Surfing Waves

OK - hopefully people won't take this the wrong way, but how many on this forum are fully aware of, and try to adhere at all times to, surf etiquette??

Would anyone on here, for instance, paddle into a break and position themselves in line with other surfers already in the line up, but just a little deeper? Or would you work your way into the pack slowly?

If you've paddled and subsequently missed a wave, would you paddle for the very next one, or only paddle again either when it was your turn, or at least if it was obvious no-one else was paddling for the wave?

Do you stand like a rabbit caught in the headlights when an incoming surfer is heading at you, or do you paddle like mad to try to get outside them, taking a beating if needs be, but pointing to where you're going?

Do you ALWAYS look before committing to a wave to make sure no-one else is up and riding?

If all else fails, would you bail a good wave just to make sure you didn't hit anyone, or would you just expect the other person to get out of the way, and if they don't, then tough??

Can't you tell it's Summer!!!!

no when i paddle out at a break i sit wide and watch whats happening for a while before going any deeper.

if i miss a wave i wait a reasonable amount of time before going for another one

if a surfer is heading towards me and i cant get over the wave a long way in front i paddle for the white water and take the beating.

yes i always look. ive only ever dropped in once and that was purely accidental. kicked out when i heard his call and apologised after and all was well.

i avoid collisions at all costs.


good enough?

You'll do for me!!

I'm pretty sure everyone on here will reply in the same manner (or at least I hope so), but surf etiquette - or more accurately the lack of it - really gets me.....

Despite being on a relatively empty break today (4 or 5 people max on a break with at least that many peaks to go for), I had some guy following me whenever I tried to put some distance between us, same guy paddling across the break and just sitting 5 yards deeper than me, a guy who paddled straight into the line up (consisting at the time of me and my mate) and proceeded to sit right in the middle of the peak, a drop in when I'd been on my feet for a few seconds, a potential drop in that caused me to call him off (I don't like doing that) and a 'rabbit in the headlights' that just looked at me and made no attempt to get out of my way whilst I was riding down the line (I had to stall to avoid a collision)

God help us when it actually starts getting crowded!!

i have noticed surf etiquette goes out the window on crowded days.

I have a share and share alike attitude and always pay attention to whats happening around me.

However i would like to point out some people have a warped idea of what surf ettiquette is and that causes problems in the lineup.

personnaly i play the watching brief. In smallish stuff wait your turn.
When its bigger and the guy next to you is constantly paddling and missing waves go regardles.
Tother day i swore, perfect left, bottom turn two gits in front of me. I called these guys into a couple of waves before, it was there turn so to speak but they didn't get it!

I try my best at adhering to the rules and etiquette of surfing; but its difficult when your relatively new (like me) because I don't have as greater control over my board, experience at reading waves etc as some of you guys do.

So if I accidentally get in your way, please understand that it wasn't intentional, I just can't steer for sh*t thats all

actually almost all surfing incidents can be avoiding by being vocal. I find its a good idea to just holla which direction your going or holla at someone if they havnt seen you. Commen sense really

surferdude_scarborough wrote:no when i paddle out at a break i sit wide and watch whats happening for a while before going any deeper.

if i miss a wave i wait a reasonable amount of time before going for another one

if a surfer is heading towards me and i cant get over the wave a long way in front i paddle for the white water and take the beating.

yes i always look. ive only ever dropped in once and that was purely accidental. kicked out when i heard his call and apologised after and all was well.

i avoid collisions at all costs.


good enough?

MMMM

but i think i did it to you too.

did what to me?

isaluteyou wrote:actually almost all surfing incidents can be avoiding by being vocal. I find its a good idea to just holla which direction your going or holla at someone if they havnt seen you. Commen sense really

yip.

i also like to make eye contact and point my board in the direction i'm planning to go to get the f out of their way

isaluteyou wrote:actually almost all surfing incidents can be avoiding by being vocal. I find its a good idea to just holla which direction your going or holla at someone if they havnt seen you. Commen sense really

would also agree with that. once at pporth it was fairly crowded but mostly with kooks on toothpicks who didnt seem to know what they were doing. me and another experience guy were paddling for a wave and both ended up pulling out because neither of us said anything. he thought i was going right and i thought he was going left. we were both wrong and should have gone..... moral of the story give a yell which way you're going

James probs as much to do with the guy i surf with, he dropped in on me on those overhead south bay pics.
I was deffo guilty of dropping in on you one of the days we've surfed together. It happens.

ooh yeah forgot about that. yeah it happens as long as you dont do it on purpose or keep doing it over and over.

I think that the more experienced surfers understand what needs to be done, and do it. Sometimes the more inexperienced riders (and the arrogant ones) pay little or no attention to etiquette. There are certain breaks I ride where certain individuals (locals generally) feel they rule the peak and have inalienable rights to whatever wave they decide they want to go for. Inexcusable. Hang 'em high is what I say.

Being a longboarder, I am sensitive to the needs of those less fortunate who ride shortboards. The shortboarder usually needs to be further inside than a longboarder for successful launch, and I do not HOG the outside waves at all. If I'm a bit inside of an approaching peak, and someone is paddling for that peak, I always ask "Which way you going?" to determine if I should proceed or let the wave go.

When riding on a wave, nothing is more infuriating than having some yokel paddling out directly in front of or moving into your path. There is little that can be done in this regard. If you have the room you can always move around the jerk, if not, best to bail. Avoid collisions at all cost.

If I'm taking off on a wave, and I see someone paddling for it further up the shoulder, I yell out "Coming down!" This particular term connotes a determination and lets the intruding surfer know that he's in trouble if he should continue on his chosen path.

Mostly I just try to respect other surfers, and earn their respect. Jerks you just have to deal with.

Never really have a problem up here, hardly any surfers and I usually surf a beach break so what little crowds spread out.

However one day when there was good small surf, working along the whole beach this arrogant guy and his friend paddled out and sat right beside us, (the whole 2 mile beach is working, we're not at a particularly good place). He's really loud and I've never seen him before and when we paddle down the beach a bit he follows. Every time a set came in he paddled at an angle in front of my mate and then coming back in would be in his way.

Twat!

Bloody hell Pol - that guy must travel a lot, because it sounds like he was at Anglesey yesterday!!

I would have thought that 9 out of 10 problems are purely accidental and an appology should suffice. I have sometimes got in peoples way but on a beach break with shifting peaks this kind of thing happens now and again. I've always appologised, which some people have ignored and paddled off grumbling like I'd shagged their mum or something! It's certainly never done on purpose and I've never fully dropped in on anyone, yet.

However saying this I was once on the receiving end of a deliberate kind of reverse snake/drop in where i was taking off on a wave when a longboarder came from behind me on the out side and cut me off which did kind of p**s me off a bit

Maybe some more info on surf etiqutte at some of our more popular beaches, like the margaret river tribal law plaque, would help though!

If the longboarder came from behind and was heading at you from the outside, then he was either riding some mush, or he did, in fact, have total priority, as I'm guessing he was going the way the wave was......

It can get frustrating, I'm sure, if the longboards are sitting deeper and seeming to take more than their fair share of waves, but if someone is up and riding, you can't just paddle for the wave inside them.........

I'm sure a lot of things happen by accident, but I'm afraid your story is an example of people not understanding the etiquette well enough.......if he was outside and riding, then you were inside and - hence - dropping in.........

I try my best at adhering to the rules and etiquette of surfing; but its difficult when your relatively new (like me) because I don't have as greater control over my board, experience at reading waves etc as some of you guys do.

So if I accidentally get in your way, please understand that it wasn't intentional, I just can't steer for sh*t thats all Smile

If thats the case you should stay well out of the way and stick to the small waves ! for your safety and that of the people around you.

easty wrote:

I try my best at adhering to the rules and etiquette of surfing; but its difficult when your relatively new (like me) because I don't have as greater control over my board, experience at reading waves etc as some of you guys do.

So if I accidentally get in your way, please understand that it wasn't intentional, I just can't steer for sh*t thats all Smile

If thats the case you should stay well out of the way and stick to the small waves ! for your safety and that of the people around you.

Don't you worry, I do