Rules within rules
As we have seen, the particular conditions offered by different types of waves can lead to certain adaptations to the rule. For example :
1. Leave air
When the waves are multipic, it’s a good idea to give your fellow surfers room to breathe, and not constantly press them with snaking maneuvers.
The waves are beautiful, constant and plentiful, and there aren’t many people in the water, so it’s a good idea not to stick to, go around or squeeze your mates. Alas, some see this as an opportunity to gorge themselves on the waves, and in the evening boast that they’ve caught 150 waves. It’s good for the ego, especially as there’s a waterproof watch to measure the number of waves and distance surfed! They’ll have annoyed the other surfers by competing, getting all excited instead of savoring the moment and sharing.
2. Do not climb directly to the peak
Except in the case of multipic waves that form anarchically, the surfer who takes to the water is not going to place himself directly at the peak when other surfers are already waiting in the take-off zone. They’ve been waiting for the series for several minutes, and good manners dictate that he shouldn’t blow the series to them as soon as he arrives. He has to let the first series pass, waiting outside, before moving inside.
Wherever in the world beautiful waves are breaking, those who go straight to the peak expose themselves to rejection by their peers. Incorrect behavior can provoke a variety of reactions: you’ll be taxed, yelled at or dragged out of the water.
In the car, the guy who arrived at 90 km/h on the roundabout with his foot to the floor is going to complain because he hit a motorist. Likewise, the surfer who thought he could smoke the other surfers out, by doing them in, will be surprised to find he’s been taxed. This is what Melvin (I’ve changed the name and corrected the spelling mistakes), who doesn’t seem to have invented the powder, has to say on the Surfsession forum:
“In the opposite position, I remember being badly robbed by a hot co… as I had just entered the water in the purest discretion. I told my parasite that yes, yes, I’m right behind him and that I’d like to be able to surf this nice left without the view of his buttocks…
But nothing helped… he surfed the wave to the end, and on the way back to the peak, my little remark seemed to touch him to the point of proposing a nice fight on the sand… In short, I broke off with the desire to b… his wife”.
Similarly, anyone who cuts the surfers’ path to get back to the peak as quickly as possible, instead of bypassing them at the bottom, will be frowned upon: if he’s just caught a wave, he may well land for two minutes to give the others time to catch a wave in their turn. What’s more, he’s likely to hinder the surfers as they move along the wave, since he’s chosen the shortest but not the most suitable route.
3. Don’t perpetually covet priority
Hence the common-sense rule that a surfer should not systematically place himself in a position of priority, ahead of all the others. Once he’s caught his wave, he must make way for his comrades before returning to the inside. This is even more true for longboarders, stand-up or foil surfers, whose buoyancy means they can start further out to sea than everyone else and catch every wave if they want to.
What makes this surfer’s existence possible, the one who systematically catches every wave, or the best ones in the series, even though there’s plenty to share without feeling frustrated? Here are some answers:
Surfers on the spot generally prefer to avoid conflict because they’re there to have a good time, so they let it happen. Moreover, in a kind of Darwinism in action, surfers will admire a technically superior surfer, even if the latter, by leaving them only the crumbs, takes them for less than nothing. As for the stand-up paddle, set far out to sea, or the foil, they’re not sure how to interpret it, as its buoyancy properties invalidate the game of priorities: imagine an angling competition, with one competitor swinging a stick of dynamite and frantically scooping up all the fish, shouting “youhou, I won!”. The other participants will certainly show at least a little perplexity.
