Select to expand quoteclimber said..
OK, I like you, Big Spazz, cannot stand the world where everyone wishes to sue some one....it s##ts me to tears.
agreed
I honestly believe that if everyone took responsibility for THEIR actions then we would not have the litigation driven society that seems to be thrust upon us. If we as "informed" individuals took a hard look at our own actions then what is presently a "litigation" case may very well go away.
I use the term informed.
totally agree
If we choose to surf an area that has people that should not be there as they are not yet skilled enough, then we need to act responsibly. People make choices based on what they have understanding of. Understanding is gained from experience and knowledge, hence to get to a true informed place, you must have both experience and knowledge. This how we discover our limits. Learning IS a series of repeated failures towards a level of proficiency. I should be noted that even by his own admission Justin Crawford admits to loosing his board.
"Justin Crawford, another Byron local who goes leg-rope free agreed. ?If you lose your bard, you have to swim and collect it and think about why you lost it,? the 36-year-old said."
agree although i think that people need to exercise common sense, i know that some people may not know any better but surely some people deep down know they shouldnt be somewhere with their current skill level and yet still choose to ignore it
It is this sentiment that is unforgivable. If we all surf without legropes, then by the very admission of one who does not where one, boards will be lost, just more of them, thus it can be postulated that the sport WILL become more dangerous.
Justin Crawford in his statement admits that losing a board IS PART of surfing and the learning progression. That said, he then is placed in the same category that you speak of in people should not be in the break surfing as you inferred.
(For my own mind... if I fall..I think about why as I get dragged by my board and learn from the experience too, apologies on this as this personal and I am trying to be as objective as possible).
difficult to respond to this because there is so many variables, i agree losing your board is learning, swimming for your board makes you appreciate waves and not be so reckless, swimming for your board also removes the constand crowd numbers in one spot. in my experiences, talented surfers do not put themselves in siutations where they may be hit by a board, a good surfer will generally pull out the back before the wave breaks and paddle sideways away from the break, if there was a floating board they would never be near it, maybe this goes back to your arguement of surfers need to be informed better techniques of surfing? its something i see all the time, same with surfers that sit away from the break and then paddle into it for a wave, they do not sit right at the take off point in the most dangerous spot
You also make mention of a baby and 90yr old grandmother... and the pass. Sadly, not wearing legropes in not limited to the pass. The incident that DID happen and my account, was at Caloundra QLD in Happy Valley, year 2010, inside the bar. The person who lost the board was outside the bar and the board was washed onto a "swimming" beach. No one would expect a board to there. The issue is, a board sideways in a surf break if you are not looking for it, all white in the foam, is and can be very difficult to see at times, if your not looking, its near impossible.
yes in my example i am only referring to the pass and longboarders generally, agree there is unique situations for all beaches etc
If we are to take off the leggie, what of the industry. Surfing is promoted with legropes. ASP, as an example of the best of the best use leg ropes and yes even they fall off / wipe out.
The question I pose, would we have the industry as a whole (employment, GDP input, etc etc) if no legropes and as you say less people. What of Byron, would it be today what it is. What of McTavish, Munro and the local Shapers and Shops, would they have the business and notoriety they enjoy.
The surf camps, travel / tour operator, surf schools and surf awareness programs. Would Slater, Gilmore and others be able to work / advise on projects (such as Sea Shepherd) if the sport did not move forward
i hate discussing econmics etc, but ill have a go, i dont agree that surfing is promoted with legropes, the ASP or all surfing events needs legropes because lets face it, watching surfers catch one or 2 waves and spend the rest of the heat swimming wouldnt be very exciting. No Byron would be a crescent head like town if it wasnt for the surfing breaks and shapers i agree that it is important for their jobs etc, always so many sides to an arguments i was just being 1 dimensional about my points as i felt this entire forum was being
Surfing has evolved and so must we. Surfing with a legrope IS the responsible and ethical thing these days as the evolution of the sport has progressed.
We need to be responsible as the picture really is bigger than the "Pass" and far bigger than a few.
mixed feelings about this, i would like to know why the legrope was invented in the first place, considering it was in the 70's at the peak of short boards, i tend to think maybe it was because people didnt want to swim for their boards anymore and not because of safety, i speak to alot of legendary surfers, shapers, glassers etc from the industry and i have heard them all say the leg rope was the worst invention for the sport, they may be old custry a-holes but i agree with them. I think the legrope has only become an instrument of safety becaue of the population increase in the water, but originally was probably just a lazy mans device to save him from swimmming 
I think the clincher to the argument is if you encourage all surfers to go leashless would that apply to SUP's as well? Imagine if all those big bastards were rolling through the white water wave after wave.
I like to go without the leggie at times but my first consideration is the amount of swimmers and other surfers in the water. Don't even think about it when the beach is busy.
You can throw idiots that bail their boards when a 2-3 foot foamy hits them into this mix as well!
I surfed a well know east coast point this morning and and on 3 consecutive waves i either had to go around , fend off or duck boards coming over in what little lip there was!I am comfortable with the usual rabble of rabbit in the headlights candidates that surf here but and am aware of everyones entitlement to go for a surf but FFS i wish people would learn how to paddle or hang onto their boards before they enter a super crowded lineup!
One chick said "you "almost" ran over me!" " So you catered for the miss just in case! cheers!"
Whadayu do ?
maybe no legropes might be a good thing
then these young guys will stop fark'n waisting good waves with these stupid aerial **** moves.
i see 1 in 200 make it. or one guy makes a few and the others never make it.
leggies are a good thing..well its the right thing and the safe thing todo
Select to expand quoteMacaha said..
Someone once told me if your not falling, your not pushing yourself
I push myself a lot it seems
At the pub doesn't really count
mixed feelings about this, i would like to know why the legrope was invented in the first place, considering it was in the 70's at the peak of short boards, i tend to think maybe it was because people didnt want to swim for their boards anymore and not because of safety, i speak to alot of legendary surfers, shapers, glassers etc from the industry and i have heard them all say the leg rope was the worst invention for the sport, they may be old custry a-holes but i agree with them. I think the legrope has only become an instrument of safety becaue of the population increase in the water, but originally was probably just a lazy mans device to save him from swimmming
I was there at the start of legropes, those rubber tubes with a bit of rope though it, tied to your fin. Ouch! they were horrible and dangerous to the surfer. But!!!
Those were the days that clubbies still confiscated your board if it washed in any where near the flags. So if you surfed near the edges of the flags you wore one.
You also paid approximately twice what a current board costs (it would cost 2-3 weeks wages). Boards were super expensive, gloss coats, heavy glass jobs, sprays, so when near rocks you wore one.
And yes it saved a long swim, but when you had been held under, ragdolled, you'd been surfing for two hours and your board was 200m away, believe me you wanted one.
A lot of those industry types wouldn't have a job if it wasn't for legropes as it is likely that there would be less surfers without them. So while we all agree that, that is a big downside, it allowed their industry to grow. Hence they got more work.
I sometimes don't wear a leggie, when I'm on the log, but, I don't do it when it's crowded, nor when there are swimmers. I have been run over by loose boards and have the stitches to prove it. 
So I think there is a little more to it than just swimming for your board.
of course you have to wear a leg rope with other people in the water.
only a egotistical idiot would think they shouldn't have too.
never lose my board-what a crock of sh1te.
it 2014 not 1969, a hell of a lot more people around.
for goodness sake find another way to be a rebel
I've got a compromise for you and your soul surfing mates BigSpazz. You all wear a leg rope but if at any time you need to use it I'm happy for you to assume the conditions outweigh your skill level and you can still head in anyway.
Agree with Sandsy and Lacey....
Imagine how it would be if all the kooks didn't use one..with todays crowded conditions when it gets pumping..Mayhem and a board repairers delight !
Dont want to drive an FC Holden again/no air/no brakes/no guts..like Laceys said..it's 2014.
Think you miss read the sentiment of the forum on this one Big Spazz. Iresponsibility rests in the young not our generation I still can't believe there is anyone who wouldn't wear a leggy in todays crowded lineup. Shame shame shame.
I still smile when I remember a couple of young Sydney hipsters turn up at our local rock point without leggies, the result wasn't pretty.
Select to expand quoteweiry said..
maybe no legropes might be a good thing
then these young guys will stop fark'n waisting good waves with these stupid aerial **** moves.
i see 1 in 200 make it. or one guy makes a few and the others never make it.
leggies are a good thing..well its the right thing and the safe thing todo
+1
No leggie in a crowded break is not "cool" boys. Its unsafe to say the least.and if these guys are Pro's you would think there sponsors would be telling them to smarten up.
I am sure there sponsor would not want to be seen handing over coin to some selfish hipster pr**k after he has just opened up some poor groms melon with there stupid no leggie antics.
Would be just like going to a seedy knock shop in the cross and not using rubbers 
Real smart lads.
my 2 cents.
Select to expand quotestuk said..
I still smile when I remember a couple of young Sydney hipsters turn up at our local rock point without leggies, the result was amusing, not sure they will be back for a while.
Fixed it for ya Stu
Some good discussion and passion in this thread today chaps. I have enjoyed reading everyones point of views on the matter. Both sides have made some very valid points. I love that the greenroom can have a good open discussion about a sensitive topic like this and not let it get out of hand like so many other forums or rooms even in this one. Well done all
Clubbies on rescue boards - legrope or not ? Dangerous or not ? Sunday morning at Wanda I saw one break away from the paddler paddling it in substantial size waves. It rolled into the beach side on and very swiftly. Could have easily cleaned up a whole bunch of swimmers, but was rescued and put safely on the sand before it did any damage.
The clubbie then swam and body surfed all the way back in and took his board back into the swell.
Sunday mornings at any surf club during season, the board paddlers will easily number the same as surfers, but are taught not to let their boards go and in the rare case that they do get away, usually have the skills to swim back in and recover.
I don't necessarily think that the legrope issue is entirely down to right or wrong, the clubbies and nippers possibly have a different attitude and skill set to many surfers that rely too heavily on the safety net that the legrope provides. Maybe more education and a change in attitude are the solution. Take away the safety net once in a while and maybe everyone's skills would need to improve.
Rescue boards have handles which would help minimise the number of loose boards.
The clubbies have had their own share of tragedy from loose boards/skis at Kurrawa.
