INTRODUCTION TO SURF ETIQUETTE FOR DUMBSTERS, NEWBEES AND BUTTHEADS WHO JUST DON’T SEEM TO GET IT1/8/2019 
by Corky Carroll
I was going to save this one for closer to summer when more people are getting ready to learn to surf for the first time, but then this morning there was an incident in the water that inspired me to open up this discussion now, ask for feedback for anybody who might have an opinion on the subject, and then revisit it in the spring with an update. The much-debated subject of proper surf etiquette, or “rules of the reef” as we used to call it. What happened this morning was a girl surfer took off in front of a guy surfer and the guy surfer pushed her off her board. Then the two of them got into an extremely spirited debate that went on for quite a while, and somehow got into the subject of “woman bashing.” If you were there seeing and hearing all this it was pretty entertaining, if you are of the mindset to see humor in things, or pretty disturbing in the case you take all this stuff more seriously. On the surface this looked pretty cut and dried, but there was more to it. The guy had been taking way more than his share of waves and had paddled around the girl a couple of times to “snake” the wave. So, the girl decided to drop in on him on purpose because, in her words, “he was being a butthead.” The guy saw her start to drop in and told her, “hey, I got this one.” Soooo, it was kinda one of those cloudy deals. Fact is both of them were being a tad over aggressive in an otherwise very mellow surfing scene. This kind of thing happens a lot in crowded spots and those that are known for aggressive surfers, not so much in easy spots and those known for having a lot of beginners, intermediates, longboarders, families, et. But, the fact that these run ins do happen there should be some sort of protocol for right of way. With that in mind I am going to state a few ideas that I hold to be true and open the floor for discussion. There is a basic rule in surfing. The person closest to the curl has right of way. This is almost always the first person to stand up and/or the person deepest in the wave. There is a gray area where a person will turn and paddle for the wave and stand up first while someone deeper will take off a second or two later. That happens mostly when the person taking off in the front is on a bigger board and can catch the wave sooner. This is where it gets gray. The person deeper still has the right of way 90% of the time. It’s only when the person in the front had clearly staked that wave out and was going for it clearly before the person deeper, and the person deeper saw clearly that the other one was going for it before he or she decided to go for it. But, for the most part, it’s the rider in the back who has priority. To make this more unclear there are those surfers who are known to “snake” people all the time. They will see somebody all lined up to go and paddle as hard as they can to get on the deeper side of them and take off. There are a lot of snakes in surfing. That said, there is a lot to be said about just getting in better position. One common comment, normally from beginners or intermediates, is, “I was sitting there for an hour waiting for a wave and that guy was riding over and over.” Well, whose fault is that? The person getting in good position or the person sitting in one spot expecting that he would get the wave just because he had waited longer? This is a good question, and one that I am sure would be answered according to how experienced the surfer is who is answering it. 
At this point I realize that it is going to take more than just one column to address this subject as I am already out of space and still have a lot to talk about. So, I will get back to this next week.
I would, however, like to put out one question for you. In the case of the guy pushing the girl off her board, do you feel that this relates at all to if this was a male or female? This is a really good question for a number of reasons, and I would love to hear opinions. Etiquette Part I Article
7 Comments
Jeff Spencer
1/8/2019 05:13:44 pm
Aloha Corky,
Rik Rodriguez
1/9/2019 10:44:29 pm
Where were you when I was tring to learn to surf in ventura. Most of the surfers I ran into were punks and would run you over.
Jim Fitzpatrick
1/9/2019 07:14:06 am
My parents were woking class heroes, so I was more or less raised by my grandparents. I was taught to respect women. I had two younger sisters. I still open doors for women, and my wife, too. But I was also a first-generation gremmie at Topanga Beach in 1960 and I had to work my way into the lineup if I wanted to catch a wave. I was tiny and skinny and too. If anything I sometimes got waves out of sympathy. It took years. But I never pushed anyone off their board for one simple reason, EVERYONE was bigger than I was. At the same time Miki Dora pushed plenty of people off their boards, I'd smile at him as we paddled back out to the point. I gave him waves. He gave me waves (OK, he came through our house to get to the beach). 25 years later living close to Rincon I was 6'+ tall,100 pounds heavier, I still opened doors for women, and my wife, and my daughters, and I rode my longboard as fast and as aggressively as I possible could. If you took off in front of me I'd roar past or beat all to try. I didn't spray people with cutback water, I made the wave, I trimmed and blasted and ride forever. I didn't slow down or cut back to accommodate anyone, except for women (and there weren't many). And that aggression was related to the quality of the wave. Screaming right point Rincon calls for speed and more speed. Relxed beachbreak, 'Hey, it's all good. Let's play. Have some fun.' Today, I sit in Austin, TX and think of the possibilities. Thanks, Corky.
John Beattie
1/9/2019 08:03:02 am
Hi Corky, I think wave hogs deserve to be dropped in on once in a while. Especially when doing what you described. I don't blame the girl. But personally what I usually do is play their game and go a little further outback and get the wave. Unfortunately the snake that you described would probably drop in in front of me. In which case if he was way bigger than me I'd probably avoid getting myself a beating. lol But thank God that never happened. If you are a good surfer usually what I've found is the wave hogs and snakes pick on someone else. I don't think this guy would care if you were a man or woman. He probably does it to anyone not his size. There's another option. Be friendly say hi and ask if you can have the next wave. The guy just might say sure. Being friendly has always worked for me. I usually say hi and give a compliment about the surf spot. Let them know I'm visiting from NY. It's never failed for me.
Rob Baker
1/9/2019 04:48:08 pm
Hi, Corky. Like the way most things go in life, the answer is..."It depends." But, I think there is never an excuse for a dude to push a girl off her board. End of discussion. 1/9/2019 05:16:45 pm
It should always be closest to the peak,with a no contest / no snake rule....frankly contest surfing and priority in contests,really ruin surfing. A surf contest is not a time , when anyone likes seeing waves go un ridden....anyway our time tested respect of wave priority, mixed with respect to locals, and top performing surfers, IS how it is and how it will / should be.Snaking is rude and only demands respect in a contest.As far as girls....hands off, and communicate. 1/10/2019 01:17:55 am
Mostly the negative vibe in the water is more MIND GAMES than anything else. Leave a Reply. |