LOCALISM, SURF rage, call it what you will – more densely populated lineups are a likely cause of higher instances of verbal and physical abuse in the water. Some of which result in police intervention.
Byron Bay may be the last place you’d expect to be a bastion of surf rage. But on Monday afternoon June 5 one man let his anger get the best of him and may now face jail time.
According to police, the incident occurred as a result of two surfers taking off on the same wave. The 29-year-old accused then thrust the nose of his board at the other surfer’s face, resulting in bleeding injuries.
The irony is that this occurred at Broken Head Beach.
The victim then paddled in and contacted police, who promptly arrived at the scene.
Police waited for the accused to exit the water, and charged him with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, which carries a maximum sentence in New South Wales of five years in prison.
Tweed-Byron chief inspector Luke Arthurs said such events are uncommon in Byron Bay, but that, “this type of behavior is not acceptable.”
He went on: “Be aware that if you’re not happy in the surf and you assault somebody we will take action and you will have to face the courts.”