by Neal Miyake

Rule #1: No Drop-ins

Recently, I saw a newspaper article about the unwritten rules of golf. This cracked me up because in the world of surfing (recreational surfing, that is), *all* the rules are unwritten.

Most beginners are blissfully unaware that dropping in on someone is a cardinal sin - they just don't know any better. However, a grumpy surfer may take this breach of etiquette as a huge insult, and may want to "throw blows" because of it. This is not a good thing.

Collision course!

I've heard suggestions that all wave riding vehicles should be sold with a basic list of rules on how people should handle themselves in a lineup. On the surface, it sounds like a good idea, but I'm not convinced it is the right approach.

A point can be made that it is better that we don't have hard and fast rules in surfing. The whole modern surfing era revolved around an anti-establishment mentality as people sought an outlet to break away from the structured society. By forcing people to follow rigid rules, we may actually be ruining part of the individual aspect of surfing. Of course, surfing has since become so ingrained into current pop that it doesn't have the same counterculture status it once had, but I digress.

"I kapu the next set wave!"

In contrast, by paying your dues, learning as you go, you can build a sense of accomplishment and respect that actually is a part of the overall allure. Knowing what to do and when to do it is satisfying and expresses to others that you are indeed a part of the surfing tribe.

The rules themselves can also be quite fluid (no pun intended), given different situations and locales. For instance, if there are just a few people sharing a lineup, a common unspoken practice in Hawaii is for waveriders to get into a rotation and share waves.

So what are some of these "unwritten" rules? Well, one of the best compilations that I've seen was featured in Nat Young's book Surf Rage. There's a photo of a plaque entitled "Tribal Law: Surfriders Code of Ethics," which succinctly describes surf etiquette guidelines complete with representative cartoon drawings. It was written in 1997 by Robert Conneeley, and was put up at Margaret River, Western Australia.