Surfing Waves

Hi,

Situation:
- crowded line up in portugal, full of tourists that don't care, few nervous locals and me being a 'new local'
- hero (me ): on a foamie 10 meters out from the vilain, being on the spot regularly, catching 10 max 15 waves an hour. When crowded, me on the foamie to get more waves
- vilain: shortboard, seen from the beach, 2 meters closer to the peak
- wave comes, I paddle straight towards shore, villain is at that moment closer to the peak, but he has to paddle two meters to the right to be on the right spot for his take off, villain is paddling in front of me as I pop up. If he didn't paddle sideways before me, he has the choose to go over the falls or paddle back out and dive.

Have I been the idiot because I gave him not much choise to go anywhere and I should always respect the closer to the peak rule, or is he the idiot for paddling sideways and cutting me off so that he could take the wave? I was up before him, thanks to high volume board.
Thanks for your advice!

I would call it this way,! He was closer to the peak, making an angled takeoff, so first instance he has priority, and was probably using the angled takeoff to cut you out of the equation, So,far and again his priority!

Soft boards often are a badge of not quite capable surfer about them, can you ride across the wave and make decent turns or do you ride straight in?

Remedies to this talking to surfers within the take off zone give a wave get a wave dialogue, splitting the peak, taking turns can be achieved by dialogue. Playing heros and villains makes for self entitlement , if you are getting fair quota then maybe saying you take this one might save a confrontation.
Having said all that there is always someone in the water who thinks they can just paddle back into position and think they have regained priority!

A population of scrambling kooks tourist and those who know nothing about rules, increases the pressure on the pecking order

yup, you cut him off. Just make sure to apologize in the lineup, even if not sure you should.

When I tangle with another surfer it's seldomly my fault, but I always say sorry and are you ok because, honestly, I feel sorry I ruined his/her ride and almost hit him/her, even thought it was their fault. Food for thought

Coocktardo wrote:- hero (me ): on a foamie 10 meters out from the vilain, being on the spot regularly, catching 10 max 15 waves an hour. When crowded, me on the foamie to get more waves

Even though you could have been "First Up to your feet and Riding", would you been able to "Establish Priority" by executing a maneuver ? If you are in the process of catching the wave as you get near to the shortboarder coming down the face but not yet up, then NO, you haven't got ownership of that particular wave.

What you were doing, we call, "dive bombing" from the outside. And you catching 10 to 15 waves in a span of 60 minutes, that's one wave ever 6 to 4 minutes. Sheesh, how about letting some others enjoy riding the waves ?

Coocktardo wrote:- vilain: shortboard, seen from the beach, 2 meters closer to the peak

??. I'm sure the Joker in the Batman movies thought he was doing the right thing too.

jaffa1949 wrote:Having said all that there is always someone in the water who thinks they can just paddle back into position and think they have regained priority!

I've not been to a surf spot that isn't like that. There's always a few locals who constantly hog the spot and takes every single wave and shout at anyone who tries to take the next set. They also seem to know everyone around them so you can't win.

jaffa1949 wrote:Soft boards often are a badge of not quite capable surfer about them, can you ride across the wave and make decent turns or do you ride straight in?

Thanks for your advice J. Yes indeed, I ride the wave. Not vertically off course. I guess the turns are acceptable for my 90 kgs on an 8 foot sponge. Avoiding others that are further in is not a problem. I use the softboard because because it's just fun and safe in the crowd, easy to throw in the van next to my tools.

Some might call me not so capable, but it's hard to be an in between. The partywave/flying board spots are a little under exciting. Being at better spots I try to avoid the best peaks and get up there very early, but it's so crowded sometimes...

IB_Surfer wrote:Food for thought

Cheers!

waikikikichan wrote:

Coocktardo wrote:- hero (me ): on a foamie 10 meters out from the vilain, being on the spot regularly, catching 10 max 15 waves an hour. When crowded, me on the foamie to get more waves

Even though you could have been "First Up to your feet and Riding", would you been able to "Establish Priority" by executing a maneuver ? If you are in the process of catching the wave as you get near to the shortboarder coming down the face but not yet up, then NO, you haven't got ownership of that particular wave.

What you were doing, we call, "dive bombing" from the outside. And you catching 10 to 15 waves in a span of 60 minutes, that's one wave ever 6 to 4 minutes. Sheesh, how about letting some others enjoy riding the waves ?

Coocktardo wrote:- vilain: shortboard, seen from the beach, 2 meters closer to the peak

??. I'm sure the Joker in the Batman movies thought he was doing the right thing too.

Thanks kiki, these things were not clear to me. Can I ask you something else? What if I was there waiting before the shortboarder and he paddled back out and positions closer to the peak seen from the beach? But I am still way further out ( like it was). Wave comes and he can just cut me off all the time? Even if I was there before him? How far is it acceptable to paddle sideways away from the coming peak? Also, In the surf etiquette nothing is specified concerning, where you should wait in line (easy on a reef but beach...). I can't take off on a steeper part of the wave with my sponge, so I have to wait a little more outside. In this event, I was resting out a little outside the main take off zone when an unusual fat set came in. Everybody was keen

Coocktardo wrote:these things were not clear to me. Can I ask you something else? What if I was there waiting before the shortboarder and he paddled back out and positions closer to the peak seen from the beach? But I am still way further out ( like it was). Wave comes and he can just cut me off all the time? Even if I was there before him? How far is it acceptable to paddle sideways away from the coming peak?

Surfing doesn't have clear cut written rules, a lot are unwritten and change from break to break. But one thing I CAN tell you is...... RESPECT is earned not given. If you can rip, others might not go on you. If you show respect and give a wave, who knows, they might return the favor. But if you paddle out on a "Sponge" with a pack of shortboarders out, and you keep dive bombing from the outside ( especially catching multiple waves over and over ) you will get snaked / burned by them. And as you stated, you are a "new local", so you need to earn your spot in the line up and pay your dues.

Coocktardo wrote: Also, In the surf etiquette nothing is specified concerning, where you should wait in line (easy on a reef but beach...). I can't take off on a steeper part of the wave with my sponge, so I have to wait a little more outside. In this event, I was resting out a little outside the main take off zone when an unusual fat set came in.

But if you think your tough enough and don't mind getting into a fist fight, you can take off, fade back left into the pit and try to get inside of them. If that doesn't work or the peak is too tight, then you have to perform an aggressive sweep maneuver and spray them in the face blocking them from getting on. But you will piss them off royally.

Yeah a big part of surf etiquette is not just black/white priority rules but the attitude of sharing. If you know you've gotten your share of waves, it's a nice gesture to tell someone else to 'Go!!' on a shorter board on a 50/50 type wave. Most often the goodwill will be returned.

Plenty of times I've only let guys closer to the peak paddle in, basic etiquette 101, and they'll graciously thank me when they paddle back out. Not everyone has a good attitude of course, but generally speaking I think good vibes are contagious.

Nice sign. Too bad, he didn't promote that mentality BEFORE slapping someone's kid.

"Mr Young made headlines in 2000 when he was bashed at his home beach of Angourie after slapping the son of another surfer.

Mr Young had his own reputation for aggression but after the attack, which left him with two broken eye sockets and cracked cheekbones, he said he was a changed man.

During his recovery, Mr Young worked on a book about surf rage and in recent years has promoted 'rules of the beach' signs to stop accidental breaches of etiquette and the anger that can follow.

There are quite a lot of the signs around beaches in Australia , but a lot of people don’t read them or become functionally illiterate at the sight of water!
Nat was always aggressive in the water, some reckon it was karma!

I like the one from the Surfrider Foundation

It sounds as though the situation you are describing is similar to one that I posted about here which included a lively discussion on the details:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=36508