Waiting for the best set-waves is often a false economy.

The outside is wild and brutal and full of other people — and to quote Sartre, hell is other people. You will struggle to thrive on the outside, unless you’re a very strong alpha male or maybe female and enjoy the support or at least acceptance of other strong alpha males in the line-up.

The inside, on the other hand, is your home, and leaving it is not always worth the hassle. What’s more, you will be the man/woman of the house. Occasionally your home will be invaded by giant walls of white water, and then you will feel exposed and without shelter and will have to set your house in order, but such inconveniences are minor next to the spoils you will accrue. Occasionally also your home will be invaded by alpha males and they may be angry that you’re in their way. Try your best to avoid them; if you can’t make it to the shoulder then paddle towards the white water and take a hit.

To an extent you’re sacrificing quality for quantity, but how much quality are you really missing out on? You’re less likely to get the wave of the day on the inside, but you probably wouldn’t have got it on the outside anyway. Even if you had been in a position to catch it, chances are someone else would have been on it already. Inside runners can be excellent fun and you will surf them with fewer inhibitions, trying new things, taking more risks, progressing faster.

Hint: At reefs and points particularly, there’s a tendency for those sitting on the peak to push each other deeper and deeper in their incessant quest for priority, resulting in the deepest surfer failing to make it round the first section whilst simultaneously causing other surfers not to take the wave. In such situations, sit a little further down the line and profit from the greed and folly of your fellow men.