At Point Panic, the regulars know what comes with a good south swell: The promise of waves at the only O'ahu spot dedicated to bodysurfers. And the promise of tension, arguments and near-collisions from board surfers who drop in illegally.

They co-exist like uneasy neighbors with nothing to mark where each group is allowed except a pair of recently placed signs roughly 50 yards apart on the rocky shoreline.

But today, in an effort to draw a line in the surf, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources will anchor a buoy just offshore.

Bodysurfers cheered the action.

"All we are asking for is one wave, one we can practice the art of bodysurfing without the fear of getting run over," said Steve Kapela, a 44-year-old Point Panic regular.

It's impossible to compete with a traditional surfer, whose buoyant board offers a maneuvering advantage, he said.

"We get shut out of waves," Kapela said. "We have to wait for someone to fall down or miss a wave or give us a wave. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there surfing. Everybody wants that wave."

The tension has its roots in painful safety issues. Four months ago, a friend was hit in the head by a surfboard, Kapela said.

"The side of his face was so swollen and red he couldn't see out of an eye," he said.

NEW REFERENCE POINT

Although restrictions first went into place at Point Panic in 1982, and again in 1993, it was only during the summer that the state put up signs on the shore with arrows — visible from the water — to help guide surfers. The new buoy will give surfers a two-point reference.

But signs and buoys are one thing and enforcement is quite another, said longtime bodysurfer Al Balderama. Three weeks after the signs went up, he got hit in the head by a board as he rode a wave toward a surfer clearly in the wrong area.

"A lot of them are not ignorant of the law," said the 47-year-old Balderama, who has lost track of the number of close calls he has witnessed at Point Panic. "They are in the lineup and they paddle on the inside. They are an obstacle for us."

When the new signs went up during the summer, Balderama and others wondered why their stern message — "Rules strictly enforced" — did not include the enforcement hot line number.

Peter Young, chairman of DLNR, yesterday said the department would look into the omission, stressing he is trying to keep everyone "safe and sane." Since June, there have been 17 complaints and investigations, with 11 citations given for what he called "less than civil interaction."

"There is clearly a safety issue," he said.

The penalty for the petty misdemeanor is worse than a wipeout: Up to a $1,000 fine and 30 days in jail. And the enforcement officer confiscates your board.

"Enforcement is always a challenge," Young said. "But by having signs we are giving them notice. By having signs and the buoy, you can clearly see when you are in the right area. It will help everybody understand."

IF IT'S CLEAR, HE'S HERE

At Point Panic yesterday, only one person floated amid anemic waves — a shortboard surfer illegally in the lineup. On the shore, Kris Wilfahrt, a 47-year-old board surfer from Kailua, waxed up. He knows the law and the boundaries, but when no one else is out, it's not unusual to find Wilfahrt where he shouldn't be surfing.

"There's some old-timers, the main bodysurfers who go out and I respect them," he said. "This is their spot. I give them that, fine. That's why I get out of their way when they come out."

Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.