yea , im with fat mike.. this situation requires no sailing rules, no kite rules, no rules at all, this is man on man , eyeballs to eyeballs , kiter vs kiter,surfer on surfer, the good ole pecking order....commensence stuff, sum it up,
quickly check each others style (is he a kook) ...you keep going..., is "that bloke" gunna have a better line (section) than me?... you let him go..., rules here mean nothing , never will..
you should be able to react and sum up the situation very quickly,, if you are both of the same or similar skill level then you will both be stoked , and will understand if a colision occurs.. after all its bound to happen sooner or later, just smile and hoot!!! for country people, if your a local and its a touro then a good spray and maybe a bit of biffo is ok... expect the unexpected... always.... in extreme situations somtimes you have to to get the point through.. (dosent apply for metro kiters, your all doomed...)
One of the basic rules we all (I hope) learnt with kitesurfing: avoid collision.
Fighting it out, who is the better rider on a wave is quite ridiculous. Just remember kitesurfing is a past time activity for the vast majority, getting out after work / study and have fun....leave the fight out of this...
There must be a rule based on common sense as the beaches are getting more and more crowded. Whoever can solve a tight situation easier, has to do it......and as I wrote earlier the upwind rider, who is zooming downwind in a bottom turn has limited options as compared to the downwind rider who can easily turn......why risk a collision...?
both riders have the same option, they could both bear away down the line and wave ride happily or stay on their collision coarse both waiting for the perfect section and playing a bit of harmless chicken.. or maybe one of them is a natural footer and setting for a big carve or barrel and is intent on heading upwind..
the point is how to deal with the aftermath. its then up to the individuals..
famous surf breaks get protection from heavy locals,,, always respect these locals even if your in the right..
maybe, just maybe you will be allowed back!!!
Come on The All and Mighty Waveslave. Enlighten your followers, with your intellect.
Right of way should be in this order:
1. The guy on a surfboard (if the other is riding a tt) has a right of way
2. Whoever gets the wave first has a right of way
3. The upwind guy has a right of way
agree upwind guy should have right of way on the wave, but in this situation he shouldnt be doing a bearaway turn directly in front of someone who is only 20m downwind, his cutting straight into the downwind dudes path. his asking for a collision. he should yell for the dude to @#$% off out of his way then tear downwind.
full respect to the man, but while nobby rash may be at the top of the windsurfing pecking order i don't think he is in the same league with a kite.
one rule that works around here is the rider with the most expensive kite gives way to the cheap ass throw away kite
Very good question, I often go right and usually make the call based on the wave option each kiter has - usually it's me who sticks on there be because the goofies out run the wave ( mad bad but I put it down to not wanting to loose out on a possibly good wave.
Now for the riders who go right ( for WA), as the direction states it's the right way, you can get a better cover up, if the wave is breaking nicely there is no pull from the kite and you are actually surfing the wave. For a natural guy going left, it's virtually straight down wind with a bit of a floater and cut back, I suppose the goofy footer over east feel the same.I tend to loose control going left.
The guy going right is deeper in the pocket where you want to be.
Enjoy Kitestock lucky bastards while I am fighting thousands of fly's in Karratha!
Cheers
rich
Robby, Gets my respect. - He has always been a powerful rider, no matter what he has been riding.
Hail The King.
Robby Naish is a legend for sure. I was so stoked i even learnt to windsurf with my spreader bar up the wrong way. Still havent rigged it up the other way 
Why are people trying to apply sail boat and shipping rules to kiting in the waves we are not boats we are trying to ride waves Left or right,
Common sense says first on the wave going left or right has right of way everyone else should do whatever they have to do to get out of the way of the rider so as not to stuff ones wave up
Starboard or port tack whatever right of way has no place in the surf,
