Drop-in followed by dunking then all-girl beach fight!
I’m no moral philosopher but on reflection I lean on the side of localism. Education and deterrence, not violence of course.
Not kiddies getting slapped or gals getting dunked.
As my friend, the dearly departed David “Baddy” Treloar would say “learn respect to earn respect.”
“No-one owns the ocean,” says the VAL as rebuttal.
Well, of course they do.
Countries have exclusive economic and territorial zones extending out from their shores. Pacific countries claim “reef rights” and ownership of inshore assets including surf breaks.
The mighty US Pacific Fleet under Chester Nimitz laid down the “most stunning and decisive blow in the history of naval warfare” against the Japanese fleet under Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku at the Battle of Midway, effectively owning the Pacific Ocean for the next 50 years and allowing a pissant nation like Australia to develop a surfing culture on the back of it.
Long bow, but true.
The stability of localism works, by and large. When stability breaks down chaos ensues.
Despite the image of country soul that the town still trades on a quiet war is being waged periodically around the perimeter of Byron Bay – not in the Bay itself – that has been overrun.It is the most chaotic collection of surf breaks on the planet.
No, the war is happening on on the pointbreaks that border it. Mark “Carcass” Thomson faces court on Friday over a “ surf rage” incident against Jodie Cooper at Lennox head. That will be framed by the media as a #metoo moment but it’s better understood in the context of local order breaking down under the impact of crowds.
Another skirmish has broken out, this time jumping the gender gap, at Broken Head. My source, a long-term worker in the surfboard industry who has a tendency to fish too light on the beaches when sharks and jewfish come in after floods, reported a local lass getting dropped in on by a French longboarding gal. It is reported a dunking/holddown ensued. Blows were exchanged.The skirmish moved to the beach where several more females became involved.
The vibe has changed amongst the local surfing community following an epicly bad six months of surf and a major shift in the surf demographic. Estimates of around 500’000 overseas students in Australia. 499 000 of them now live between Suffolk Park and Burleigh. Safety in numbers seems to be the motto.
Chaos is in their self interest. Failing the emergence of a kind of local wolfpak or another global financial crisis the Bondi-fication of the area will be complete by 2020.
I spent the day calling Byron Bay cop shop.
I can say there are two Keoghs there. A Detective Sergeant and an Inspector. Both very friendly. Inspector Keogh kindly fetched the file for me and confirmed the incident had occurred, was under investigation and witnesses were being sought. No charges had been laid and he declined to name the names of the alleged perp or victim.
If you feel like snitching ask for the Inspector. I got a feeling this won’t be the last surf rage case he’ll be fielding this year.
How’s localism in California going these days?
Is the war over?
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My grandfather Clifton Tuttle was a physicist for Kodak and codebreaker who won a Naval commendation for helping to crack the Japanese Purple Code- their naval code.
Which lead to victory at the Battle of Midway, which lead to American victory in the Pacific Theater which lead to Australians not speaking Japanese and being forced wholesale into concentration camps – as some of my relatives were in the Phillipines.
On behalf of Uncle Sam and the Tuttle family – you’re welcome.
For that and heaps of other things.
Claim local status and you didn’t even know about the Keogh’s. Mrs Keogh used to run the suffo bakery….before your time.
Once saw AS punch out the same guy twice in the same day at FP a few years ago.
He coulda got in trouble, but he didn’t.
And yours truly had a hand in damaging the absolute worst local out there a few years ago.
This guy was the surfing equivalent of the Cobra Kai nitwit from Karate Kid.
He got an ass whupping – a little from me and a lot from my second – a Brazilian guy visiting from Rio who knew enough jiu jitsu to put a hurt on the dingaling.
RC wasn’t trying to hurt him, just subdue him until he calmed down. But he fought back against the Carioca Hold or whatever RC was doing and he scraped up his face and burst blood vessels and was a right proper mess when get got back to his feet.
When we got up his face was scarred and bloody and I actually was worried about him – but that passed.
If ever a guy deserved an ass whupping….
A little bit of jiu jitsu goes a long way. I can testify to that.
I had the presence of mind to snap a photo of the guy post fight and it went online and viral and he was embarrassed.
Yay.
These days, when you’re fighting, it’s not “Who’s gonna get hurt?” It’s “Who’s gonna get sued?”
Cobra Kai dude went crying to the cops – twice, once on my roommate, a Brazilian MMA guy who wasn’t involved – but the law didn’t descend.
This guy has a decades-long reputation as a psychopath – which the cops were well aware of – so they ignored him.
Standing up to bullies can be rewarding.
P.S. This guy’s brother shot a sea lion in the neck with a bow and arrow a few years ago and left the arrow in the neck and the poor animal to die. It didn’t, they dusted for whatever on the arrow and he got busted. They’re a class act, this family. If there is another fight, hope to pay back that sea lion.
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
That was a fun story.
I’d like to post the photos of the battered dude but that would be gloating/kvelling and might cause unrest.
It was satisfying though.
Every once in a while you have the presence of mind to do something you really needed to do.
That was one time where it worked.
A keepsake.
An heirloom.
A Red Badge of Courage.
Wasn’t said author, also trying to tee up a fight with Greg Webber or was that another swellnet correspondent.
Great to see the girls working hard for equality. It’s about time they stepped up to the plate with some good ol’ surf tribe violence! Good work ladies, there should be more of it.
This is a problem with surf destinations like Byron Bay (assuming Broken Head is close to Byron) – when traveling I’ve dropped in and been dropped in on. Rarely at home does this happen. The issue is probably crowds and lack of familiarity with the break and having no connection with others in the water with you.
Last time I got in a surf fight, I stepped in to help the VEAL. Vulnerable Early Adult Learner. I was at my local 150 yards from my house. The day was nothing epic. Just beautiful, sunny, no wind and playful 2-4 ft. Nothing to get aggro over. I was in a great mood. The VEAL was clueless, floundering mostly on the inside, just standing in chest deep water arms across his board. Definitely was doing advanced intermediate obstacle training. It was so absurd it just made me laugh. Not everybody was laughing. Another local who I recognized started giving the VEAL a hard time. Kept getting more and more aggro. Pulling out of waves next to VEAL’s head. Kicking his board out at him. Threats were getting stupid. Was typical behavior for this local. Finally he got in the VEAL’s face. Started pushing him towards shore. Saying he was gonna kick his ass. Get the fuck out. I better not ever see you here again. From 20 yards away I could the look in the eyes of the VEAL. He was scared. Shitless. And alone. My mood was now not good. Not the fault of the VEAL. Paddled in to them. Didn’t say a word. Took my leash off, and pushed my board towards shore. Smiled at the VEAL which only made him more scared. We’re in waist deep water. I grabbed the local by the shoulders and pushed him over so his feet rose up. Grabbed his right leg and began marching him out into deeper water while taking his leash off. He’s thrashing about, to no effect. Once his leash off, I grabbed him around the neck with my left arm and starting swimming out with my right. I’ve been swimming/playing water polo my whole life. Swam the piece shit beyond the breakers. Let him go and then told him he’s going understand the fear he put in that VEAL. He told me to fuck off. Grabbed him by the hair and we both swam to the bottom 10-12 ft. down. One of us willingly. The other not. Rise to the surface. Take a breath, let him sort of take a breath and then back to the bottom where I’d grab sand grinding it into his face. To the surface. To the depths. To the surface. To the depths. After about 10 rounds he was exhausted. Eyes bloodshot. But most importantly fucking scared shitless. Full of raw fear. I let him go. Told him don’t ever regulate here again or I’d make it even more unpleasant next time. I went in to shore where the VEAL was already walking off the beach. I yelled at him. Ordered him to “get back here”. He reluctantly obliged. I told his surf wasn’t over yet. He said it was. I said ” no it isn’t. You’re paddling back out even if I have to drag you out there.” We paddled out together. Passing the exhausted fuckwit who couldn’t even meet eyes with either of us. The VEAL smiled. My good mood returned. The VEAL thanked me and said he was about to leave and never surf again. I introduced him to my friends in the water and we all took turns giving him pointers. Once again the day was sunny, beautiful and smiles were plenty. This was maybe 10+ years ago.
That said. Localism has its place. But it most importantly has its time.
So you have surfed with Chas before.
That was pretty damn good.
The crew, including the VEAL went and grabbed some fish tacos and beers afterwards. Turned into a really fun day, for all of us. We still joke about it to this day. The local earned a nickname “60-Sent”. Abrasive grit sanding.
ah don’t ya love bullying a bully !!!
Immensely!
see, that’s what i’m saying. being willing/able to fight = you’re a local.
good story!
And now 10 years later said VEAL has morphed into local heavy?
I read that as “Chas is a ladder”. I spent five minutes trying to decipher what the hell you meant. The best explanation I could put together was Chas got his bell rung. Ladders have rungs. I grabbed my reading glasses. That should have been step one.
The real story is the source. What the freak are you doing fishing light on the beachies? Soft.
What is “fishing light on the beachies”. Google just tells me about fishing lights
Using a lighter fishing rig, (<5kg line, smaller sinker, etc), gives the fisherperson more feel on the line. But heavier gear, (10kg line, chunkier sinker, wire trace, etc) is more resistant to being moved around by wave surges and enables one to hang on to the bigger nastier fishies who come in when the coastal fringes are murkier after the rain runoff arrives. And the heavier sinker means that you can cast further, which we all know, is what the ladies are looking for as they go for their evening perambulations.
I’m going to use my new knowledge to impress friends and family!
Latest Grit ep
Shut the fuk up about surf media!
What the fuk!
Theres 5guys who give a shit and they are at the local dole office queue..
No Dave thoughts on Aussie waves
Nuthin bout the opening comp.
Just some old geezer with no phone disapearing up your collective butt holes..
Listen to the last 2 lipped eps to get a clue!
Surf journalist as star
The places I surf are still very well-regulated. We have VALs, visitors from LA, Oz, etc., but the locals are almost always present, silently regulating by sitting in a pack, at the peak, talking story, and trading waves. Generally, visitors are polite, and generally, those that don’t know the rules or ignore them, will be corrected by someone. I am sometimes forced to educate offenders; i do so very politely and sometimes it goes good, and sometimes it doesn’t. Most times the offender is very happy that i dont crack them and instead educate them on shit they dont know, i.e., how to surf a point break. I don’t get riled up either way, unless the offender endangered a family member or close friend. In that situation, there’s no negotiation; I go concisely ballistic, at a controlled 1000/MPH, and the offender is sent in. And let me tell you, I’m the nicest guy in the line up because where i live, there’s still a bunch of locals that have no problem slapping an offender or going nuts over even looking at their wave. That being said, i was just in Southern California, Windansea up to Malibu (dont ask me why), and it was a decently regulated shit show. Everyone was very nice to us, my experiences were good, and everyone seemed well behaved. There’s just too many people there and not enough waves. I’ve also been to AU, Sydney to Noosa, and they’re seemingly the most fucked of all places. Too many good surfers there and too many wannabees from all over the world. That being said, we got a lot of good waves at Byron, Lennox, Angourie, Plomer, etc. In my opinion, it’s all mental; meaning, you just have to accept the crowds, relax, and let your skills/knowledge take over, or better yet, surf less crowded spots and go to the better spots when it gets big, which generally cuts the kook factor in half.
Thank god we still have Wagner Lima here at the Venice Pier.
Get over it already. Wagner Lima failed to respect priority and dropped in on the girl after she was already up and riding and when she went around him, he grabbed her leash from behind and yanked on it causing her to fall. I saw the original video taken from three different angles before it was blocked and it shows that there was hardly anyone out where the two women were lined up at and when Lima and his friend entered the water, they began hassling them on purpose by lining up right next to them. There was no reason for Lima to be that close to her because there were plenty of waves everywhere not just in that one place next to the women and there was NO CROWD! She specifically says that she tried to give him enough room to share waves. So there was no wave hogging either. He dropped in practically on top of her so of course her leash got underneath the nose of his board when he ran it over and all he had to do was jump off of the board and it would’ve released her leash. He didn’t have to yank on it. Of course, it would’ve never happened if he respected priority. The woman could’ve been seriously injured because she was next to the pier which by the way is shown on the video from another angle. She also had back to back knee surgeries that kept her out of the water for a year so it was no joke. She was also the President of the San Diego Surf Ladies, not a kook. Give it a rest.
I actually get this , chicks on SUPs have been using these bigger craft to basically bully their way arround the surf in Margaret River for several years now , they are a core group and really cause quite a lot undercurrent grumbling and return points about lack of surf ethics with unwarranted passive aggression by trying to intimidate other surfers by using thier SUPs as weapons.
If you are a male and you say somthing about this poor behaviour you end up catching a heap of unwarranted abuse about being sexist a male a local or all three at once.
Bitches are fucked
wow, haha, thats crazy
While in no way condoning this behavior, you’ve got to admit that it’s still sometimes a raw deal for your average female especially when you think about the fact that even to this day women are variously abused, beaten and killed in several countries for just basically not being male. It’s fucked.
Western society has not been the kindest to women for most of history, as a matter of rule.
I’m not sure ‘we’ men have much to whine about.
Just sayin’
You draw a long bow there mate , i have a christian upbringing does that make me accountable for pedophile priests.
Yeah I dunno. I hear your plight. No offense,
Just saying there’s going to be some discomfort on our side until equality settles down in the line-up. These particular ladies may be over-compensating until they feel comfortable. Or perhaps they’re just being shits.
And yes I realise there’s massive gap between being able to to tell off ‘feisty sheilas in WA’ and ‘honour killings’ in Bangladesh.
You have to treat women equally, which means putting those aggressive SUPers in their place. Man, women, LBGTQ+, it doesn’t matter, a dangerous SUPer is a dangerous SUPer. Or, get a gnarly girl to do it.
The war is lost in California, my friend. Sadly, the war is lost.
Of course localism is (mostly) dead. There are more surfers now than there were 20 years ago. And 20 years ago there were more surfers than there were 20 years before that. And so on until about 1900. Nobody did anything wrong, nobody let loose a horde that wasn’t already coming. Localism worked when there were fewer people and more empty spots. In outta the way places, sure, localism thrives. But if the population grows, they’ll lose too.
Only because cameras are present , and the risk of being charged with assault !
even if you threaten someone for their bad behaviour…..there are legal consequences , which the Vals / Veals and gutless whining wannabes…….so no cameras , no police , ahhhh there is still order!
surfing is dying in california. kids aren’t surfing these days. the wsa, nssa and all over events numbers have shrunk in half. The only kids that are surfing are kids of crazy surf dads. too many other things to do, and kids today don’t like sucking at things. they need instant gratification.
I really hope you’re right.
Best news all day!
Could it die a little faster? It’s still fucking crowded.
Look, dickie comes in here all anti-depressive and you the you come in and feel you have to lower the tone. Come on. (OGL indeed!)
Too much Fortnite to play
I gotta say this holds some truth. It seems less crowded, and although still somewhat crowded….not as bad as it has been. Surfing always has trends. Unfortunately, some of the old guard ways are lost, but hey, times change.
Localism is one of the last real vestiges of the patriarchy, what some would call an application of toxic masculinity… but the non-PC, yet undoubted truth is that it works.
That’s not to say it needs to be applied everywhere. Dunking women at Lennox or yelling at a kid in your way at a 3 foot beachie is fucked, as LT says.
But regulating and controlling the line up at a heavy wave to protect over-confident underskilled surfers from themselves and those around them is important. Eg Pipe, your local rock ledge
Some places are beyond saving, however.
You can’t unring a bell.
The camera angle of an empty stadium, threatened by a high tide with the roar of the surf should be the logo of the WSL.
Jeep is back!!! I surf the air!!