Drop-in
Taking off on a wave that another rider already has priority on — the cardinal sin of lineup etiquette.
Also known as: snake, burn
Dropping in means catching a wave somebody else is already riding (or about to ride from a deeper position). It blocks their line, ruins their ride and at busy spots invites confrontation.
The rule is simple: the rider closest to the peak — deepest, furthest out, first to commit — owns the wave. Everyone else pulls back, even if their take-off looked easier.
In kite and wing foil, the same rule applies when sharing a wave: the rider going down the line on the open face has priority over someone trying to drop in from the shoulder. Mid-session collisions are usually a drop-in plus a rider who didn’t kick out.
The polite alternative is okabewari — wait for the priority rider to miss, then go.
Related terms
- Lineup The area just outside the breaking waves where surfers sit and wait for sets, plus the unwritten queue of who goes first.
- Okabewari A Japanese-origin term for swapping the rider who has priority on a wave — usually after a wipeout or missed take-off.
- Set A group of larger, well-formed waves arriving together after a lull — usually 3–8 waves in a row.