From: willb@dilbert.ucdavis.edu (Will Borgeson)
Newsgroups: alt.surfing Subject: Re: Politeness
Date: 14 Jul 1997 :
A suggestion for those of us who don't like hassles in the break. when : you paddle out, ask the guys clustered around the takeoff zone "Whose : turn is it next?" It works, sometimes. With all due respect - probably only if you know the guys, in which case the question is unnecessary. Where you don't know the guys, a typical response would be "Not yours." Or a stony, irritated silence. When paddling out at a high-energy spot where I'm not known, I like to let the hard-cores out there all get waves before I take off. Then, I'm careful to make the first one I try for, often with a consciously less flamboyant style than usual, or than is going down, at least initially. Loc's don't generally like to be shown up by Johnny-come-latelies... I think most good surfers have a telepathic sense of whose turn it is, at any particular time...
The Rules: Surfing tends to be pretty free form but there are certain accepted rules, mostly based on safety and common sense.
1. Wave ownership (The "my wave" rule) The person closest to the breaking part of the wave has the right of way.
Caveat: If someone is up and riding, paddling into the wave behind them does not give you the wave. Also note: In many low-key breaks, the first person paddling for the wave owns it. Do not expect this to apply in crowded conditions.
2. Dropping in (The "Thall shalt not" rule) Dropping in is taking off on a wave in front of someone who is already up and riding. Don't do this. Ever. No exceptions.
3. Paddling out (The "Eat it" rule) When paddling out, if you must get over a wave that someone is riding, paddle behind them (On the white water side). This generally means getting stuffed for the sake of someone else's ride. Take comfort in the hope that they would do the same for you. Do not paddle in front of someone unless you are so sure that you will be 20 feet in front of them that you are willing to bet the well-being of your board/car/nose on it.
Jon Bowen, Date: Tue Sep 21, 1999 7:42am Subject: Re: The Suck Stops Here!
The worst perpetrators I find are bloody canoes. The number of times I've been run over by some out-of-control tw@t on a goatboat... ..kayaks aren't quite so bad, 'cos at least they don't have any fins, so it's not to much of a panic to duck dive under them, but wave ski's I hate. Go back to the river.
What's the best way to call someone off though? If I'm already hammering down the line, and someone looks like there about to drop in, then I shout something. I try to say something like 'hey, my wave' but it usually seems to come out like 'uiirgghheehehhhaaaa!' If you say 'uiirgghheehehhhaaaa' loud enough, everyone thinks you are insane and they'll pull off. And then they'll paddle off to the other end of the beach, casting worried expressions at you over their shoulders as they go. Or, you can wear black shorts and speak pidgin loudly on the beach. People will think you are a retard wannabe hawaiian 'shaka bra' johnny boy moron and stay as far way from you as possible in case someone thinks that they know you. It works even better with a pop-out under your arm. Actually, you can tell it's the end of the summer now, because all those hardcore looking, bleach blond, arnet wearing, tribal tattoo 'surfers' who are only good in the carpark, and just flounder in the sea, disappear...
What if it's a fifty fifty situation though? If there is no exact peak, and you and someone else are neck and neck paddling for it? If the wave is going to go both ways, I'll go and take off away from the other guy. If he goes that way too, I'll pull off straight away. If it's a one way wave, whoever gets to their feet first has priority. If he drops in on me, I'll cruise along behind him, and make bloody sure he realises he dropped in.
There was a suggestion in the surf magazines a few years ago, when bodyboarders who getting loads of flak for having a reputation for dropping in, (which many resins still now take as a license to burn), that on every board sold, there should be a swing tag or something with the surfing etiquette rules on it. Seems like a good idea to me, but it faded away... ~jon
February 13, 2003
City floats surf rules book
By DAN WHITE
Sentinel staff writer
SANTA CRUZ - Rules of the surf lineup are passed on by word of
mouth - and in extreme cases by fist to mouth.
The rules are part of an oral history. They aren’t something
you see printed on paper - and certainly not on city letterhead.
But the city Parks and Recreation Department, responding to packed
surf breaks and increasing conflicts between surfers and kayakers,
plans to print 7,000 "aloha" wave-etiquette brochures
to pass out to wave riders of all types.
City lifeguard chief John Alexiou said the free brochures are
an effort to have wave riders regulate themselves. While he wouldn’t
rule out future regulations for kayaks, which some surfers want,
no restrictions are on the table, he said. Most everyone who attended
the city-sponsored meetings on the issue stressed cooperation
over bureaucracy, he added.
The suggestions are nonbinding, and parks officials expect them
to be enforced by social code, not surf cops. They apply to surfers,
kayakers and body-boarders.
The rules were created with suggestions from wave riders, but
don’t look for any macho posturing in the pamphlet. It is
so cautious to avoid surf/kayak conflict that it labels both objects
"surf vehicles."
"We need to emphasize mutual consideration," the brochure
reads. "Be gracious and generous in letting others have their
share of waves. Give respect to get respect. Help your fellow
surfers."
The project will cost $5,000. The city is kicking in about $1,000,
and the rest is being raised privately. Among the donors: surf
and kayak shops.
Kristina Marquez called the brochures a great idea. The normal
method of learning the rules is "getting yelled at, or a
cool guy will come up to you and explain it," she said.
Marquez, co-owner of Paradise Surf Shop in Pleasure Point, said
the city publicizing surf conduct codes reflects changing times
and priorities.
"Santa Cruz surfing has always been so counter-cultural,"
she said, but now, "... we have doctors and lawyers surfing.
... We used to have all surfers working in surf shops and gas
stations. Before it was perfectly acceptable to dunk a kid who
was being a brat. Not anymore. The time is perfect for something
like printed brochures."
Bill McGlaughlin, a longboarder who manages Arrow Surf and Sport
on the Westside, liked the pamphlet idea but had little faith
it will settle all disputes.
"When the ocean is calling you, it’s hard to obey a
bunch of rules," he said. "The people who have conflicts
with it, I am not sure they are that reachable with that kind
of education."
He added he’s been "scared out of my mind" by
guys on kayaks who lack control.
Former white-water kayaker Jeff Grell, who now runs the Corralitos-based
Professional Surfing Tour of America, said the pamphlet suggestions
will benefit all groups.
The rules were formed because of simmering conflicts between surfers
and kayakers. In the early 1990s the groups brawled during the
annual spring surf-kayak contest in Santa Cruz.
A group called Surfers For a Safe Berth pushed the city to ban
kayakers from surf breaks. Members argued out-of-control kayaks
are extremely dangerous to surfers.
Kayakers responded, saying they are regularly harassed by obnoxious
surfers even when they aren’t in the breaks. Wave riders
from as far as Hawaii and Mexico sent e-mails to the city.
The pamphlets will include pictures of a wipe-out, and give displays
of potential conflict situations and how to avert them. In one
display, surfers are designated as "Red" and "Green."
"The surfer closest to the breaking wave has possession,"
the section reads. "Red may not drop in. ... Red has lost
forward momentum or wipes out. Green may take possession."
The brochures will be handed out at surf shops, waterfront businesses
and kayak shops, among other stops.
While this is the first time the city has waded into surf etiquette,
rules are carved in a wood sign at Cowell Beach.
The author was Sam Reid, who helped establish Santa Cruz as one
of the world’s best-known surf spots. Reid, who died in
1978, was known for his large redwood surfboard and his knowledge
of Polynesian surfing history.
His sign asks surfers to cede right of way to the first on the
wave, and most importantly, "Hang on to your board."
