Surfer Battle

From: David R. Fielder (dfielder@cooper.cpmc.org-DeleteThis.com)
Date: Thu Apr 11 2002 - 10:52:10 PDT

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Message-Id: <v04020a09b8db7d380dcf@[10.9.199.203]>
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 10:52:10 -0700
To: wind_talk@opus.labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis.com
From: "David R. Fielder" <dfielder@cooper.cpmc.org-DeleteThis.com>
Subject: Surfer Battle

Thought I'd post this article and my response to non-windsurfing friend......

> Thanks Bob.
>
> Fortunately, at least so far, we windsurfers usually are much more civilized. However, that may be due in part to the fact that we don't see that many PWC's (ski-do's/jetskis), who are our real nemeses. Probably, the main differentiator is that we can usually follow the wind and spread out very easily, thus avoiding traffic jams. However, wavesailors (windsurfers who actually surf waves - not me) have some of these problems.
>
> OTOH, there is growing awareness of "issues" regarding the windsurfer/kitesurfer interface.
>
> Also, when we are racing our buddies things can get quite up close and personal!! :)
>
> David
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2002/04/10/state1904EDT7868.DTL
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Wednesday, April 10, 2002 (AP)
> Three surfers arrested, accused of assaulting other surfer
> DAVID KRAVETS, Associated Press Writer
>
>
> (04-10) 16:07 PDT SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Surfers are known for their
> hang-loose attitude. But beneath that laid-back veneer lurks a largely
> unspoken underside familiar to any surfer who has donned a wetsuit or
> paddled into a crowded wave -- territorialism.
> That may have been behind the recent attack on a surfer at an isolated
> federal park underneath the Golden Gate Bridge, an incident that led the
> government to arrest three surfers Wednesday.
> The victim, Adam Browning of Berkeley, had his nose broken and needed
> several stitches in his face. He claims the three men tried to drown him.
> Browning says the three men took turns holding him and punching him as he
> became entangled in his leg rope that connects him to his surfboard. He
> says the attack occurred as he was about to paddle out to the surfline and
> says it was a case of surf territorialism -- a mentality akin to street
> gangs that don't want others treading on their turf.
> He says the trio shouted profanities and ordered him "not to surf here
> anymore."
> Browning, 31, says the three attackers held his head under water March 28
> in an attempt to drown him at a surfing spot called Fort Point and that he
> survived only by biting the hand of one of them to enable him to come up
> for air.
> "Who knows what would have happened if I didn't do that?" Browning asked.
> Ryan Farrell, 30, Yoel Gorfain, 22, and Jeffrey Duerson, 21, all of San
> Francisco, were arrested Wednesday and jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail.
> They made a brief appearance in federal court, where each was charged with
> assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and the three are expected to
> enter pleas next week. Each could face up to 10 years in prison if
> convicted.
> Neither Farrell nor Duerson had legal counsel. Gorfain's publicly
> appointed attorney did not return messages seeking comment.
> The alleged attack occurred in a secluded setting in this city where
> surfers and non-surfers alike would never expect there to be waves.
> Yet Fort Point produces classic left-breaking waves on a low tide. An
> abandoned military garrison in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area,
> "Da Fort" provides surfers long rides and a majestic setting -- complete
> with views of Alcatraz Island, the San Francisco landscape and the Golden
> Gate Bridge's underbelly.
> Browning, a former Peace Corps worker and one of the main backers of a
> recently approved $100 million voter initiative to make San Francisco the
> most solar-powered city in the nation, says he was the victim of an
> unprovoked assault.
> And Browning isn't alone. Surf territorialism has led to reports of
> assaults, tire slashing, verbal threats and to diving and aiming a
> surfboard at someone like a weapon.
> Consider the world's surfing mecca, the North Shore of Oahu.
> The March issue of Surfing magazine included a layout of the island's top
> spots. The map included warnings that certain spots were for "locals only"
> and cautioned that other areas were prone to vehicle thefts. Another
> warning heeded surfers that some locations were a "fight club."
> "The 'fight club' icon is simply used to mark the areas where fights
> commonly occur. Nothing more, nothing less," said Evan Slater, the
> magazine's editor in chief. "Some are territorially driven, others are due
> to an increasing number of surfers fighting for a decreasing number of
> waves."
> California, too, has seen its share of reported surf territorialism.
> Surf-related assaults have been reported and prosecuted in San Diego, Los
> Angeles and Ventura counties.
> A Port Hueneme surfer was handed a novel sentence in 1996 after he was
> convicted of attacking a Santa Monica surfer. A judge ordered him jailed
> for five days and not to surf his Ventura County home beach for three
> years.
> According to court records in the San Francisco case, a U.S. Park Police
> investigator said in a sworn affidavit that Farrell grabbed Browning's
> surfboard and tried to break off the fin.
> According to the officer, Jon Schneider, Farrell yelled: "What the hell
> are you doing surfing here?"
> Gorfain and Duerson grabbed Browning from behind as Farrell began beating
> him, Schneider said. All the while, they were yelling at Browning not to
> surf Fort Point again, Schneider said.
> Witnesses said a soldier carrying an M-16 weapon, who was stationed there
> to protect the bridge against terror attacks, apprehended Farrell. The
> others fled and later turned themselves in, authorities said.
> The case is United States v. Farrell, Gorfain and Duerson, 30230093.

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