i had a run in with a poledancer the other day in the surf. i was on a wave that was already breaking, when this bloke decides he likes the look of the same wave and forces me off the face. this happened 3 times during the sesh. never once did i get a "sorry mate", a wave of the hand in apology or even a nod of acknowledgment, although i was screaming at him by then.
i confronted him on the beach and he reckons the person ON the wave has to give way. i thought it was the opposite.
we were both on the same tack and i was upwind of him.
before i scream at him again, i just want to check what anyone else reckons???

Hey Stamp,

Much as I hate to defend teabaggers and knock poledancers, you were in the right, at least as far as your description goes. The surfer closest to the breaking section of the wave has right of way (at least when you're going for the same wave).

Unfortunately he probably knew this and just wanted to be one up on you. There's a bit of a culture of poleys vs teabaggers, as well as experience vs non-experience, which really and truly shouldn't exist but unfortunately does.

There's one in every crowd

Hey Stamp,

This is a tricky one. It depends upon the sailboarder. Was he on the way out or were both of you on the way in.

Sailboarders when on a wave, give way to those coming out through the break, unfortunately it is the opposite to us. When we are on a wave, we have right of way over other kiters on the way out.

Now this is where it gets tricky. If we are on a wave and the poleboarder is on the way out, the rules revert back to us giving way to all other craft in the surf due to our better manoevreability.

If the poley gybed onto the wave, then he was in the wrong. If you have the upwind closest to the breaking section and were already on the wave, then you had the right of way.

Hold your ground but not to the point of having a collision. As Nebbian says, there can be a bit of rivalry between the two camps and some feel it is their god given right to do what they want because their sport was around longer. Yep, there's always one in a crowd

Good winds,

Hey Stamp,

He's messin with the rules, either that or he doesn't understand them properly.

He does have right of way over you if you were on the wave, but ONLY if he is on the way out through the break, NOT if he is waiting to get onto the same wave as you.

Even Poleys would yell at him for that kind of antic.

Good winds,

This is from the AKS website and is 100% correct in all situations.

Tip #16 Priority Rules in the surf or surfing etiquette is now more important than ever with the current wave (pardon the pun) of enthusiasm for kite surfing. As many kiters come from non kiteboarding or wind surfing backgrounds, it is important for them to understand who has right of way whilst kiting in the surf zone in order to avoid accidents and injury to others.

1. The rider who is on the wave first has priority or ownership of that wave unless they fall off the wave.

2. If two riders catch the same wave at the same time, the rider upwind has priority over the rider downwind.

3. In peeling waves, the rider closest to the breaking section of the wave has the wave. The other rider should "bail out" of the wave.

4. "Snaking" a wave by pointing up higher and passing another rider who has been riding a swell in from out the back to gain upwind advantage is highly discouraged and can lead to very unhappy kiters. Same goes for kiters gybing onto the wave that is already being ridden by someone else.

5. If you are learning to ride waves and cannot ride well enough to remain on your board so as you are often body dragging around in the breaking wave zone, it is courteous and respectful to ride 100m or more further upwind away from the rest of the riders who are hitting the lip and using the waves. A less perfect wave will make little difference to you when you are learning. Many competent riders get seriously annoyed at learners constantly body dragging back and forth through the prime sections of the break looking for their boards. No one minds sharing the waves with you whilst learning, but if you are ruining others fun, people tend to get dark. If you happen to lose your board, body drag to the beach and walk up the sand to get a view of it, then body drag out after it. The surf normally takes a board and washes it downwind and onto the beach in any case.

6. The rider on the wave has priority over someone who is riding out or jumping.

7. Give way to sailboards and know that they have priority when going out through the waves (opposite to us) as they are often underpowered in the surf on the way out and therefore have little maneuverability, and then ride waves coming in using the power of the wave. Give way to surfers who are on a wave and be respectful enough to not drown them in spray when passing them as they wait for sets. Most surfcraft all operate by the same code of ethics and tribal law. Respect is paramount. if you want respect, first give it.

well, even with the right of way, common sense is that i play safe and i don't want to ruin a season with broken body or equipment for
somebody who does not respect rules or people ...
same when you cross the road even if you have the right, you don't want to be crushed by a shinny 4WD ...