Hydrofoil surfing is contentious.
On one hand, foils provide a reprieve from small, choppy waves; on the other, they can be highly dangerous and problematic, especially when it comes to a crowded lineup.
And one group of Orange County surfers has had enough.
A post from the Seal Beach Boardriders (see above) seeks to draw attention to the hydrofoil situation in the San Gabriel River, and send folks to a petition to ban foilers from the area.
The post features a lengthy appeal in the caption; the photo tells an anonymous plea:
“My favorite place in the world is the Seal Beach Jetty. It’s my happy place. I love surfing on my fish shortboard, or when it’s small, hop on a log. I feel safe in the jetty even with stingrays
“However, when I see a foil board(er), I feel sick to my stomach. I feel super uncomfortable when a foil board comes close to me or any other vulnerable surfer. I would hate to have to deal with a foil slicing me open; a fatal accident due to lack of skill/control.
“Please, please ban foil-boards from Seal Beach Jetty. There is plenty of coastal-line they can practice instead of our surf sanctuary in Seal Beach.”
In the comments section, folks were divided.
One commenter wrote:
“Have you tried confronting and conversating with the local foilers as adults? We’ve made it clear that surfers have priority. In my experience most surfers act like children and immediately resort to shouting, and when confronted about their own faults the usual response is ‘tHaT’s DiFfeReNt’…
“Most foilers are very aware of their surroundings just like you guys. You guys know who the regular skilled foilers are, talk to them. And if you see an obvious kooky foiler, address them the same way you would an equally dangerous kook surfer.”
Controversy. To ban foils or not?
As of publish time, the petition has 389 signees. And per the post’s caption, “We’re not sure how many signatures it will take but let’s shoot for a couple thousand!”
Stay tuned.
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