Tracks editor speaks his mind on putting motorised horse power to its proper use…

The recent pulse of south swell in NSW gave me the opportunity to surf one of the longest waves in Australia. I’m not going to say exactly where it is but those of you with a basic knowledge of waves on the east coast of Australia probably have a fair idea of where I’m talking about. The swell pumped for five days straight and at various times there were 200 hundred plus guys in the lineup at this particular joint, so it’s hardly a secret spot. Given the wave’s length a long ride makes your thighs twitchier than a thoroughbred in the stalls and the paddle will put any Nutri-grain muncher to the test. Three good waves and your pretty much fu#!ed! It’s not surprising that many guys employ a jet ski to ferry them back out to the lineup. At a wave like this the labour avoidance seems justifiable, particularly considering there’s also a heavy shark factor associated with paddling through the channel. If not justifiable then the presence of skis is definitely inevitable at a wave like this in the modern age.

The lineup has always been the great leveller for people from all walks of life, however as a result of skis it arguably becomes another setting for the haves and the have nots. The haves with 30 waves in a session and the have-nots with 3 in the same time frame. One might argue that the guy who paddles arguably derives a greater level of satisfaction from his iron man effort but given the choice most of us would take 30 waves over 3. Surfing the long left it was refreshing to see that one of the guys aboard a ski was openly aware of the advantage he and his mates had. Rather than look after his buddies exclusively the guy was offering rides back to the take off zone to several surfers he didn’t know. It was a commendable attitude in a situation where it’s easy to be totally selfish. Some might say this just made things more competitive for the guys who missed out on lifts and a few surfers even nobly rejected his offer of a free ride, staunchly defending their stance as self-sufficient surfers.

The point is that jet skis are here whether we like it or not and there’s a whole series of other etiquette issues to be assessed as more people invest in them. Hopefully those who own them now are like the guy using one at Australia’s longest left –selfless enough to realise they have an artificial advantage, and capable of showing good will to their fellow surfers when the opportunities arise.