Surf etiquette: the unwritten rules of the lineup

One wave, one surfer. The person sitting closest to the breaking part of the wave, the peak, has priority. If a wave is breaking left and you're further down the line than the surfer to your right, the wave is theirs. Same goes for a right.

On a peak that splits both ways, the surfer paddling for the left takes the left and the surfer going right takes the right. No shouting needed if everyone's reading the same playbook.

Dropping in is taking off on a wave when someone with priority is already up and riding. It ruins their wave, it's dangerous, and it's the fastest way to get a reputation in a small lineup like Rest Bay or Caswell. If you see someone deeper than you stand up, pull back. Even if you were already paddling.

Did it by accident? It happens. Kick out as soon as you realise, apologise in the water, move on. Pretending it didn't happen is worse than the drop-in itself.

Snaking is paddling around the back of someone to put yourself deeper, then claiming priority on the next set. Technically you're now closer to the peak, but you got there by jumping the queue. Don't. The lineup remembers.

If you've been waiting your turn and someone keeps paddling around you, hold your line. You earned the wave by sitting there for it.

Paddle out around the break, not through it. At a beach break, that usually means using the channel or the deeper water at the edge of the bank. At a reef or point, it nearly always means walking or paddling round the shoulder.

If you do get caught in the impact zone, take the whitewater on the head and hold onto your board. Ditching it puts a sharp piece of foam and fibreglass on a leash straight into whoever's behind you. The surfer riding the wave always has priority over the surfer paddling out, duck-dive, turtle, or eat it. Don't make them go around you.

A quick "Going left!" as you stand up tells everyone in the lineup what you're doing, and a "Yours!" or "Go!" sorts out a split-second priority call before it becomes a collision. It feels awkward the first few times. Do it anyway.

Apologies count too. A wave with even a small "Sorry, mate" sounds very different to a wave taken in silence.

Every spot has people who surf it every day, know where the rip sits at low tide, and know where the bank shifts after a storm. They earned their waves. Sit a bit wide for your first half-hour, watch the rotation, and don't roll up six-deep on a tight reef.

Locals aren't being unfriendly when they take the first set wave, they're showing you how the spot works. Watch, wait, then paddle in.

The kindest thing a beginner can do for everyone, themselves included, is pick a spot that matches their ability. On a big day, Rest Bay in front of the lifeguards, the inside at Llangennith, or the corner at Caswell are all better calls than Porthcawl Point or the Esplanade. Bodhi will tell you which spot is the right one on any given day, that's the whole point of the app.

Pick up litter on the walk back to the car, even if it isn't yours. Help someone who's struggling in the rip. Don't be the person with a GoPro on a head-strap filming strangers without asking.

The Welsh coast looks after us. Look after it back.