by Shaun Robbins
Traveling is one of those things that certain people either enjoy or hate to do. For me, I love to travel. The excitement I get from going to different places and experiencing the different things that area has to offer is stimulating and I feel fortunate to have those experiences.
Being in Hawaii right now, I am in utter awe at the beautiful sights Oahu has to offer. While I am told that Oahu is not the most beautiful Hawaiian island, I still enjoy riding around looking at all it has to offer. This place is definitely not Florida with its luscious green mountains and pure blue water.
While I am not here during the typical time to score great surf, I have been fortunate enough to be able to surf almost everyday I have been here. The waves have been similar to back home for the most part, thigh high crumblers, but seem to have a little more power. The crowds at the beach are similar to back home and I have not run into any localism, which stories about it run so rampant when talking about Hawaii surfing. In fact, all the locals I have met have been really nice, even giving me some advice on what to watch out for in the water.
I have a few theories on why my surf experience has been a good one over here and so many others have had bad ones. It falls into the general rule of being courteous to others, and doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s simple, you don’t, or at least I don’t, walk into someone’s home and act like you own the place. To do this you need to be either a close friend or family, and a tourist is usually neither.
The problem with most people now a days is that they feel they have a right to everything, and that spills over into their ethics in the water. They paddle right into lineups that are already established, they drop in on other surfers, and they don’t give priority when it should be. I see it mostly in the younger surfers today, but the older surfers are doing it as well. It is no wonder why localism pops up, and surfrage is out there more often now.
Now I am not saying that all surfers fall into this category, but it sucks that a few ruin it for all. Just practice a little water friendliness while you are out there and I think you will find you get a little respect back from those you are giving it to in the water. Remember, no one likes someone to paddle into their lineup and no one likes to be dropped in on. These are a few of the rules I have used so far on my surf trip to Hawaii, which have worked for me so far, and I will continue to use them on all of my surf adventures in the future.
If you didn’t catch any of the surf last week, don’t fret, because you can still dust off your shortboard. This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we should see ridable surf in the thigh to higher range, and you could always take a trip over to the Gulf Coast for some of the residuals from Dean. Going into Monday and the rest of the week, I don’t foresee any major surf, but we do have the possibility of surf with the Tropics coming to life this month. As of report time, Dean is still making its way towards Mexico. Looking more in the realm of a storm that effects us here in Jacksonville, we do have a little formation forming off the east coast of south Florida, which could translate into waves down the line. Keep an eye on this, because even if it doesn’t become a named storm, we may benefit from it with some decent surf if it moves north. But don’t take my weekly word for it, call or log onto your local report daily to find out what the present conditions are for your favorite break.
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