Cape Town Surfer

So Sunday came again and I hadn’t been surfing since last Sunday! Well, I went on Friday but I had 10 minutes! I drove and drove.

The wind seemed to be pretty westerly, the tide was very low, and the swell was small, which only means one spot will have  wave – Llandudno.

Llandudno on a Sunday, for me at least, normally means I put myself in the mindset of being happy with just 1 wave.

But unfortunately, and I know stories of locals are nothing new, but there are several boys at Llandudno that insist on catching every single wave that comes through, leaving nothing for anyone else. In addition to this they think it is their god given right to do so, claiming to be locals and that they live there. The thing is I’ve been surfing at Llandudno for years now and I can say last Sunday I have my first run in with a complete and utter twat.

I’ve seen the guy many times, and given him space like I do any surfer. I’ve even seen him go nuts at some people, but naively thought he was justified because he had never said anything to me, so I didn’t say anything. If anyone reading this does surf at Llandudno, you’ll have seen the guy I am talking about. He is about 5′8″, later 30’s, black and grey hair, he always wears a Zero wetsuit and he surfs very well as a natural footer.
So after I managed to squeeze in 3 really bad waves, this dude tells me not to sit deeper than him? He declares that I should not be catching his waves, and insists that I should show respect to people that “Live Here” [I wasn't sure if he meant living in Llandudno or Cape Town, because he certainly doesn't live in Llandudno], and should he see me sitting deeper that him again he will “Burn Me”. Now I was kind of shocked at this coming from this guy. I mean I’d seen this guy surfing a lot, and we have even exchanged pleasantries from time to time. He was yelling at me claiming I was sitting deeper to “Command respect” [What a load of bollocks], and then shouted at me basically saying I should respect him by not catching any waves. He also muttered something about me being a goofy footer and not being as good as the other people there.

So needless to say I didn’t get out of the water, I stayed and sat close to him and got one or two waves before it got dark before I headed in.

So now the response. Normally people that demand or command respect by shouting, like our subject in this story, are scared themselves. Unfortunately this guy likes to do the talking so basically shouts until he catches a wave and then says nothing after he paddled back out.  In addition to this I will not be giving this guy any space in the water, and if I see him unnecessarily shouting at anyone else I’ll try and help. Here is the plan.

• I’ve started a “Localism” category and further stories will be posted in here.
• I am going to be naming and shaming this guy, when I have the details.
• I’m going to name and shame the surf instructor that just sat and watched.
• I’m going to try and help other people out if this sort of thing happens to them.

But why should I do this?

• Everyone, even the Llandudno Idiot, have been on the other end of the stick.
• Everyone was once a beginner.
• Everyone was not a local at one stage.
• Everyone deserves some set waves and space to catch them.
• Everyone should surf with the Aloha spirit.
• Everyone should show their fellow surfers with respect.

Once this idiot shouted at me, he merely lost all the respect he did have – which is the opposite of what he wanted.

Here is a picture of Glenn Beach before I went to Llandudno. At the time it didn’t look that great, but to be fair, I probably wouldn’t have bumped into this trouble maker!