Wave Priority Question

Its normally closest to the curl. Party waves are another story where everyone takes off. Malibu is a good example of this. The hard part is when someone looks or says they're going right then decide at the last second to go left. Calling the wave does help but in a crowd? If the other surfer got up after you and is just snaking you after seeing you're alredy up then I'd say its your wave or share it and pull out earlier.

 

i would say in your case, you dropped in on him and you did the right thing by kicking out.

 

in my mind, both "could" qualify the person to have priority.
but for me, if Im on the inside, closest to the curl and the guy on the outside pops up before I can... than I have shamed myself into losing priority and can only be peeved at myself for missing the wave.

but generally its the guy on the inside with priority.

 

It's whoever is deeper (closer to the peak) regardless of who drops in first. Usually if the person is dropping in after you and they are deeper than you then they are making a steep late drop, which probably means they have every intention of shredding that section into oblivion.

You did the right thing.

It only gets confusing when it's perfect A framing barrels and you are, for example, deeper on the left but less deep on the right. You gotta talk it out in that situation.

 

First to your feet is never the rule unless your in a gadget movie.

 

No a gadget movie, inspector gadget. He lived by the rule of first to his feet and look where that got him.

 

I'll provide a counter-example where First-Up definitely owns the wave. I was surfing 3-4 ft Bells (8 ft faces) in a small crowd of about 20. Bells is a right that breaks waaaay out and rolls in very soft at the peak before it really gets going. I was sitting furthest outside with 3 other dudes, about 10-15 yards past the next group. I picked off one of the bigger ones and rolled in, popped up to my feet and was just passing the inside group when a dude, to the left of me, turns and strokes in on the edge of the whitewater. I was already past my bottom turn and coming back up when he had the nerve to try to call me off. Being the "guest" on the wave, I treated him as respectfully as possible by ignoring him and continuing to surf the wave while he bumped along in my trail.

Moral of the story: Sometimes "closest to the curl" is nonsense. Cheers, mate!

 

This^^^^the person closest to the peak has priority regardless of who got to their feet first.

 

if your gonna be straight-off-adolf then people are gonna take off behind you. why even bother surfing a point if that's all you got? plenty of beachbreaks with free picking's you could go to

 

The deepest in has it. Dosn't matter if their fins are skimming sand and you can't even see that deep into the barrels spit.

 

What is "all he got" He said he got up and bottom turned. You got something different? Or are you just a cunnt to everyone for no good reason...

 

Bi-stater, you're my buoy™ now Blue, and no ill wills from Spicoliville. That said, AO/OO may be talking about kamikazes in general. To which I completely second that notion. If you ain't gonna scribble, then put the chalk down and go back to your seat.

Here's to finding an aqua canvas this morning! I'll even take elf-sized!! Don't know how to use that Insterrgraham thing so here's a pic my brah just shott of me bout to charge the patrol!

 

just you donkey-boy. he-haw he-haw!

 

All good Emassta.... No reason to bicker back and forth like a couple of cranky old birds.

But AO/OO, you're just a punk. You always have something to say for no good reason.

 

It is the closest to the peak/curl in my opinion, in most cases. You did the right thing by kicking out. Communication is helpful, especially on an A frame - "You go right, I'll go left. OK?". The thing that bothers me the most is when someone tries to fade me off the peak.

Lets say I am on a peak ready to take off right. Poser dude pretends to go backdoor(lets say left), so I give him priority, then he goes a bit left on the drop, then turns right before the bottom and snakes my peak. Makes me livid. But if you are backdoor and call it then you have priority, but you better go the way you called it and don't be a punk. There are no rules, only well established guidelines. For you novices, backdoor means you are behind the peak, and you are in position to get shacked if you make the drop. So the guy on the peak has to give up priority for the surfer who is sitting deep, ready to go steep.

 

I disagree with this. Surfer on the peak always has priority. If you wanna back door to get barreled, great, but its not your wave. Look at the ASP rules for A frames like lowers. You get an interference if you back door the peak when another surfer is closer to it. For example, when no one in particular has priority, if both surfers are on the left side of the peak: surfer A is closest to the peak. surfer B is farther from it but makes like he wants to go right making like he's deeper for the right, trying to force surfer A to pull off, THAT would be an interference. Same applies for the rest of us.

 

I don't surf in the ASP. It always made sense to me if a guy was deeper than me and called backdoor, I let him go for it even if I am on the peak. He is making a strong commitment and I think he should go. But this is just the etiquette I grew up with at a certain peak. Most top spots around here have lots of pro talent ( I am not one of them), and we always cut each other slack if someone calls backdoor. As long as they go. I have surfed contests, and that is one of the things I do not like about them. The interference rules can award punk ass strategy, and not award hardcore surf awareness to go for the barrel, go for broke, go big or go home attitude that makes surfing great. We do need to get along, and in contests the rules are the rules. Like I said, in real surfing situations, there are no rules, only well established guidelines.

When in Rome...I guess if I am traveling and in a crowded peak (not a good idea ) I would see what the prevailing protocol is and show lots of respect. Among friends and acquaintances we just try to not be too greedy, but to stay off the wave if someone has the peak. I am only speaking of a specific situation, and I appreciate your input frontsidecrotchgrab. If I am ever reborn as an ASP surfer, I will study the rulebook.

 

Sisurfdogg, your telling me that surfer on the peak is primarily a "contest situation"? Or is that a generally established rule that also applies to contests simply b/c it is the clearest way to determine priority; contest or not? I used an ASP rule as an example to clarify an obvious bit of conduct used most everywhere in the world. Ever surfed in OZ? Tell me thats not how they determine priority. Ever surfed South Amereica? Same. (At least where I was).
You were stating specific situations in which you gave up prority while on the peak. But it is certainly not recognized most ANYWHERE else that backdooring takes priority. Of course we have prerogative to GIVE UP priority. But thats not what the original post was asking...