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Lineup Etiquette
Europe´s waves get more and more crowded. Hords of surfers go travelling. Masses of beginners get attracted by the sea in summer. At some spots that leads to absurd situations, not really generating too much fun and sometimes even dangerous. And this doesn’t only happen at the Atlantic but also at the Nordic waters of the north sea and Baltic sea.
As the number of surfers won’t really drop in the near future, we want to remind ALL surfers of the Seven Golden Rules that were set up to give everybody more fun:
- If you paddle out at a foreign break and there are already surfers in the lineup, don’t go out in a large group. Depending on the spot 4 people getting out together are the maximum. When there is more of you, time your paddling out so that there is some time between the groups entering the lineup. This way you avoid the mood in the lineup going rapidly down ´cause the people feel overrun by the hordes.
- When you go out NEVER paddle past the crew directly to the peak. If you get in line and wait your for your turn you’ll usually have no problems getting your share of waves. The other way round you wouldn’t be too amused when you were waiting for your turn and somebody gets out and sits in front of you.
- When paddling out and somebody surfing a wave comes your direction try not to disturb his ride and get out of the way, even when this means that you have to pass the wave at a less comfortable area i. e. the white water instead of the shoulder.
- A friendly Hello, best spoken in the local language and a smile can create miracles. Don’t hesitate to cheer on a good ride of an unknown surfer. And don’t loose your motivation in your good manners by locals that sport grim faces at the beginning. Once they realise that you know how to behave their faces will brighten pretty soon.
- As a local: always remember that some day you will be guest at a foreign spot too. So, give waves and when you feel really good: call a stranger into a wave!
- As beginner: not knowing the rules is no excuse. It’s your duty to inform yourself about the situations at the break and the rules before you go into the water. Otherwise you’ll put yourself and others into danger. If in doubt, ask somebody!
- Avoid unnecessary noise, be careful with the nature and don’t cross country when you don’t know if it’s private. Don’t leave any trash, even better collect some trash from the beach on the way back.
And for the absolute newcomers and the ones with partial loss of memory here’s a few more rules concerning when to take a wave and when not:
- The one closest to the peak has priority.
- If somebody (and even if he / she is a sponger) already surfs the wave – as long as he has followed rule number 8, dear longboarders – it’s his / her wave and NOBODY else drops into this waves. There is NO excuses ´cause:
- If you paddle for a wave ALLWAYS take a look to make sure nobody already is surfing it. A little glance over the shoulder to the peak is not too much of effort.
- If you followed rules no 8 to 10 and despite that still snaked somebody get out of the wave immediately and excuse yourself afterwards.
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