Surfing Waves

If you can cut across another surfer who is paddling for a wave and position yourself inches away from that surfer and get inside position, do you suddenly have the right to that wave since you've managed to take inside position? If that's not okay, what is that particular surfing foul called? Is it called snaking or is it perfectly legit?

It's snaking and equal in demerits with dropping in
Give a wave take a wave. That technique is take a wave spoil a wave, if someone does that to me I will often take a long drawn out bottom and fade them into a wipe out, if I can do it safely. Or simply just lay over a big bottom turn and pull away from them at speed .
I need to be sure of how able I am to do that, I would also let them know in the first instance that, snaking is not acceptable , I would only use the previous tactics if the talk was ignored.

It's been happening to me a lot. I just complete my takeoff now and if we run into each other so be it. My thought is that I will run you over if you snake my wave and drop down in front of me. If you're going to be an idiot, then you own the injury you get by cutting right in front of my board. Today I clanked boards with a surfer. After that he kept trying to get inside position, but I wouldn't let him have it (I was on a 9'6" and he was on a shortboard) and then he just kept dropping in on me. I was really tempted to start flagrantly dropping in on this troglodyte, but I decided to take the high road. Hopefully, I can restrain my worst impulses when it happens again.

I don't often surf with others so lack the etiquette to do so. Guess I need to surf with more people or just avoid them like KImo Hollinger.

RinkyDink wrote: what is that particular surfing foul called? Is it called snaking or is it perfectly legit?

It is SNAKING and is basically Dropping In x 2. Someone can drop in by "mistake" and take away a wave not seeing the rider coming from behind. Snaking, there's no mistake, you are taking away another's wave ON PURPOSE.

two longboarders or two shortboarders easy to call. But shortboarders sitting further inside the break and inside of the longboarder happens, especially if the longboarders are out numbered.

Normal around here....I usually go anyway and fade them like Jaffa said or just run them over. They get verbal warnings first.....Japanese tourists are the worst....seems like they all got the same snake training as they all approach it the same way.

Thanks for the feedback. These kinds of things actually haven't happened that often to me. I was really just venting about my last session. The truth is, if I couldn't escape the crowds, then I would probably stop surfing. I have discovered, however, that if you surf a place long enough you eventually get to know the times when you can have certain spots relatively uncrowded.

Crowded waves, and lots of kooks (including me), are the biggest problem where I surf, and I'm just resigned to that problem. I do the best I can to avoid dropping in on folks. But what I noticed yesterday was that there'd be a dozen of us out there, a wave would come, I'd let it go, hoping three or four would take it so I could take the next, or the next after that, and then everyone would still end up there. Then the next wave would come, I'd decide to take it, and four others would, too. Very hard for us beginners to know how to judge. And I'm talking about waves that for the most part all look the same.

Is there any etiquette about actually calling a wave? Or even calling out that you're NOT taking it?

Body language in better lineups will tell you.......good wave comes, there is a shared glance if acknolgement with the guy in position on the peak that this is a good wave....guy on the peak will either shift to go for the wave or demonstrate they are passing in some kind of way (languid movements etc). Not so good or more crowded lineups several people will paddle and it is on you to sort who usually misses, who will always get in, who is deeper and to pull out if someone deeper than you gets on. If you get on the wave and there are others inside still going for the wave who may or may not see you, call them off with a hoot or something. DO NOT call people off the wave when paddling....esp. if you miss you'll be in for a day if being dropped in on, at least around here.

This does seem to be about what happens, Big H. I'll just have to get better at it.

And wait for October for the crowds to thin.

And start surfing earlier in the day.