“How do you look your wife in the eye if you’ve knocked a kid out just because you didn’t want to wear a legrope?”
The ongoing battle between VALS living the retro-nostalgia dream of riding leashless logs in crowded lineups and regular joes wanting to swish around on a few waves without being decapitated will reach a head this week when a Byron Bay councillor introduces a motion to enforce the use of leashes.
Cate Coorey, a progressive councillor who says “we must heal and restore this land and plan for a climate disrupted future” wants fines of up to $1100 and rangers and cops wandering the beach enforcing the law.
“We would have to have the signage at the entrances to the beaches and then we would have compliance officers that would be on the alert for it,” Coorey told ABC. “We have officers that go along the beach, we have rangers and we have people in the parks.”
It ain’t the first time Coorey’s had a swing at leashless VALS. Four years ago, she campaigned for a safety awareness program to address the problem of “hipsters” surfing leashless in and around the Byron area.
“It’s mostly people riding long boards who seem to be having a love affair with times past, but we also used to drive without seat belts and there were many fatalities,” Coorey said. “A couple of times I’ve actually grabbed kids to keep them out of the way of the board.”
The latest motion comes two months after pro surfer Matt Cassidy “nearly bled out on the beach and nearly lost my arm when someone dropped in one me out two-foot Wategos without a legrope. After an hour on the beach being held together by some absolutely legendary humans I was rushed via ambulance then helicopter to GC where I’m currently awaiting specialist advice.”
You don’t have to trawl too far into the BeachGrit archives to examine the ongoing debate about leashless longboarders in Byron Bay.
Six months back, an aged care worker and mother of a disabled kid was crippled after she got belted by an out-of-control surf pilot who then criticised her for damaging his board with her bone and tissue.
“The Pass is full of kids, and I think there have been four incidents outside of mine in the last month or so,” Matt Cassidy told ABC from hospital. “How do you look your wife in the eye if you’ve knocked a kid out just because you didn’t want to wear a legrope?”
Next you all will be wanting to give surflife saving clubs the authority to confiscate boards and maybe ever register them.
Fuck that. Police should sit on the beach and fine VALS/kooks.
– Can’t bottom turn – $100
– can’t duck dive – $150
– poo-man stance – $250
– arms flailing everywhere – $150
– drop-in – $500
– drop-in to nose dive $1000
Etc etc
Better yet, fine them in the carpark for
– driving a sprinter van/tesla or hybrid
– using a changing robe
– wearing a beaver tail wetsuit top
– go pro board mount
– carring board fins forward
– having QLD plates
If you have a leggy on a log and you suck
You’ll kick it out in front of you with a 20ft killing radius
If you fade someone on a log and you suck, your board will hit them no matter what it’s tied to
It’s frustrating seeing people who suck going sans leggy
But overall the issue is probably crowds and kooks
“Mom, I’m going surfing…”
“Ok, Son…just obey all the signs…and keep a 6′ distance from others. That rule is still in effect!”
is a leash a seatbelt ?
“All we are saying, is give peas a chance…”
As the weather begins to warm up, the Los Angeles County Department
of Public Health is still urging residents planning to spend time at
select county beaches to stay out of the water.
The warnings were issued after tests concluded that high bacterial
levels were prevalent in the water, the Los Angeles County Department of
Public Health announced Monday.
Officials are encouraging beachgoers to avoid swimming, surfing and playing in the ocean water at the following locations:
• Malibu Lagoon at Surfrider Beach
• Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica
• Mother’s Beach in Marina Del Rey
• Manhattan Beach Pier in Manhattan Beach
LACPH has co-opted this to the co-sources: KTLA, LA Times, High Times Mag, Heal The Bay, Surfrider Asses, Huffington Post, Dr. Oz, Dr. Fauci, Sean Penn, et. al…
(what’s next? mandatory soft-tops? exempted from actually wearing a lease; but must carry one in a fanny pack in the event of a necessary tourniquet or unnecessary rock toss, 1st aid kit, N95s and/or supplied-air apparatus, helmuts. body surfers only beaches? close off the beachs. eliminate lifeguards, police, smoking, nudity. bonfires. sun-bathing. plastic water bottles. water fountains.)
I’M HIGH. just bought a pair of BG shorts. Don’t bugger-me-off Sam! I AM Progress…
All you kooks and your kook cords better be ready for the rules to start pouring in if this one goes into effect. If everyone has a leash on and a kid drops in on someone causing a collision with a fin cut or head trauma they will be calling for helmets and soft fins. It will never stop. Danger is ok. Everyone put on your big boy pants and learn how to live outside of the safety bubble.
I always thought Aussies were tough. This is the most American thing ever.
Growing up the stereotypical Australian was a loud mouthed alcoholic. Now if I come across a random Australian on social media it’s a sensitive hipster with unexplained wealth.
And move away from fucking Byron. There appear to be countless empty beaches where you can get eaten by a shark down there. Stop allowing yourselves to get hit by longboards, errr Mals.
The law should be no leashes allowed.
Surfing is surfing since when did we agree to bring the mainstream sensibilities and police into our lifestyle , fuck all you new age surfers that think it’s a mainstream sport that requires laws simply fuck you all you mainstream kooks.
Watch old longboard flicks and the boards are flying all over the place.
This is only the resurgence of an old aspect of surfing that comes with longboarding being popular . Surfing is an extreme sport and if people cant handle the consequences than should stay on the beach or surf somewhere less crowded
If you really believe it’s still 1966 champ, ditch your stinkin’ van and buy up beachfront at Wategos. Cheap as chips back then.
I live ocean from already
It is Byron bay ,maybe they just don’t believe that leg ropes even exist ?
Just a conspiracy by big surf to poison our freedom with all with their leg ropes (leashes for the seppo ex pats )
“How do you look your wife in the eye if you’ve knocked a kid out just because you didn’t want to wear a legrope?”
Well assuming your from Brisbane shazza would be stoked.
“ do you know what car they are driving baz, we can flog everything while there dealing with there kids head injury!”
“Pretty sure it’s the suv Porsche shazza, haven’t had this much fun since I took your old man down here looting after the floods!”
Ffs, the last thing anyone wants is wasted $$$ as cops walk along the beach Previn and trying pickup.
If you don’t want wear a leg rope that’s all good.
Just surf north of the wreak.
It’s that Simple’s
Genius – just tell people what they are supposed to do and they will just do it
Worked for vaccinations, will definitely work for surfers
People who try to defend going without a leash are just like the gun gang in the US who defend the ownership of guns…
The rest of the world just watches on with scrunched up faces going, “huh?”
The problem isn’t so much with no leg ropes.
It’s with overcrowding and people who don’t know what they’re doing out there.
I surfed the pass most days this week (been pumping) and most accidents are from people falling off on take off, or when someone drops in, it creates less space for the people paddling over the wave, and can get run over, or a board to the head when the drop in has to kick out.
Everyone should wear a leg rope, doesn’t make that much of a difference.
People also need to understand their ability. If it’s decent size and you can’t control your board, don’t go out.
These Delusional Deus dads and wellness warrior chicks all think they can surf. Until they shit the bed and take out some poor kid with the 3k Gato log they bought w afterpay.
Yeah you are right don’t teach the kids how to not get in the way. Make rules for everyone else so that kid can grow up to be a non binary deus warrior.
Yeah kid. Get outta the way of that kook whos dropping in on you on her 10ft log with a camera in mouth.
Yep. That is true with or with out a leash. One of the worst incidents I’ve seen at the Pass was a woman wiping out on the take off as she did her best to not run a kid over that was in the way. She had a leash on and instead of the board going in to the beach it sprung back and landed on the kid’s head and back. Blood everywhere. Looked bad. The woman was super nice trying to help the kid. She did nothing wrong. The kids dad ran out to the water from the beach and went off the her from almost killing his son. He should have been polite to her as he helped the boy to the hospital to get stitched up and then use the experience to teach basic surf etiquette to his son. My point is leashes are not the issue. Kooks not learning surf etiquette are the problem. And surfing is dangerous so everyone should stop doing it. I heard SUP yoga is safe with or without a camera in your mouth.
Sounds like you defending the leashless… but yes, I agree with you. Kids need to learn the old “when the wave break here, don’t be there”
Yes for sure defending anyones right to surf leashes. Especially if you are on a log. Log with leash = kook. Same as shortboard with a nose guard.
A kook is someone swimming all the way in to collect their stray log as it bashes against the shoreline rocks. Should said board ever reach me or mine it will also require a new finbox.
If anyone does something egregious in the water a lesson should always be taught. If you feel that punching out a fin fits the crime I’m all for it. But 99% if you get hit by a stray surfboard you either were not paying attention or don’t know what you’re doing. On the long list of things we should be able to band together about as surfers I believe traditional surfing has to be one of them. Don’t let adult learners tell us how or what we need to do to keep the line up safe. If they don’t agree I urge them to enjoy a different lifestyle. Surfing is already soft no need to make it softer. No council rules in the line up. No kooks telling our elders about safety. And rip those fins out if someone deserves it, leash or no leash.
I cant imagine spending that kind of money on a log in the first place, and then not wearing a leash especially at such a crowded spot. Makes you realise that image is the motivating factor for these people.
One reason they don’t leash up is to cross-step along their log without interference. Good ones though can still do it with a knee leash. The other reason is they’re worried about how they look to their equally self-absorbed and unbearable crew.
Somebody just needs to invent some type of airbag
“How do you look your wife in the eye if you’ve knocked a kid out just because you didn’t want to wear a legrope?”
yeah that’d be hard,
especially because she’d be on ya snorkel while your downing a king brown of victor bravo
I mean , every so often there’s a post that you have to read two, three times…. Hahahahahahahar
A west aussie drinking vic bitter, will wonders never cease!
I’m no sand groper, cunt
Good. But us east coasters call them long necks.
No Mexicans/Victorian’s call em that
Spoken like a Man who hasn’t been snorkelling with his Wife in at least one decade.
*1/5 decades