On Dropping In

I've been thinking about that Inertia article about dropping in. What I come away with are a few different moral justifications for the snake:

Economy of Aesthetic:
Each incarnation of energy made into a precious, surfable wave should, ethically, be ridden to it's highest potential.  A rideable wave's highest potential can only be actualized by the most accomplished and/or aesthetically pleasing practitioner in the water.  If a lesser practitioner takes off on the wave, it is the superior practioner's moral duty to reclaim the wave in the name of an overall general economic success.

Law of the Land:
Each incarnation of energy made into a precious, surfable wave should, ethically, be ridden by the practitioner who has spent the most time at that particular bit of rock, sand or coral. For the good of societal order, if a "younger" practitioner takes off on the wave, it is the "senior" practioner's moral duty to reclaim the wave in the name of communal justice.

John Stuart Swell:
Each incarnation of energy made into a precious, surfable wave should, ethically, be enjoyed by each practitioner equally, based not on merit but on existence of effort. If one practitioner snakes another practitioner based on any of the preceding justifications, parity must be reasserted to maintain moral order in a natural environment that is intrinsically free to all.  It is the moral practioner's duty to reclaim the wave and reset the agenda for the good of surfkind.


Each of these fall prey to more or less the same slippery slop of the sliding scale.  Who is to say what's prettiest?  Who can really claim localism? Who can be the judge and jury on what's best for everyone?

In the end, it's a mixed bag of privilege to surf at high tone spots with any consistency.  More often people find themselves at less than spectacular breaks, surfing middling waves with a community whose skill set, while certainly functional and at times inspired, rarely climbs the highest heights of surfing accomplishment. Especially with this in mind, one gets the feeling that there really is no categorical justification for dropping in.  Not to say one shouldn't snake someone every now and again for whatever personal reason.  But that's just it:  it comes down to self-interest.  I need to catch as many waves as I can in any given session.  If some guy keeps snaking me, I need to figure that out.  If a lesser surfer keeps taking waves and bailing, I need to figure that out. If someone paddles around me (a sort of "pre-snaking")  I need to figure that out too.  Basically, there are no lists of "if thens"; no delineatable set of moral obligations either way.  You do what you need to do.  In this way, perhaps there is one more categorical justification to add:

Man as Animal:
Each incarnation of energy made into a precious, surfable wave should be ridden by the practitioner who can lay claim to biological superiority based on strength, aggressiveness and guile. It is simply the way things go. The only moral measurement is the survival of the fittest.  It is the practioner's personal duty to take an honest approach to the natural state of things thereby doing justice to the majesty of the untamable ocean and the blatant realities of existence.

Of course with this you've got the live-by-the-sword, die-by-the-sword deal.  Which is often enough the best personal arbiter of pragmatic action out there.