Surfing Waves

Hey guys, been surfin on the Gold Coast Oz for a year now. got my first shortie for xmas. Just wonderin if someone can explain to me the rules of 'giving way' while catching a wave??? cheers.

hi Tony

Tony wrote:Just wonderin if someone can explain to me the rules of 'giving way' while catching a wave??? cheers.

In a nutshell - the guy closest to the peak has right of way. Full stop. End of story.

Or to go into it a little bit more - the guy closest to the breaking section has right of way over everyone else further along the line. Even if they're on a longboard and are standing up way before you can even think about it on a shortboard, if you're closest to the peak then you have right of way (but obvisouly a bit of common sense is needed. There's no point in being in the right if you get a 12' longboard in the head).

And second to the right of way - if someone's riding that wave, its your responsibility to get out of their way, even if it means taking a beating under the whitewater

And the right of way thing - sometimes it means you'll miss what ought to be 'your' wave, but thats life. Being in the right place is everything

Although personally I find being in the wrong place is the norm

Hi Tony, welcome to Surfing Waves.
Take a look on the main site which explains wave priority in detail.

the problem these days is ALOT of people never follow the rules and will drop in regardless of who has priority

when it comes to right of way if im paddling for a wave i always check if anyone is closer to the break just before i start paddling and again just before im ready to pop up makes sure i dnt drop in on anyone on purpose. but mistakes can happen so stay cool unless someone keeps doin it.

some guy kept dropping in on everyone at widemouth, but no1 cared because he was really really good, all the groms there were licking his berries if i see you again, im gona kick you in the nuts! sorry, been wanting to get that off my chest