No question, getting burned isn’t a good feeling. And like all things it depends on the context. If a guy looks at you, and you’re a competent surfer but goes anyway, he might be a local. He might also be a dick. On the other hand, if the burner isn’t a competent surfer in their own right and they go anyway it’s likely they didn’t know the rules.
Recently, this little mishap (above and below) took place at Playa Venao, Panama. Photographer Israel Leal posted the sequence on Reddit, and the part where the presumed local surfer is tugging with all his might on a Wavestormer’s leash stopped me in my tracks. I reached out to Leal to see if he could make sense of it. Here’s what he said in an email (all sic):
“January 14 at 11:30 a.m. Playa Venao, Provincia de Los Santos, Panamá. A wavestormer did not respect the priority wave of a local so he decided to accelerate to pull his leash. Both fell from the wave, the local calmed down and teach him some surf etiquette.”
The amount of coordination required to grab someone’s leash while pumping down the line is certainly something. That said, in my humble opinion, the whole incident seems a little unnecessary. I, personally, cling to the logic that getting upset about waves is more acceptable when it’s good. Maybe it has something to do with the highest quality surf being a scarcer resource that heightened tensions have some logical footing? On waist high days, a live and let live philosophy seems more apropos.
What do you think? Have you ever used the leash pull tactic to enforce the so-called rules? Weigh in!
