Surf Etiquette

As a beginner your first experience in the water can be quite intimidating. These nine rules will clarify what a surfer calls surf etiquette. They are made to keep surfers safe, to be respectful of one another and to keep a good vibe in the water. First you have to make sure you're surfing the proper spot for your ability. Starting off surfing small and soft waves will be less intimidating. Hollow powerful waves require experience because they break very quickly with a lot of power. Wiping out on one of these waves as a beginner can be pretty traumatizing. Choosing the proper surf spot and reading surf forecasts can get pretty tricky. You should first seek advice from an experienced friend or a surf coach to know where to surf. The surfer with the longest potential ride has priority Here surfer A who is closest to the peak, the first breaking part of the wave, has right of way. Surfer B stops paddling to make sure he doesn't drop in on the surfer A whose wave it is. If the surfer closest to the peak can't catch the wave the next surfer can paddle into it. In this situation surfer A can't ride the wave the way he wants to because surfer B just dropped in on him and he is in his way. Drop-ins can cause collisions, frustrations and injuries. To avoid these uncomfortable incidents look at the peak as you paddle for the wave. Check if somebody else has the right of way. For an example if you want to surf to the right look left and make sure no one is deeper than you. You might hear someone shout watch out or someone whistling at you. Keep your head up and take notice of what's going on around you. Once you actually are on your feet and you realize you've dropped in on someone it's actually not too late to fix your mistake. You can probably just go over the shoulder and off the back of the wave potentially not even disturbing the surfer with priority. Here are some variations and exceptions. Sometimes surfers ride the wave but they don't make it past the section and get caught in the white water. If you're 100% certain that the surfer will never make it past the white water you can theoretically catch the wave. Take note that paddling excessively on the shoulder can ruin another surfer's ride. It can make the wave crumble faster than it would do otherwise making a snowball of white water right in the way of the surfer. Some waves can offer both a left and a right. They are commonly known as A-frames. In this case two surfers can split the peak and each surf their side. If you see a beginner surfer going completely straight and not following the line or somebody falling off and you are the next in line you can catch the wave. Snaking can often be perceived as even more offensive than dropping in because it's usually done by competent surfers and know exactly what they're doing. Snaking goes as follows. Surfer A has been waiting his turn and begins to paddle for an incoming wave. Surfer B, the snake, waits for surfer A to be focused on paddling to the wave and then paddles inside or closer to the peak to claim the wave. As both surfers take off it appears that surfer A is the one who's dropped in on surfer B's wave when actually he is the one with the right of way. As you paddle out to catch some waves you must do your best to not get in other surfer's way. Don't paddle where most waves are crashing and where the majority of surfers are riding. Instead try to avoid other surfers paths when you're paddling back out. As you paddle back you might find yourself in front of a surfer riding a wave towards you. You must try to avoid getting in his way by either paddling towards the white water or further out on the shoulder as much as possible. You need to be careful. You don't want to paddle over the face of the wave to make your life easier. You'll be getting in the way of a surfer and potentially ruining his wave. Spots with consistent take-off zones such as reef breaks and point breaks offer the possibility of having every surfer taking turns. Surfers wait in line and let each other take waves one after the other. The one who has been waiting the longest will sit at the beginning of the line closest to the peak and will be the next to paddle for a wave without hassling from other surfers. The surfer paddling back from the wave respectfully sits at the end of the line and will be the last one in the group to take a wave. Beach breaks have many take-off zones. Each zone can have its own individual lineup so be aware if you change spots in the water. When spots are too crowded lineups can fall apart because there's simply too many people in the water. In this case the rule that stands is the drop-in rule. If you paddle for a wave but you don't catch it you must go to the end of the lineup. Even if you've patiently waited your turn, missed it and couldn't surf it, you won't be entitled to the next wave because you've still wasted a wave. You should communicate to other surfers when many of them are paddling for the same wave. Let other surfers know your intentions when necessary to avoid collisions. A surfer is usually considered local when he has a long history of surfing an area. Locals can have their own version of surf ethics. Take your time, observe the variations and accept the specific rules of the area. When a wall of white water comes towards you it can be tempting to throw your board away and dive underneath the wave. Don't ditch your board, it could injure another surfer paddling behind you. To pass the break while keeping control of your surfboard, learn to either push through the white water, turtle roll or duck dive if you're on a short board. In most cases experienced surfers are able to tell if you did something wrong on purpose, such as dropping in on their wave. If you do end up dropping in on somebody's wave, simply apologizing makes a big difference and reduces tension in the water. If you're a beginner or intermediate surfer looking to learn to surf or improve your skills, head over to the livemoremagazine.com to unlock your surfing potential and get ready for your next surf trip. If you want to share anything with us that has made you question how to act in the water or if you have any questions regarding the proper surf etiquette, please let us know in the comments below. If you feel like this video has helped your surf progression, please give us a thumbs up and make sure you subscribe to our channel so that you don't miss out on our next surfing tutorial.