[Maded]

So I am finally going to get to play SR4 for a change. My topic title stems from the character concept I am going for in this game, an extreme sports enthusiast/Athlete's Way adept from the Philippines.

The character's favorite sport is surfing. Running a Google search turns up quite a few beaches in the Seattle area, but I am not really that familiar with the area aside from SR books past and present, and a two-day visit over sixteen years ago. So I was wondering if there's anyone on this board who is familiar with the area, and which of these beaches might still exist and be good surf spots in 2072.

[Stahlseele]

Entering the Water ANYWHERE near america or europe or asia is mostly like entering a mixture between the gutter, the sewer and a chemical plant . .
And then you have to deal with anything that can live in there . . all of which likes to eat meat . .

[Rockopolis]

So surfing's an extreme sport?  Watch out for the toxic shamans; Charlie does surf.

[Stahlseele]

So surfing's an extreme sport?  Watch out for the toxic shamans; Charlie does surf.

Pretty much, yeah . . .
Generally speaking, sea water aint.
Meaning it's basically anything but water. If anything, it's a toxic sludge with a water like consistence . .
Of course, there are SOME places in the world, where it ain't all THAT bad . . but there you still have to deal with stuff simly swimming along and eating you as an afterthought . .

[Maded]

That might be your take on things, but I'm not inclined to agree with you completely. Especially with places like Shek-O popping up in Hong Kong.

Of course the wildlife is probably more dangerous but there's bound to be some places left that people can surf, swim, etc.

Why bother taking Swimming, or Water Sprite if that's truly the case?

[Stahlseele]

Because, if you have insulated gear and breathing aparatus that saves you from contact with water, you CAN actually still stay in there for longer times than normal.
But surfing? Yeah, right, if you wanna go out looking like Jacques Custoe going down to shake hands with the fishes, sure, be my guest.
Furthermore, of course there are going to be some bodies of water that are still mostly clean, but those are lakes and rivers in the woods/mountains, where close to nobody ever goes, aside from some natives . .

[Maded]

Again, I don't agree with you entirely on your points and that's cool. Let's say for the sake of the original question that your Sixth World doesnt entirely match up with the one I am about to be playing in. And that means that my question still stands and that you aren't really equipped to answer it.

So anybody else have any ideas?

[CanRay]

"Surfing?  Not on your life.  Just yesterday something slithered onto a bridge, ate a few cars, burped, took a few Panther rounds from a Ares Citymaster, flipped it the bird, and went back into the water.  I ain't fragging with that!"

[Stahlseele]

What book was that from Can?

[CanRay]

What book was that from Can?

I just took a random comment Dirk threw out in 2XS and went from there.

*Pours a 40 on the curb*

[Stahlseele]

Ah, thought i'd read something like that in the shadowtalk of one of the older critter books . .

[Blond Goth Girl]

Definitely, the waters near Seattle are toxic.  Perhaps, you can can you grew up on an island in the Bermuda Triangle or Dragon Triangle for the Pacific.  Mysterious things happen there.  In my write up for my game, the waters there are pristine, magic is wild and the Kraken isn't mythical anymore.

[CanRay]

Kraken is actually good when you bread and deep fry it.  The hard part is not overcooking it, as it gets rubbery.

[Maded]

Good quote Ray. But then there's this little section on Shek O in Runner Havens:

"I’m not sure “Hang Ten” translates well to Cantonese, but Shek O and the nearby Big Wave Bay are a popular surfing destination in Asia, a century after the sport was first introduced to the region. The waves here are considered the best in Hong Kong; corporate-endorsed surfers engage in highly publicized Runner Havens Hong Kong."

And then the shadowtalk from Ecotope immediately following:

"The tanned and bronze-haired Chinese surfers in Shek O make great scenery, but keep in mind that they aren’t all as corporate as their logo-covered wetsuits might make them seem."

Both seem to add up to suggest a picture that runs quite counter to the one you guys are painting, that there simply isn't any surfing going on at all anywhere and no beach would be safe to do so on.

"Corporate-endorsed surfers" means there's some kind of money in it, and some kind of a market for gear for the sport, and that the sport itself continues on in 207X. "Wetsuits" means that most likely there are plenty of beaches around that are not toxic sludge dumps that require a full environmental suit to surf in. And that most likely aren't infested with critters that will eat anyone approaching the shoreline, either.

So if anybody would like to discuss what specific beaches in Seattle might still be good to surf on, from a native's POV as I posited in my original post, I'd love to.

If there are any here?

[CanRay]

Hey, I grew up inland.  The closest I've been to an ocean is the Great Lakes.

...

No, not true, I've been to Florida once.