Proposed Legrope Law Could See Surfers Fined In Byron Bay
A Byron Shire councillor wants to introduce a regulation that would see surfers fined up to $1,100 for not wearing a leg rope.
Cate Coorey will present the motion at this week's council meeting.
She said the council could enforce the use of leg ropes under the Local Government Act.
"We would have to have the signage at the entrances to the beaches and then we would have compliance officers that would be on the alert for it," Cr Coorey said.
"We have officers that go along the beach, we have rangers and we have people in the parks."
Byron Bay surfer Mathew Cassidy after being hit by a loose surfboard at Wategos Beach (Photo: Josh Wheatley)
The move comes after local surfer Matt Cassidy suffered a serious arm injury when he was struck by a loose longboard at Wategos Beach in Byron Bay.
The accident sparked renewed calls for leg ropes to be made mandatory and Cr Coorey said it was not an isolated incident.
"We just had one recently that was quite serious at Broken Head, but it needn't have happened if that person had a leg rope on," she said.
"They happen quite often, and they're potentially fatal.
"It's one of those things like wearing seatbelts — it's not that hard to do, it should just become commonplace."
'Rebellious' surfers may not comply
President of the Byron Bay Boardriders Club Neil Camero was sceptical about whether surfers would comply with the council regulation.
"I totally respect that they're trying to protect people, but I think it comes down to the individual," he said.
"Surfers have always been rebellious and they'll continue to be rebellious.
"I see people paddle out without leg ropes and, to be honest, a lot of them are good surfers and don't lose their boards."
Mr Cameron said collisions could still happen with leashed boards.
"You've got a nine-foot board and a nine-foot leg rope — there's 18 feet between you and contact with someone else and it does happen," he said.
Surfboards become like 'a missile'
But Wilsons Creek surfer Mike Duff told ABC North Coast he supported the council's plan.
"If you watch the best surfers in the world, and they're surfing in Australia at the moment, they all wear leg ropes," he said.
"And particularly if you're surfing on a nine-foot board, that thing is a missile.
"When the surf gets a little bit bigger those things are much harder to hold onto.
"So I absolutely agree with the councillor, there do need to be rules around this."
The motion is due to be debated at the council meeting on Thursday.
© Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.
Read more from our ongoing series here:
Apr 2023: Legrope War Lost At The Pass
Feb 2023: Calls For Legrope Awareness After Another Serious Injury At Byron
Feb 2019: Legropes and the Law
July 2018: Surfing without legropes like 'driving without brakes'
Feb 2015: Longboarders, legropes, and a dirty big laceration
Mar 2013: Longboarders, Legropes and the Law
Comments
Socialism!
Wow, $1100, could they double it if the surfer is wearing a man bun?
Just have an on the spot fine for all man buns would be better.
Definition of a man bun.....??
A pull start for a F#@KWIT
Spot on.
Thats fuckin gold man.
Gold !!!!!
lolol
and beaver tail wetsuit tops, let's not generalise though.
In truth though having to make laws like this is ridiculous. People just need to consider others, just like using common sense, otherwise people will develop less and less common sense, already a problem in Australia that has become a nation of rule followers ,without using their brain decision making power.
My opinion anyway and I am for sure not a leash-less , 20kg log riding hipster. Big heavy boards with no leashes scare the crap out of me, got hit by some kook on log with 20ft ?!leash trying to take off at rock at snapper with zero chance of making it. Just an absolute kook laughing as it hit me so far away that they had no idea.
Bring back the biff. If someone ain't wearing a leash, you have the right to snap their fins out.
Or if there are one of those pests riding a board without fins, you can chop their man bun off.
Troy GaingerMONDAY, 24 APR 2023 at 2:22AM
Over the past 6 years, whenever a riderless board has bounced end to end towards me, I’ve punched out the fins of 12 boards, then launching the boards onto spectators rock.
Legropes came out in 1974, get on it and secure your craft to your own body parts
Enjoy
Troy Gainger
what if they are better at biffing than you?
The community steps in
Wolfpak
no need for laws if the wolfpack simply grow some balls and regulate.
Historically, isn't that part of the role?
Or is regulating trumped by the fear of breaking with cool?
Fining people.
Australia’s answer to everything.
Despite massive piles of revenue pouring into the government coffers for any little indiscretion, in partiular ’road safety’. Have these fines altered peoples behaviour? Has the road toll gone down?
I don't have the answer except to take personal responsibility and do the ’right’ thing. One thing Aussies don't need is another fine.
We need more rules, Zen!
I agree with you however I think you will find it has contributed to a drop in road deaths along with all the safety systems in modern cars (if you ride a motorbike you well and truly rooted). Education and real advance training to drive are just as important of which we have very little.
I just read a news story the other day saying that deaths on Aus roads is increasing despite an increasing amount of fines and an increasing amount of cars with excellent safety gear & accident prevention gear
its increasing due to population. more cars more accidents but statistically the deaths per capita have decreased dramatically if you compare it to the population pre seatbelts, fines ect ect. population has doubled but the death toll has not. Fines and the point system work, this has been proven
The article was talking short term not long term as that's when you'd expect the with a combination of covid lockdowns keeping people off the roads and new safety gadgets on cars becoming more common.
At the end of the day does it matter if the per capita rate drops while the actual number is rising? Cold comfort for the family of the dead
Thank you, Zen!
NZ is the same. And the "safer" we get the more useless we are.
Maybe we can test the impact of glassed mals and sharp fins on pointy sticks on some old crashtest dummies (with & without hairbuns, wetsuits, gaff hats, zinc, g-strings, short & long leg ropes, etc). May interest a few.
It took about ten years for people in NSW to start wearing safety belts in the 70's....despite the carnage....
In NSW, on average each year around 30 drivers and passengers are killed and a further 90 are seriously injured in crashes when not wearing an available seatbelt.
Crash statistics show that: an estimated 40 unbelted heavy vehicle drivers lose their life in Australia every year. seat belts would have prevented or reduced the injuries suffered by truck drivers in at least 60 per cent of the crashes studied
Vic Roads
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 15,000 lives are saved each year in the United States because drivers and their passengers were wearing seat belts when they were in a road traffic crash.
Making it an offence under legislation even the local government act will probably make it easier for victims to sue for damages in civil cases as you can prove they have not complied with the law.
Off topic somewhat however thanks for using the correct Australian term "Legrope" not F@#% Leash! Very sensitive to creeping USA isms if you hadn't noticed - Rowt, Jersey, Bricks, math - all non Australian and wrong.
Worthy of a seperate thread :)
Don't get me started on the use of the word bathroom for toilet.
Or the pronunciation of the letter zee - had a young girl the other day say she was going to the ANZee bank.
Then there's Halloween...
https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2021/10/the-origins-of-hallowee....
It Does my Farkn head ....Boooee...FFS
Yep. And it's "backhand" not "backside"; and no one "roots" for a team here,...well...not entirely true, but we won't go there.
Aust Online Stores - Even Original places like Surf Aids Byron call Legropes Leashes.
Ha a great Aussie term and more nuanced than "Fuck" which they use for everything. They lack imagination when it comes to the English language. An example of how they have everything back to front - the meaning of Fanny......
Ya sure about Fanny????
Is that the Mum from Brady bunch on the piano. She’s very good
Is it Americanism or just different words for the same shite? Or is it two different abbreviation for “legrope leash”. And if we have leggy why not also have leashy? Or abbreviate to rope? I’m think I will start calling it ropey. Will that be American talking or Australian talk or just pirate talk? Aarrgh I snapped me ropey…
From the outset here it was always called a Leg Rope. It maybe shite but it is our shite.
I think the original name “kook strap” was highly marketable and would encourage people to wear them.
https://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html
None are in there
Might be that I am knee-deep in marking essays at the moment, but the statement "Surfers have always been rebellious and they'll continue to be rebellious" needs a reference. What exactly is rebellious about surfing or surfers in 2023? I really don't see it.
Not for a least 20+ years ago at least. It is treated as just another past time nowadays.
Being a "surfer" these days is about as rebellious as being an altar boy!
If you're surfing the pass - it's probably about as traumatic also.
ha ha - very good
Lol
Derek Hynd would go broke in 6mths
He was out there sliding the other day. Despite his history etc, I don’t trust he wouldn’t lose his finless thing one bit.
What a crock of shit! Neil from BBB is the only one making sense. It would be interesting to see the stats for Malibu where very few long boarders wear leggies.
stats are for nerds. Pretty sure that in some parts of the US you (and your kids) can still ride in the back of a ute, drive without seatbelts and talk on the phone, carry a gun and even smoke weed without being fined! Old surfers on mal's are the least of the worries and all the clueless kooks are over here now anyway
Mr Cameron's calculations are a bit out; 9ft of legrope and 9ft of board is 18ft, but then there's the fact that a legrope stretches out to double it's length when pulled by a powerfull bit of whitewater and that adds up to 27ft.
That was how one hit me a few years ago and broke a couple of ribs.
Even so I support the use of legropes as I've seen a few near misses with loose boards.
Neil definitely left school way before his maths lessons kicked in.
Is it really that much of an imposition? wear a legrope and avoid someone else going to hospital or worse the morgue...
surely there are more important things to get angry about??
I often ride a log and with a leggy up near my knee it never gets in the way when walking on the board or hang 5 or ten....
"they'll continue to be rebellious"
That's one word for it.
Can I have the enforcement role? Getting paid to surf everyday and maybe hand out a very small number of fines?
Just wear one ya farkwits. This is what our society has come to, we'll have anti-rope cookers all over facebook any day now
This guy I was talking to in Mullum the other day reckons wearing a legrope gives you herpes.
Only the 5G ones Andy
No COVID but it doesn't exist.
The sea lice attach to the legrope then move along it to the foot and migrate up the leg, biting the genitals. This can be mistaken for herpes.
'legrope invitational' at the pass sponsored by Creatures of leisure
$25 a pop.
Ill be rich
No matter how much these leggieless riders give me the shits, ....
Keep the law out of the ocean!!!!!!
Fark me!
I'll be very surprised if it gets up.
Byron Shire council can't fix potholes let alone pay for legrope police.
But we'll see.
I remember reading in the byron echo about 5 years ago that council were going to fine no-ropers , nothing happened.
Look, if we're all being honest, I think there's room for some light regulation around the incorrect stacking of surfboards on roofracks.
Fins up, people.
Haha Ben, I see this all the time in Cooly. Nothing like full coat of wax dribbling off your spanking new SW Chinese pop-out and all over your car roof after an hour in the summer sun. Big question though, fins forward or backward?
Forward….looks cooler
Must be forward, locks it in with front strap can’t slide or lift & as mr mick said looks cooler :)
Nice car !
something should be done. pres of the byron boardriders sounds like a dick. just cos they are good surfers doesnt mean they wont lose their board. yes, a leash will not stop all collisions, but it will stop some, so its worth it.
Council jurisdiction finishes at the mean high water mark. They may not have jurisdiction below MHWM.
That’s not correct SA. The “bathing reserve” is administered by council and extends 1km to sea. This is how contests are granted exclusive use permits
Maybe hipsters will set up a barge a K out to sea to stash their boards?
Attach a line from a rowboat to the town and row it outside it's 1km limit :)
Exclusive use permits to the low water mark, though this depends on the proclaimed boundaries of the local government area, which by law can include water and land between high and low water mark not below low water mark.
So they'd have to wear a leggie at high tide only?
Most things revert to the State when below the HWM, but common sense often applies when it comes to enforcing local laws.
For example, people have tried converting barges (on the Brisbane River anyway, which is tidal) into massive floating billboards without approval because its below the HWM, but it was determined that these still came under Council's local laws for advertising and therefore required permits from Council.
So its definitely a bit grey, but if someone were to challenge a fine then it might come out in Council's favour. Alternatively surfboards could be defined as being a recreational vessel (I'm not sure???) and then it is the responsibility of NSW Roads and Maritime.
Will be very interesting to see how this pans out.
My 2 cents is wear a legrope, you aren't that good anyway so its not going to make a difference - speaking form experience where my son almost got whacked by an out of control 9ft log owned by some f*ckwit hipster who lost it at 1ft Kirra.
Correction, in NSW it is below low water mark, see ss.205(1) Local Government Act.
So legropeless douchebag challenges the fine, if he loses he's up for the fine plus costs plus his own costs. I would imagine a Magistrate would go out of his way to uphold the fine as it is enforcing a public safety measure, So legropeless douchebag appeals, more costs if he loses, Council evidence of congested lineup and past injuries verses his evidence they look shit in photos and he trips on them cross stepping, again the Court would need a watertight no jurisdiction argument at law to find for the appellant. If he wins the Council approaches the State to change the law to cover jurisdiction over the lineup, then all the Councils can introduce leggy fines and mandates, every beach no matter numbers in the water. Old mate can't surf anywhere leggyless now. Better to just wear a leggy at the Pass IMO.
I also know fathers who, if your leggyless mal cleaned up one of their kids and really injured them...well, the headlines would read "Legropeless Surfer Goes Missing".
Hope Cr Coorey gets this one through. I dislike increased regulation however with the increasing popularity of surfing, and self-entitled's who just don't give a fu#k, IMHO its a good thing.
Second this. Hopefully something like this goes through in Noosa too (won't hold my breath though).
As an aside, the anti-legropers used to be pretty vocal in these threads historically, deafeningly quiet nowadays...
From what i have seen the people that don't use a leggie are the ones that need To use them the most .............KOOKS
Hipsters, If you don't want to wear a leash on the leg maybe around the neck will do fine. Seriously, hipster are very selfish wave hogs who don't give a dam about water safety for others. If their log hits you it's your fault for getting in it's way!
Just wondering how your in a bikini and surfboard without a leggie and then some ranger asks you whats your name and address and can you show me your ID to prove that. And then you say oh its way back at the hotel and they say well I’ll follow you there then. So your creeped out and you start to run in your bikini and a man/ woman is chasing you. Logistics?
I don't think it will be that difficult - they're quick to upload photos of themselves immediately afterwards with their agent's email for brands that want to "collab" (read: give me money for me to wear your clothes/sunscreen/skin products etc etc etc). Hell the council officers could just sit on Instagram and send out the fines accordingly.
Develop an AI to do it for them, sit and watch as people fine themselves.
Some bounce would be unavoidable as well as cardiac arrest, while to only certainty is someone would have pinched her log by the time she returns
Will be interesting to see how they'd go about fining those without ID. It's not a requirement to carry ID when surfing or being on the beach, unlike if your fishing in NSW. Sure, many will have it on their car etc but what about the crew who walked a long way , or got dropped off etc. I don't take my ID/wallet to the beach when I ride the pushy or walk.
And they can't just accept a name if you give it without ID, " My name? John Smith."
Hard to imagine some parking cop looking dude in Hi Vis, wading around in the shorey with a whistle and a bullhorn, dishing out infringement notices.
Registered surfboards again, slippery slope...
Hipsters suffer feelings of separation anxiety when separated from their phone and latte purchasing power. If they haven’t stashed it in a car it’ll be below the counter in the closest cafe
I had never stayed at Byron Bay but just did 10 days there with the family. It's a very confusing town. Surfing with legropeless retrohipsters and unfit tattooed fuckwit locals who burn kids is fucking safer and easier than trying to cross the roads there.
Gets me how these hipster wankers blatantly loiter around carparks using their planks as fashion accessories, blissfully ignorant that riding a log is a shameful embarrassing past time frowned upon by true surfers. Why not just ban all surf craft over say 6'4" during daylight hours, forcing people to fuck off and learn to surf elsewhere. Is there anyone in the Byron Shire who doesn't surf. Wall to wall heroes last time I was there.
Great line OD "riding a log is a shameful embarrassing past time"... so true!
will never happen. councils aint gunna enforce. and surfers aint gunna licence.
show me dog owner with a ticket for shitting on a beach and leaving it, or sniffing out shorebird eggs on no-dog beaches and I'll show you an outlier.
That's not the way it works. Rules stop the majority of people from breaking them by the possibility of enforcement not the actual % chance of enforcement.
Good point
just another sad case of a very selfish few who ruin it for everyone.
Riding a board without a leggie is awesome but you just can't do it around other people. It's that simple. Find a quite beach and go surfing without your leggie and no one gives a fuck. Do it at a crowded beach and you WILL eventually injure someone.
I also hear some people say "I surf without a leggie and I never loose my board because I know what I am doing." What a load of shit. Everyone falls off occasionally. Often when trying to avoid some kook dropping in or paddling out .
We don't need more laws, we need more common sense and less ego.
but it seems that's asking way too much these days, so I'd rather see these laws than a poor kid with a mal fin through his/her skull.
I honestly can't see how they could enforce the law but I think it helps confirm the larger threat of civil prosecution with a guaranteed win [if you injure someone whilst surfing without a leggie] , Hopefully that may prevent more idiots taking the risk but I dare say there will always be rebels as the BBB so ridiculously stated .
Agreed
Why is ‘riding a surfboard without a leggie’ awesome? Genuine question.
Perhaps its a bit like walking around in the sun naked.
Nice for a while.
Only a matter of time until you get burned. Except its someone else that is harmed.
Well said Ratty
You'd have to be a lawyer to be able to afford property in Byron these days
Just a question.
Is there any other popular surf breaks apart from The Pass, Noosa and a few other fluffy points along the East Coast where people not wearing a leggie is a regular problem?
The leggieless crew do my head in too but how widespread is the problem?
I woulda thought it was just confined to the kiddie breaks. (hence the need even more to wear one).
And also easy to avoid these places too which i'd assume alot of crew on here do just to avoid confrontations with these selfish pricks.
So if you dont wear a leggie and dont loose your board you pay a $1100 fine, but if you use a 9ft leggie on a 9ft plus longboard and you fall off and spear someone paddling out or someone dropping in which is a common situtation at the Pass then thats OK just say sorry are you OK, ive been surfing for over thirty years and have seen more injuries caused by surfers dropping in on each other and running each over, all my injuries have been from surfers on short boards with leggies and log riders with leggies....a $1100 fine for not wearing a leggie is just ridiculous.....wake up Australia.
Here's a legal opinion on that issue..
"While there is no law in Australia requiring surfers to use leg ropes, it is well known in surfing circles that they reduce the risk of boards careering out of control, causing surfboard accidents and injuring others in the water.
The legal principle of negligence in civil law could apply to surfers who fail to take precautions against “obvious risk”, which is defined in section 5F in the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW).
The Civil Liability Act applies in most circumstances where negligence is alleged against a defendant, not just in the surf. In order to establish negligence under this law, a plaintiff would have to prove that the defendant owed a duty of care, breached that duty of care, and caused the alleged damage.
Outlining the principles behind a duty of care, section 5B of the Civil Liability Act states that it would be necessary to establish that the risk was foreseeable, the risk was not insignificant and that a reasonable person would have taken precautions to limit the risk."
https://stacklaw.com.au/news/personal-injury/causing-an-avoidable-surfbo...
Surfing a crowded point break during the Easter holidays also seems like a forseeable risk for more injuries?
Yes but the legal argument is that " a reasonable person would have taken precautions to limit the risk" in that situation.
Someone posted some legal information about surfing being a hazardous activity so if you take the risk to go surfing and get hit by someone elses board (legrope or not) there's not much you can do legally. It mentioned if you were a swimmer it's a different story if you are hit by a surfboard. Very confusing. Making legropes compulsory would be hard to enforce unless the majority of surfers at crowded breaks called people out on it or pressured no legrope wearers to go in. ID would be an issue trying to fine people also. I take a key to the beach and that's it. I get that not wearing a leggie in small surf means you aren't getting tangled in it especially in small waves where you are scrambling to get onto waves. Growing up on the Gold Coast the points weren't to bad in the 80's with the odd mal rider with no leggie usually being of very high ability and rarely losing there board. Small Dbah on the other hand used to be pretty sketchy and many times i have almost been taken out by pro surfers boards with no leggies (won't name names) It looks like a f'ing circus up there these days. Never understood the appeal of Byron i couldn't stand the place in the 80's.
I think it’s aimed at reducing those boards that travel a distance on a wave after finding their freedom only to K O a kid in the shory or a kook lacking the skill set to avoid these out of control razor sharp phallic ballistic missiles. But what would I know I’m from Victoria.
Could a compromise be that legropes must be worn on weekends, public holidays and during school holidays? It’s not deal, and sounds a bit silly when you read it, but it targets peak usage periods and is probably more likely to get wider support from all stakeholders than a total ban.
starts with duty of care when a surf board is sold, new people need to have lessons and just not how to get to your feet. But the use of leg ropes, right of way etc.
People go out and cannot turn a surfboard that is the problem.
The way that mindset works is they’ll set up a go fund me page to pay the fine? Which is ironic as they’re probably earning more coin than any one can dream of with their onlyfans account. Worlds gone fing mad.
Nov 2013
https://www.echo.net.au/2013/11/wear-protection-in-the-surf/
all for regulations on this and fines... could be improved by calculating the fine to annual income.
maybe like the goldy meter maids equip the rangers with a backpack full of leggies to give/sell to people about to paddle out without one.
i reckon more awareness of the dangers and outcomes of loose boards in a crowded break is key.
i find it difficult to understand the people that want to surf a crowded break without a leggie let alone any kind of surf situation. in the past when it's tiny and there's maybe no more than one other desperado in the water i've been for a surf without one... adds a bit to the challenge... but usually means less waves for me.. either due to going for a swim or pulling back on a wave/section due to fear of losing the board. getting too old to do it now and seeing more stories about the injuries.. i'm done and it's no loss.
Mate these people approach surfing more for the "look" than anything else. If instagram was banned the problem would go away cos theres no point in surfing if you can't post the picture.
I think this is true, saw photoshoots recently up north, and crew who had the look but just sat at the cafe all morning. (Perhaps they surfed in the dark, first?)
Yeh like that's going to work byron council sounds like the Labor Communist Party . You can't find a more selfish human than a anti leggie person surfing a crowded point
When I was seven and was so close to winning my long campaign to convince my mum surfing wasn’t dangerous and had met her requirement to swim 15 laps of a pool, my dreams were slapped back another year as I heard the local swimming teacher explain how these new legrope things were about to start a mass killing of surfers with head wounds from slingshoting boards back at surfers. I recall clearly the moment I saw the absolutely belief in mums eyes after listening to gossip from a person who’s never surfed although they had just blown all my plans as they were on the verge of fruition. And I was made to wait another year. Now, like many things leggy shave come 180 degrees and are saviours not murderers.
Forget the smokes, found your funnn mate.
Haha, so true!
Apparently trying to cross step without a leash is...baaa...ruutal bro...because apparently the world cares how deftly you can step around a 9foot plus aircraft carrier in 1foot waves....anyway..
at least he's making good decisions and educating.
As stated above it’s a leg rope not fkn leash, nice day to all
Wow, i don't even think about it.
Maybe you have too much time to think.
Legrope, leash, coil, string, rope, tether, atttachment...who fucken cares
and yep..av a nice day
BOM issues Hazardous Surf Alert!
Byron Council closes all beaches.
NRTV Weatherman mandates All Expert Kooks to strap on their hard ons & have a crack.
Let the Games Begin...
Unbelted Garbos dart back'n'forth untangling the surfer's carnage...20 > 30 > 50 toxic trophies.
Crabs carpet the NP with a sea of Toxic Surfboard Foam suffocating the already dying foreshore.
Breaky TV Live cross : Kook strapped to Half a Slab : "Took the day off > Don't tell me Boss!" (Got it!)
Karl : "Sack any Boss that unleashes these Keel-haulin' ping pong Kooks!"
Inspector Sky's Leggie Licencing Shack : [ Gone Surfin' Back in 5 ] > See Kirra @ The Smoothie Bar!
Distraught Councilor loses his shit : [ $1,100 Fine ] For each unruly uncouth unkempt Man Bun.
Next item on the agenda...
Stoned Byron Councilor driving across flooded creek shouldn't be fined so long as he belts up!
[Factcheck] Unregulated Twirly Whirly Leggies are like regulated Retractable Seat Belts?
* Pre 1972 Vehicles are exempt from Seat Belt Laws
* Busiest Qld / NSW Taxi Drivers are exempt from Wearing Seat Belts while carrying passengers.
* We Aussies pay premium for the privilege of hiring 24/7 Peak Hour Non belted Drivers...Say WTF.
https://austroads.com.au/publications/assessing-fitness-to-drive/ap-g56/...(while%20carrying%20passengers).
About 5 seconds later...all natural & legal like...
* Pre 1974 Leggie Surfboards would be exempt from Councilor's Dippy Hippy Law.
* Pre 2023 Unplugged Hippy boards would be exempt until retrofitted by era.
* Will all Speed / Boat Passengers & Jet Ski crew equally be required to wear Seat Belts.
* Will SLSA Members / Nippers be exempt on strapped hard rail rescue boards!
* Will Whale Watchers need to harness when force feeding batteries down Whale's throats?
* Should Car drivers trapped at the bottom of the sea be exempt from wearing their seat belts!
* Must 100's of SUP'rz continue being leashed to Reefs, logs, moorings, piers'n'weirs!
https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/local-sport/former-world-cham...
tbb agrees adding any shit into the ocean adds to more problems & injures to all life!
* Current fastest increase of unclaimed boards are dangerous countless barbs from leashed surfers!
* Any unclaimed longboard at days end sparks Police Message & Ocean Rescue is mounted at Night!
* Most injuries involving own or other boards have increased with leashed surfers...read any data!
* Least regulated = Least Injuries increases with more shit to Pro Level = Most injuries...(Mash Unit)
Leggie Injuries extend far broader in scope than surfboard injuries.
Tangled > Face Plants & leg injuries / Snapping in High risk Ocean > Drownings / Stretching pulling on Ankles-Legs-Knees / Recoil fracturing Skulls & spearing eyes-Blinding riders / Snagging > 100's drownings / Cutting like a blade thru Arms-Legs & into faces & scalps / Leggie Saver lopping off fingers / Leggie Binding & Hog tying against razor fins at speed > Coiling & keel hauling-towing others at speed by Legs & Arms / Garroting others at top speed across Mouth or around neck.
Risk escalation...
Lost / Loose Leg Rope (Enviro harm)+ Attracts Numerous Shark bites / tugs)
Loose Board > Outside of Warning Call Range > (Unaware of unforeseen Danger)
Loose / broken board + Leg Rope (Unaware Danger + extra toxic tangled rafted Debris hazard)
Surfer + Board + Surfer ( Loose Paddle - line up Danger)
Surfer + Board + Legrope (Increase in repeated Line Up Harm to self & others)
tbb has suffered 500x from this Leashed Risk (Almost all were intended harm by leashed Surfers!)
Again...can't ever recall seeing any being hit by a loose board only ever always by leashed boards.
Plenty of times seen multiple malicious sweeps of 5-10 splattered surfers by crazed leashed riders.
So loud ya can hear the crunching effect from up in the car park...that loud is the clusterfuck.
Leashed to old boards they crunch & munch thru the line up as if we were a bowl of cereal.
Feel unsafe being in any crowded lineup with boards but more so frightened of leashed boardriders!
If crew think tbb is exaggerating this danger of leashed lineups...
Leashed o/s-local Boardriders / Clubbies have many times ordered tbb from crowded leashed line-ups!
Often advised by Clubbies not to surf the back-break between The Beach Flags
When tbb says ordered...he means Loud Swearing + Yelled at & Megaphoned to get my arse in now!
Why! Always the same order...can't guarantee yer safety around boardriders.
Exactly...It's more about Public Perception that all onshore view leashed surfers as Public Enemy #1
All surf injury Data supports this...hate to be the one to say...yer problem ain't Leggies!
Whole world apart from boardriders knows this...gonna need a lot more rubber...Try Dodgem Boards!
12:55 on the greenmount cam today (tuesday) and we have a lost log rolling through the lineup, cleans up 2 people on it's way through......
nuff said
I always wear a leg rope and I can't imagine why you wouldn't. Taking off into closeout barrels, hitting closeout sections, trying to get air, hitting another section instead of kicking out, relying on it when the outside sets come and clean you up.
But....I reckon there shouldn't be any laws. If you surf at the pass in 2023, you get the pass in 2023. I'm in a relatively free country now and I like it. You have the freedom to do what you want! So do others and often they'll inconvenience everyone in the most bone headed ways, but that's true freedom baby.
I'm of the 'slippery slope' argument. Where do the laws end? For me it would be tempting to outlaw SUPs when there's surfboards in the line up, outlaw longboards when there's short boards in the lineup. Licensing to make sure that if you paddle out at a spot, you're capable of surfing it.
It tends towards despotism, of my choosing no less! I'd take freedom over that, even with all the dickheads. Freedom works all ways, so if people are being selfish, help their board to the rocks, finless as old mate does. Don't bring the government into places it doesn't need to be. We're adults.
How about outlawing fiberglass in the lineup. I can live without skegs.
While I'm on the topic. What about regulation as part of the crowd? I do it. If someone paddles for a wave in a crowd only to pull back last second, I'll let that person know to not fucking paddle for a wave unless they're going to go. Public shaming works wonders.
If someone burns you or others? Burn them back and tell others to as well. Someone being dangerous? Send them in with a few others on your side, non violently. See an out of control log? Help it to the rocks, or the beach, or push it out in rip.
It tends towards ugliness and requires discipline but surfing crowded spots is rarely as enjoyable as a solo surf IMO, regardless of the swell.
Slightly off topic but I think relevant.
There's a hundred signs around my area telling people they can't go rock fishing without a lifejacket..
Families , kids , old blokes , none of them wearing them over the recent holiday period, and in full view of lifesavers and rangers etc. Never seen anyone get booked, don't know anyone who has either.
What happens if your hit by a loosa board while swimming between the flags ?
Maybe they could put signs on the beach with graphic, close-up images of wounds and injuries caused by loose boards and tag them- `this is a result of a person who selfishly thought they never lose their board` or `legropeless moron responsible for this` or some other slogan that makes it clear to others in the lineup that if you see someone without a leggie that they are socially irresponsible. I`m thinking kinda like Aussie cigarette packets.
Probs won't work but might provide a little food for thought.
Fining and regulation is not the answer imo. Educating people and slowly convincing people that if you aren't wearing a leggie, you're a jerk and not seen as cool but the polar opposite.
Spot on. I remember reading an analysis of drink driving behaviour years ago that reported that increased penalties in the 80s did little to change behaviour compared to a few surprisingly effective TV ads (in a sea of cringey shit ones) that made it sadly no longer a cool thing to do.
How do all these legrope-less hipsters manage when they go to Indo. Nothing more versatile than a few legropes holding your boards down with some maniac taxi driver screaming through the streets of Padang first thing in the morning.
https://tracksmag.com.au/kook-nearly-kills-grommet-in-byron-bay-424298
No leg ropes is just another thing to worry about in a crowded line up.
Sheddie Eddie the (expletive) and his 3 (expletive)mates all on foils buzzing the line up recently caused me to cut short my surf to the next wave in. Not sure how he expects anyone to support his poxy shop on the MP
I hate rules but when you have compete idiots in the water eg Byron, Noosa Creso in school holidays, and the tourist long boarders want to be "soul styling" in a semi descent swell it makes sense to have them manacled to their boards.
Surfing without a legrope is like sex without a condom, its O.K. when you are alone but if you go to a party without a couple of frangers in your pocket you may end up regretting it for the rest of your god forsaken life.
I remember when legropes first appeared, you couldn't buy one, but everyone started drilling a hole through the fin and tying a venetian blind cord around your ankle, when you wiped out the knot tightened cutting off the blood supply to your leg and you'd hop up the beach begging for a pair of scissors. Next came the dog collar which lasted a few weeks before cracking and breaking. The purists refused to use them, and they were banned in contests as a form of cheating. The first ones for sale in surf shops were a cord wrapped in a rubber sheath, and many a time you would surface just in time to see your board sling shotting straight back at your head. Us lowly grommets loved not having to swim to the beach to search for what was left of your board in between the rocks. You didn't even need to be able to swim to be a surfer anymore.
With the crowded lineups these days there is no excuse, if it's not on, it's not on.
Great post. Can't even imagine not wearing a leggie in SA - well maybe the Mid but everyone seems to be wearing one anyway
Such a soul surfer 'man' with no leg rope...f#$%k off, you are selfish pricks.
Plus claiming that good surfers never fall off and lose their board is absurd
What's needed is a few Byron Instagram hipster influencers to get 'on board'. Make it uncool to even think about not wearing a leggie out there.
Maybe get Hemsworth or Zac Effron to pump out a few tv commercials bagging the practice.
If that doesn't work, we could bring out the stocks and pillories,,, oh and the cat o'nine tails.
When did Australians become such police state loving soft c*cks?
About the same time as man buns, legropeless mal riding and instagram.......
Agree GWS, sounds like a bunch of whiney Seppos , police , fines and litigation ....
My first legrope was clothes line cord with a hanky for the ankle strap.
Thought I could improve on that by adding a cut in half spear gun rubber in the middle.
6 stitches later those first sheathed ones came out that caused tail cuts through the tail....hence the arrival of the rail saver.
I will walk kilometres on a small swell day to find a nice little sandbank by myself and surf without a leggy. Just me and my dog in the shore break, She retrieves it when I loose it or tries to ha ha.
One day I see a family walking up the beach towards me with Groms in tow walking past perfectly good banks with no one out. Thinking to myself no they couldn't be.
But they did. Mum boogie in the shore break right where the little hollow section was. Kelly Dad and the Future Olympians getting pushed in in front of me. Thought better go in so went for last wave just as Kelly Dad pushes future Gold medalist in front of me so i Had to straighten out and Mum was right in front of me. So laid back on board and hugged it......popping my elbow in the process. Long painful walk back.
Karma.....maybe
After that on those missions I would tie a leggy around my waist and put it on if anyone else paddled out.
If not surfing by myself in small waves with my dog I always wear a leggy.
Interesting how the whole Hipster Surf Scene has evolved.
When there was just a handful of them and they were all making movies and blogs they were all so about "sharing and caring and a more relaxed less aggro approach" from the QuikCurlAlong scene at the time. When the first Hipster brands came out I was thinking they had no hope. Now the whole Hipster Surf Scene has evolved into a self Mockery of itself and those Brands are huge.
It's really interesting to watch and it's a form of surfing I've loved for a very long time. There is an intrinsic appeal to the glide, the tremendous small-wave momentum of the boards, freeing one from having to pump or trim frantically; freeing the rider to stand and enjoy. (Joel Tudor: "I couldn't see the point of riding a board that didn't trim.") The walking is an art form and with experience very individual styles can develop... A very rich history exists, beyond the latest rad move; there are mentors, there is great respect for the past. It was the escape of a very small number of us on my coast in the 1990s, it was bliss... I would argue JT paved the way coming out of the 1990s for the rebirth of longboarding, and for visual and aesthetic appeal it is the dominant form of surfing at present.
It begs the question: why go backwards? Is it because we lost something when the shortboard revolution occurred?
But here's the catch for me: the sheer appeal has created an enormous numbers problem. Perhaps it is similar to what drove Dora to those pithy remarks after the Gidget explosion in longboarding in the 1960s. There are only so many small, enjoyable, warm pointbreaks to all go to. Imagery has driven this boom. The images on Insta are fantastically beautiful. Marketing has cashed in on these, hard. Going back to watch commercial TV, it's mainstream. For the influencers and beautiful, platforms like insta provide a pathway to a dream life, and there's the incentive. And thus the appeal to more people, and so a turbocharger marketing effect has taken place. The respect for the past is heavy on mimicry; including not wearing leggies which is inimical to the sheer number of people at these spots.
Where away to go now, far from the maddening crowd?
No! Whilst I'm a legrope wearer, the thought of another law on the beach takes me back to the dark days in the 70s in Sydney. Back then there were so many rules enforced by local councils and over zealous surf club members (who frequently took the law into their own hands. I know, I was there!). Enforcement would be difficult and could get ugly. Better to educate, educate and educate. Peer pressure in the line up is the best regulator.
re: peer pressure - "wanna leggie? meet me behind the sheds after school"
Haha. More like "If you can't hang onto that f@#ken board, f@#k off now!"
So many questions :)
What is the hipster surfing thing all about? Yeah at first it seemed like a gentle throwback, some harmless nostalgia.
Now I'm it seems like it's descended into self-parody, masturbatory self-aggrandisement and blatant commercialism.
Or maybe at the age of 50, I'm too old to get it. whatever 'it' is.
Yeah it's mainstream as fuck.
From car ads to real estate to "granola", there's an image of a wellness goddess surfing without a legrope.
Freedom, so cool!!
I think it's not so much about what we lost as surfers with the shortboard revolution, it's what we've lost as societies over the last 20+ years.
People want out.
But posting fantasies on social media ain't gonna do it.
At least you can see the steady change in voting patterns and the support and rejection of certain elements of the culture wars.
There's one hell of an article here for FR in all this. Pull no punches.
Remember too the Beautiful Ones in the mouse experiment, Andy.
Was thinking the same thing, there’s so much for a writer to explore here.
Yep the beautiful ones “didn't breed or fight or do anything but eat and groom and sleep … the beautiful ones were spared from violence and death, but had completely lost touch with social behaviors :)
Tres in vogue!
Tie it back into the housing thread and if young would you compete in the madness of traffic and work and still not be able to afford a home, or fly the coop to nirvana? You'd have to profile who is doing this though, I reckon strong likelihood it's the kids of very wealthy families, maybe international too. Biggest surprise on the history of Byron book review thread was that so much of it was middle class US land speculation in that 60's MOTE period.
My theory is that there are kids from all demographics spending their money on travel and experiences because they figure they'll never be able to afford a house but yep, I reckon it's the privileged crew who tend to do the hipster thing.
250K for 131sqm blocks locally and you could be right
A slightly different look ...
First time in Hawaii back in the mid-seventies. Oahu South shore summer with heaps of head high fun waves. Paddle out on my hot new Aussie short board at Pops, full name Populars, a long Waikiki right hander that winds and winds for a hundred plus metres. Having a great time of it showing these old guys on their longboards how they should be doing it. Paddling back out after yet another ride and feeling pretty pleased with myself. Suddenly I see a bruda come cruising along on his 10-footer but then instead of doing a cutback he rides straight over my legs hanging off the back on my whiz-bang short board. Yow! did that fugging hurt. A couple of minutes later he comes paddling back out and goes straight by me. Doesn't say a word and I don't say a word to him. I've been put in my place. Still go there and nothing has changed, and no doubt it never will ... but I still love it there, on a longboard now and take my turn.
So its been Voting on?
No news yet, but it's detailed in the agenda (starts pg 26).
https://byron.infocouncil.biz/Open/2023/04/OC_27042023_AGN_1578.PDF
Swellnet article got a mention too! Pg 28. So, Council is reading Swellnet and taking on board the commentary, which is great to see.
Everyone reads Swellnet Ben, the WSL, KS, and the councils!
We've known that for a while, but it's rare to be publicly acknowledged :)
Those mad lads & lasses have actually done it...
Wow. Gotta say, I am a little surprised, having read the accompanying notes in the Agenda.
Me too. Can't see too much enforcing being done given what they said about the legal aspects of it.
Huge!
Funny, but in the 70's the only people I saw riding longboards were learners and old fat bastards who failed to keep up with the times. Anyone who couldn't transition from the useless and redundant mals of the 60's, to the shortboard was quickly relegated to the scrap heat. Anyone can ride a mal, but it takes many years of dedication, fitness, skill and patience to get good on a shortboard. Hence the hipster longboard movement, a blatant shortcut cheat to be cool and infiltrate the lineup for the self-entitled, I want it, and I want it now generation.
Reading Lance Carson's story, by the early 70's his whole way of riding was obsolete and so he spent years in the wilderness.
Agree that ease of initial access favours the mal, in little waves anyway.
stoked about the Byron shire outcome - seems now might be the right time to tackle the rest of the leash-less longboard-riding coastline, esp Evans Head, YAMBA, ARRAWARRA, SCOTTS HEAD, CRESCENT HEAD, saltwater, etc... all the way down the coast!
note: CAPITALS INDICATE worst affected areas in northern rivers to mid-north coast region, from experience anyway. could be extended all the way to Canggu and Medewi in Bali also.
disclaimer - I longboard occasionally, but always wear protection ;)
Closing comments in this article.
New article following council vote over here:
Byron Shire Council Votes To Ban Surfing Without A Leggie
It's simple, whether your a short-border or a logger.
Wear a leash but surf like you're not!
That means don't bail your board when duck diving or when you pull off a wave and try to hold onto your board if you wipe out. If you have control of your board then you can't hit anyone else. Also don't paddle out directly behind someone or deep inside the take of zone.