf different, more obscure waves).

oh, and if nobody else is wearing a leash in the water, the last thing you should be doing is SUPing with one (reference: guy in the water the other morning at scripps on an ankle high day)

just ranting, but man that felt good...

"The first "modern" surfer to bring Stand Up Paddle Surfing out of Hawaii and onto mainland USA was Vietnam veteran, Rick Thomas. In 2000, Rick - on a 11ft Muñoz board, and with a Leleo Kinimaka paddle - introduced California to the new sport." from Wikipedia

and...

"A Brief History Of the Stand UP Paddle Surfboard

Stand Up Paddle originated as a way for Hawaiian locals to take pictures of tourists learning to surf in Waikiki in the early 1960's and has turned into an all out phenomenon. It has lately been acquired by those who wanted an alternative way to ride surf or purely as a way to stay in shape..." from islesurfboards.com

Now we both know where it started. No doubt Laird cheating death at Teahupoo made big headlines.

FWIW

Al

(9) then (10). All the others I could care less. 9 and 10 are what I have personally experienced. I have seen way more jerks and inexperienced kooks on them than cool , respecting aloha spirted people. Sure I would try one ....the scenerio would go like this: A friend would offer a chance to try it....I would as it looks challenging ...not so much wave riding but the exercise it would give paddling out through waves..keeping your balance...maybe riding a few waves that would otherwise be unsurfable or not fun on a coventional board. I would go somewhere where their were no people or very few so I would not put them in jeopardy of harm.
Now here is the scenerio for the way I have seen most people use them: Its 3-6 foot and perfect....some bigger sets...lets
go SUP! I think I will go out here as this seems to be where all the surfers are. Lets see instead of using the rip or jetty to paddle out I can just paddle out right through the middle of the lineup as this paddle is really cool! ( Paid $250 )glad Iam a yuppie with racks on my new BMW I bought from all the commmisions I made on the bad loans I sold..erh ugh buts thats another story... Wow this is kind of hard to paddle and manuever to stay out of the way of the others ...ahh who cares f#@$ them I got mine...ha ha! Now that I am outside I can take any wave I want from anywhere and anyone. Oh theres one way out there coming ...I'll start paddling now even though I am way down on the shoulder....stroke stroke stroke I got it! Oh no! Here comes a surfer riding towards me from the peak....I can't stop...others paddling out in front of me ..Oh no! ....#$$%^@!!! SORRY! I hope they believed me...hah ha ..I wonder what happen to the dude riding behind me....ah who cares ..I got mine! This is fun..
I'l just get as many as I can til I get tired.

Never thought of it that way through my SUP hate rage.
Thanks for pointing that out, now I don't feel so bad and have learned to LOVE SUP's. I can't wait til they take over Old Mans
and Tourmiline.

Yeah nice wetsuit in SOCAl 70-75 degree water! Oh love the paddle, 60's electric guitar goon cord...all so perfect at Cardiff where any advantage over everyone else is just true Aloha spirt from True Hawaiian royalty. Next time just paddle out with some matching paddle webbed gloves in case you drop your paddle or your goon cord snapz. You gotta love longboarders
who werar leashes cause they can't swim or remain in control of their boards while learning to surf at already established breaks.....oh almost forgot...they make waterproof cell phone holders you can wear around your waist so you can call all your friends to come join everyone and tweet all about your great ride.

YOU just used the word " KOOK " !!!!!!

This " MAN " knowz watz up! Finally!!!!

Agree!!!!

rholder61,
Are you schizophrenic? haha!

Anyways, i agree with your scenario on SUP's for the most part. There are good sweepers out there paying respect and i give props to them but there are still way too many people trying to learn on them at crowded breaks putting other people in danger with 30" wide 5" thick big ol' boards that will crush your skull like an egg. Scarey.

I'm happy Labor Day is over and the kooks will be fewer whether on a SUP or just sitting in the way on some rented board. Peace!

Just viewed the latest photos by Tom English @ Cardiff Reef.
I think the photos speak for themselves. Glad I don't have to surf Cardiff. My condolances to all the paddle-in surfers....
...even the Long Boarders.