More secret spots to divulge here in the blasphemous annals of outdoor-weblog.com! No just kidding. Well, kind of. Ever heard of San Harpoforo? Yellow Creek? I know, I know I shouldn't even say the names out loud. But they are written on road signs. Then those names appear on turn off signs. After that they appear in giant government lettering on signs at the respected area parking lots. So, for me to say that I am breaking into that awful field of: "guy who ruins all the secret spots by putting the names online", I have to disagree with that line of thinking. First of all, if you are a beginning surfer, what business do you have paddling out in treacherous, rocky bottom, shark-infested surf spots that are guarded with violent localism? No business at all. But what if you are a hardened surf veteran, with surf travel experience in other countries and lots of years of internalizing surf etiquette into your way of life? Then do you have business being there? Does any American surfer have business being on the North Shore? Does any gringo really have business at Punta De Rocas in El Salvador?

To find answers to these questions and to start discussions on where is it OK to surf and where it is not OK to surf we have to dig deep into our assumptions about life and surf culture in general. A great insight into what it is like for a deeply-entrenched surf community to be set upon by hundreds of unproven beginners is documented in Dogtown and Z Boys, an awesome film co-produced by skater extraordinaire Stacey Peralta. One section of the film talks about the genesis of surfing localism that occurred in the wake of Venice Beach crumbling into the sea. The pier was the place to be and the guys surfed it with major chips on their shoulders. Just years before it was a relatively close-knit group of surf aficionados, but with the popularity of Gidget in the late sixties, a sport that was once considered counter-culture was suddenly propelled into the mainstream. Before this tectonic rise in popularity, surfers were ostracized from acceptance and coolness. Soon after, everyone and their mom and their cousin and their (keep adding in different people here) was surfing. This caused an attitude of "I can but you can't", "mine not yours" and "I rule, you suck" to become emblazoned upon the psyche of surf culture. Heckling was a byproduct of this movement, and unfortunately it continues on today, and will seemingly continue on unabated. This is especially true after Dos Mil as the silver screen turned it's attention to the multi-BILLION dollar industry and popped out a few more surf movies to get the young kids out buying $600 longboards on their parent-funded credit cards.

My opinion is my own, and that is the beautiful thing about having a blog, I can write what I think about these issues. My general impression is that there is way too much animosity in the water, the old guard has a ridiculous sense of entitlement, and the new young crop of rippers lack any understanding whatsoever of how to surf respectfully and with proper etiquette. I have no problem with people paddling out in any surf spot in any condition, IF (AND THIS IS A BIG IF) they know what they are doing, they feel confident and have a good knowledge of water safety. Beginners need to stick to safe places to surf and gradually move up to more difficult breaks. Veterans need to take a chill pill and not pretend like the entire ocean, every single mile of coastline, and all surf breaks are their own personal property.

I would love comments and feedback, post them, let's get a dialogue going on this issue if you feel so inclined.

ER Harris