SURF ETIQUETTE: "THE INSIDE"
Does the surfer on the inside have the right of way?
There have been numerous books written about or with regard to surfing etiquette. Most notably Shaun Tomson's "Surfers Code" explores basic surfing rules and how they can be applied to life. Nat Young's "Surf Rage" excavates concepts after the rules have been broken. Wood crafted signs explaining 'rules' or guidelines exist at famous surf spots such as Steamer Lane, Rincon and spots along various coastlines of the globe including Australia and Europe. Rules are everywhere.
We all have some concept of what the rules are or should be. Nevertheless, one thing surfers are very good at is breaking rules. It's a part of our anti-establishment DNA.
In the 50s 60s and 70s, as a subculture of American society, surfers were left of left. We were borderless, free-wheeling, sovereign entities -- liberal in our ways and means. Surfers from the 50s such as Munoz, Van Dyke, Dora, Trent, Curren, Harrison and later on Hynson, Peck, Potts, and Gale were on the edge of societal norms and many surfers structured their values system in this fashion. We shunned the 'Father Knows Best' country club path for a lifestyle scorned by society. Riding waves had no socially redeeming quality. You can't sell it, you can't save it. What good is it? Inherent in the selling/saving model is a rule set.
It wasn't that we set out to break the rules, rules simply weren't considered. There was no malice. More accurately, there was no forethought. Societal structure was for them, not for us. Etiquette in the lineup existed. But it was rarely talked about, and God forbid that we, as a culture, would script out a set of rules.
Fast forward to 2009; 20 million surfers reside on this planet. According to some of the men mentioned above, more live on other planets. Regardless, the sheer volume of surfers in the water requires that we at least attempt to follow some common rules or guidelines.
Surfing etiquette is a slippery slope. One rule may be the norm at one spot but the same rule completely scoffed at if applied at another spot.
(As a side note, there are some incredibly sophisticated sub-rules that only locals are aware of. For instance, in the 70s, at one well-known but highly localized San Diego spot, it was generally known and agreed upon that you did not acknowledge anyone on the trail walking down or up the cliff. It didn’t matter if it was your mother. No acknowledgement. Treat everyone as an outsider. More on these ‘locals only’ rules later.)
Let’s start with a rule that everyone can, at first glance, agree upon. The concept of the surfer on the inside, the surfer who has deepest position, has the right of way. Looks good on paper. It is hard to argue with this. Whoever is deepest goes, everyone else -- back off. I think we can all agree this is a good rule. This is one we could and should all adhere too, right?
But hold on.
Seventy-year-old Legend Guy has been surfing Rincon for 50 years. He sits and waits. He doesn’t bother to hustle, nor does he have the capacity to hustle. Twenty-year-old Sticker Boy paddles out and positions himself on the inside of Legend Guy. A wave comes, both drop in, and within seconds f-bombs break the glorious yet relative silence of the lineup. Most of us would agree (I think) that it was Legends Guy’s wave. There are a number of other examples, the point is, regardless, our seemingly most salient rule, guy on the inside has possession, turns out to be full of loopholes, the above example being just one of them.
By the way, for the record, Legend Guy told Sticker Boy to ‘f*%# off, I’ve been waiting 53 years for that wave.’
Bravo!
So while it seems that books, and wondrously crafted wooden signs are noble efforts, they alone are not the answer. Moreover, in some cases, they hurt.
One such sign advises surfers, when paddling out, to paddle onto the shoulder of the wave, towards the channel. I’ve always thought it better to be in the whitewater, taking it on the head, so as to avoid the surfer riding the wave. And, when avoiding a collision between a rider and a paddler, whose responsibility is it? The rider is going faster and arguably has more control of the outcome. But the rider is busy riding. He shouldn’t be burdened with the paddlers’ whereabouts.
What about Maritime law? Smaller vessels always yield to larger vessels. And what about the rule that states the first surfer to his feet takes possession of the wave? And what if you are always on your feet (SUP)? When does the SUP surfers’ ride begin and end?
It’s no wonder our forefathers shunned rules --too confusing. Just go surf. Stay tuned, as we’ll look further into etiquette, rules and guidelines in future pieces on SURFERmag.com.
What are your thoughts?
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READER COMMENTS
Fri Apr10, 2009, 9:01 AM
Pedro - stick to Math Einstein
Fri Apr10, 2009, 12:12 PM
Every idiot surfing Sebastian Inlet should read this. Everyone there acts like a "sticker boy".
Fri Apr10, 2009, 8:00 PM
Take your licking's in the whitewash, stay out of the way, know your place in line, and when traveling to either a new destination, the next town over or across the world. And it's you first time there, know that the locals have priority. Bottom line be respectful of everyone around you.
Sat Apr11, 2009, 1:04 PM
nothing you can do or say anything when the water warms up will help. All you can do is make sure you can paddle better than the 5 guys trying to drop in...Or make a few false great white sightings.
Sat Apr11, 2009, 4:44 PM
I got snaked by a chick on the "Wave of the Day" at Cardiff last week. She didn't even look and just took off on her cool new Patagucci 7'6" waste of foam while the wave raced past both of us. She happened to be a friend of the person I was surfing with and after explaining to my female friend what had just occurred, her reply was "Relax, it's Cardiff". Coming from a self-proclaimed "Surfer", that was very disheartening. This is not aimed at females, but all people who just don't understand, and will probably never understand....
Sun Apr12, 2009, 12:07 AM
How about Longboarders and SUP? They nearly always snake their way past the main lineup and take the wave 20 feet before it even starts breaking. Is dropping in on them a crime? At least not at Oahu's South Shore... Otherwise you would never get a wave on your shortboard with 20+ loggers out there in front of you...Aloha (Hopefully this doesn't sound like an attack against longboarders in general, it's not ment to be one)
Sun Apr12, 2009, 6:07 PM
Brah, wait till summer! Sooo many kooks on SUPs, and they are going to more of the less crowded breaks (which they thought was secret before they showed up...please) and trying to take over. MOST OF THESE GUYS CAN'T DO SQUAT AND ACT LIKE DICKS IN THE WATER!
Mon Apr13, 2009, 1:24 AM
rule number 1, act like a dickhead - get your head punched in.
Sun Apr12, 2009, 11:03 PM
JP summed it up good. But also, know your position in the pecking order. Respect locals and those that are taking off deep and have it wired. WHen you are learning; down the beach! When I learned that was the rules. And if travelling surfers respect the rules, stay out of the way and wait their turn, it is OK for them to get more then just the grovelly inside scraps. One day you might find yourself on the road, Aloha
Mon Apr13, 2009, 1:34 AM
Sounds like you try and ride a shortboard at a longboard spot. If there are 20 or more longboarders out, your on the wrong board.
Mon Apr13, 2009, 11:02 PM
How do you know if you're a local? Can you be more local then someone else? What if two locals of equal stature want the same wave and both keep paddling inside of one another? How come surfers are such hypocrites? Have surfers always defined the image of "Frat Jock"? Do you look like surfers in the magazines and talk like the ones in the videos? Are you a surfer?
Tue Apr14, 2009, 2:09 AM
There are 20+ longboarders on (nearly) every south shore spot on any given day. ok, maybe i'm exaggerating a bit, but it can be quite a pain sometimes... by the way what defines a spot as a longboard spot??? you can nicely surf a small but fat board on (nearly) every spot where longboards will do the job, it's just a matter of personal taste. you're just not able to paddle into the wave 20 feet before it starts breaking. I am just a bit frustrated that snaking seems ok to quite a few longboarders here at the spots.
Tue Apr14, 2009, 12:08 PM
It's not real problem if there's a mixture of kooks and guys who rip out there. Simply better surfer get the waves and kooks get the scraps. It gets a bit trickier when you have only good surfers concentrated on one peak. I usually have the feeling surfers count the amount of waves each surfer drops in on. if one guy goes for his third wave in a row, i'm usually like f*ck this and paddle a bit deepr and drop right in..and start claimin, .you kinda keep eachother in check. Give and take..make sense?
Tue Apr14, 2009, 3:51 PM
Wave-er got it right, if you're the kook get over it. We have all been the kook a some point. Pay your dues!!!
Tue Apr14, 2009, 7:57 PM
Might not be a pro but neither a kook. Just happend to me a couple of times that I dropped in on a longboarder who snaked his way back to the outer peak and took every set wave. He got furious and claimed it his wave, not even realizing his behaviour. Whatever...
Tue Apr14, 2009, 10:18 PM
Everyone pretty much knows the general rules... what sucks is when you follow them perfectly, respect the locals, wait your turn, even give away waves and then still get burned by them. Truely this doesn't happen much outside of "ego" lands, ie, CA and some latin countries. Thats why I say locals deserve respect up to a point, and deserve the benefit of the doubt, but they also have to show they deserve it as well. Most simple minded locals get so jealous if you're surfing better than them, so they resort to being pricks. If they truely were locals and masters of thier spot, they'd should get the majority of the best waves. It's funny when Hawaii locals will give you waves if you show respect and can show you know how to surf, but in CA, they dont follow any standards, everything is "mine" to them. It just screws the lineup. And as far as longboards are concerned, if you're good enough, they are never really a problem, I can catch waves on my shortboard in the same are
Wed Apr15, 2009, 12:32 PM
Surfer closest to the peak has priority, for that set anyway. If he paddles back out and refuses to share the next set with the surfer who gave him a pass, then it's snake time. Puff - Puff - Give! When scratching for peak, be aware of who's where around you. Don't blindly paddle to the peak and spin, only to find someone already there and then epect them to give way. Wake up! When paddling out, don't paddle into the face of a wave where someones coming down the line aleady. Local? What's a local anymore? Spot Time?, Spot Frequency? If I surf the same spot everyday for 5 years in the afternoons only and then show up one AM for a session, are those AM guys going to think I'm not a local? damn....
Wed Apr15, 2009, 6:17 PM
I don't understand. Rules and etiquette? This isn't badminton people.. doog out.
Thu Apr16, 2009, 2:17 AM
You are either a good surfer, an intermediate surfer, or you pretty much suck. The better surfers get most of the waves, the intermediate ones get some, and the ones that suck get nothing. Sad but true.
Thu Apr16, 2009, 12:23 PM
Quit surfing. Problem Solved.
Thu Apr16, 2009, 4:08 PM
If I want some waves I usually drop the shorts and let a moneky tail out. Nothing clears the spot like a lil brown log float'n by. Sure you get some F.bombs and some dirty looks but they'll remember you evertime you paddle out. Flip side to that is it gets lonely out there.