Decius wrote:

They are known as the Wolfpak or simply “the boys.” They use fear and their fists to command respect in the surf along the North Shore of Oahu, a seven-mile stretch of some of the world’s most renowned waves. At the celebrated Banzai Pipeline, they determine which waves go to whom, and punish those who breach their code of respect for local residents and the waves.

There are forms of this, albeit less severe, everywhere. Especially when its crowded.

In Florida, on prime days, even after I got to where I could really stand up and ride the line most waves, I could not surf the pier when more than 10 people were there. The 'bras' show up and an ape mentality takes over and it gets quite dangerous for everyone as people compete for waves. There is a system of right of way, but its quite hard to always be alert and the bras will ignore it if they don't respect you.

From what I hear of Hawaii, if you're at a big break like that... provided that you show respect and have a good first wave you're fine. They'll give you waves all day. But they are their waves, not yours.

RE: On North Shore of Oahu, Enforcing Respect for Locals and the Waves - NYTimes.com