Clashes at Pico Alto Reach New Low
Conflicts between surfers unable to find peaceful methods of sharing the ocean is something that always has and more than likely will always be a part of surfing. It’s a dark part of our beautiful sport that too often ends up with physical violence and goes completely against everything that surfing is supposed to be about. With the growth of tow-in surfing and the injection of motorized vehicles into some of the worlds heaviest waves, waves that are already dangerous enough as is, there is a new and much more dangerous type of adrenaline-fueled clash that is continuing to arise all over the earth.
Nicole DeJesus of Surfing Magazine recently covered one of these potentially deadly conflicts that is taking place at Pico Alto in Lima, Peru. Surfers heading out to ride the big waves of Pico Alto have apparently made their way out to the break not only armed with their big wave guns, but with guns of the more deadly sort. A conflict in recent months escalated to the level of a firearm being pulled from a jet-ski and shot into the air in an effort to intimidate. It was a sad result of a continuing conflict between rival groups of paddle-in and tow-in surfers that has many of the locals fed up. In the article, DeJesus included a quote by local big wave surfer Kodiak Gutierrez about his desire to have a peaceful environment back in the water- “We used to have every year a big wave surf contest here at Pico Alto. But sadly, everyone has walked away. We have to get our line-up back.”
What will it take to put an end to this type of conflict? Not just in Pico Alto, but conflicts like this that take place all over the world? What would be the result had the gun not just been fired into the air, but at one of the surfers in the water? It puts an awful face on a sport that was created to inspire the exact opposite type of emotion. Surfing is about peace and enjoyment, it’s about inclusion. There is no room here, in our sport, for guns and violence.
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Posted by Shaun on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 in Surfing.
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July 12th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
No offense to the author of this post but who are you to say what surfing is and is not? It’s not about “peace, enjoyment, and inclusion” for all surfers my friend. Surfing is about riding waves.
July 13th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
SC SURF,
It’s contradictory that you start your comment by TELLING the author “No offense…but who are you to say what surfing is and is not?” and then you yourself TELL us what surfing is: “riding waves.” Who are u? Just thought it was funny!
July 14th, 2008 at 10:07 am
The amazing thing about surfing is that it can mean so many things to so many people.
Just as every wave and the way we choose to ride it is unique in itself, so is our vision and belief on what surfing is really about.
For myself, and a large number of surfers I’ve come across from all over the world, surfing really is about more to us than just riding waves.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Who am I? I’m your worst nightmare in the lineup sitting the deepest in the bowl and getting mental pits while you hoot from the shoulder
Your right about the contradiction, pretty funny huh. But I am right though. No matter how many other wonderful and fluffy things you get from your surf experience if you never ride waves it would not be much of anything now would it.
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