All joined by one ocean

The waves at Malibu State Beach crest at about 3 feet and the sun cuts through the morning haze as former world surfing champion Shaun Tomson rides the last swell to shore. It's been nearly 30 years since he won a world title, but Tomson wows the 50 or so surfers in the water with his sharp cutbacks and slicing U-turns.

In the parking lot afterward, he changes out of his wetsuit. A lanky teenager in a bucket hat steps up and introduces himself.

"You are my favorite tube surfer of all time," the youngster says before asking the 51-year-old surfing legend for a copy of his championship surfboard design.

Without hesitation, Tomson gives the young surfer his e-mail address and promises to send him the board design.

"I would be so amped," says the grinning surfer.

For Tomson, this is not just an example of good manners. It's part of the surfer's code. Lesson 11, to be exact: "All surfers are joined by one ocean."

Although the teen may not know it, surfing is guided by a set of tacit rules, and Tomson has taken it upon himself to explain them to the world. In fact, he's publishing them this month in "Surfer's Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding Through Life." Like the other lessons, No. 11 may seem a bit cliched and even trite -- a curious combination of Mahatma Gandhi and Duke Kahanamoku -- but they come at the right time for the sport.

Surfing is headed for a wipeout, Tomson believes. And he's not alone in his opinion. The essence of surfing, many veteran wave riders say, is obscured by lucrative surfing tournaments, big-money clothing deals, overcrowded surf breaks and increasing turf wars.

The code, Tomson believes, can help put the surfing world back into alignment.

Tomson, with 12 world tour wins and the good looks of a Calvin Klein model, makes the perfect pitchman. But his campaign raises some questions: Is surfing really drowning in commercialism and violent localism? And if so, can he make a difference with such lessons as, "There will always be another wave" and "I will honor the sport of kings"?

Before you dismiss Tomson as a Phil Jackson-type for surfing, hear him out. The code worked for him, helping him overcome embarrassing wipeouts on the surfing circuit, several failed business ventures and the death of his son last spring.

When all hope seems lost, he returns to Lesson 5: "I will paddle back out."

Surfing's wise man