How not to be a kook

good find. remember the basic rules...keep it safe for everyone....

Step 1: always wear a leash!

that means you Hipster clones.

AKA: "kooks"

Fuck the Rules.

Yep, good advice. And remember, too, when on your bike at night, wear white.

@N@riega: out of curiosity, do you think even really good longboarders must wear leashes?

I'll answer.....Yes longboarders and everyone else should wear a leash in a crowded lineup. If you are in nowhere Mexico all alone have at it but not in the crowd.

@Rocco: does it matter to you that every single really good longboarder (and all the surf culture and heritage they represent) on the planet disagrees with you?

wrybread, i am just regurgitating the "stoke" i have learned from the friendly folks on this forum.

In my experience, people with no leash will hold on to their boards at all costs..

In my travels surfers with a leash have no problem letting go of their board while facing an oncoming wave and swimming for the bottom while the board flys into my face. Or even better while riding a wave jump off their board when they get close to me thus shooting the board into my face. But hey, they have a leash so it makes it alright?

I have been behind a surfer at the beach that i have seen around since I was a child abandon ship and swim for it because he had a leash and it was "ok". Only problem was there was someone behind him who got screwed by this decision.

I have been hit by people without leashes who lose their boards as well. This has always happened while paddling out, and one of those hipster clones wipeouts happens but I was taught as a youth that the first rule is to always keep your eye on what is coming from further out to sea so it is never that big of an issue. Watching any old bruce brown movie will show you how bad the pile ups once were. I think people have gotten soft honestly.

I always try to hold onto my board at all times, I always wear a leash, and I never paddle out near the peak (if possible).

I think the leash is a great tool, but leashes give people a false sense of security, and I also think there are people who have absolutely no need to wear leashes, I am just not one of those people.

dont uncover your head until your standing up.

every beach has locals who have been surfing there a lot longer than you.

weird double post. dont seem to be able to delete. oh well heres another kook

@ wrybread....not really....don't care what you think either. My point is that if you are on a peak crowded with other people it may not be the best time to unleash your board. What if SUPs decide they wanna go without a leash too. You are dangerous howly....I understand the feeling of not having one and it's great if you have the right opportunity. Most spots around here don't give those opportunities. Have fun surfing!

its haole not howly. remember leashes were initially referred to as "kook cords". i wear mine unless its 1-2ft. a rare opportunity around here thankfully.
jack lost an eye to develop the leash as tom mentioned. use it. but dont think just cuz you have one you can bail off your board and not worry about the guy 10 ft away from you.

.

agreed full bra......you are the official keeper of the rules from now on and my English teacher. Explain to me, oh wise one, the benefit of riding without a leash vs with one and don't say your board performs better without because that's just not true for 99.9% of us.

Rocco, what if your board has no provisions for even attaching a leash?

Oh, and also why are you posting your opinion to wrybread if you don't care what he thinks? wouldn't it be easier not to even respond to him if you couldn't care less?

Finally, who speaks Pidgin and doesnt know how to spell Haole? If you are from the Islands, you would know how to spell it, if you are not from the islands maybe might not want to be throwing that word around..

wow, double post, sorry everyone. but while I am on here, Rocco, what other rules can you enlighten us with, maybe some more of that "howly pigeon" would be nice too.

i notice a little sarcasm in your tone rocco. dont be butt hurt. since i am already your english teacher how bout a little physics lesson about drag? Not how you get dressed up when you hit the town but another kind: In fluid dynamics, drag (fluid resistance) refers to forces which act on a solid object in the direction of the relative fluid flow velocity. In small waves leash drag is a drag. so yes your board performs better 100% of the time without one. btw try dont speak for 99.9% of you. i read that 68.3% of all statistics are made up on the spot. in conclusion, leash drag is negligible except in tiny waves, leashes are less comfortable than no leash but they should be warn for safety, there is no substitute for being in control of your board at all times, dont assume all people on the internet are white ie haole, ie hes so haole he dont even know hes haole. and finally stay stoked!

Fullybrah, I warn my leash everyday not to get between my toes at the exact wrong time again or else... is that what you mean?

@Full Bra - 60% of the time it works all the time...... Thanks for all the information. @Manuel what toe are you talking about?? Does it feel that way a lot?? haha! If you read my post I make no mention of rules. I just think it's stupid for someone to surf in a packed lineup without a leash. You are right about me being white too and I never claimed to speak Pidgin. I was quoting North Shore and spelling it wrong makes it even better....I don't care if you surf with a leash or without. Just have a good time. Always looking fw to Fall!

Oh man someone definitely needs to change their handle to "Howly Pigeon".

And Rocco, don't get me wrong, I almost always surf with a leash, but I'm a big fan of good longboarding, and a leash most definitely gets in the way of all that board walking and switch stancin. Go to a place like Rinc@n and watch the masters and it becomes pretty clear that all this bickering and proclaiming of rules is nothing more than a way to goof around on the internet.

How about if you think you might be a kook and don't know what 'duckdiving' or a 'leash' is, don't paddle out in double overhead surf?

@fatnewt dropping a jpg of a howly pigeon in 3...2...1...

Thank you wrybread .....I don't longboard often but when I do I prefer Dos E...I mean I prefer to not have a leash......Would love to be able to surf like those guys....maybe in 20-30 years...much respect

sticker you said piegon I think Manuel will be correcting your HOWLY ways soon.

What if your leash breaks but you are not done surfing? What then leash masters?

Im switching points for a second- Ive been seeing a Hawaiian girl for some time now. she is as Pidgin as they come. Im a dumb Haole white boy, but hanging around her, and communicating on a daily basis, sometimes you develop an accent. like when you live in another country, eventually you speak that country's language. now im not sayin i talk like a Pdigin Hawaiian, but im throwin Brah's around like strippers do down town. But, ive also been surfin Hawaii since i was a kid. And Ive been callin my bro's brah's for just as long. I don't speak Pidgin, but this little wahine of mine talks like me now. as i talk like her.
so before every one starts getting critically grammatic, be mindful of others. language has allowed us to develop as societies. it's nice we can at least understand each other, and exist.
but yeah, hang on to your board. it's the only PFD you got :)

> "there is no substitute for being in control of your board at all times"

key point here: leash is not a substitute for control. learn it, live it. unleash (responsibly) and get aware of what you really can and can't pull.

interesting:

Fatnewt- she aint that Pidgin. Lol!

@fatnewt. thanks for posting that video on pidgin. pretty informative.

"What if SUPs decide they wanna go without a leash too." Rocco I have a confession - I surfed my SUP at Linda Mar with no leash last week, and some other times too, and once at OB too! Your fears have already come true.

But fear not, because the waves were small, the crowd was thin, and everyone is alive and well.

I always wear one on my shortboard, but for a bigger board they get in the way, so I go without when things are mellow. I would never ride anything without a leash at Linda Mar on the weekends though, too many kiddies on the inside. Think of the kiddies.

I've had my board bashed by a loose longboard that was barreling down on me through the whitewater. Luckily, I was able to do the repair work myself, AND luckily it wasn't my head. The offending longboard was ridden by a girl who I've seen out there several times and I KNOW that she's experienced... in fact, she can be a bit of a wave hog at times! She at least came in afterward and immediately apologized. It just goes to show that even "experienced" longboarders can lose their boards - and it's those types of boards that do the most damage when they go loose in a crowded area.

its the worst when people with shortboards cant duck dive and let go of their baby. i despise them the most. also people with longboards who cant turtle. learn the basics! its fucking easily. dip down or turn over and use those things at the end of your wrist we call hands to hold onto your shit!! you dam inconsiderate weaklings.

my thing is, if you see a kook let them know cause embarrassment is the best way to push improvement. id rather not have fins slash my face cause some fucking idiot thought surfing might be cool to try