Tow Controversy: Equal Time with Vince Broglio & Ed Guzman

SURFERMAG.COM: Two- or four-stroke motors?

VINCE BROGLIO: 95 percent are four-stroke.

SURFERMAG.COM: What about wildlife impacts?

VINCE BROGLIO: It’s a crock. One of the guys said he’s had seals riding waves with us. And you know how dolphins go in the bow-wake of boats? It can be the same thing with us. We saw whales a couple of hundred yards out and then saw one within 40 yards of the beach. We cruised away and let him have his spot. And Doug was talking about the Salinas Rivermouth. We were down there and there were all kinds of birds on the beach and we were there for an hour and a half and they were still there. I’ve heard the whole enviro thing, that we tear up kelp beds. We avoid kelp. If it gets sucked up in the intake, we have to shut it down and pull it out. And look at how much kelp gets pulled up when a big swell comes. Look, I could say I’m an environmentalist. I use solar resin for glassing. And what about all the two-stroke boats that you see out on the water? Our skis are so much cleaner than those things.

SURFERMAG.COM: Then why the complaints?

VINCE BROGLIO: Some of these guys who are complaining about us are just jealous. I’ve had a couple of guys actually tell me, “I don’t know whether to get mad or be jealous.” I’ve been surfing Moss since 1976, and you’re always down there going, “I wish I could get to that wave, or that one.” Moss has shifty peaks. Now you can chase ’em down.

SURFERMAG.COM: One thing that Doug and others in the environmental community have been very good at has been in getting people to listen to them. Do you think it would help for the tow-crew to have unified responses to accusations?

VINCE BROGLIO: Yeah, and I’d like to talk to some of the guys in Hawaii about how they’re organizing. But one of the things is, too, in some ways Doug is doing himself a disservice. He’s calling the lifeguards all the time and crying wolf. I’ve had the harbor patrol come out to me after they’ve been called and they say, “No problem. You’re on a three-seater, you’re staying away from everyone, go have fun.” Kayakers out there sometimes tell us, “Man, it sure looks like you’re having a good time.” There are only a handful of guys now complaining or trying to push the issue, and their numbers are even dwindling. That [anti-ski] dude John I was talking about earlier, he said, “As long as you guys give me a couple of hundred yards distance, I have no problem.” I think the majority of guys feel the same way. I know there were guys out jumping out there on their skis and stuff, but we got together and said, “We can’t do that anymore.” I’m sure that will continue here and there, but these guys are making it sound blatant -- like all we want to do is run down people and kill animals. That’s not the case. And they should be stoked actually, because we’re not out in the lineup with them anymore when it’s big.

SURFERMAG.COM: Have you seen out-of-shape non-surfers out there?

VINCE BROGLIO: Well, if Doug was talking about this guy named Randy, we call him Freddy Flintstone. I have to laugh. He’s not out of shape. You’re not going to do this if you are. You’ve sometimes got to hang onto that rope for a long time. You know, I’d love to take Doug out there on my ski right now.

SURFERMAG.COM: Is that an invitation?

VINCE BROGLIO: Yeah. Just to show him how fat and out of shape we are.

SURFERMAG.COM: He might enjoy it too.

VINCE BROGLIO: You know, there’s a guy named Mark who shapes up here. I keep telling him, “Let’s go.” He says, “Hey, I know that if I do it, I’m not going to want to do anything else.”

SURFERMAG.COM: Do you still paddle-surf a lot?

VINCE BROGLIO: Yeah. I only towed at Moss, like, six or seven times this year, and once at Mavs. If there’s waves, I’m in the water -- usually paddling.

SURFERMAG.COM: Do you think tow-surfing is going to get big here like in Maui?

VINCE BROGLIO: Probably not. It’s expensive. A ski’s like $9,500 alone. A sled’s a grand. A board: $500 to $600. Insurance, ropes, gasoline, a trailer. It adds up.

SURFERMAG.COM: Is towing here to stay, even if Jet Skis are banned in the Monterey Sanctuary?

VINCE BROGLIO: That’s a hard one. I don’t think the guys will get Zodiacs. But I did see this pontoon Kenny said he rode on Maui -- 6 to 8 feet long with steering. But it does have a prop and that’s dangerous. If that’s the case, it could go that way.

SURFERMAG.COM: Well, thanks a lot for talking to us. I know we pissed some folks off publishing the first interview. But we always planned on giving you guys a chance to respond.

VINCE BROGLIO: I just want to make sure my name is cleared. Because I got slammed for no reason. And he was claiming that Adam always goes towing with Rat Boy. Adam has never towed with Rat once. And if he does go, he doesn’t go into the lineup. I don’t even know if Rat’s even gone down there and towed. It seems like Doug will just say anything to twist things into his favor. The ski is just an outlet for getting away from the crowd.