in theroy that wave was yours - first on has right of way AND THEN closest to the peak . Alot of surfers arent aware of this and try the snake - but if you are up and riding first - its yours!
Alot of stand up waves are pretty dribbly and totally share - able - so let everyone know if you are up for a "party wave"

Although let courtesy and good spirit prevail at all times - especially if the rider hasnt caught a wave in a while. Communication is important too - helps maximise wave usage - so if you are sharing a peak decide who will go right , who will go left etc (or if its a party wave) - there will be more waves for all if you do this.


When paddling out - in theory surfers shouldnt paddle thru the break but around it (obviously this doesnt apply in a shifting beachie) - this has long been a source of frustration to me as surfers in the line up (when they could be 5m out on the shoulder) can totally wreck the surfing flow of the rider on the wave. This means Missed reos and missed tubes.

Unfortunatley - in my experience- about 50% of surfers are a bit gormless and arent smart enough to figure this one out and keep paddling thru the lineup... which is nearly as annoying as the whole pack sitting deep and taking off too deep and messing up every good set wave that comes thru - again very frustrating - and a bit of communication can avoid this.


As the rider though you have to give way and ensure the paddler's safety. Maybe some communication can work here.

Again its all about making sure that the limited wave resource is used to its maximum.

the great thing about standup is that you can often get away (to another peak or be clearly the first on the wave) from the frustrating situations outlined above!

And leggies are a must when in a break with other surfers ....

Q1 The rule is, first on, it's your wave and a surfer sitting on the inside shouldn't snake you (bad karma). Having said that, some surfers seeing a SUP sitting out on the shoulder and getting in early see them as wasting the critical part of the wave.
So if they call you off nicely, get off.

Q2 Go for it, but be careful. Don't make a dick of yourself

Q3 The rule is a surfer paddling out should not impede a surfer on a wave or spoil his line ie. paddle towards the white water.(if it means copping a pounding, so be it). Lets face it, you would have to be a fool to risk getting run down by a SUP board.

The best advise is to find a place away from the crowds

When the swell starts to stand up at the highest point this is called the peak.
The shoulder is the face of the wave which hasnt broken yet.
The greenroom is where you wanna be

Hey Ian , didnt see you at Bridgy that day, did you still go ? What beach is that you are learning at? Check out the swell for later in the week

kiteboarders give way to everyone.
windsurfers and stand ups give way to surfers.

Yeah it did look a bit ****ty that day , didnt get there till lunch time, pete would have been excited to see another sup , did he say i was out the day before ? his son is on the wqs world surf tour rips the place apart, the swell looks awesome for later in the week