Surfing is about freedom, hanging out with your mates, having fun and chilling out but there are some unwritten rules that prevent you from becoming 'that guy' (or girl) in the water.
1.Don't drop in One wave, one surfer. When you paddle for a wave always check if someone got there first, sharing isn't always caring and you don't want to ruin the fun for fellow surfers.
2. Keep control of your board A board to the face is no fun at all, never try to pull a manoeuvre that could end up with you landing on (or crashing into) someone else, you will not be popular.
3. Don't snake If you see someone else already paddling for a wave don't paddle inside them and try to claim their wave for yourself. Not cool.
4. The surfer on the inside has right of way Once the surfer is up and riding on the inside- she/he has right of way
5. Wait your turn If someone has been waiting longer than you, they have 1st choice for the next wave.
6. Don't paddle out through the break If you paddle around the breaking part of the wave you wont interfere with another surfers ride (and you'll be less likely to be crashed into)
7. Communicate In case you are one of the 2 surfers sitting in the middle of the peak and the wave opens to both sides, you need to tell the other surfer if you're going right or left.
8. Don't hog the waves Don't try to catch every single wave. You'll p**s everyone else off and you'll probably get a bad name for yourself.
9. Respect the ocean Respect sea creatures (you're in their house now) and definitely don't drop rubbish in the sea. Nobody wants to surf in garbage, and surfers, in general, want to protect the ocean.
