Yes this video is pretty cheesy, hardly Phil Macca and Trent Munro’s finest moment, but it does some up a few of the following points fairly succinctly.
Surfing Etiquette is the most important thing to learn before you set foot in the surf.These are not so much “rules” as they are a proper code of conduct designed to keep everyone in the water safe and happy. People who repeatedly break these rules are often given the stink-eye, a stern talking to, yelled at with obscenities, or just flat out beat up.
Don’t worry, if you accidentally drop in on someone once they aren’t going to beat you up. However, there are rules of the road out there and this is the real world. If you’re constantly stealing waves or not being respectful, you’re going to have a run in. With the growing popularity of surfing, the number of people in the water is on the rise and unfortunately surfing etiquette is gradually eroding away.
New surfers should memorise these rules, and even veterans should take a refresher course now and then. This might seem like a lot of stuff to remember, but in time it will become second nature. Most surfing etiquette rules are common sense anyway.