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Like calling wave size, the rules of the ocean are difficult to explain to a beginner. the rules are broad, and often vague. Surfing is becoming increasingly more popular. there will be times when it gets crowded and you will be involved in a conflict.
Yep, you might be the mellowest
person in the world, but it will
happen. Don’t worry, though. It’s cool. It’s like any aggro: the outcome
simply depends on how you deal with it. I’m not gonna tell you when to shoot your mouth off or let your furious fists fly. I’m just going to explain to you why conflicts happen, and how you can avoid them turning into punch-ups.
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Fights happen because someone has broken the rules, the main one being the famous drop-in rule. The surfer closest to the breaking part of the wave (the inside) has that wave. Anyone else who takes off on that wave is dropping in. But sometimes it’s justified because the surfer on the inside has got there by snaking. If he’s jumped off a point or a jetty, or just paddled through the pack straight to the inside, he’s a snake, and won’t get respect from those who’ve been waiting their turn. In a pack where people are being nice, the surfer who has been
waiting the longest will get the next wave. But that is not going to happen in a beachbreak full of wave pigs. And, on top of all that, you will often encounter locals who think they have priority in any situation. Get the picture? There are no hard and fast rules. Having said that, here’s some more pointers:
The person who has waited the longest should get some sympathy, but only if he’s trying to maintain his position in the lineup.
Sometimes, the first surfer to paddle for the wave assumes right of way. Not so. Longboarders can sit way further out than anyone, and catch waves more easily. If this rule applied, us short-boarders would get nothing.
If someone snakes you, don’t get angry. If you’ve been snaked and there’s another wave behind, not many surfers are going to hassle you for it. Paddle hard, get it, and snap a reo over the snake’s head as he’s paddling back out. Good surfing is always the best reply.
Be committed. There is nothing more annoying than seeing someone in a good position for a wave pull back. Even if you’re gonna cop a beating, take off anyway. Respect, a rare commodity in the lineup, will never come your way if you don’t at least have a go.
When someone’s surfing toward you, and you’re in the way, paddle toward the broken part of the wave.
You may cop the “locals only” crap. Nobody owns the ocean. You have as much right as anyone to be out there. Check page 84 for more of an insight to the localism issue.
Let me explain the top photo here. It’s, from left, Crystal Simpson, Dan Waddell, Wyatt Davies, Jay Davies,
me, Kerby Brown and Stamos. If this wave was a righthand-breaking point,
Stamos would be on the inside, and the next wave would be his. If Kerby is
paddling around Stamos to get the inside, he is snaking. By rights, Stamos should have been waiting the longest but this would only happen at a really fair, fantastically democratic break.
If Crystal was sitting out further than everyone and started paddling this right, it wouldn’t necessarily be hers. Anyone else could go for it too because she’s at the end of the queue.
If this was a left, Crystal would have right of way and Stamos would have the longest to wait for a wave. Jay is sitting out the furthest, but that does not mean he has any more right to any wave, left or right.
The best place to be is in Dan or Wyatt’s place. They can catch all the smaller waves without wasting time jockeying for position.
Another waste of time is expecting other surfers to be courteous in the ocean. Do your thing, be true to yourself. Forget how others behave.
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