Hoax Elands Signs Off

Dr Piet Streicher, head of BulkSMS.com and avid surfer in paddle and wind disciplines, wrote to the Municipality seeking clarity after a sign mysteriously appeared at the popular West Coast surf break also frequented by windsurfers.

"There is no such Act as the National Parks, Beaches and Recreations Act in SA. It is definitely a hoax as the Act does not exist and the Council did not know about the sign."

Dr Streicher said the sign had been removed by the Council on Thursday but not before police in one instance followed the letter of the illegal law by warning windsurfers to pack up their gear and leave the beach, although no fine was given. "The police could get in big trouble if they enforce an illegal sign. I think the Council has informed them of this already."

The sign has been doing the rounds on social networking, with people having a good chuckle at the cheeky attempt to slip a 'locals only' style ruling onto the famous lefthand point break.

Conflict between windsurfers and surfers is nothing new at Elands, and Dr Streicher conceded that sadly, there were windsurfers who would plough through the lineup with total disregard for surfers, and there have been some notable instances that put windsurfing in a bad light.

Most of the local crew who surf and windsurf will only ride Elands when it's huge, windy and virtually unrideable by surfers.

"Most of the local crew who surf and windsurf will only ride Elands when it's huge, windy and virtually unrideable by surfers. Windsurfing it in those conditions is a way to avoid getting pounded trying to paddle out.

"There are many responsible windsurfers who go out of their way to maintain a safe distance from surfers - I make sure it's at least 20 metres - if we are sharing the lineup, but in most instances, conditions are better for one or the other, and not both."

"An outright ban is not the solution," he says.

Perhaps the answer is to find a form of unified etiquette through education. For instance, their is an unwritten but well know rule that tow surfers who want to ride a break like Sunset generally respect that if someone is paddling, they hold back til the other surfers leave or they come to a mutual agreement.

However, with the number of foreign windsurfers with a different cultural attitude to sharing waves, as well as others who don't understand the surfing rule of thumb, this will be difficult at a break so popular to disciples of different disciplines.

Signs informing and explaining the rules to surfers and other wave riders might be a better, more beneficial  method, so perhaps the sign has sparked a positive result.

Kudos though. Locals with knowledge of the long and tumultuous history of Elands had a good lag when the professional-looking sign appeared.

Any comments from those who put it up?