In over your head

Question for the mortals that surf and have had their leash snap on a big day.

I've been doing some laps in the pool lately. I started thinking about what swim stroke (and strategy) I would choose if my kook cord snapped on a big day and there is a 10 knot river running straight out to sea.

The questioned is geared towards breaks like the North shore or even more so, South Pacific reef passes. Where the swim can be 1/4 to 1/2 mile and water running out the pass like the Mississippi river. Coral heads everywhere and only a few feet of water with double-triple overhead bombs detonating on the reef. Going face first into a coral head doesn't sound fun and neither does swimming against the river. Of course any break can be dangerous so the above is just my idea of a shady swim in that I never want to experience. It could happen, so it's better to prepare and have a plan.

what's your strategy when your leash snaps? What swim stroke you going with? Any backup plans other than floating to the next island or grabbing the next Carnival cruise line that passes bye?

Thought about it more and instead of what would you do, I should have asked what did you do?

Forget the scenario above, what was the heaviest panic situation you've had while surfing and how did you get out of it? What would you have done differently in that situation the next time?

How about a broken mast outside Spartan reef when it is running mast high? I have done the swim many,many times. Masts have gotten better though, and I try not to get shmacked.

1. Yell to a friend to sail in to your truck and get your fins
2. get outside somehow and toss the mast, roll the sail up and lash it all to the board with your $400 carbon booms
3. take off your harness hook
4. start swimming

If getting REALLY pounded in the impact zone and there is a chance of getting pushed onto the reef or shore, swim down and grab a rock or coral head until the sets pass.

Keep swimming in the pool. Trying bringing a cinder block and carrying it around under water for a while, ala Dave Kalama

The mast in this photo is 16'
http://www.visualphotos.com/photo/1x...6-90014-17.jpg

I've lost my board a number of times in big surf. I think the hardest thing is getting hit by the set and driven down into deep water, with no clue which way is up. That can be scary. Usually your leash is your rope line to air.

Most of the times this has happened, I have been in NorCal, so no sharp reef to worry about. Up hear, I try to stay inside the impact zone, and allow the waves to push me as close to shore as they will. As I near the out going rip, I tend to swim perpendicular to it. In a combo of freestyle (for speed) and breast (when I need to get a good view and gulp some O2). If you get tired, and know your line, backstroke can work for a bit. But it is hard to keep straight w/o pool lanes.

Are you practicing for something in particular. A certain trip? Or is this just a head game.

Getting in has never been a problem, but being under water has been on a number of occasions. I can remember one time, as I was near the end of my breath, being pushed into the rocky bottom. It hurt a bit, but I have never been so happy. A good push with the quads and I was on my way to fresh air.

Damn cramped on, that would be hard to manage in the impact zone. Especially since you guys go pretty far outside, long swim in .

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In a combo of freestyle (for speed) and breast (when I need to get a good view and gulp some O2). If you get tired, and know your line, backstroke can work for a bit. But it is hard to keep straight w/o pool lanes.

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This is exactly what I was thinking. Freestyle when I need to sprint between set and then breast stroke for when I'm tire or trying to stay in a straight line, it's easy to get off course and into a worse situation. I also agree about the backstroke, good for pools or lakes but not so much in the surf zone.

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Are you practicing for something in particular. A certain trip? Or is this just a head game.

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Both. North Shore in less than 2 weeks and I surfed a lot less this past summer/fall due to a torn acl so my arms are not in great shape. I also think a lot of surfers tend to rely on their leash too much, me included, so it got me thinking. It's a false security because it could snap at any time and the consequences could easily result in the loss of life. Everyone on here takes avalanches very serious because of the potential loss of life, the consequences in surfing are just as high and it makes sense to have a plan in place for when I'm out of my comfort zone. The last thing i want to do is panic in either situation, the wrong decision could have large consequences. So I thought I would gather some knowledge from everyone's previous experiences.

I guess I should add my experience that comes to mind

South Shore Oahu on a High surf advisory. Surfing an outer reef past diamond head and it sits out in the middle of the bay, about 20 minute paddle on a board and probably 45 minute swim in. Sets were pushing through with 20 second intervals and 1.5-2x's OH but extremely powerful with the 20 sec intervals. The setup is a left on the East side of the channel and a right on the West side of the channel, both are feeding into a monstrous rip running down South to Tahiti, impossible to swim against the rip.

Leash snaps about my 3rd wave into the session. I take 4+ of the largest set waves on my head. Get rag dolled and held under for a while (similar to what ottime mentioned above), getting more disoriented with every wave that pounds me on the head. Pop up to grab a quick breath and then rag dolled again. This in itself is very exhausting.

I swim in the surf zone with the waves and turn around to duck dive under them as they sneak up from behind me. About 15-20 minutes into my swim, I finally see my buddy and signal to him that my board is gone. Then he disappears over the next set wave and I don't see him again for a while.

As I get closer into the shore the rock heads start to pop up and it gets very shady to continue to swim in the surf zone for fear of smashing into a rock head first.

I look over at the channel and it's still running very strong, too strong to swim against. so I continue to due the Breast stroke so I can spot rocks and keep a straight line on where I"m headed.

Just about 30+ minutes into my swim, my buddy located my board in the channel and was making his way back over to me. I was relieved and very exhausted. It still resonates with me if I had to continue another 15-20+ minutes of swimming, especially since I would have had to cross the channel (aka running river) to get back to shore. I lucked out and only had to swim 2/3's of the way, but it was an eye opener of how things can go drastically wrong in a quick amount of time. I was just thinking through these things during my swim the other day and thought having a plan makes a lot of sense.

In Kauai, I used the same technique basically. Try to get out of the impact zone, preferably inside it with the wave at my back. Only one spot I surfed got worse on the reef once inside. I guess there, I'd try to get to sharky channel or risk running up on some heads. If you know the inside reef, you can try to line your self up safely, through an inside channel, or moderately deep spot. Then make your way to shore.

In general, the impact zone was where I'd most likely get hammered into the reef. So, figure out the line up as you paddle out, and determine which way it would be safer to go. The closer to shore you can get with the waves at your back, the better, and the less swimming you need to do.

Also, I don't try to body surf the waves in, unless they are small. If you are worried about reef rash and currents, generally that water is pretty turbulent and could send you down into the reef. Instead, i drop under the wave and let it roll over me. Usually.

Have fun in Hawaii and thanks for the snow in advance. So, you said it was gonna dump when? 2 weeks. Cool.

Never ever swim against the rip. You'll run out of energy. You either swim parallel to shore, all let it take you out to sea, and when it dissipates, swim back to shore.

The sketchiest moments I've had, in no particular order...

1) 1st time surfing Todos Santos last Dec. I took off deep on a double OH+ bomb. It was the first wave of the set, so if I pulled back I'd have been fucked by the next wave. When I reached the flats and straightened out, I looked up to see a wave the size of a 2-floor apt block about to come crashing down so I pointed it. The whitewater caught up and ragdolled me to the bottom. I remember sitting on boulders like an easy chair, relaxing and having tons of water pin me down and keeping me under. I slowly reached for my leash and pulled my way back up and got a breath in as the next wall of whitewater mowed me down into the spin cycle. Went for a ride and counted 20 seconds in my head before I popped up. I was now on the inside section by a huge jagged boulder 15' away and about 5 rows of whitewater to deal with. Boils were all around me. Rocks to my left and rocks to my right and walls of whitewater. My last thought was "oh fuck...this is how I die". I bear hugged my board to use it as a shield, and somehow got spat out into the channel unscathed. Then I went back out for some more.

2) Was on a trip that coincided with a bunch of pros on a magazine shoot in Micronesia. Swell was building, tide was dropping. I hadn't noticed that all the other non-pros were back on the boat because they didn't want a piece of this. I was shooting the shit with Archy, Kong, and a bunch of Aussie chargers. Then the horizon went dark and everyone starts scratching. I get caught inside by the first wave. Dove for the bottom and the turbulence just picks me up and I get body slammed onto coral. Archy chargers the next wave which eats him up, snaps his board. Go through the inside reef section didging coral heads, get picked up by the boat. reef rash all over my legs.

3) Random Mentawai spot. Was warned that it is surfable only from mid-high-mid tide. But it was barrelling and only 3 of us on it. My buds went back to the boat and I stayed out. When the next set came, I pulled into a barrel and as I shot out thru the doggie door, I was greeted by coral heads popping up everywhere. weaved through 3 heads, and the wave exploded. I fell flat then protected my head expecting a pinball session thru the reef. miraculously came out unscathed


My biggest concerns are: getting shredded on coral, getting held down, and then hitting my board. As long as you protect your head, you should be fine for #1 and 3, as for #2, I'm looking into freediving courses where you learn shit and train for holding your breath for 3-4 minutes. A couple of friends have done this so I've learnt a lot from just listening to them, practicing and reading their course notes which should tie me over until I take the proper course.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ja_6zSZYJE

the gains they talk about in this vid are impressive if real

http://www.surfline.com/video/women/surf-survival_64557

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Originally Posted by Superstar Punani

Never ever swim against the rip. You'll run out of energy. You either swim parallel to shore, all let it take you out to sea, and when it dissipates, swim back to shore.

The sketchiest moments I've had, in no particular order...

1) 1st time surfing Todos Santos last Dec. I took off deep on a double OH+ bomb. It was the first wave of the set, so if I pulled back I'd have been fucked by the next wave. When I reached the flats and straightened out, I looked up to see a wave the size of a 2-floor apt block about to come crashing down so I pointed it. The whitewater caught up and ragdolled me to the bottom. I remember sitting on boulders like an easy chair, relaxing and having tons of water pin me down and keeping me under. I slowly reached for my leash and pulled my way back up and got a breath in as the next wall of whitewater mowed me down into the spin cycle. Went for a ride and counted 20 seconds in my head before I popped up. I was now on the inside section by a huge jagged boulder 15' away and about 5 rows of whitewater to deal with. Boils were all around me. Rocks to my left and rocks to my right and walls of whitewater. My last thought was "oh fuck...this is how I die". I bear hugged my board to use it as a shield, and somehow got spat out into the channel unscathed. Then I went back out for some more.

2) Was on a trip that coincided with a bunch of pros on a magazine shoot in Micronesia. Swell was building, tide was dropping. I hadn't noticed that all the other non-pros were back on the boat because they didn't want a piece of this. I was shooting the shit with Archy, Kong, and a bunch of Aussie chargers. Then the horizon went dark and everyone starts scratching. I get caught inside by the first wave. Dove for the bottom and the turbulence just picks me up and I get body slammed onto coral. Archy chargers the next wave which eats him up, snaps his board. Go through the inside reef section didging coral heads, get picked up by the boat. reef rash all over my legs.

3) Random Mentawai spot. Was warned that it is surfable only from mid-high-mid tide. But it was barrelling and only 3 of us on it. My buds went back to the boat and I stayed out. When the next set came, I pulled into a barrel and as I shot out thru the doggie door, I was greeted by coral heads popping up everywhere. weaved through 3 heads, and the wave exploded. I fell flat then protected my head expecting a pinball session thru the reef. miraculously came out unscathed


My biggest concerns are: getting shredded on coral, getting held down, and then hitting my board. As long as you protect your head, you should be fine for #1 and 3, as for #2, I'm looking into freediving courses where you learn shit and train for holding your breath for 3-4 minutes. A couple of friends have done this so I've learnt a lot from just listening to them, practicing and reading their course notes which should tie me over until I take the proper course.

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Great stories, thanks for sharing. Didn't realize they had free diving courses, seems exactly like the type of course that could be of help when things get chaotic and the ocean is unleashing her fury.

Cramped on, running rocks underwater would definitely help but the water is usually pretty murky around here. I've thought about it but haven't followed through

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Also, I don't try to body surf the waves in, unless they are small. If you are worried about reef rash and currents, generally that water is pretty turbulent and could send you down into the reef.

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+1. Tough to body surf with that much water moving and no fins, the waves drive me straight to the bottom

oh man, this thread reminds me of why I haven't been out in the bigger swells in the last few years... the thread title sums it up! I've never surfed in the exotic locales such as those mentioned above but the feelings in the stories are all too familiar!

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Originally Posted by Piggity

+1. Tough to body surf with that much water moving and no fins, the waves drive me straight to the bottom

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yeap, impossible to surf down the face fast enough using the body as the drag is too great so over you go. learnt the hard way! :tdo13:

On the note of concern of losing your board, my worst pounding was when I wished my leash would snap! I missed out on the first of the set - rookie error - After taking 3 on the head I was sure the end of the set was coming and as I make my way to the light, lungs burning, just before I breach the surface my board, somewhere below, gets caught in some undercurrent, dragging me back down! I was less than impressed to finally get to the surface and have to deal with the next set... uggh. had a sick session prior to that though :D

unless ya'll are concerned with getting slammed/dragged against something solid and pointy, getting pinned against something (e.g. wall at steamers), getting pushed into a cavern or something in a reef, or in REALLY large waves, like the windsurfing pict above, don't ya'll just relax when in the impact zone; saving your energy/reducing lactic acid? if not, why? once comfortable and conditioned, it always worked well for me. as a grom, it took me a while to figure out.

Exotic locales are just novelty in this topic since the ocean has so many factors. Wind, tide, wave size and heaviness, lack of daylight, shady entrances or exits, fin to an artery, dry reef, under water caverns, lobster pot buoys, and broken leashes are many of the factors that can all combine at once. Panic!!

But like bodywhomper said, remaining calm is key. That's exactly why I wanted everyone's perspective to help me get a game plan on the what if scenarios

Hmmmm, surfline has Saturday at double to triple+, modest 8-12ft+ on Sunday and a tentative 20-30ft building for Monday. Waiting for stormsurf to update their forecast. Wish I owned a good camera

Again this thread has me thinking. Bodywhomper, I agree to relax while getting tumbled, but I think the OP was asking about what to do in the case of a lost board. If you are at a 3' beach break, it is pretty simple, but if you were surfing a 12-15' offshore reef, the game changes, and getting in can be a struggle if you do it wrong. Even a slightly overhead day at a spot like Scotts Creek can work you. The peak tends to be a bit off the beach, and the channel has a strong out going current.

Anyway dubya story reminded me of a day surfing in Maine almost 20 years ago. The jetties are an old Army Corp project that protect the harbor and is the only outflow for a huge estuary. Add the typical big tides of Maine and you get quite a current. Of course, the AC created the perfect flow to develop a series of sandbars. Some inside the channel, but the best ones outside the channel. On bigger north swells, and very low tides, the spot has some of the best surf in Southern Maine. The only problem was that when you wiped out in the impact zone, the wave would push you and the current would push you out, creating the perfect drilling cycle. There, your only chance was to paddle down the line and hope you could escape the beatings. We soon learned it was better to wait for the tide change and have a shorter session.

^^Sounds like a certain spot 5 hours north of me. Talk about getting drilled. It seems like everyone who chimed in has much more experience than me. My only two cents is that I prefer to stick with a sidestroke when coming in. You can see what's coming in behind you better, and your front arm can work as a probe for rock/reef. This also decreases exposure to your spine/stomach. Better to tweak a shoulder than your back in 15' waves.

Side stroke is a great suggestion for all the reasons mentioned. For the record, I definitely don't consider myself an experience surfer. I think all levels of surfers can learn from each other since we all have had unique experiences, the ocean constantly changes from wave to wave.

The guy I don't want to be is the guy I saw out the day after a huge day here in SD, for southern cal standards. All the reefs were still putting out solid waves and only a few of us out at normally crowded mellow reef. Outside set breaks about 20-30 yards beyond any other set that day. Guy ditches his board and breaks a leash about 15 yards in front of me and right under the lip.

I duck dive and surface to see him immediately waving his arms for the life guards. I paddle up and ask if he's OK and he is but he is panicking. He holds onto my board and was wondering when the guards were coming out. I told him it would be a solid 20-25 minute paddle or at a minimum 15+ minutes for them to launch a ski or boat and get out since I didn't think they saw him yet. I then ask him if he had thought about swimming in? It had never crossed his mind until I posed the question. I also told him the faster he could get in the better his chances are of finding his board before it is a mile down the beach.

Basically, his safety plan in the ocean revolved around his leash being secured and when that failed, his backup plan was the life guards. I really don't want to be that guy, all input on this thread is greatly appreciated.

These..."lifeguards"...you speak of?

One thing I have to pass on, since maybe this will help with the avoidance of this situation. I spoke to a Bully's rep today. We were shooting the shit about Centro, and my buddy fired a few questions about leashes. He said to always, always clean the wax off your leash(keeps things from sticking and getting pressed into your leash, cutting it). Also, he suggested new board = new leash(he's a leash rep), and to inspect your leash before going out in big surf. Also, make sure you overlap the Velcro onto the fabric. This all may sense to me. I mean, a $30 leash on a $6-1,200 investment, not to mention the medical bills involved with swimming back over a reef in big surf.

I gave my leash a once over this morning before paddling out. I was surfing with a friend who's leash came off at the same spot 4-5 days ago and his board got punished on it's solo ride over reef and rock. His failed at the velcro (i think it was on poorly and old as well) and he swam in only to collect his board and have a set roll through and smack him against the cliff (high tide). He put the board between him and the cliff wall and it took some serious abuse.

Swimming in big surf without fins is a bitch.

Some great stories and tips in this thread, definitely got me itchin.

I gotta say, given that I don't surf 10ft pipe, or 15ft mav's, I'm more comfortable once my leash snaps. If I know that my board is probably done, my anxiety level decreases significantly. Sure, I may have a swim ahead of me, but I'm far more freaked out getting caught inside in a foot or two of water knowing that I'm gonna have to try and duck-dive.

Breastroke or a heads-up, polo style freestyle is really the only way to go if you're still in the impact zone. Awareness and visibility, even if its only a few few yards in any given direction, are the keys to staying calm.

The past couple years my only real injuries have been wrought by my own stupidity and my board. I broke my foot at Puerto two years ago getting wrapped up w/ my board on a close-out. They're all close-outs down there. Last winter on Kauai my board hit me in the back of the head at tunnels and I had a few moments of tunnel-vision before getting washed into the super funky, shallow, cave-ridden inside section where I had to flounder over the reef before exiting into the channel where a 1/2 mile paddle awaited me and my bloody feet. I take it back, I was pretty thankful to have had an intact board in that scenario. After Bethany's experience out there years back, it took all of my gumption to keep my heart in my chest and my eyes on the beach. Got some super-stank looks from a few paddling out. Didn't realize my head was cut until I reached the beach and put my hat on. 9 staples later I had a great vacation story.

^ouch on all accounts. curious was the broken foot from the leash wrapped around your foot and crushing it or from banging against your board? I ask cause I've been hog tied by my leash before and it was pretty intense situation

It was my board, for sure. I think I made three waves at Zicatella proper.

always bring a spare leash when on a boat access surf trip. learned that the hard way in panama, broke a leash did the impact zone dog paddle and had to hang out with our launch driver for rest of session while my buddies were killing it...

^^^^did you go to the Mormon camp? Camp is on a mangrove "island" and better surf was off a small island nearby? Man, I got about 90 minutes of off the charts surf there, and 5 days of ho-hum.

yup, that was the place, morro negrito i think it was called. we had pretty fun surf but nothing epic. my incident took place on that smaller island at the reef called nestle crunch. we found out later that whole place is partly blocked by a large island so you need a specific swell angle. there was an american ex pat named mitch who had been there a year working for free rent and he said he only saw it really good a handfull of times.

good advice and discussion here. i'm def a big fan of staying calm.

another leash related idea is to learn and get used to surfing without one. i wouldn't recommend doing this on the heavy days, but it's amazing how much more intune with your wave selection and overall board control you will have without that umbilical cord attached to your leg.

rog