SURFING LIFE -- The Privateer

By Socks Clawtooth. Exclusive to SurfWatch.

I write this simply to get it off my fuzzy little chest. I'm a privateer. Originally I thought I was a poacher, but I came to realize that I wasn't actually stealing anything as much as I'm a one-cat raiding party. The way I see it, I'm following in the tradition of surfers, skateboarders and ski/snowboarders worldwide by going out of bounds.

Admit it, you're a bit of a junkie too. You wander the grid, see ocean water and you look for the Epics or at least a fluffy. And if one is there you may even think about jumping onto it, but you never do. Perhaps it's not a surfing beach. Or you can't find a place to rez a board, or you just happened to see it, say "Oh, I'll check that later" and you never get back there or you can never find it again. But for me, I'll hop a fence and find a place to put my board down. As long as I'm not trespassing on someone's privacy, all's fair.

The places I've surfed have waves for a variety of reasons. One looked like the wave generators were just abandoned by a previous owner and simply built over, making the ridable distance only 1/3 of what it should have been. Fluffy waves appearing out of a solid wall and into an alcove, probably the laggiest wave I've ever been on. Another looked like the waves were for decoration. That was the hardest ride so far, fluffies moving almost double the normal speed as you see on most surf beaches, but I got from origin to beach on it.

Others look like they want to be public beaches, but they don't allow riders to put a board down! I searched one sim for an hour looking for the group I had to join, or the spot to put a board down, but it didn't exist. But I find ways! I won't go into details, because the method can be used for harm as well as for good. I'll simply state my record is a four-sim paddle, but the waves were worth it. Oh yes they were.

Ghost-surfing: a flurry of fluffies appear emerge from a dark wall

So why would someone do that, you might ask? The same reason George Mallory went to the top of the world. 'Because it's there'. Unlike George, I prefer to live to tell the tale. Most of these places have never seen a surfer on the waves, and others may not have seen one for months or even years. As far as I can tell, it's not a violation of the TOS* to walk on publicly accessible land, why would it be illegal to surf on publicly accessible waves? I do no harm, I take only virtual photographs to say I was there, and leave nothing behind but very temporary particle effects. I don't even leave pawprints on the beaches!

I'm not alone. In the real world, this is so common that it's almost expected. Snowboarders and skiers may see an untouched line through the trees and go for it. If you want to surf some places, you have to be ready to do some off-roading or some creative fence hopping. And ask a skateboarder about the best places to ride. Parks, pools, all remote and out of the way but worth it. I'm in good company, except I'm doing it virtually.

So, I'm a wave privateer. I raid beaches, I steal a few turns on the water, I leave with the satisfaction of knowing I did it. I still go to the mainstream beaches and enjoy them to the fullest extent I can. But I also stray out of bounds on occasion. And if 'it's there', and it wants to be surfed. Who am I to not give it what it wants?

* Terms of service

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