Today I think I got a speeding ticket from one of those Big Brother Camera Light thingies on the corner of Leucadia and El Camino. It reminds me of the paddle out etiquette.
I learned this rule as a fledgling grom in Santa Cruz. This was back when the learning process for groms was more hands on and Draconian.
So here I was surfing Pleasure Point in 1974. While paddling out I was trying to out run Rumples Uncle.....quick story
Me at Pleasure's Circa 74There were two guys with long white beards that surfed Pleasure Point at the time. We did not know their names so we quickly named them Rumpelstiltskin and Rumples Uncle. Rumpelstiltskin was said to have been recently released from the Carrillo the state mental hospital. We didn't doubt the rumor because he spent most of his sessions talking to himself and singing. He rode a kneeboard which was still popular in the 70's for reasons I still don't understand, but although he looked crazy, he seemed happy with himself and friendly.
Rumple's Uncle was a different animal all together. He rode an early fish and was a decent surfer. He was serious and meaner than Rumpelstiltskin. Rumple's Uncle had no time for groms.... anyway back to the story.
Above: Rumple's Uncle Artist DepictionSo I am paddling out on a head high day. This was when I first started venturing into larger surf. I was trying to outrun Rumple's Uncle on a head high right peeler. I was in panic mode trying not to get hit by the wave. Although I seemingly made it through the wave before it broke, Rumple's Uncle hit me at full speed.
Me- (we are tangled up) "Sorry Man"
Rumple's Uncle- "You Maggot! ". He was face to face with me and looked scary with his eyes bright red and his long white beard like a character from The Lord of the Rings. Right about the now I wanted to be home watching cartoons and eating cookies. It was at this moment he did something that would change my approach to paddling out forever. He took his right hand and Wack! He back handed me.
Me-(surprised and voice cracking) -"Hey man ..uncool (idiom of the time)?" I wasn't sure what to say or do as I was still in a tangle with this bad German fairy tale creature.
Rumple's Uncle-(Starting to gain composure) "look kid, next time if you can't make it around the guy on the wave, you have to wait even if it means getting worked by the whitewater"
Fair enough. He didn't punch me or throw me out of the water. He was telling me that I was not the most important person in the universe, slow down, be safe, follow the rules.
Rumple's Uncle turned out to be Steve Coletta of Natural Curves surfboards. Steve no longer has a long beard and sometime around 1978 no one backhanded a kid without child protective services and 4 lawsuits. Steve is a friendly nice guy who needed to give a kid some advice. I am indebted to him for it. He still makes boards for my friend Rob Yuen.
Today if I had remembered Steve's advice, I would not be online looking for traffic school tonight.
Sometimes you have to be patient.
5 comments:
Hey man that's a great story. Got anything surf related when you forget to pay a credit card bill online and get a $30 or $40 penalty? Not like I don't have the money, just not paying attention and forgetting to pay on time, cost me more than two kid sized wetsuits at the Rip Curl. Racked up $80 in the last few days... Anyway that's a great story. That paddling out surf chart is great, too. Where is that from?
Getting a fine for late payment on a credit card is like taking off too late on a wave: You're gonna pay!
good story
Gerry the chart is from Surfrider.org. I got lucky on the ticket they were working on the big brother light thing this morning and the guy said it has been out for a while. Sometimes you get lucky.
This diagram should be a goverment mandated handout with every purchase off a wetsuit, surfbaord and/or kook cord!
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