An Open Letter To Surfshot
I love surf forecast websites. I check them all the time. I use them to plan the weeks meetings around swell, tide and wind conditions. I check the cams for a general direction to travel in and even to see how specific spots are breaking. I figure the big name spots are going to be crowded no matter what web cam or surf report is covering them and I deal with it. I even support them to some degree, in that I view their ads.
Friday morning however, one report company crossed the line. Surfshot.com went out of it’s way to call out a little known reef I surf a few minutes walk from one of the breaks they report on daily. Apparently this has been going on for a while now, as Surfshot is starting to mention all kinds of out of the way breaks in San Diego. When a friend enlightened us to this latest transgression, everyone at the glassy, roping break voiced their anger. It’s the kind of bad will toward a company that starts with one person and spreads to others, and Surfshot needs to realize it.
The idea that any company would sell out a break that may be surfed by tons of people, but is truly frequented by a only handful of regulars, is inconceivable. How exactly does the grom that gets paid 8 bucks an hour to take those photos decide to go out of his way to mention the spot? How does the guy that publishes the report not think to himself, “self, I should really leave that bit of the report out”. How does the owner of the company not have a set of rules about which kind of breaks can be reported, and which ones can’t?
Surfshot… display amazing surfing in your mag, employ surfers, provide a service to local businesses. Make all the money you can. But please, have a conscious about your surf reports. It’s the one thing you do that affects us immediately, every single day and without leaving us any choice in the matter.
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March 24th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
I was wondering why somebody outed that spot on the -er message board this weekend. Thanks Donkeyshot!
March 25th, 2007 at 6:37 am
Hey, this isn’t fair. I want to know all the secret spots too. Come on quit beating around the bush. Where is it? JK, ha, I surfed a secret spot three days in a row and it was epic. Just me and 50 plus of my favorite friends, and random pros like Taylor Knox, and Brad Gerlach, and a host of random frothers, and photogs. Shhsshhhh, the spot is a secret. What the devil is going on?
March 25th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Noticed you took care of that problem on the erBB, JP. Thanks. Mixing in those semi-outta-the-way spots with the visible-from-101-but-toobing sandbars is what keeps me sane around here.
March 25th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Exactly.
March 26th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Agree with Bobsurf although I deal with it in LA. My hidden gems are the only places I can surf these days and if they ever got photographed and reported I would have to move. Insane. Feel sorry for you SD’ers. Man that is shitty.
March 26th, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Some people have taken this post entirely wrong, so I thought I would make my intentions clear.
#1. I’m not threatening any person or business, simply pointing out that people get pissed about things like this, and it spreads.
#2. I don’t have a problem with people surfing my home break. I don’t own it and I surf too many spots where I have virtually NO watertime to even try to keep someone out of a break.
#3. I don’t have a problem with surf forecast sites. I use them all the time, as stated.
#4. I don’t have a problem with people making money. Its great.
April 6th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
You all are so fortunate to at least be able to get wet and surf something…Here in Miami-South Florida we only wish in our wildest dreams to have a secret spot, least some 2 foot onshore mush.
Thank God and count your blessings your not here.