I was down at Brighton Rd Scarborough early this morning having a surf (more of a paddle, actually) with a few friends, some of which are new to surfing. Suddenly we hear yelling from the beach. We look and there???s some relic from the 70???s, wanting/ordering us to come to out of the surf. It appears that he was the proprietor of the local surf school and he wants us out of the water and off the beach because he???s the only one licensed to teach surfing at Brighton. We tried to explain that we were a group of mates and the surfers amongst us just were giving the learners a few tips and we???re not a surf school and there is no money involved. Well, he was having none of this and stormed off in a rage. His behaviour ruined what was a very pleasant morning for us.

I must say that I am a very experienced coach in many sports and I was having a very successful time showing my friends to surf correctly and safely, as well as spreading a good vibe out in the water.

So have I missed something here?

But may I suggest that if you looking for a good surf school that will give you a positive experience out in the water, then you might want to avoid this guy.

Are you kidding Neil? Professionals like this are exactly what surfing needs! The days of surfing being a carefree fun pastime are long gone, now it's all about the dollars spent and it's in the best interest of Ripaquikbong that that dollar ends up in the right pocket.

How dare you decide that you are entitled to help debutantes off your own back without contributing to the global economy.

Surely you can see how much better surf culture has become in Perth since the advent of competitive w@nkery?

It's about time you grew up and started to act like a responsible member of our global economy.

Sheeez, get an act.

*please note: Those of you who have an IQ below 40 may not recognise the above as ironic. Rest assured it is.

Thanks for putting me straight, smicko

did you tell him to fark off,
i would of

more sarcasm than irony matey but still gold. I hope this guy doesn't come down my way Neil, he would have lost his shizz today as there was at least 30 instructors with 100 pupils out this morning. We all had to come in though at about 10.30 due to a shark sighting, have not experienced that before and it was surprising to see the calm reaction from those in the water. The local surf club now has a liquor licence and decided to announce the bar was open just as everyone had made it back to the beach!!

There is a very good way to deal with this issue.

Ban all surf schools.

Select to expand quote

oz surf said..

There is a very good way to deal with this issue.

Ban all surf schools.

I think regulate would be a better word than 'ban' we live in a police state as it is lets not make it worse

how does regulate as opposed to ban lessen the instance of a police state...?

I think it does the opposite...

ban the surf school, learn yourself, or have mates teach you like in niels case..


regulation involves rules, that need to be adherd to, administrated audited permitted enforced,, blah blah blah....

surfing has been loved to death

Select to expand quote

theDoctor said..

how does regulate as opposed to ban lessen the instance of a police state...?

I think it does the opposite...

ban the surf school, learn yourself, or have mates teach you like in niels case..


regulation involves rules, that need to be adherd to, administrated audited permitted enforced,, blah blah blah....

surfing has been loved to death

Personally I dont have a problem with them unless they do sh_t like this. Have a spot or spots where they can teach the schools, there are plenty.

We will never get anywhere by banning everything because a few people dont like it or it isnt "cool".

Baybe we should BAN kiters from public beaches then because of the DANGER to the public........ please

Some one needs to teach the teacher a few rules. maybe he needs to read a few of those dumb signs they put around the place that are suposed to let us know how to act. The beach was a free place. pay for parking pay for surf lessons. Mr whippy is five bucks a pop for a pig fat ice cream. To top it of its summer and the waves a **. Bikinis are cool. Warm weather is nice. Sorry im ranting.

Select to expand quote

WA71 said..



Personally I dont have a problem with them unless they do sh_t like this. Have a spot or spots where they can teach the schools, there are plenty.

We will never get anywhere by banning everything because a few people dont like it or it isnt "cool".

Baybe we should BAN kiters from public beaches then because of the DANGER to the public........ please

Where are these spots they can go to?
Its got nothing to do with being "cool". Its about people making money and increasing the already crowded lineup with kooks.
As the Doc says, either get some mates to teach you or do it yourself.
And as for kiters,they are already banned from many beaches.

Select to expand quote

oz surf said..

WA71 said..



Personally I dont have a problem with them unless they do sh_t like this. Have a spot or spots where they can teach the schools, there are plenty.

We will never get anywhere by banning everything because a few people dont like it or it isnt "cool".

Baybe we should BAN kiters from public beaches then because of the DANGER to the public........ please

Where are these spots they can go to?
Its got nothing to do with being "cool". Its about people making money and increasing the already crowded lineup with kooks.
As the Doc says, either get some mates to teach you or do it yourself.
And as for kiters,they are already banned from many beaches.

So, what you are saying is that because you surf and want to keep others out of the water the schools should be banned?
And who is to say that you are not one of the kooks in the already crowded line up?
Its a free beach lets keep it that way, bad attitudes need not apply

I also have no issue with surf schools. All be it that i have also not had any issue with one yet. Sure they can be annoying when they set up inside you and you then find yourself surfing onto them, but everyone has the right to enjoy the water so why should me as a surfer have any rights over a learner? I do have a issue with the above tool though. Jut because you have a ticket from the council doesn't mean jack **** if i want to teach my friends or kids how to surf

Select to expand quote

oz surf said..

WA71 said..



Personally I dont have a problem with them unless they do sh_t like this. Have a spot or spots where they can teach the schools, there are plenty.

We will never get anywhere by banning everything because a few people dont like it or it isnt "cool".

Baybe we should BAN kiters from public beaches then because of the DANGER to the public........ please

Where are these spots they can go to?
Its got nothing to do with being "cool". Its about people making money and increasing the already crowded lineup with kooks.
As the Doc says, either get some mates to teach you or do it yourself.
And as for kiters,they are already banned from many beaches.

Geez, that explains that, while the conditions for kiting were Perfect at 3rds the other day, I was (drama queen alert) in fear for my life with learners all about!
Been banned from everywhere else, huh?

Select to expand quote

jbshack said..

I also have no issue with surf schools. All be it that i have also not had any issue with one yet. Sure they can be annoying when they set up inside you and you then find yourself surfing onto them, but everyone has the right to enjoy the water so why should me as a surfer have any rights over a learner? I do have a issue with the above tool though. Jut because you have a ticket from the council doesn't mean jack **** if i want to teach my friends or kids how to surf

+1 JB spot on!!

kiting a non-issue for me, 25knot southerly turns the ocean and beach to crap and virtually devoid of other water users. If they can work out how to kite in a 10knot easterly or lower then there will be issues.

Select to expand quote

bakesy said..

kiting a non-issue for me, 25knot southerly turns the ocean and beach to crap and virtually devoid of other water users. If they can work out how to kite in a 10knot easterly or lower then there will be issues.

I dont think its the kites that are the problem Baksey

ok so it's the surf school in this instance, just wondering if it has been given a designated area and Neil was in it? That would be a different story wouldn't it? Maybe Neil didn't comprehend this part because the guy being a "relic from the 70's" was using language he didn't understand or making references to that period, now if Mac had been there he could of translated for Neil.

No one should be "given" a designated area of the beach. I find the concept of it offensive.

I think its a good idea if the designation is done by someone with a clue. There are different conditions along a stretch of beach which are constantly changing. A great learners area would be designated not by how a wave is peeling, but how rapidly it breaks ie something fat up to waist height. Or a swimming area that has a sandbank devoid of rips, gutters or sudden drop offs. It makes good sense to have a designated swimming area that allows swimmers & kids on boogie boards. Just as it makes sense to have an area for a surf school.

As long as some kook doesn't just prop a couple of flags around the or one of the best banks on the beach it works out better in the end provided random swimmers, kids on boogers etc attend that designated area. I think clubbies are a lot more clued in to where they stick their flags these days. Biggest prob is randoms who should be within those flags getting in the way of that little summer wave with a little more shape which would of been your wave of the day.

Select to expand quote

Ctngoodvibes said...
No one should be "given" a designated area of the beach. I find the concept of it offensive.

I would assume that the schools need a license to operate also for insurance same as clubies/surf life saving etc so they would have an area they can use for that purpose.

On the odd occasion I've had to fill in for a phys ed teacher and we take the OED kids to the same spot every time for a surf school lesson. I'm pretty sure that is his designated area, maybe someone can confirm that the Secrets school set up in the same spot and we might be onto something. You'd think the council would want them in one area for some beauracratic reason!

Select to expand quote

MickPC said..
As long as some kook doesn't just prop a couple of flags around the or one of the best banks on the beach

No because thats the Clubbies job

Maybe the problem with surfing is that there isn't enough schools out there teaching people the do's and dont's in the water. I don't know about you but I would rather have an informed "kook" out in the water than an uninformed "kook". Perhaps if more people were taught by schools, the metro wouldn't be the joke it is today, even tho what this guy did isn't cool doesn't mean there all doing it an there is always two side to every story especially a seabreeze story lol.

^^^ +1.

The teachers do teach the rules..

And what I can't figure is what are you guys doing in ankle high Sh**t that the learners are invariably messing around in???

Select to expand quote

jbshack said..

MickPC said..
As long as some kook doesn't just prop a couple of flags around the or one of the best banks on the beach

No because thats the Clubbies job

haha used to be, I was hoping the Perth clubbies might have improved by now...i guess not then

Select to expand quote

MickPC said..

jbshack said..

MickPC said..
As long as some kook doesn't just prop a couple of flags around the or one of the best banks on the beach

No because thats the Clubbies job

haha used to be, I was hoping the Perth clubbies might have improved by now...i guess not then

There okay. I was just trying to be funny

Most surf school operators pay substantial license fees to operate from designated beaches under the state surfing association affiliates of Surfing Australia. This creates a sense of entitlement to financially monopolise their area and therefore feel aggrieved that someone could be making money off their patch. I can understand this tool getting upset, but he should have been reassured that it was just mates helping mates.

Unfortunately, some surf school operators are in it for the money and have long forgotten the laid back vibe of what it is all about. I work for a couple of surf schools on the Sunshine Coast and also help out a bloke down the beach who is having a crack. Every week day at dawn, he is out at a beach where there is a 500m walk to the waves. If he is that committed, I have no problem in passing on some tips, like the older blokes did for me when I was a grom when I kept showing up.

Why can't we all just get along?