A violent altercation between a local and a surfer from out of town has made front page news for the Mid South Coast Mail, a local newspaper on the KZN South Coast.
The headline ‘Surf War at Pipe’ spans the page and the report claims that there’s a war being waged between ‘locals’ and ‘outsiders’ at a popular but guarded surf spot on the South Coast. The article says locals are up in arms over visiting surfers who refuse to obey the unwritten rules of surfing.
Blows have been exchanged, cars vandalised and walls have been spray-painted with blunt messages. Will this resolve the issue? Who knows. ZagSpy reckons everyone should rather remember to respect the rules, and let’s all try a little harder to get along.
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lets all go surf “pipe” this weekend!!
The locals out there are mellow but the wave just does not facilitate over 10 people due to the amount of waves in a set and amount of sets in, lets say, an hour, eventuating in everybody thinking they deserve the very next wave and paddling around locals who have been surfing there for 20+ years. I wish the locals would keep defending and monitoring the crowd out there, because if not, it will become just as bad and eventually even worse than New Pier, and if any of you have surfed New Pier in the last 3 years, you will know how the biggest kooks are paddling on the inside because thats how they thjnk you get waves, but havent learnt from their elders at their local beach that that only gets you a slap, putty rub detention in the bowl wave for the next week. VIVA LA LOCALISM.
Perhaps the locals (and visitors) can take a leaf out of the Kalk Bay locals’ book? They’ve got an even tighter take-off zone, but quadruple the amount of surfers. But respectful visitors, plus respected locals makes sure that order is mostly maintained. Respect is earned, though, so it will be a work in progress, and if someone steps out of line, then as a group and in a manner deserving of respect to the locals, the perpetrator can be warned that his actions are not welcomed. It’s possible that the whole situation becoming out of control at Pipe may be due to both parties going about this with aggression first and understanding second.
Yo EVERYONE !!!.. There is a really good Swell Sunday Morning, and The Pipe will be cranking.. Lets ALL go and surf there.
“IMO” The locals should never of let the cameras in!!!! their own fault, now they must deal with what comes next.
I don’t agree with violence, but I do empathise with the predicament of the local surfers. If you invest years and years surfing a wave, you earn your place in the lineup. To see that destroyed by groups of surfers who arrive in packs of 4 and 5 and think they have the run of the place (and let all their other friends know it’s going off) is a terrible thing.
Seems to be the problem everywhere now. Also seems like South African surfers are guilty of bad manners where ever they go. It’s the sense of entitlement that baffles me the most! I no longer live in South Africa and am not very proud to be a South African as violence seems to be the way things are done back there now. It also seems that when more than 2 surfers travel together they forget their manners as they might not have space for manners in their luggage.
From all the travelling surfers that visit my new home break I must say that the durban guys are way more relaxed than the capetonians. Must be the cold water (Brain freez one too many times maybe!)
Dont blame the locals for getting annoyed but how many of them inside paddle the non locals. Sense of entitlement again? If there are rules it counts for everyone! Locals too! Lead by example! If you paddle straight back to the inside dont expect non locals not to do the same!!!!!