Surfers...what do u do when u see a 10+ footer or more break right in front of you!?

Question

my heart skips a beat for sure.haha. i try and duck dive, and sometimes i get caught in the white water..how can i prevent this!?

Answer 1

totally agree with the bailing of boards you need to lose that sharpe bit of fiberglass foam if no one is behind you if u get caught out and your board will get caught and your gonna get taken away in the wash. the answer is you need to paddle out in a part where its not gonna break on you so timing watching and seeing where you can paddle out with out that kinda **** landing on you. you want to be paddling away from where its peeling so you just ride over it as a sholder and then paddle into the line up

Answer 2

Hmm, I disagree...

First of all, the best way to not get caught inside by 10ft.+ waves  is to plan ahead and not put yourself in such situations.

However, if the wave breaks right in front of you... like its a foam ball when it gets to you... you will NEVER be able to duck dive it.  You WILL get WORKED.

If there is nobody around you should absolutely bail your board.  Haven't you ever seen video of guys at mavericks caught inside?  They're not kooks, there's a reason they do it:  It can be your best option.  

Just push it straight back so that your leash is directly behind you, and the nose faces the shore.  Then start swimming down.  You can dive until your feet are six feet deep (obviously) and then it will pull taught against your leash.  However, since its a foam ball, you won't get sucked over the falls.  As long as you keep swimming against the board, it will suck through the bottom quite easily.

I see the inherent dangers in bailing your board, and I try to do it pretty seldom, but in this case you are safer to yourself and everyone by swimming deep under the wave, than trying to duckdive (the option that could actually throw you on somebody else.

Answer 3

A 10ft wave (not hawaiian scale) is not too big to duck dive.  Just try and not let go of your board as you get worked - and depending on where you try to duck dive, chances are you will.  It's just all a part of paddling out in big surf.  If you are out on a longboard, you can try and turtle or if you MUST ditch your board, and you're right at the point of impact, position your board sideways (perpendicular to the breaking wave) before going under.  You'll minimize the chance of the wave snapping your board in half.  It's easier to snap a board down the middle than from tip to tail.  Oh yeah, make sure to look behind you before you do this or you might REALLY p**s off the guy(s) behind you.

Bottom line, you won't escape the white water.  We all take beatings paddling out in big surf.

Answer 4

Duck dive but use your foot to push the board deeper under water if you can. That should allow you to get under the white wash and avoid getting "worked" . Other than that all you can do is bail from your board and dive under the wave while holding onto your leash so you don't lose your board.The latter doesn't work to well though.

Answer 5

i paddle really hard, and try to duck dive as deep as i can go and hope i dont get hit by someone that is taking off in front of me.

Answer 6

I agree with the last poster that it helps to bring a foot or a knee up on the back of the board to get some more push down under the wave.  This also puts a little more weight on the board to help you push the nose down.

As far as bailing your board though, that is something you should NEVER do.  It is very dangerous to just let your board go careening out of control.  You never know who might be paddling out behind you or around you.  Hang on to that board even if you get driven back.  This also provides you a flotation device in especially large waves and allows you to get right back into paddling out.  If you have to go fishing for your board, there is a chance you will get smashed by a few more waves.