Crowded breaks, what's the future going to be like?

[avillax]

So, I can't take it anymore. I live in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The surf around here has never been great, there are waves in the summer and winter but you need to use a long board and can surf twice a week, or once a week with a short board on average.

On top of that, 3 years ago I was surfing on empty breaks, now, they're crowded and territorial: the waves take quite some time to come out and most of the time it's small so you have people competing for a few waves and the ambiance is just xxxxx. I have had fist fights, Mexican locals are aggressive criminal-like.

I'm not enjoying it, the population keeps increasing everywhere. I went to Bali and it sucked. So I'm wondering what's the future going to be like, beaches are not going to work anymore.

Waves pools seem to cost millions to make and operate.

What about jetsurf? Not only it costs more than a Jet Ski but I found out you have to open the damn thing and thoroughly clean it after each use.

Help!!!!

[waikikikichan]

Not to mention SUPs being manned by newbies who don't know the rules or ocean.

[dtc]

There are plenty of places in the world with low surfer to wave ratio. They just aren’t within 20 minutes of international airports or cities of a million people or major tourist towns

[Big H]

For a change, Bali is a peek at the future! LOL

[oldmansurfer]

I have come to enjoy any waves that I can ride. I have never enjoyed sitting in a lineup with a large group of guys waiting for a turn to ride a wave. If I am out with the right guys then it's better than being alone but if the wrong guys it not much fun for me. I go out based on time available not based on the waves or the conditions or some forecast. If it's time for me to go, I go and surf whatever there is at the beach. For me it is so much better than sitting at home wishing I was surfing. Surfing is not for everyone and if you can't find pleasure in it you will become a non surfer.

[jaffa1949]

Once upon a time, we used to look for other surfers to go surfing with!
Up the Australian east coast, sometimes we were there as the first Malibu surfers. Next often we found new breaks in Bali and Lombok and other found spots on the whole archipelago, they stayed uncrowned and secret for a while,
Some the crowds are so big I don't even bother to go to some of my ancient favourites anymore!
Surf tourism eats locations. Sadly

[oldmansurfer]

I learned to surf alone so for almost exactly 2 months I surfed alone every day learning to surf, then I started getting invited to surf with the various kids I knew who surfed well before I started but I still surfed nearly every day and most often I couldn't find someone to surf with me but still enjoyed those sessions with my friends intermittently. After about a year I found my friends declining to surf with me because they didn't like the conditions as I would go out in huge and or stormy surf ( still do that ) so at some point I gave up trying to find people to surf with and instead I would run into the same surfers at the same breaks I go to and that was cool to surf with them but if they weren't there I was going out anyway. Now I sometimes run into surfers I know but they are into SUP or foiling or SUP foiling but mostly I surf alone in junk surf and I enjoy it. It's a challenge and I get good waves once in a while. I enjoy a good challenge and get rewarded with nice waves often enough to keep me happy. It's all about finding your niche in the surf maybe early morning or late evening or when it's stormy or when the forecasts say there aren't any waves or something. Perhaps that is why my friends SUP or foil now mostly. They witnessed and had to deal with crowds whereas I didn't because I quit surfing before it got insane and now since I restarted I don't have time to go to those good breaks even if I wanted to but I still want to surf so I just go to the nearest beach which is not a popular place except if it is nice which is rare.

[BoMan]

So I'm wondering what's the future going to be like, beaches are not going to work anymore.

Here are some ideas....

Surf beach breaks with multiple peaks that spread everyone out.

Know when the crowds are smaller and time your sessions when it happens. Where I ride, it's weekdays just after the "dawn patrollers" leave for the day.

Look for spots that take some effort to reach. I went hiking after a sesh and found an empty point with a fun right. Most people aren't willing to carry their board 1 mile each way on a trail.

[Millsy82]

Know when the crowds are smaller and time your sessions when it happens. Where I ride, it's weekdays just after the "dawn patrollers" leave for the day.

Look for spots that take some effort to reach. I went hiking after a sesh and found an empty point with a fun right. Most people aren't willing to carry their board 1 mile each way on a trail.

Same for me I know during the summer go out about 8.30 gives the dawn patrollers a couple of hours and usually gives you about an hour or so before the holiday makers surf schools get there. At night I just try and avoid 5-6pm as that's when all the workers get there. Problem is now we are heading to winter the days are shorter so you have to put up with a few crowds.

I also don't mind running/walking a bit of a distance to get to somewhere so I can be with only 1 or 2 people or Alot of the time by myself. If ever my local is heaving I drive down the road then run best part of 3/4 mile to get to a spot that's not as good but usually empty.