Ruling the waves

From: Tom von Alten (tva@pobox.com-DeleteThis)
Date: Thu Aug 17 2000 - 22:06:48 PDT

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From: Tom von Alten <tva@pobox.com-DeleteThis>
To: "'wind_talk@opus.labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis'" <wind_talk@opus.labs.agilent.com-DeleteThis>
Subject: Ruling the waves
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 22:06:48 -0700
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Thanks guys, just what I needed. I'm adding it to my "I'm going to get to
the rest of that rec.windsurfing FAQ someday" file.

You may still remember when you were brand new and it was all a mystery, I
don't know; here are some comments from a long-time fresh water sailor.
(I got rather long-winded, sorry; must be frustrated by too much traffic
and not enough steady wind this afternoon. If you reply to the list,
please don't quote my whole message or let your mailer wrap it in HTML!)

First, let me summarize what Brad James <bjames@exponent.com-DeleteThis> wrote, and
that other readers reinforced:

  Wave rules:
  -----------
  1. Going out has right of way over coming in. A sailor going out
     should stay clear of the main wave zone as possible. If the
     outbound sailor has control, s/he should avoid wave riders.

2. First one on the wave has right of way.

  3. If you can't tell who was first on the wave, the person closest to
     the peak has right away (in down-the-line wavesailing, this means the
     person upwind has right of way).

  4. It's usually OK to share a wave with someone if you maintain enough
     distance so as to not affect their ride. Make sure you give plenty
     of room.... a couple of bottom turns can use up 50 feet in a hurry.
     If they have right of way over you and start coming down the line at
     you, just turn and go down the line yourself so you don't affect
     their ride.

5. Smile, be nice, be considerate and respect others.

I'm glad to see rule #1: getting out is the most intimidating part for me,
and there's no way to avoid it (and go sailing, that is). If the waves or
crowd are too much to handle, once you're out, it seems there are more
ways to avoid trouble.

Secondly, the use of "right of way" is a funny thing, and is part of what
I didn't understand. I think I do now.

With boats, there isn't quite the same contrast between "having fun" and
"avoiding collision." The #1 boat rule is "avoid collision." The rest of
the rules are there to support #1.

With wave riding, "right of way" has more to do with "whose wave is this?"
The owner gets to do what they want, eh? Makes sense for "navigation"
that involves many sudden turns for no discernible transportation purpose.

A lot of boaters and lake (bay, river) sailors mistake the wave "right of
way" (maybe we should call it "ownership"?) for the conventional "right of
way." In one of the common instances of the latter, when two vessels are
on opposite tacks on the same point of sail, the one on the starboard tack
has the right of way. This does NOT mean that the guy on starboard can do
whatever he wants, and the poor sap on port has to look out. It means the
guy on starboard should HOLD HIS COURSE, and the guy on port should CHANGE
HIS COURSE in order to pass each other safely and avoid collision.

This is the first I've heard mention of "double rights" (Owain Chilton),
but it's an amusing idea. Can I save up my rights for later, when I might
need them more? :-)

Off of waves, the general principle is that the more maneuverable vessel
is "burdened" (must change course) and the less maneuverable is
"priveleged" (must maintain course, or follow channel). This is simple
and obvious if the goal is to avoid collision, a goal which remains more
fundamental than seizing the opportunity to sculpt the meaning of life in
the brief existence of a spectacular wave. (But I'm not sure, having not
yet had the opportunity.)

The counterpoint, from tmurguz@amre.com-DeleteThis and zeev_gur@peoplesoft.com-DeleteThis
is that it's all about wavesailing, so the guy on the wave should rule.
(Hmm, "wave rules.") And, the guy who's ripping should be allowed to have
his way. I think this was my previous, somewhat vague and menacing,
understanding of the rule of the surf. "Those who know better than I
determine the rules, and will inform me in no uncertain terms when I
violate them." (Yes, I'm using artistic license and broadening what
you wrote.)

I don't want to be negative (especially as an avowed newbie), but
that's exactly backwards. I may not have surfed many ocean waves, but
I've seen this attitude taken to extremes in the Gorge (and elsewhere):
"I'm a better sailor than you, so you should get out of my way, and
I can come as close as I want to you, jump whenever, use you for a buoy
if you're down," etc.

If you're in exquisite control and having the time of your life, cut the
struggling newbie plenty of slack, and remember that you didn't used to be
perfect. And if you're smart, you'll know it's in your own best interest
to stay far enough away to not get skewered by a surprise jibe, crash,
spinout, or new and unnamed maneuver.

See you on the waves! (I hope)
_____________
Tom von Alten http://pobox.com/~tva
tva@pobox.com-DeleteThis Last update: 10 Aug
"This Train is Bound for Glory"

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