let me start by saying that ive surfed short boards for 35 plus years, was competent to good on my day. 2 years ago i started surfing a sup. No choice really, fused vertebrae in my back, too much middle aged spread etc. the option was to give up surfing altogether or hop on a tanker. Now i sup whenever i can and i absolutely love it. however and heres the rub, in spite of 35 years of surfing, including being president of the university boardriders, i will never take a sup into any crowded line up. Never !!! SUPS are just too big and cumbersome to safely surf around other craft. The natural order of things means that in perth there are now defined sup breaks as opposed to the better known short board breaks. SUPS can catch pretty much anything, we dont need to hang out at the traditional breaks. The fundamental reason why we cant and shouldnt surf sups in crowded lineups is that you cannot duck dive a sup like you can a short board or even a much lower volume mal. Inevetably you will end up with 10 to 15 kg of board hurtling through already crowded lineups. In any surf situation where the swell is big you will get caught inside. I dread to think what my 9.6 allwave or even my 8.10 starby would do hurtling behind me in the line up. I know there is a feeling here that we should be able to surf anywhere we like, but i humbly disagree. SUPs were never intended for crowded lineups. as ive said earlier at most beaches in WA there are sup lineups, further down, not as good, a bit fuller etc, but still a blast on a sup. There are obvioulsy guys who rip and can cut it with the shortboarders. These guys are the exception and not the rule. I also think that to surf safely in a crowded line up you need surfing experience. New sup riders are paddlers long before theyre surfers. There is absolutely no way that those guys should be any where near a crowded lineup. Untill we acknowledge that sup awesome as it is has its own place in the surfing world, and that place is away from others riding smaller less dangerous watercraft, then people will rightly get pissed off at us.
Looks to me like a longboarder with a paddle in his hand and your right it is kook material, didnt see much SUP in that vid???
Not going to write too much about this article cause this subject has been beaten to s..t.!! I feel though for you guys who ride sup's on the goldy doing the right thing. I just hope that the article which was printed doesn't incite violence towards you guys out in the water.
Typical Gold Coast Bulletin crap that we put up with on a daily basis.
This stuff sells papers as it is "sensational journalism."
Sure beginners need to be away from the pack and learn how to handle these big boards before moving closer to a crowded bank/spot.
However there are a lot of competent sup guys/girls who do show respect and can competently handle their boards and surf these places regularly without any issues.
As usual it only takes a small minority to ruin it for the greater majority.
Gold Coast Bulletin paper makes a great firestarter
P.S
The outline of the sup paddler on the page looks a lot like you Jacko
This is all eerily familiar.
Substitute "Cyclist" or "Lycra Menace" for "SUPer" and substitute "Beach Road" for "Currumbin Alley" and you could be reading the Melbourne Age, Herald-Sun or Bayside Leader.
Take:
A sport with low barriers to entry and fast growing participation rates;
A finite resource;
Gung-ho newcomers;
A lack of education about etiquette and "the rules" (and ready ways to get it);
Hubris and a disproportionate sense of entitlement (among a noisy and visible few on all sides);
An absence of mutuality and common sense (among a noisy and visible few on all sides);
Add a pinch each of "Slow News Week" and "Lazy Media", stir liberally..and Voila!
If everyone just behaved 10% better we wouldn't be having the discussion.
Humans...can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. 
the bully reporters should come down to the alley, the pirate park, winders and the creek and just see the numbers of people surfing, paddling around on all sorts of craft and generally having a good relaxed time on a lazy sunday morning.
but wouldn't sell papers would it- way too feel good
Ok, I am coming into this a little late but seeing as I got a mention from SUP.......no SURFanimal thought I'd throw my 120 kgs around for a bit.
Firstly.......I am still a kook, so surf at greenhills trying to be far away from everyone, but its all sort of coming together so The (infamous) Wall I'm coming back
Secondly........even when surfing (or shall we say) attempting to surf at Greenhills can all you fricken longboarders stay the hell away from me, and dont get me started on kids playing the shore break, there are flags go swim between them
Thirdly.........if I ever come to the goldie, I am going straight to Jackos shop and getting him to give me surf lessons at where ever it is the problem is, I reckon he's the meanest looking mother on the GC so I am going to join his 1%ers
Fourthly..........Scotty "Ours" in the shire, nuff said
And Last.......SURFanimal can I have my paddle back obviosuly you have no need for it anymore...........
. Though I must admit I no longer ride a bike because of 'Kook' car drivers. The laminectony I just had is probably directly attributable to being hit a number of times by car drivers that weren't concentrating. (I've nearly done it my self
.). Most of them then get angry that you are getting waves because they can't either make the sections or the wave is too slow. Fortunately (touch wood) I haven't hit anyone so far in the 3 years I've been out in the water (scared a few though.)
. By the way I'm pretty sure that the clip itself is of Malibu, I remember seeing it a couple of months ago somewhere when a shortboarder was having a big glass of whine. It is no place for a SUP!
@ leroy, Yep the video is not on the GC it is as you said at Malibu maybe Rincon but definitely in the Us. Supposedly it was the guys 3rd drop in in a row so he got the treatment he deserved, not because he is on a sup because he is a knob.
If someone puts the actual link up not just the video it is explained under the clip but I guess misrepresentation of actual facts was better to push someone's point, a bit like the actual article
I agree with Appsy, for all you guys up there doing it right thing these types of articles suck.
A note for SUPanimal. If you ever north side mate, I would like to hear you call Tom, Andre, Juz and the boys kooks as rip the bags out of it, and have a blast at the same time.
If you don't like it, don't do it, and don't bag those who dig it.
Nasty little poodlewhen are you going to come
up with some new material
Been called all sorts but that was low doggie
when are you going to come 
So where is the place we can go and pick up those "sexy SUP chicks" you took photos of !! Does the SUK thing mean they wear dentures??[}:)] You hang out at all the good places Doggie, the pool, your VDU, this forum, ah what a life... nearly as fulfilling a life as mine!!!!
*(Lucky you can still shortboard)
when are you going to come 
when are you going to come
