Regarding the Oct. 1 story, "Surfers, paddleboarders struggle to share":
Perhaps it would have been more fair for the writer to talk to a few surfers. While there were nice comments by those quoted, most of them had a financial interest in renting or selling paddleboards.
While I have no problem with the SUP movement in flat water (back bays) or for fitness training or distance racing, there is and has been a major issue when SUP riders come into the surf zone. Many local experienced surfers have tales to tell of near-death experiences when dealing with SUP riders in the surf. Part of the problem in summer is the local beach patrols squeezing all board sports into relatively small areas, leading to nasty interactions.
But the main problem is huge missiles sweeping through the surf when their inexperienced riders fall off, endangering all who are nearby.
One of the scariest memories of my 40 years of surfing all over the globe is having a 10-foot stand-up board sliding down a wave into the surf zone with no one on it. People were scattering in all directions. Luckily, no one was hurt. To say the rider was not welcomed to paddle back out would be an understatement.
All ocean sports deserve their place in the mix, and we all need to get along. However, there truly does need to be a mutual sharing of the resource. We must not repeat the "tragedy of the commons," where everyone grabs all they can and leaves nothing for the others. Paddle sports like outrigger canoeing, stand-up paddling, prone traditional surfing or even traditional prone paddleboarding must all learn to co-exist. This article, with its one-sided viewpoint, did not move us all closer together.
CHUCK ALLISON
Avalon
