As a surf photographer I only have one more tip for these situations: - Think always about the next one. It doesn't matter if a big wave is going to smash you, while you are diving you have to think "the next one is worst" instead of "just this and I'm safe". Think always there is a next one because many times will be. That with the calm and the breathe made myself to escape from many dangerous situations for me and my camera.
@@theyoungupstarts1243 I taught my friend to avoid the first wave in the set since it tends to be the wave everyone is rushing into. We call it cockroaches washing.
Yep, as I learned my first time at Waimea Bay: (1) You are totally alone and (2) They come in three wave sets and (3) They will inevitably come as supersets that break so far out from the usual lineup spot that there is usually no way to not get pounded by them unless you are a very super paddler.
In my younger days I could hold my breath for almost three minutes. I've never had a hold down that even came close to scaring me. I used to LOVE getting ragdolled when it was inevitable. Going limp and just letting the water do it's thing was one of the most relaxing experience ever, like a big massaging washing machine.
That depends on experience I guess. I can hold breath for around 3 and a half minutes during casual freedive, but in the washing machine this time reduces tragically fast. Still can’t say i hate it, it’s a weird mix of terrifying and fun and a hell of a lesson ocean teaches us from time to time
yep, like the guy said, the secret to survive is to not panic and also to not fight it and to relax your body and let the wave toss you around like a rag doll. Sometimes though I begin to paddle to the surface too early without knowing which way is up and find myself paddling down not up.
i used live in California and id surf most everyday when i was a teenager. got to play around in some bigger waves and learn the ocean at the same time. i am 33 now, I haven't surfed in many years, but i still have dreams of being trapped in big waves when my life is in turmoil. the feeling of being powerless and tossed around is a unique one, not easily forgotten.
Old surfer here. I surfed in the days before board chords, in the 70's, at Hanalei. My mantra was to wrap my arms around my board when going over the falls. I've been tucked many a time washing machine fashion. Also relax and let the wave action have its way with you. If/ when you loose your board stay in the white water as it will push you to shore. Stay away from all channels as all that water is rushing off the reef and rushing back to sea. The white water is actually your friend and body surf it back to shore. Never surf big waves when you are physically tired. Rest on shore and surf another day.
Can confirm white water is by far the best way to get to shore instead of trying to swim. Saved my life when I was a dumb teenager and went in 55f, 5ft-8ft waves, no life guard, with zero protection after not having been in the water since last year. I was held down 4 times and only got in two breaths. Coming up from the 4th wave I even swallowed a decent amount of water. It was horrifying to be breathing in the water even if it was a few seconds whilst returning to the surface. I remember thinking: "this is how I die" and seeing myself in the water from a 3rd person perspective. It was very surreal. I had absolutely no dexterity due to the cold. I thought for sure despite surviving 2 separate multiple wave hold down, another set would come and I'd not make it because I was stuck in the white water. However, I was able to stay on my board and position it towards the beach. With the only strength I had left, I gripped the board and road the white wash in on my stomach. I was ungodly lucky another set didn't come, and that there was white wash from waves that had broken much further back to propel me towards the beach. I collapsed on the shore, threw up water, and then coughed up water for 5 minutes. My surf buddy had paddled further back and couldn't see me. No one could have saved me but me. No one should ever risk that. Don't just go with one person, go with multiple and make sure everyone gets to the line up. I never took for granted Mother Nature again.
Three years ago, I was a lower-level intermediate when I first went over the falls. I was paddling in for the evening at Kings Beach in Queensland, Australia. I reached the shore break and thought I would try to catch one. It was really dumpy and the wave looked like it was closing out; I hesitated thinking about what to do and then pulled back- one second too late. I failed to throw my board to the side and got slammed down over it when it hit the seafloor. Cracked two ribs and coughed up blood. It turned out not to be serious, but I couldn't lie on a surfboard for four weeks it hurt so much. Lesson learned: hesitation is a surfer's bane.
Wear a buoyancy vest! Got caught inside on a 10 plus day at my local reef about 400m offshore. Had to bail, stand and dive method, got a couple of strokes down as it got hold of me. Got a breath as I came out of the back of the wave, while getting sucked over, then got obliterated. Popped up as the next one was about to unload on me. Smashed again but washed out of impact zone. Third and fourth were a mountains of white water. Leggy held and I finally got my board back spun around and got bounced by the fifth wave. I was 52! Shook me up. The vest saved my life. Just a wakeboard impact vest with stomach pads removed. Still surfing at 59 but keep it real nowadays. No 10 foot days but wear my vest when solid. Stay fit and flexible. Riding a 9”1” Takayama. So much fun. Keep surfing
This is actually a REALLY good tutorial. Most “tutorials” are no better than sweaty balls on a hot day, but this one actually gives good suggestions. #3, taking a moment to gather yourself and look for other surfers to help get your bearings is something many folks miss when getting hammered. It feels like an eternity, but in reality it just isn’t that long when taking a couple to the head. Being calm uses less oxygen internally. Best advice I can give folks is to practice holding your breath outside of the water. If you can hold your breath for 90 seconds, that should be enough for most surfers. Those who surf big waves need more, but for the average guy or gal who surfs, it’s rare to find yourself on waves bigger than 10-15’ faces.
I surf the North Shore of Hawaii Island and I've had some pretty bad hold downs. Letting my board go is definitely a last resort, because it will be destroyed on the rocks if your leash breaks. Having said that, when a 20' wall of water is coming down on your head, you definitely don't want to be near the surface. Holding your board won't matter, because it will absolutely be snatched out of your hands like candy from a baby. Even if you have your arms wrapped around your board and your hands locked together, there is no way you'll be able to hold on. It really is incredible to have something as big as your gun, ripped from your arms instantly, like less than a tenth of a second. If you do somehow hold on, you'll lose so much yardage, it's a real possibility that both you and your board will be dashed on the rocks. If it's a mountain of whitewater, I'll make an effort to duck, but if it's too big and I can't get under the initial impact, I know I failed immediately and I'll just let my board go and continue my duckdive without the board. I usually lose less ground this way, but the down side is, you have to reel in your board and if it's upside down, you'll be swimming under the next wave too and so on. 🤔 Now that I think about it, why do I even do this, it's insane. 🤣
I like your answer at the end. I was a rock climber and in my early days I remember after getting at 12 feet up I panicked. Here I was sprawled out on the face with all 4 of my limbs... sweating on the rocks petrified. And when I wouldn't move my boyfriend called up from below saying I had to choices ... I could trust myself to position my next foothold and heist myself up or I could hang there in indecision til the sun went down.😅 That might seem harsh to some but his strategy was fir me to conquer my fear and trust that I knew what to do. And when I got to the top and took in that view. For me it was another plane of existence. Why do we do such things? To test our limits to push or own boundaries and I live in a moment. That it is dangerous even by insane standards only fuels that desire because if it were easy ... everyone would do it and what's the fun in that? Personally I always wanted to be a surfer but we didn't get to live in North shore or Santa Cruz or Waimea. Nevertheless I am fascinated with big wave surfing and often try to picture physically what that might be like. Mad respect fir those like Doran and Hamilton who took that to the next level. Doran who believed it was possible to paddle into a wave and ride that mountain of water and Hamilton thr ultimate waterman who invented the rail to literally float above the water and tow in using a jet ski 🎿 Amazing ... truly a visionary. That you chose to ride a mountain of water as your past time despite the risks that it could kill you shows your passion to surf... thats exciting. And although I have never been where you are and can't possibly know what it's like to be sucked over the falls or held down for 3 sets. I do respect the fact that such an experience would be life changing and scare the hell out of you. And remember that you are taking your life in your hands when you grab that board and head out to jaws or mavericks. So bravo to you for being brave enough to do it and level headed enough to know what you are up against and think with a clear head when you find yourself barreling down in a violent cyclone 🌀. I love learning to the stories all you surfers tell when you have a near death experience. This sport is respected. It never attempted without extreme safety measures in place. That's the same with my sport rock climbing. You never forget that always high risk in every climb you make. Sure it is a blast and that why we do it but also it's a dangerous sport in which you can lose your life if you get stupid or cocky. Happy surfing 🏄♂️ to you thanks for sharing.
I partially held my breath as I read this and felt relieved to make it to the end haha. As an empath and also a thrill seeker myself, I can assume why you do this. That said, after a few experiences of being ragdolled by just 5 footers, I know you are dedicating yourself to a unique confluence of things that I could never pull myself to do, but I have my own things that you might say the same thing to too. The moment of presence and unshaking focus while living on razer thin margins and experiencing an adrenaline rush, out of body experience rush kind of moment, many times over, is just something not everybody can do, let alone understand. I stood at the shoreline of the pipeline as an 8 year old for a few minutes and absolutely respect anyone who can manage anything close to or beyond that.
If above 10' in a bad impact zone, I always go for option 3. Grab my board by the rails, chest on the tail and wait for the turbulent six feet white wash roll to shoot me like a rocket towards the shore. Definitely more fun than struggling to breath for a minute.
Sometimes the pressure going over the falls pushes all the air out of the lungs. Doesnt matter how fit you are in big surf if a combitination of things go wrong its game over
Best surf channel on YT ! I’d say a,b and c depending on size, kind of wave (spilling, plunging ) and position to shore or distance to direct impactzone
I was surfing Carpentaria as an intermediate all alone in the 90s when a rogue set came through, twice the size of what was rolling that day. I was stoked and went on the first wave, only to eat it and then suffer the scariest hold down of my life. I came up from the first hold down only to face a bigger second wave. When that one was through with me, I came up and number three was even bigger. I recall being under and thinking, "This is it; I'm gassed. If there's a fourth, it's over." I surfaced, gasping, to see a beautiful, flat ocean that let me paddle in and live to surf another day.
It had been dead flat all day when I heard that perfect sets had begun rolling in at Bells 8 minutes apart. It was 8:30pm with only 30 min of daylight so my friend and I drove done and sure enough perfect waves were coming in in 8 min intervals and there was no one out so my friend and I paddled to the usual take off spot and didn't have to wait long for the sets to start rolling in but we very quickly realised that the waves were 2x-3x what were estimated from the cliff and were are least 12-15 foot (hard to tell when there was no one in the water) and were peaking a good 100 metres further out that normal. We began paddling like made to make it over the first wave which we barely made (they wave were so high that our ears popped as we went up the face) but there was no way were were gonna make it past the 2nd and 3rd and they broke right on top of use. Unlike regular waves, when these broke it was initially like being under Niagra falls and the wave would initially push you down, then after a split second it was like an explosion and you wouldnt know which way was up. One thing that does not get conveyed when seeing huge waves on video is that when the waves are right in front of you they fill up your peripheral vision as well so the wave is not just high, it fills your entire vision. Never been rag dolled so hard before and when I started paddling for the surface I realised I was actually paddling down. One other scary / memorable 'over the falls' wipeout was when I was surfing Jan Juc's bird rock at low tide where I could see the seaweed as the wave would suck up on take off. Not particularly big, 4-5 foot reef break, but has fast hollow short rides especially at low tide. On this particularly large wave I was probably six feet too far forward (the takeoff area is tiny) and was lip thrown so hard that I cleared the wave like I had been shot from a cannon and I instinctively positioned my body as horizontal as possible with arms outstretched as I expected to hit the reef but surprisingly didn't and thought 'hmmm, that didn't seem as shallow as I thought' until I stood up and found that the water was maximum only 4 feet deep. Was a miracle I didn't get a cracked skull that day.
damn u have some good comparisons and pretty bad things happening in ur life, if u have been trapped in the niagara falls and were hit by a cannon and u are still alive damn. u must be invincible.
Scariest hold down I ever experienced, I wiped out while on the face of the wave....seemed like 50', when it was probably 10-12' at most....I got clipped by the heavy lip of the barrel, wind knocked out of me immediately when I crashed into the bottom of the wave hard, than I got sucked up by the wave, felt the weightless free fall as I'm going down sideways through the air/over the falls and impact the water hard again ....rinse and repeat....two more waves the exact same size come charging right at me....one bigger than the next....kept calm, controlled my breath, knowing when I fell on the first one what to expect... Than I opened my eyes....EVERYTHING BLACK.... Absolutely scared me to death and I panicked, didn't know which way was up, didn't know how my body was even orientated to the surface....literally thought I'm going to drown, I have the wind knocked out of me, I remained patient for what seemed like an hour and now I can't even find the way out....pitch black all around, f***ing terrifying..... Next wave hits, boom....thank God, it wrapped my leash around my mid-section as I went through the washing machine again, so I was able to unravel it real quick and follow the leash to my board on the surface....and than boom, hit again, but at least I took the biggest one second inhale any human has ever done before..... I have never experienced such a time in my life such as that where I resigned myself to dying..... Finally find the surface after the set....I'm stuck inside at Sunset Cliffs, SD and the waves keep firing....no beach, inside is only cliffs....took me 45 minutes of continuous duck dives to finally make it out of the cove and not get pummeled against the rocks.....thank God I was young and in good surfing shape, otherwise I think there would be some makeshift cross with my name on it up along the road/tourist spots asking the cliffs
Over the falls is the worst, because you are being propelled into the explosion zone like a pile driver. Being in the explosion zone is as bad but you don’t have the added momentum of the wave throwing you down. The water is your friend, it will cushion the force of the wave so the deeper you are, the safer you are.
These guys are superhuman living through that. I can hold my breath a long time in a still environment but right after heavy paddling, maybe getting only a half breath, and facing a savage beating, I don't know how these guys do this.
ive had many many over the falls experiences, the worst kind is when you duck dive come up the other side and it sucks you back down over the falls .. its sucks the most because you think you have made the duck dive.
Exaktly, my first experience with that was when I paddled out in a good shorebreak, I was just duckdiving like usual but then I felt the suction pulling me back (I was like 10m out at that point), well anyway, I went back over the falls and I could swear I stood on the ground just chilling, but I couldn't get back up and when the wave was gone again I was standing in knee-deep water. That could have ended way worse...😅
A buddy and me were paddling out on a small day, we duck dived,came out the back and continued to talk…….. but I was caught in the “event horizon “ I said wait what? I was paddling like hell,, he was just outside the pull zone.He turned around and watched me get sucked down to the ocean floor, just the right swell direction, just the right bathymetry so much water was coming up over the sandbar holding me to the floor.
A couple of other things that always made a big difference for me was also making sure you have a much longer leash for 8 - 10 foot swells and above. Also on reef breaks I found opening my eyes after getting washing machined in impact zones helped me get a much quicker orientation of where the surface was. I came very close once in the 90,s surfing on La Graciosa at el corral in the Canaries. it was a solid 6-8 foot rising swell with cross offshore winds and I got caught out by a rogue set. one of my friends who had gone in because the wind was starting to swing cross onshore started shouting and whistling and I just had time to realize a much bigger set was coming in but could not make it out of the impact zone in time. I dove down toward the reef as far as I could just before impact and still got totally ragdolled and took the second wave over me while still under. I remember opening my eyes punching for the light and just making it in time for a brief second of air before taking the third wall over me. My head was pounding and I was seeing loads of multi colored lights but thankfully I had been washed down point so was able to get some breaths in before the tail end of the fourth wave. I paddled back out and just sat there going WTF just happened before getting out which is a whole other fiddle to there in big swells lol Epic times though no regrets. Also If poss try and flatten your body out as much as you can when wiping and getting sucked over in heavy shore breaks and shallow reefs.
I was used to Aquitaine endless sandy beaches, and when I was in Canarias, I was scared by just seeing the shape of the rocks on the bottom on "peaceful" breaks... (I'm not a high skilled surfer anyway, and doing mostly bodyboard, "biscotte"). With my friend, we went to visit "El Fronton", there were a huge chaotic swell, and I thought to myself "I will never surf that", the rocky shore, with the huge "hole" being filled and sucked on the side was scary as hell. Once you're stuck into that, I guess the only way out is death. But even of the sandy beaches of Biscarrosse, La Teste and Lacanau, I had some "washing machine" times which were not always fun... And shorebreaks are also dangerous because you can hit the ground very hard.
I was surfing Ocean Beach in San Francisco on a moderately big day probably double overhead. Anyone who surfs there knows that wipeouts can be brutal even on smaller swells. I paddled into a pretty big one, but was just too late and free fell down the face. At first I thought no big deal. I hit feet first and went deep and thought OK it’ll just pass over me. But suddenly the turbulence wrapped my leash around my ankles and then I was 20+ feet down and hog tied. I couldn’t use my feet to kick up, so I was freaking out, trying to swim up with one arm while using the other hand to try and get my leash untangled. Then I could feel the next wave breaking on top and knew I was in for at least a two wave hold down. I definitely was starting panic and to see spots in front of my eyes when the drag from my board pulled from the second wave me up to the surface, and I was able to get the leash un tangled before the next wave hit. But definitely puts the fear of God in you, It’s the panic that gets you, not the wave. I’m guessing I was underwater for 30, maybe 40 seconds tops but it felt like 5 minutes.
OB nearly drowned me too in similar conditions. Fell on take off of first wave of huge set. 2nd wave on me with hardly a breath between them. So much white wash I couldn’t come up. When I did, third one was there immediately and I was ragdolled again. First time I ever thought I might not make it. I came up dizzy and pulled on my leash to find the board. figured one more im dead. Well #4 was there and I just hugged my board tight and luckily I held on and it pulled me up faster to get a real breath and that was the last big one. Paddled in after that and just laid on beach thinking WTF
Great video, thank you for this. Something similar happened to me a few days ago at La Gravière in Hossegor. I paddled out from Plage Naturiste, where the current is very strong. It pushed me about 500 meters to La Gravière. Being fed up with the current I decided to paddle back to the beach so I could walk back to my starting point. I was approaching the shore when a set of three waves took me by surprise. Hossegor is a sandy beach with beach breaks and a steep ocean floor. I saw the waves coming and started paddling out like hell! The moment I realized I wasn’t going to make it, I saw a huge 10-12ft glassy wall of water-like a monster-ready to break over me with the speed of a train. My first thought was: “Oh shit, here we go!” I didn't really know what to do, so I quickly prepared to duck dive, my heart beating twice as fast as normal. I failed, and the wave lifted me up and smashed me down into turbulence I had never experienced before. Knowing there were more waves coming, I tried to get to the surface as soon as possible, but the whirlpool kept me down. Before the next wave hit, I managed to take a few breaths, but this time I started to panic. The next wave was bigger and stronger, and I found myself in a weird place where I couldn't tell which way was up or down. My lungs were crying out in panic, and then I suddenly remembered-the leash! I grabbed the leash and pulled myself up to the board. I popped up into the white foam, my lungs screaming for oxygen. I took a short breath, and once again-here we go. The third wave was smaller but still strong. It held me down, and I started to think, “I can't take a fourth one; I'm done.” After the third wave, I was closer to the shore, so the fourth one was just a wall of white water, giving me a bumpy ride to the shallow water, where I limped to the beach. I was coughing and shaking for five minutes before I finally made it back to my starting point. No more surfing for me that day. That was my scariest surfing experience-totally helpless, my heart full of fear, out of breath, while the ocean kept pushing me down.
March 2004 Sunset 10 ft Hawaiian .. sucked over the falls on a 20 ft face … then 2 more in the set.. almost lights out. I was 50 yrs old been training for 6 months in Florida swimming a mile a day in the ocean and running back up to my waist in the shorebreak. Probably saved my life. Surfed since 13 but big sunset is heavy, unpredictable and a challenge for anybody. Prepare the best you can and don’t panic.
Been there. Almost died. If you're caught in huge sets, which are holding you under for 30, 60, 180 seconds at a time, curl up and protect your head and neck from ocean floor impact, let yourself float to the top, and when you get there, breath as many huge breaths as you can. The next wave is probably falling on you right about now. It's ALL about not panicking. and conserving oxygen. 1 wave (usually) isn't going to kill you. 10 in a row, will. Conserve oxygen. You will always lose if you attempt to fight the ocean.
One thing that was not mentioned is correct wave selection predicated on the current amount of sets rolling in for that day. For example if you watch the sets and they’re coming in three, four and five at a time, does it make sense to takeoff on the first wave????? PROBLEM, if you miss, your take off, kick our, or are not adjacent to a shoulder for a take off you have a four wave hole down tor a nasty paddle session of waves to punch through. Most surfers look at the sets and take off on the second to the last wave or speculate if it’s the the last wave of that current set. When this happens it gives some time to enjoy their wave, kick out, paddle back out, and take a little rest for the next set. This concept ensures you only have to paddle through one wave coming back to the line up. Armatures or inexperienced surfers go on the first wave or experienced surfers who are coming in for the day. BTW You are going to get hungry in the line up. Keep a protein in each sleeve of your wet suit and a capri sun in your zip chest (rip curl) of you wet suit. Nothing beats timing the tide, killer rights all morning and you have to come in to eat or 💩. Capris get the salt out of your nose after a nasty hold down.
Blacks Beach, La Jolla, CA, is a powerful wedge that gets gnarly when it goes off. I've gone over the falls there on 6-8 foot swells that pulverized my soul. Double and triple hold downs at Blacks can make you question your sanity. It's very possible to snap a leash, if you ditch. When it gets big, it gets steep and shallow, elevating the stakes. I can't tell you how many boards I've seen carried up the hill in pieces. My preferred duck dive was the standard one but, to save the board, if I was late, I'd bear hug it, roll and get the rails vertical and try to cut through the wave...and do everything possible to save the board. Ditching was always forbidden. It was only used in extreme situations and would probably get someone's ass kicked if their board hit someone. It just wasn't done. I've gotten doubled and tripled and started getting nervous and prayed to the surf gods to get a breath, only to get pummeled again. I was a long distance runner and could swim 2-1/2 lengths of a lap pool on 1 breath. I always cleared the impact zone, without truly panicking. I can see how it can happen though, especially, after the 2nd denial. I live along the gulf side of Florida now. There's virtually no surf most of the year. I keep a longboard ready but really miss those SoCal waves.
As someone who is from Hawaii (40 years) I have gone over the falls at every beach. The best thing to do is try to get your last good breath and relax. Don't fight the washing machine. Let it toss you up. Just guard your head and try to go over feet first obviously. Remain calm and take deliberate breaths.
On a day at Huntington Beach a couple years ago, waves were big, breaking outside and inside when I got sucked over the falls on a four footer on my boogie board. Separated my shoulder on a small wave...Gotta respect the ocean.
Broke my nose by being held down on a wave, smacked the sand like being hit by mike tyson. Everything you said is good information, the ocean is very powerful and demands respect.
Just liked and subscribed! Best video clips of heavy surf nightmares! But you quickly give the keys to survive the worst. Much thanks as I’m sure it will save someone’s ass! Most of us had to learn this by the experience in the old days!
Rogue double overhead 3-wave hold down almost killed us. Last week Friday my twin and I were at Moss Landing between Santa Cruz and Monterey. A 3-wave banger came out of nowhere and caught me too far on the inside. My bro ditched on the face and I was caught over the falls and plunged backward into the whitewater abyss. Snagging a gulp of air I embraced the second slamming wave. I heard my twin yell that he lost his board. Heart racing, I lurched out of the whitewater and managed another short breath before being taken by the third wash machine cycle. I was like give me five more seconds of air to make it out! With everything I had I pulled to the surface and grabbed my board where I rode in the whitewater to meet my bro. Fortunately, we made it out with a solid story and added respect.
2 years ago ( I am 13 now) I went “over the falls” on my fiber glass 5’ 3” and my board smacked me in the arm. The wave also pulled my wetsuit over my head so I couldn’t see. I could also barely breathe. I ended up just fracturing my arm.
I was born and raised on Oahu south shore although I surfed the country frequently in the winter.Summers were always a prize for a walk to the beach. Portlock Point comes off of deep water and jacks up on an 8’deep reef which u would think u have a lot if cushion. But punching 3 step ladder sets with faces upwards of 20’, the last one I thought i could punch through but the lip hit the tail of my board and i went inside over the falls and ended up hitting the bottom 8’below. Fingers bleeding and bottom of new board trashed. So u are right, itcan happen to anyone anywhere.
Very good information . I learned in south florida and got a chance to go west and surf southern Calif. Been rolled into the reef cut up on my back. Im 53 now i live in florida and the waves are short in height and mostly short ride...
Excellent Coverage, nice slowing down the Video. Recommend using Red Arrows to show some details also. Another UA-camr Brad Jacobsen always does an excellent job with his Visual Arrows and extremely slowing down his Videos. Your under water duck Videos are the best I’ve ever seen. Great job on that 🙏
I always used to hold on to my board for dear life as it would always find the surface, have had quite a few non surfing related injuries though and haven't had a paddle for the past 30 years.
As an avid free diver I’m good with breath control but was very surprised by the power or big waves. Im taking maybe 10 feet in the Pacific. Was use to shorter period waves of the E coast. The first long period 10 footer that I wiped out on was a BIG surprise. Wow, what a difference.
Some 45 years ago, having gone over the falls on my own in a mere 15-18 ft. in Guéthary, France (and received a relentless pounding thereafter), I decided I NEVER wanted to undergo the experience again. I thank God it's not me every time I watch wipe outs in big surf. Plus 6ft. I was out of there, PDQ. I took up high board diving instead. Self inflicted wipe outs were much more do-able.
When I was 14 I got caught in the biggest waves that I've ever seen out in the water. It felt so wrong, like how could the ocean create such massive waves. I tried scratching over the first wave only to see six more on the horizon. My friends and everyone around me had already been washed down the beach by a smaller set. It was the middle of the winter at the Huntington Beach cliffs so the water was dark brown and ice cold. The second wave was absolutely massive and I was praying out loud to God. I dove as far as I could but it still caught me and rag dolled me. It was pitch black and I could feel the pressure in my ears because I was so deep. At one point my board hit me in the head which was freaky because the wave drove my board down with me. Once the thrashing subsided I swam with everything I had and barley made the surface. The foam was like a foot deep, my legs were being twisted as the current sucked me down and let be back up. I couldn't find my board, then another one landed on me and I took another thrashing. I had to fight with everything that I had to make the surface. After three waves I had been washed in from the knarly impact zone so I let the next couple wave hammer me so they would wash me in even farther. I was able to grab my board and held on and rode the biggest white water of my life back to the beach. I sat in silence on the beach for a while and didn't say anything to anyone that day about it. After that I realized that being in the water is mostly a mind game and you have to stay calm no matter what. Now that I'm 54 and out of shape I realize that your body better be conditioned too, but it still boils down to your mind staying centered in the storm.
Unconventional but it works to duckdive sideways and rotate a further 90 degrees, so you are deep underwater but are unconventionally facing towards shore as the wave hits you, and so instead of being driven backwards out of control, you are driven forwards with some control. This can work in situations where you are facing a huge broken wave, whilst lacking momentum. Once the foam drives you forward you can gain momentum and use your board to steer for the surface in the aftermath of the waves energy. This also can get you to a safer zone where you won't get the next wave on the head with full ferocity. It can buy you some time to get some breaths.
My favorite thing about 'going over the falls'? Sucking in that last giant breath as you're stuck in the time warp of that eternal moment that you wish could last a little longer.
ive almost finished my patented design for a life saving device called Lastbreath for big wave surfers, worn like a watch, sometimes holding your breath dosnt work when 100 tons of water presses your lungs flat ant you have to take 2 or 3 on the head.
Biggest fears over the falls = tangling with my board/fins or getting slammed then dragged across shallow, urchin-covered reef. Or getting dragged towards barnacle-covered rocks.
I'm not a surfer yet, but this past summer I went to Hawaii and I jumped into similarly violent waves without much experience in the ocean. They put up a warning sign not to get into water due to weather which I foolishly ignored. One of the big waves hit me hard and I tumbled and hit my face on the bottom of the ocean floor HARD. I heard a loud crack on my neck and I was momentarily paralyzed. The impact was so hard that it broke my tooth. The big and powerful waves kept hitting, not giving me any moment to gasp for air. Panic kicked in and I heard my self moan - I was completely out of air and I accidentally breathed water into my lungs out of reflex. While under water (simultaneous being punched by waves), I was able to grab the bottom floor and clawed my hands so I don't get pulled deeper into water. I waited until the wave pushed me towards the shore. I was able to push my self out of water for a brief moment before being hit hard again. Little by little, I made progress. I was completely out of energy, and the waves carried me to the shore with my face on the floor. I slowly crawled out of water, but survived. I was SO relieved to get out of water. Someone offered to call 911. Luckily my neck wasn't broken and I was able to drive back to hotel. Couldn't move my neck for weeks, but I'm still alive. I didn't watch this video and I had no idea how to deal with waves.
Can confirm white water is by far the best way to get to shore instead of trying to swim. Saved my life when I was a dumb teenager and went in 55f, 5ft-8ft waves, no life guard, with zero protection after not having been in the water since last year. I was held down 4 times and only got in two breaths. Coming up from the 4th wave I even swallowed a decent amount of water. It was horrifying to be breathing in the water even if it was a few seconds whilst returning to the surface. I remember thinking: "this is how I die" and seeing myself in the water from a 3rd person perspective. It was very surreal. I had absolutely no dexterity due to the cold. I thought for sure despite surviving 2 separate multiple wave hold down, another set would come and I'd not make it because I was stuck in the white water. However, I was able to stay on my board and position it towards the beach. With the only strength I had left, I gripped the board and road the white wash in on my stomach. I was ungodly lucky another set didn't come, and that there was white wash from waves that had broken much further back to propel me towards the beach. I collapsed on the shore, threw up water, and then coughed up water for 5 minutes. My surf buddy had paddled further back and couldn't see me. No one could have saved me but me. No one should ever risk that. Don't just go with one person, go with multiple and make sure everyone gets to the line up. I never took for granted Mother Nature again. I stick to collecting sea glass, and I never go in 3ft+ waves. I miss getting ragdolled by big waves, but the experience shook me too much.
Surfing Black's in the 60's occasionally found us long boarders in 15 foot waves that sucked so hard that ducking would catapult us like a sling shot pointed at the beach. What I did was to duck with the board with the rail down so that the impact of the water would have less surface to sling shot. I would tuck the nose under my arm. Worked for Black's.
I was about to post about the same technique. I was doing this in La Jolla more than 50 years ago with my 9'-6" Gorden and Smith. I did this at Black's Beach because the big waves sucked really hard.
Happened to me the day after "The Perfect Storm" at Rye New Hampshire. Was held down for about 2 minutes. Knew to relax and wait for my buoyant wet suit to float me up. When I popped up, I looked around for my long board. About 30 seconds later, my board surfaced like a Poisidon missile. Guys around me yelled that I should have worn a leash, but I'm sure that it would have ripped my leg off!
I had a severe herniated disc once from being pommeled headfirst, going upside down onto the shallow sand at a shorebreak wipeout. Six weeks of painful recovery, but I was lucky I didn't end up a paraplegic.
I once saw someone go over the falls at pipeline, straight into the reef. He came out with all of the skin torn off of his back, and the backside of his rash guard gone, still with chunks of coral in him 🙏
Having one of these monsters detonate 20 feet in front of me is my worst fear. Getting sucked over is no picnic but most of the energy of the wave has been expended by then. That said, I have never surfed a wave 1/3 the size of these.
I used to swim in waves and try to go over the falls (thanks for the terminology!) Until I did that in a just under 4 meter (13 foot) shorebreak. There was a big set and I was in chest deep water, getting pulled up the wave and slammed right onto like a remaining 30 centimeters (1 foot) of water and sand below. It was an experience I neither want to miss nor repeat. Can't imagine what it must be like to go over the falls of a 50 foot wave, that must be absolutely insane. I was fine that day, but a lady trying the same thing (probably seeing me having fun in the waves, and thinking she'd be fine, if an athletic german dude can do it, she can as well or smth) and she broke her shoulder on a wave just like mine. Waves have incredible power and if I didn't know how to properly protect my head, I could have easily been knocked out. Needless to say I didn't stay in the breaking zone of those waves for long. Usual sets were almost only half that size that day, so it was kind of a surprise to see waves that large. //edit: the one at 1:57 explains almost perfectly the situation I was in xD
Boogie board. Got sucked over at Blacks in a winter swell. Machined but not too bad. At least I knew there was sand below. The worst however, again at Blacks, was when I was about to get one large on the head and ditched my board. Leash wrapped around my leg and I got pounded by a couple more. I never ditch now.
Hi guys, we've been going in the waves in France with my father ever since small, but I never truly went surfing with seasoned surfers/bodyboarders. Never was part of a group or something like that. When it gets big and you feel like a ragdoll caught, we call it the washing machine (probably because we were 4/5 years old when initiated with my sister !) Is it something people usually say too, in english countries for example ? I'm curious about it !
I had a 3 wave rouge set hold down at Chuns when I was young and strong. I wiped out in the impact zone on the drop and the heavy trades blew my board back into my face...it was only double overhead but the beating left memories. There was so much air bubbles in the water I would not float or start to rise and when I did make it up, there was another lip coming down on my head. I still like Chuns...,
In water surf camera man offbthe west coast of Ireland I've experienced the tumbles in heavy sets....I think the longest I got held down was maybe 45 seconds but it feels like forever ...ide always try and curl myself up into a ball and tuck my neck in....I bumped a reef a number of times but only had a bad scrape once...I always remember thinking relax and hope for the best....give your mind into the wave....feel for the release in energy when the wave has weakened but ile always admit there was anxiety over the swim up to surface again....well your already being thrown along the froth on top.. But that point where you can actually thrust with your fins to get your head above the froth....I had fins attached with ankle straps...even scarier for surfers without fins....in a weird way sometimes I quite liked it...but when you have to surrender your mind to the force of the wave whilst rolling under and ide always close my eyes whilst tumbling it is always scary....then there's the other side too......the amazing feeling and visual aspect of duck diving perfectly under the sweeping barrel of a big wave is mesmerising....truly beautiful....one thing I won't do is swim film on shore dumping waves....landing on hard sand if sent over the lip can really damage your body .. .sand is so much harder than one thinks when wet .....the only thing I truly feared was canyons in granite reefs and protruding boulders on reefs as you can get caught in them or bashed on a protruding boulder on top of a reefs...if reefs are generally flattish you've better chance of rolling over and above them.....ide prob wear a gath helmet these days though...you can't control the direction your body rolls under a big set...just tuck in an hope for the best...like someone said above looking at the set of waves beyond the first wave can help...get a feel for the grouping within the set might tell help your instinct of timing when coming up after first wave....ile tell you know even 45 seconds feels like 5 minutes ! Surf camera man co.mayo/sligo/claire/donegal west coast Ireland...
I mostly body surfed Maui South shore. I think I was at White Rock, next to Kea Lani 30 years ago, and I didn't quite make it out in time. I took the lip of at least an overhead right across my shoulders and just pounded me into the sand. My worst, going over the falls at Makena 2nd entrance. Again, at least overhead and I stiff armed the sand. The beach was very steep and I was fighting to not pass out from the pain and have the rip take me back out unconscious. That was a not-gonna-make-it moment. Tunnel vision and all.
Nearly 40 years ago at Manly Sydney (Australia) in very big surf for that beach. I thought they were about 10' +. I had finally struggled out the first line. I was already tired and misjudged the wave, they were very irregular. Over the falls I went. Totally disorientated, i swam into the bottom. I had plenty of air left, but had no idea how much water was above me. I got to the surface only to get smacked by another wave. I wasn't in trouble, but plenty beat up. I think it took another ten minutes to get back to the beach and I was thoroughly knackered. Crawling out of the surf a couple of clubbies on patrol came up. "Jeez, you copped a flogging mate. Don't worry, we had an eye on you when you wiped out and watched you all the way back. We were pretty sure you would make it after you popped out of the second wave." At least my pride was intact.
Being uncertain around the lip of the wave is the problem I have found. Commit and tuck in the barrel. I once backed out of a 8ft shorebreak, that thing chucked me into a pretzel on the sand.
Over the falls when body surfing causes fear of breaking your neck or back. Pulling into a ball is safer even though you're likely to hit bottom. Defend yourself at all times, especially from surfboards. When you come up for air, don't open your mouth until sure that another wave doesn't hit you in the face--better to be facing the shore.
It was at Newport Beach, The Wedge where I had my first Over the Falls moment and It was about mid day and the waves were pretty average at about 4-6ft. But then a huge set came in and I decided that these waves were the perfect ride..I underestimated their break and the first wave I came about, I was pumping the barrel and got too close to the body eventually looping over and falling on a mound of sand instead of water. However after I landed on the sand whitewater swept over me and thankfully the only injury that I had endured was a jammed finger: Note this was on bodyboard
Ya mentioned hitting the bottom but barely mentioned hitting your surfboard. I have more friends hit their board going over the falls than the bottom with one losing an eye, and couple others breaking limbs. Hell, even the legendary Gerry Lopez landed on his rectum hitting his board going over the falls. He was in the hospital for a long time and almost did not survive.
I once I ditched my board at Hazards Canyon Montana De Oro CA, on over 10 foot sets total of six in a row. I checked my 6 and no other surfers were following, but still regret ditching. Had a weak not neoprene coated bungee cord leash that snapped. The board washed up and the rest was easy just dive before the break on the remaining cleanups. I dove so deep I saw some fishes on the reef ..very cool. I used a technique when sucked up in the face. Point the nose of the board toward the shore, hugging the tale tight. Punch then pull the board through the face, if sucked over hold onto the board very tight and its possible to ride out the soup. It's a rough ride with some flips but eventually you'll fly out of the soup. Hold downs never last that long though seem like forever in a panic. Getting caught inside will always suck, but becomes less of a nightmare over time.
I was surfing south shore Oahu on swell, was pretty confident on my double up positioning but all of a sudden the wave jacks up to head high and it feels like I’m jumping off the roof. Moved my board so I wouldn’t hit my fins and took it. High tide that day, thank god
Duck dive everything unless a lip is gonna impact directly on you, or if someone else is in front of you. Ive gotten worked but have been able to float immediately back up with my board and start paddling vs the guy who did 4 cartwheels, has to swim up and get to his board or even call the session quits because their only leash snapped. If its a beach break and I know Ill have a way better time going in to find a rip current that pulls me out easier, ill usually do that
My biggest wipeout, was back in the late 70's. Imperial Beach, South of San Diego was breaking 20ft faces, twice as big as I'd ever seen it. The waves crashing sounded like jets taking off. I dropped my 10' 2" Con longboard onto the beach, as I knew I wasn't going to make it outside in such a huge swell paddling an aircraft carrier! I decided to body surf it so, getting outside to the swell was no problem. I just dove my way to the swells. The water was 54* (I had no wetsuit) The air temp was near 80* one of those warm January days in San Diego. I saw my wave, swam into it as hard as I could and started the "drop in" on a glassy left. Now, I had body surfed for years, so I felt confident of what I was about to do. To make a left, I would normally put my left hand into the face of the wave and make my turn near the bottom. However, this wave was really moving, and it walled up so steep so fast, that my right arm popped out automatically, in front to keep me from free falling into the air! I dropped in straight down like Superman! I knew it was a left so when I hit the bottom of the wave with both arms out in front, I tried to make my turn. At that point, I knew I could be in trouble, as my speed decreased. I made the turn, and then I stalled. I looked up to see a barrel you could've driven a semi-tractor trailer through! I had that brief moment of, "This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" Then suddenly, it got very dark. I tried to bail diving into the wave. I got that last breath (thank God) and then got sucked up, weightless then, over the falls. I felt a building crush me into a sandy bottom. I started to try and struggle towards the surface, immediately realizing that wasn't going to happen! I pulled my arms and legs in, curled up like a potato bug, and conserved what oxygen I had left from that last breath being tossed about like a ragdoll. Weightlessly, I went over the falls a second time, hoping nothing would get snapped off my body on the bottom. I was locked in the washing machine. Twisting, turning, not knowing up from down, or left from right. Then again, weightlessness as I went up, and over the falls yet again for a third time! I finally felt that wave decide to release me, and I pushed off the bottom to the surface! I inhaled hard, sweet air of life!!! Then, I turtled under a smaller second wave, taking another beating, not nearly as bad as the first. Finally, standing up in waist deep water I made my way to the beach. I was completely out of gas, and damn lucky to be alive. I went back out 30 minutes later.
Lol. "I went back out 30 minutes later.' When I was 15 me and a couple of mates were boogy boarding Matakana Island in NZ. We were coming in and were in about thigh high water when we turned around to assess the surf and decide whether it was worth going out again. A massive (12ft perhaps) mako shark lept out of the water right up to it's tail, exactly where we'd been less than a minute earlier. We looked at each other in complete shock and scrambled out asap. Matakana is remote, isolated and the 23 mile long beach completely deserted. No help, an hour back to the mainland. Beautiful, terrifying animal - especially at that close a distance. We too, went back out 30 minutes later. 😂
Breath holding skills free divers and competitive swimmers use certainly could help. This is practicing holding one’s breath longer and longer. I doubt in this situation you could reach the huge amounts of time a free diver could get but those of competitive swimmers who try to stay underwater as long as possible after a turn would. I think it same way to learn. In part this leaning to not panic to not have the panicked I am drowning reaction. And if the person has a chance a bigger intake breath would be practiced.
Broke my femur in Maui going over the falls and hitting the reef. It was a freak wave where 2 waves seemed to come together. The lip hit my shoulders and SLAM, it happened quick. Paddling past the inner break was torture with my bone sticking through my wetsuit. Sucked.
@@Dobertathon Didn’t happen bro. Although I was in shock, I never passed out. Maui lifeguards were great but said they had never seen anything like it before. The closest I came to passing out was during the tumble through the inner break. But I had a goal, had to make it to the beach.
@@TheNaturalust It didn't actually break, it was more like a severe hip sprain, (twisted) that resulted in severe joint deterioration, (leakage of synovial fluid) it had to be totally replaced a few years later. I spent 8 years in Hawaii, im back in Chicago now, its where family is. I do miss that ocean though..🌊
Before I would start surfing, I first would learn how to keep my breath as long as possible to be able to stay under water for longer periods. It's a crazy sport. I stay with windsurfing.
Can confirm. I don’t even have many hours of surfing..the last time I went i learned what going over the falls meant. It meant getting absolutely tossed and body slammed underwater…rolled around until disoriented completely, and dragged along the bottom about 50 yards until I stood up half dead in shin deep water. This was *maybe* a ten foot wave 😂
I'm a gentle waves soft breeze swimmer, no surfing at all. I've been in some very rough water though with a fast current into a coral wall. It takes good lung capacity, a strong will to live and a mind that can calm in the worst situation. The exit is counterintuitive: to swim further out to be clear of the current and then rest on your back for long enough that you can safely swim for the shore. I would never surf especially on an 80-foot wave. I think these surfers have a death wish but that's just me. I'm a CCRN, that is, Critical Care Registered Nurse and there are things that I've done in the exercise of my profession that most people would say, "Well, I'm glad there are people who are willing to do that but no thanks." My point is that we all have our passions some of which defy death. CCRN is one of those that if you don't practice with caution and accuracy can kill you. But I would never deliberately fall off a 100-foot wave with the shoreline coming at me at 60mph. If you're willing to become a quadriplegic for the sake of a thrilling 20 seconds, that's your choice, but not mine. As for methods of bobbing back up from a wave tumble, a good life vest and a big gulp of air with a dive under the wave have always been my choice when swimming in (not so) rough water. My best experience of ocean swimming was off the coast of Maine meeting a Right Whale. He came up to say hello with an eye the size of a dinner plate. He was very gentle with me, allowing me to touch him. He pushed me to the surface to breathe which we both did and ducked under me to give me a ride on his flipper. He was so huge he could easily have killed me by dragging me under or hitting me with his tail flipper but I think he was as curious about me as I was about him. I also have "a way" with animals. It has been lifelong, I don't know where it comes from and it's not for me to ask. They simply know I won't hurt them, that I am one of them. I don't know of anyone who has had such a meeting with a Right Whale. To me, that's a joy of the ocean I'd wish for everyone. We all find joy in different ways.
I quit surfing in the 90s after the falls threw me onto the ocean floor leaving me concusses, with a sprained neck, jarred vertebrate that has left me with lifelong scoliosis, and two broken ribs. Never again....... I'll watch from a distance!
I almost always try to duck dive because my leash has been snapped to many times throwing the board to the side. Long swim back to the beach and can be dangerous if you really got hammered.
I avoid Mooloolabar beach (QLD Australia) because I got dumped and my cheek landed on the sand twisting my neck. I heard it creak. I had a graze on it from the wave pressing me down against the sand and it scraping my face. My ex broke a vertebrae while catching waves in the same beach. I choose deeper waters. My worst fear is not being ragdolled, but being pushed against something solid while being ragdolled.
I watched my brother trying to through a set of waves. He got through the first 3 waves but he almost made it over the fourth wave but it sucked him in the washing machine. We were surfing at Pt. Mugu that had big hollow waves. I think my brother gave up surfing after that.
Going backwards over the falls also has your board in very close proximity to you, it can/will hit you. I've got several dents, and stitches from this highly unwanted activity.... yet, I'm paddling out again later... duh. Never quit, never surrender!
As a surf photographer I only have one more tip for these situations:
- Think always about the next one. It doesn't matter if a big wave is going to smash you, while you are diving you have to think "the next one is worst" instead of "just this and I'm safe". Think always there is a next one because many times will be. That with the calm and the breathe made myself to escape from many dangerous situations for me and my camera.
Ye, the last wave of the set can be the biggest one
I’ve taught my lad to avoid the first wave of a set for this very reason. 🤙
@@tuberworksjonesif you know where you are you should know right ? ;)
@@theyoungupstarts1243
I taught my friend to avoid the first wave in the set since it tends to be the wave everyone is rushing into. We call it cockroaches washing.
Yep, as I learned my first time at Waimea Bay: (1) You are totally alone and (2) They come in three wave sets and (3) They will inevitably come as supersets that break so far out from the usual lineup spot that there is usually no way to not get pounded by them unless you are a very super paddler.
My preferred technique is to watch videos on the Internet.
The other couch surfer..
😂
😂😂😂😂
Boring
😂😅❤
In my younger days I could hold my breath for almost three minutes. I've never had a hold down that even came close to scaring me. I used to LOVE getting ragdolled when it was inevitable. Going limp and just letting the water do it's thing was one of the most relaxing experience ever, like a big massaging washing machine.
That depends on experience I guess. I can hold breath for around 3 and a half minutes during casual freedive, but in the washing machine this time reduces tragically fast. Still can’t say i hate it, it’s a weird mix of terrifying and fun and a hell of a lesson ocean teaches us from time to time
yep, like the guy said, the secret to survive is to not panic and also to not fight it and to relax your body and let the wave toss you around like a rag doll. Sometimes though I begin to paddle to the surface too early without knowing which way is up and find myself paddling down not up.
Who does blud think he is you’ve never been in bigger than 7 foot mate
@@layzonclutch2906 four years in Escondido says otherwise, broh.
@@dougdavis8986 yeah bro
i used live in California and id surf most everyday when i was a teenager. got to play around in some bigger waves and learn the ocean at the same time. i am 33 now, I haven't surfed in many years, but i still have dreams of being trapped in big waves when my life is in turmoil. the feeling of being powerless and tossed around is a unique one, not easily forgotten.
Great presentation! Although I'm now 70 years old and never really surfed I appreciate what you surfers are doing and applaud you all!!!!
Old surfer here. I surfed in the days before board chords, in the 70's, at Hanalei. My mantra was to wrap my arms around my board when going over the falls. I've been tucked many a time washing machine fashion. Also relax and let the wave action have its way with you. If/ when you loose your board stay in the white water as it will push you to shore. Stay away from all channels as all that water is rushing off the reef and rushing back to sea. The white water is actually your friend and body surf it back to shore. Never surf big waves when you are physically tired. Rest on shore and surf another day.
I was using table tops in 1815 at the pipeline. It was not to crowded back then.
Can confirm white water is by far the best way to get to shore instead of trying to swim. Saved my life when I was a dumb teenager and went in 55f, 5ft-8ft waves, no life guard, with zero protection after not having been in the water since last year. I was held down 4 times and only got in two breaths. Coming up from the 4th wave I even swallowed a decent amount of water. It was horrifying to be breathing in the water even if it was a few seconds whilst returning to the surface.
I remember thinking:
"this is how I die"
and seeing myself in the water from a 3rd person perspective. It was very surreal.
I had absolutely no dexterity due to the cold. I thought for sure despite surviving 2 separate multiple wave hold down, another set would come and I'd not make it because I was stuck in the white water.
However, I was able to stay on my board and position it towards the beach. With the only strength I had left, I gripped the board and road the white wash in on my stomach. I was ungodly lucky another set didn't come, and that there was white wash from waves that had broken much further back to propel me towards the beach.
I collapsed on the shore, threw up water, and then coughed up water for 5 minutes.
My surf buddy had paddled further back and couldn't see me. No one could have saved me but me. No one should ever risk that. Don't just go with one person, go with multiple and make sure everyone gets to the line up.
I never took for granted Mother Nature again.
All excellent advice!!
Three years ago, I was a lower-level intermediate when I first went over the falls. I was paddling in for the evening at Kings Beach in Queensland, Australia. I reached the shore break and thought I would try to catch one. It was really dumpy and the wave looked like it was closing out; I hesitated thinking about what to do and then pulled back- one second too late. I failed to throw my board to the side and got slammed down over it when it hit the seafloor. Cracked two ribs and coughed up blood. It turned out not to be serious, but I couldn't lie on a surfboard for four weeks it hurt so much. Lesson learned: hesitation is a surfer's bane.
Wear a buoyancy vest! Got caught inside on a 10 plus day at my local reef about 400m offshore. Had to bail, stand and dive method, got a couple of strokes down as it got hold of me. Got a breath as I came out of the back of the wave, while getting sucked over, then got obliterated. Popped up as the next one was about to unload on me. Smashed again but washed out of impact zone. Third and fourth were a mountains of white water. Leggy held and I finally got my board back spun around and got bounced by the fifth wave. I was 52! Shook me up. The vest saved my life. Just a wakeboard impact vest with stomach pads removed. Still surfing at 59 but keep it real nowadays. No 10 foot days but wear my vest when solid. Stay fit and flexible. Riding a 9”1” Takayama. So much fun. Keep surfing
You can not submerge with one of those, you take the wave straight on your face
thats a great tip dude
This is actually a REALLY good tutorial. Most “tutorials” are no better than sweaty balls on a hot day, but this one actually gives good suggestions. #3, taking a moment to gather yourself and look for other surfers to help get your bearings is something many folks miss when getting hammered. It feels like an eternity, but in reality it just isn’t that long when taking a couple to the head. Being calm uses less oxygen internally.
Best advice I can give folks is to practice holding your breath outside of the water. If you can hold your breath for 90 seconds, that should be enough for most surfers. Those who surf big waves need more, but for the average guy or gal who surfs, it’s rare to find yourself on waves bigger than 10-15’ faces.
Love it, absolutely love the sensation of going over backwards.
Big tip , relax and enjoy the ride.
Worst nightmare, being sucked back and going OTF on a huge 20ft+ wave.
I surf the North Shore of Hawaii Island and I've had some pretty bad hold downs. Letting my board go is definitely a last resort, because it will be destroyed on the rocks if your leash breaks. Having said that, when a 20' wall of water is coming down on your head, you definitely don't want to be near the surface. Holding your board won't matter, because it will absolutely be snatched out of your hands like candy from a baby. Even if you have your arms wrapped around your board and your hands locked together, there is no way you'll be able to hold on. It really is incredible to have something as big as your gun, ripped from your arms instantly, like less than a tenth of a second. If you do somehow hold on, you'll lose so much yardage, it's a real possibility that both you and your board will be dashed on the rocks. If it's a mountain of whitewater, I'll make an effort to duck, but if it's too big and I can't get under the initial impact, I know I failed immediately and I'll just let my board go and continue my duckdive without the board. I usually lose less ground this way, but the down side is, you have to reel in your board and if it's upside down, you'll be swimming under the next wave too and so on. 🤔 Now that I think about it, why do I even do this, it's insane. 🤣
I like your answer at the end. I was a rock climber and in my early days I remember after getting at 12 feet up I panicked. Here I was sprawled out on the face with all 4 of my limbs... sweating on the rocks petrified. And when I wouldn't move my boyfriend called up from below saying I had to choices ... I could trust myself to position my next foothold and heist myself up or I could hang there in indecision til the sun went down.😅
That might seem harsh to some but his strategy was fir me to conquer my fear and trust that I knew what to do.
And when I got to the top and took in that view. For me it was another plane of existence.
Why do we do such things?
To test our limits to push or own boundaries and I live in a moment.
That it is dangerous even by insane standards only fuels that desire because if it were easy ... everyone would do it and what's the fun in that?
Personally I always wanted to be a surfer but we didn't get to live in North shore or Santa Cruz or Waimea. Nevertheless
I am fascinated with big wave surfing and often try to picture physically what that might be like.
Mad respect fir those like Doran and Hamilton who took that to the next level.
Doran who believed it was possible to paddle into a wave and ride that mountain of water and Hamilton thr ultimate waterman who invented the rail to literally float above the water and tow in using a jet ski 🎿
Amazing ... truly a visionary.
That you chose to ride a mountain of water as your past time despite the risks that it could kill you shows your passion to surf... thats exciting.
And although I have never been where you are and can't possibly know what it's like to be sucked over the falls or held down for 3 sets. I do respect the fact that such an experience would be life changing and scare the hell out of you.
And remember that you are taking your life in your hands when you grab that board and head out to jaws or mavericks.
So bravo to you for being brave enough to do it and level headed enough to know what you are up against and think with a clear head when you find yourself barreling down in a violent cyclone 🌀.
I love learning to the stories all you surfers tell when you have a near death experience.
This sport is respected. It never attempted without extreme safety measures in place.
That's the same with my sport rock climbing. You never forget that always high risk in every climb you make. Sure it is a blast and that why we do it but also it's a dangerous sport in which you can lose your life if you get stupid or cocky.
Happy surfing 🏄♂️ to you thanks for sharing.
I partially held my breath as I read this and felt relieved to make it to the end haha. As an empath and also a thrill seeker myself, I can assume why you do this. That said, after a few experiences of being ragdolled by just 5 footers, I know you are dedicating yourself to a unique confluence of things that I could never pull myself to do, but I have my own things that you might say the same thing to too. The moment of presence and unshaking focus while living on razer thin margins and experiencing an adrenaline rush, out of body experience rush kind of moment, many times over, is just something not everybody can do, let alone understand.
I stood at the shoreline of the pipeline as an 8 year old for a few minutes and absolutely respect anyone who can manage anything close to or beyond that.
Underrated, thanks for sharing.
If above 10' in a bad impact zone, I always go for option 3. Grab my board by the rails, chest on the tail and wait for the turbulent six feet white wash roll to shoot me like a rocket towards the shore. Definitely more fun than struggling to breath for a minute.
Sometimes the pressure going over the falls pushes all the air out of the lungs. Doesnt matter how fit you are in big surf if a combitination of things go wrong its game over
Best surf channel on YT ! I’d say a,b and c depending on size, kind of wave (spilling, plunging ) and position to shore or distance to direct impactzone
I was surfing Carpentaria as an intermediate all alone in the 90s when a rogue set came through, twice the size of what was rolling that day. I was stoked and went on the first wave, only to eat it and then suffer the scariest hold down of my life. I came up from the first hold down only to face a bigger second wave. When that one was through with me, I came up and number three was even bigger. I recall being under and thinking, "This is it; I'm gassed. If there's a fourth, it's over." I surfaced, gasping, to see a beautiful, flat ocean that let me paddle in and live to surf another day.
It had been dead flat all day when I heard that perfect sets had begun rolling in at Bells 8 minutes apart. It was 8:30pm with only 30 min of daylight so my friend and I drove done and sure enough perfect waves were coming in in 8 min intervals and there was no one out so my friend and I paddled to the usual take off spot and didn't have to wait long for the sets to start rolling in but we very quickly realised that the waves were 2x-3x what were estimated from the cliff and were are least 12-15 foot (hard to tell when there was no one in the water) and were peaking a good 100 metres further out that normal. We began paddling like made to make it over the first wave which we barely made (they wave were so high that our ears popped as we went up the face) but there was no way were were gonna make it past the 2nd and 3rd and they broke right on top of use. Unlike regular waves, when these broke it was initially like being under Niagra falls and the wave would initially push you down, then after a split second it was like an explosion and you wouldnt know which way was up. One thing that does not get conveyed when seeing huge waves on video is that when the waves are right in front of you they fill up your peripheral vision as well so the wave is not just high, it fills your entire vision. Never been rag dolled so hard before and when I started paddling for the surface I realised I was actually paddling down.
One other scary / memorable 'over the falls' wipeout was when I was surfing Jan Juc's bird rock at low tide where I could see the seaweed as the wave would suck up on take off. Not particularly big, 4-5 foot reef break, but has fast hollow short rides especially at low tide. On this particularly large wave I was probably six feet too far forward (the takeoff area is tiny) and was lip thrown so hard that I cleared the wave like I had been shot from a cannon and I instinctively positioned my body as horizontal as possible with arms outstretched as I expected to hit the reef but surprisingly didn't and thought 'hmmm, that didn't seem as shallow as I thought' until I stood up and found that the water was maximum only 4 feet deep. Was a miracle I didn't get a cracked skull that day.
damn u have some good comparisons and pretty bad things happening in ur life, if u have been trapped in the niagara falls and were hit by a cannon and u are still alive damn. u must be invincible.
sorry bro I wanna read this but I just can't read allat😂
Scariest hold down I ever experienced, I wiped out while on the face of the wave....seemed like 50', when it was probably 10-12' at most....I got clipped by the heavy lip of the barrel, wind knocked out of me immediately when I crashed into the bottom of the wave hard, than I got sucked up by the wave, felt the weightless free fall as I'm going down sideways through the air/over the falls and impact the water hard again ....rinse and repeat....two more waves the exact same size come charging right at me....one bigger than the next....kept calm, controlled my breath, knowing when I fell on the first one what to expect...
Than I opened my eyes....EVERYTHING BLACK....
Absolutely scared me to death and I panicked, didn't know which way was up, didn't know how my body was even orientated to the surface....literally thought I'm going to drown, I have the wind knocked out of me, I remained patient for what seemed like an hour and now I can't even find the way out....pitch black all around, f***ing terrifying.....
Next wave hits, boom....thank God, it wrapped my leash around my mid-section as I went through the washing machine again, so I was able to unravel it real quick and follow the leash to my board on the surface....and than boom, hit again, but at least I took the biggest one second inhale any human has ever done before.....
I have never experienced such a time in my life such as that where I resigned myself to dying.....
Finally find the surface after the set....I'm stuck inside at Sunset Cliffs, SD and the waves keep firing....no beach, inside is only cliffs....took me 45 minutes of continuous duck dives to finally make it out of the cove and not get pummeled against the rocks.....thank God I was young and in good surfing shape, otherwise I think there would be some makeshift cross with my name on it up along the road/tourist spots asking the cliffs
Crap! I know exactly where you were! Pillbox in Encinitas for me!
Horrible
Ooof! "Which way is up?" Been there brother. Terrifying!
Over the falls is the worst, because you are being propelled into the explosion zone like a pile driver. Being in the explosion zone is as bad but you don’t have the added momentum of the wave throwing you down. The water is your friend, it will cushion the force of the wave so the deeper you are, the safer you are.
These guys are superhuman living through that. I can hold my breath a long time in a still environment but right after heavy paddling, maybe getting only a half breath, and facing a savage beating, I don't know how these guys do this.
ive had many many over the falls experiences, the worst kind is when you duck dive come up the other side and it sucks you back down over the falls .. its sucks the most because you think you have made the duck dive.
Ik that one is the worst and it can be way after you make it through 😂
Facts
Ah your expecting to pop out the back and you realize wait wait I seem to be upside-down lol, and i did not take a deep enough breath
Exaktly, my first experience with that was when I paddled out in a good shorebreak, I was just duckdiving like usual but then I felt the suction pulling me back (I was like 10m out at that point), well anyway, I went back over the falls and I could swear I stood on the ground just chilling, but I couldn't get back up and when the wave was gone again I was standing in knee-deep water.
That could have ended way worse...😅
A buddy and me were paddling out on a small day, we duck dived,came out the back and continued to talk…….. but
I was caught in the “event horizon “ I said wait what? I was paddling like hell,, he was just outside the pull zone.He turned around and watched me get sucked down to the ocean floor, just the right swell direction, just the right bathymetry so much water was coming up over the sandbar holding me to the floor.
A couple of other things that always made a big difference for me was also making sure you have a much longer leash for 8 - 10 foot swells and above. Also on reef breaks I found opening my eyes after getting washing machined in impact zones helped me get a much quicker orientation of where the surface was. I came very close once in the 90,s surfing on La Graciosa at el corral in the Canaries. it was a solid 6-8 foot rising swell with cross offshore winds and I got caught out by a rogue set. one of my friends who had gone in because the wind was starting to swing cross onshore started shouting and whistling and I just had time to realize a much bigger set was coming in but could not make it out of the impact zone in time. I dove down toward the reef as far as I could just before impact and still got totally ragdolled and took the second wave over me while still under. I remember opening my eyes punching for the light and just making it in time for a brief second of air before taking the third wall over me. My head was pounding and I was seeing loads of multi colored lights but thankfully I had been washed down point so was able to get some breaths in before the tail end of the fourth wave. I paddled back out and just sat there going WTF just happened before getting out which is a whole other fiddle to there in big swells lol Epic times though no regrets. Also If poss try and flatten your body out as much as you can when wiping and getting sucked over in heavy shore breaks and shallow reefs.
I was used to Aquitaine endless sandy beaches, and when I was in Canarias, I was scared by just seeing the shape of the rocks on the bottom on "peaceful" breaks... (I'm not a high skilled surfer anyway, and doing mostly bodyboard, "biscotte").
With my friend, we went to visit "El Fronton", there were a huge chaotic swell, and I thought to myself "I will never surf that", the rocky shore, with the huge "hole" being filled and sucked on the side was scary as hell. Once you're stuck into that, I guess the only way out is death.
But even of the sandy beaches of Biscarrosse, La Teste and Lacanau, I had some "washing machine" times which were not always fun... And shorebreaks are also dangerous because you can hit the ground very hard.
I was surfing Ocean Beach in San Francisco on a moderately big day probably double overhead. Anyone who surfs there knows that wipeouts can be brutal even on smaller swells. I paddled into a pretty big one, but was just too late and free fell down the face. At first I thought no big deal. I hit feet first and went deep and thought OK it’ll just pass over me. But suddenly the turbulence wrapped my leash around my ankles and then I was 20+ feet down and hog tied. I couldn’t use my feet to kick up, so I was freaking out, trying to swim up with one arm while using the other hand to try and get my leash untangled.
Then I could feel the next wave breaking on top and knew I was in for at least a two wave hold down. I definitely was starting panic and to see spots in front of my eyes when the drag from my board pulled from the second wave me up to the surface, and I was able to get the leash un tangled before the next wave hit. But definitely puts the fear of God in you, It’s the panic that gets you, not the wave. I’m guessing I was underwater for 30, maybe 40 seconds tops but it felt like 5 minutes.
u werent 20 ft under at ocean beach from a doh wave 😂
@@nick9zx I was told there would be no math on this exam
OB nearly drowned me too in similar conditions. Fell on take off of first wave of huge set. 2nd wave on me with hardly a breath between them. So much white wash I couldn’t come up. When I did, third one was there immediately and I was ragdolled again. First time I ever thought I might not make it. I came up dizzy and pulled on my leash to find the board. figured one more im dead. Well #4 was there and I just hugged my board tight and luckily I held on and it pulled me up faster to get a real breath and that was the last big one. Paddled in after that and just laid on beach thinking WTF
@@cardconnection4322lol wtf
Great video, thank you for this.
Something similar happened to me a few days ago at La Gravière in Hossegor.
I paddled out from Plage Naturiste, where the current is very strong.
It pushed me about 500 meters to La Gravière.
Being fed up with the current I decided to paddle back to the beach so I could walk back to my starting point.
I was approaching the shore when a set of three waves took me by surprise.
Hossegor is a sandy beach with beach breaks and a steep ocean floor.
I saw the waves coming and started paddling out like hell!
The moment I realized I wasn’t going to make it, I saw a huge 10-12ft glassy wall of water-like a monster-ready to break over me with the speed of a train.
My first thought was: “Oh shit, here we go!”
I didn't really know what to do, so I quickly prepared to duck dive, my heart beating twice as fast as normal.
I failed, and the wave lifted me up and smashed me down into turbulence I had never experienced before.
Knowing there were more waves coming, I tried to get to the surface as soon as possible, but the whirlpool kept me down.
Before the next wave hit, I managed to take a few breaths, but this time I started to panic.
The next wave was bigger and stronger, and I found myself in a weird place where I couldn't tell which way was up or down.
My lungs were crying out in panic, and then I suddenly remembered-the leash! I grabbed the leash and pulled myself up to the board.
I popped up into the white foam, my lungs screaming for oxygen. I took a short breath, and once again-here we go.
The third wave was smaller but still strong. It held me down, and I started to think, “I can't take a fourth one; I'm done.”
After the third wave, I was closer to the shore, so the fourth one was just a wall of white water, giving me a bumpy ride to the shallow water, where I limped to the beach.
I was coughing and shaking for five minutes before I finally made it back to my starting point. No more surfing for me that day.
That was my scariest surfing experience-totally helpless, my heart full of fear, out of breath, while the ocean kept pushing me down.
March 2004 Sunset 10 ft Hawaiian .. sucked over the falls on a 20 ft face … then 2 more in the set.. almost lights out.
I was 50 yrs old been training for 6 months in Florida swimming a mile a day in the ocean and running back up to my waist in the shorebreak. Probably saved my life.
Surfed since 13 but big sunset is heavy, unpredictable and a challenge for anybody. Prepare the best you can and don’t panic.
Been there. Almost died. If you're caught in huge sets, which are holding you under for 30, 60, 180 seconds at a time, curl up and protect your head and neck from ocean floor impact, let yourself float to the top, and when you get there, breath as many huge breaths as you can. The next wave is probably falling on you right about now. It's ALL about not panicking. and conserving oxygen. 1 wave (usually) isn't going to kill you. 10 in a row, will. Conserve oxygen. You will always lose if you attempt to fight the ocean.
One thing that was not mentioned is correct wave selection predicated on the current amount of sets rolling in for that day. For example if you watch the sets and they’re coming in three, four and five at a time, does it make sense to takeoff on the first wave????? PROBLEM, if you miss, your take off, kick our, or are not adjacent to a shoulder for a take off you have a four wave hole down tor a nasty paddle session of waves to punch through. Most surfers look at the sets and take off on the second to the last wave or speculate if it’s the the last wave of that current set. When this happens it gives some time to enjoy their wave, kick out, paddle back out, and take a little rest for the next set. This concept ensures you only have to paddle through one wave coming back to the line up. Armatures or inexperienced surfers go on the first wave or experienced surfers who are coming in for the day.
BTW You are going to get hungry in the line up. Keep a protein in each sleeve of your wet suit and a capri sun in your zip chest (rip curl) of you wet suit. Nothing beats timing the tide, killer rights all morning and you have to come in to eat or 💩. Capris get the salt out of your nose after a nasty hold down.
Blacks Beach, La Jolla, CA, is a powerful wedge that gets gnarly when it goes off. I've gone over the falls there on 6-8 foot swells that pulverized my soul. Double and triple hold downs at Blacks can make you question your sanity. It's very possible to snap a leash, if you ditch. When it gets big, it gets steep and shallow, elevating the stakes. I can't tell you how many boards I've seen carried up the hill in pieces. My preferred duck dive was the standard one but, to save the board, if I was late, I'd bear hug it, roll and get the rails vertical and try to cut through the wave...and do everything possible to save the board. Ditching was always forbidden. It was only used in extreme situations and would probably get someone's ass kicked if their board hit someone. It just wasn't done. I've gotten doubled and tripled and started getting nervous and prayed to the surf gods to get a breath, only to get pummeled again. I was a long distance runner and could swim 2-1/2 lengths of a lap pool on 1 breath. I always cleared the impact zone, without truly panicking. I can see how it can happen though, especially, after the 2nd denial. I live along the gulf side of Florida now. There's virtually no surf most of the year. I keep a longboard ready but really miss those SoCal waves.
I don't surf. I don't even live near the beach. But this was still very interesting too watch.
As someone who is from Hawaii (40 years) I have gone over the falls at every beach. The best thing to do is try to get your last good breath and relax. Don't fight the washing machine. Let it toss you up. Just guard your head and try to go over feet first obviously. Remain calm and take deliberate breaths.
Can you elaborate on feet first?
On a day at Huntington Beach a couple years ago, waves were big, breaking outside and inside when I got sucked over the falls on a four footer on my boogie board. Separated my shoulder on a small wave...Gotta respect the ocean.
I was out with a buddy on a 3 foot day and his board got snapped in half, it’s unpredictable
Broke my nose by being held down on a wave, smacked the sand like being hit by mike tyson. Everything you said is good information, the ocean is very powerful and demands respect.
Just liked and subscribed! Best video clips of heavy surf nightmares! But you quickly give the keys to survive the worst. Much thanks as I’m sure it will save someone’s ass! Most of us had to learn this by the experience in the old days!
My preferred method was to stay on the beach when the waves were overhead and mostly surf beach breaks. Yes, I was a casual surfer but I loved it!
Excellent and interesting video content! Thanks for sharing!
Rogue double overhead 3-wave hold down almost killed us. Last week Friday my twin and I were at Moss Landing between Santa Cruz and Monterey.
A 3-wave banger came out of nowhere and caught me too far on the inside. My bro ditched on the face and I was caught over the falls and plunged backward into the whitewater abyss. Snagging a gulp of air I embraced the second slamming wave. I heard my twin yell that he lost his board. Heart racing, I lurched out of the whitewater and managed another short breath before being taken by the third wash machine cycle. I was like give me five more seconds of air to make it out! With everything I had I pulled to the surface and grabbed my board where I rode in the whitewater to meet my bro. Fortunately, we made it out with a solid story and added respect.
2 years ago ( I am 13 now) I went “over the falls” on my fiber glass 5’ 3” and my board smacked me in the arm. The wave also pulled my wetsuit over my head so I couldn’t see. I could also barely breathe. I ended up just fracturing my arm.
I was born and raised on Oahu south shore although I surfed the country frequently in the winter.Summers were always a prize for a walk to the beach. Portlock Point comes off of deep water and jacks up on an 8’deep reef which u would think u have a lot if cushion. But punching 3 step ladder sets with faces upwards of 20’, the last one I thought i could punch through but the lip hit the tail of my board and i went inside over the falls and ended up hitting the bottom 8’below. Fingers bleeding and bottom of new board trashed. So u are right, itcan happen to anyone anywhere.
Very good information . I learned in south florida and got a chance to go west and surf southern Calif. Been rolled into the reef cut up on my back. Im 53 now i live in florida and the waves are short in height and mostly short ride...
Excellent Coverage, nice slowing down the Video. Recommend using Red Arrows to show some details also.
Another UA-camr Brad Jacobsen always does an excellent job with his Visual Arrows and extremely slowing down his Videos.
Your under water duck Videos are the best I’ve ever seen. Great job on that 🙏
I always used to hold on to my board for dear life as it would always find the surface, have had quite a few non surfing related injuries though and haven't had a paddle for the past 30 years.
As an avid free diver I’m good with breath control but was very surprised by the power or big waves. Im taking maybe 10 feet in the Pacific. Was use to shorter period waves of the E coast. The first long period 10 footer that I wiped out on was a BIG surprise. Wow, what a difference.
@brittseverence7221 I can relate we’re not for my free diving experience. I don’t know how I would’ve done with that one.
Right. Thanks for filling my dreams again tonight. Woo-yaaaaa
Some 45 years ago, having gone over the falls on my own in a mere 15-18 ft. in Guéthary, France (and received a relentless pounding thereafter), I decided I NEVER wanted to undergo the experience again. I thank God it's not me every time I watch wipe outs in big surf. Plus 6ft. I was out of there, PDQ. I took up high board diving instead. Self inflicted wipe outs were much more do-able.
When I was 14 I got caught in the biggest waves that I've ever seen out in the water. It felt so wrong, like how could the ocean create such massive waves. I tried scratching over the first wave only to see six more on the horizon. My friends and everyone around me had already been washed down the beach by a smaller set. It was the middle of the winter at the Huntington Beach cliffs so the water was dark brown and ice cold. The second wave was absolutely massive and I was praying out loud to God. I dove as far as I could but it still caught me and rag dolled me. It was pitch black and I could feel the pressure in my ears because I was so deep. At one point my board hit me in the head which was freaky because the wave drove my board down with me. Once the thrashing subsided I swam with everything I had and barley made the surface. The foam was like a foot deep, my legs were being twisted as the current sucked me down and let be back up. I couldn't find my board, then another one landed on me and I took another thrashing. I had to fight with everything that I had to make the surface. After three waves I had been washed in from the knarly impact zone so I let the next couple wave hammer me so they would wash me in even farther. I was able to grab my board and held on and rode the biggest white water of my life back to the beach. I sat in silence on the beach for a while and didn't say anything to anyone that day about it. After that I realized that being in the water is mostly a mind game and you have to stay calm no matter what. Now that I'm 54 and out of shape I realize that your body better be conditioned too, but it still boils down to your mind staying centered in the storm.
I just Boggie Board with mild waves! I have deep respect for the power of the ocean. Had scary experience.
Unconventional but it works to duckdive sideways and rotate a further 90 degrees, so you are deep underwater but are unconventionally facing towards shore as the wave hits you, and so instead of being driven backwards out of control, you are driven forwards with some control. This can work in situations where you are facing a huge broken wave, whilst lacking momentum. Once the foam drives you forward you can gain momentum and use your board to steer for the surface in the aftermath of the waves energy. This also can get you to a safer zone where you won't get the next wave on the head with full ferocity. It can buy you some time to get some breaths.
This seem to always happen to me as soon as I just about got out the Back a cleanup set would come through , Great Vidoe
Anyone know the original source of 4:47?
Control your breathing? I don't recall doing a lot of breathing when I'm being jammed into the seabed by a wall of whitewater. Am I missing something?
Nice video. Thank you 🙏
My favorite thing about 'going over the falls'? Sucking in that last giant breath as you're stuck in the time warp of that eternal moment that you wish could last a little longer.
Great video and presentation....
Very good information
As I someone who does surf (not huge waves at all), this made me feel like I was about to be thrown over the falls 😂
ive almost finished my patented design for a life saving device called Lastbreath for big wave surfers, worn like a watch, sometimes holding your breath dosnt work when 100 tons of water presses your lungs flat ant you have to take 2 or 3 on the head.
How does it work?
Biggest fears over the falls = tangling with my board/fins or getting slammed then dragged across shallow, urchin-covered reef. Or getting dragged towards barnacle-covered rocks.
I'm not a surfer yet, but this past summer I went to Hawaii and I jumped into similarly violent waves without much experience in the ocean. They put up a warning sign not to get into water due to weather which I foolishly ignored. One of the big waves hit me hard and I tumbled and hit my face on the bottom of the ocean floor HARD. I heard a loud crack on my neck and I was momentarily paralyzed. The impact was so hard that it broke my tooth. The big and powerful waves kept hitting, not giving me any moment to gasp for air. Panic kicked in and I heard my self moan - I was completely out of air and I accidentally breathed water into my lungs out of reflex. While under water (simultaneous being punched by waves), I was able to grab the bottom floor and clawed my hands so I don't get pulled deeper into water. I waited until the wave pushed me towards the shore. I was able to push my self out of water for a brief moment before being hit hard again. Little by little, I made progress. I was completely out of energy, and the waves carried me to the shore with my face on the floor. I slowly crawled out of water, but survived. I was SO relieved to get out of water. Someone offered to call 911. Luckily my neck wasn't broken and I was able to drive back to hotel. Couldn't move my neck for weeks, but I'm still alive.
I didn't watch this video and I had no idea how to deal with waves.
Can confirm white water is by far the best way to get to shore instead of trying to swim. Saved my life when I was a dumb teenager and went in 55f, 5ft-8ft waves, no life guard, with zero protection after not having been in the water since last year. I was held down 4 times and only got in two breaths. Coming up from the 4th wave I even swallowed a decent amount of water. It was horrifying to be breathing in the water even if it was a few seconds whilst returning to the surface.
I remember thinking:
"this is how I die"
and seeing myself in the water from a 3rd person perspective. It was very surreal.
I had absolutely no dexterity due to the cold. I thought for sure despite surviving 2 separate multiple wave hold down, another set would come and I'd not make it because I was stuck in the white water.
However, I was able to stay on my board and position it towards the beach. With the only strength I had left, I gripped the board and road the white wash in on my stomach. I was ungodly lucky another set didn't come, and that there was white wash from waves that had broken much further back to propel me towards the beach.
I collapsed on the shore, threw up water, and then coughed up water for 5 minutes.
My surf buddy had paddled further back and couldn't see me. No one could have saved me but me. No one should ever risk that. Don't just go with one person, go with multiple and make sure everyone gets to the line up.
I never took for granted Mother Nature again. I stick to collecting sea glass, and I never go in 3ft+ waves. I miss getting ragdolled by big waves, but the experience shook me too much.
Surfing Black's in the 60's occasionally found us long boarders in 15 foot waves that sucked so hard that ducking would catapult us like a sling shot pointed at the beach. What I did was to duck with the board with the rail down so that the impact of the water would have less surface to sling shot. I would tuck the nose under my arm. Worked for Black's.
I was about to post about the same technique. I was doing this in La Jolla more than 50 years ago with my 9'-6" Gorden and Smith. I did this at Black's Beach because the big waves sucked really hard.
Happened to me the day after "The Perfect Storm" at Rye New Hampshire. Was held down for about 2 minutes. Knew to relax and wait for my buoyant wet suit to float me up. When I popped up, I looked around for my long board. About 30 seconds later, my board surfaced like a Poisidon missile. Guys around me yelled that I should have worn a leash, but I'm sure that it would have ripped my leg off!
I had a severe herniated disc once from being pommeled headfirst, going upside down onto the shallow sand at a shorebreak wipeout. Six weeks of painful recovery, but I was lucky I didn't end up a paraplegic.
I once saw someone go over the falls at pipeline, straight into the reef. He came out with all of the skin torn off of his back, and the backside of his rash guard gone, still with chunks of coral in him 🙏
Having one of these monsters detonate 20 feet in front of me is my worst fear. Getting sucked over is no picnic but most of the energy of the wave has been expended by then. That said, I have never surfed a wave 1/3 the size of these.
I used to swim in waves and try to go over the falls (thanks for the terminology!) Until I did that in a just under 4 meter (13 foot) shorebreak. There was a big set and I was in chest deep water, getting pulled up the wave and slammed right onto like a remaining 30 centimeters (1 foot) of water and sand below. It was an experience I neither want to miss nor repeat. Can't imagine what it must be like to go over the falls of a 50 foot wave, that must be absolutely insane. I was fine that day, but a lady trying the same thing (probably seeing me having fun in the waves, and thinking she'd be fine, if an athletic german dude can do it, she can as well or smth) and she broke her shoulder on a wave just like mine. Waves have incredible power and if I didn't know how to properly protect my head, I could have easily been knocked out. Needless to say I didn't stay in the breaking zone of those waves for long. Usual sets were almost only half that size that day, so it was kind of a surprise to see waves that large. //edit: the one at 1:57 explains almost perfectly the situation I was in xD
Boogie board. Got sucked over at Blacks in a winter swell. Machined but not too bad. At least I knew there was sand below.
The worst however, again at Blacks, was when I was about to get one large on the head and ditched my board. Leash wrapped around my leg and I got pounded by a couple more. I never ditch now.
Been there done that!!! Bosa Chica State surfer with all my friends in 1960-70s surfer dude.
I don’t think you can explain how terrifying that looks.
Hi guys, we've been going in the waves in France with my father ever since small, but I never truly went surfing with seasoned surfers/bodyboarders.
Never was part of a group or something like that. When it gets big and you feel like a ragdoll caught, we call it the washing machine (probably because we were 4/5 years old when initiated with my sister !)
Is it something people usually say too, in english countries for example ?
I'm curious about it !
I had a 3 wave rouge set hold down at Chuns when I was young and strong. I wiped out in the impact zone on the drop and the heavy trades blew my board back into my face...it was only double overhead but the beating left memories. There was so much air bubbles in the water I would not float or start to rise and when I did make it up, there was another lip coming down on my head. I still like Chuns...,
The entire time watching this I just kept thinking of the worst hold downs I experienced and almost drowning multiple times
In water surf camera man offbthe west coast of Ireland I've experienced the tumbles in heavy sets....I think the longest I got held down was maybe 45 seconds but it feels like forever ...ide always try and curl myself up into a ball and tuck my neck in....I bumped a reef a number of times but only had a bad scrape once...I always remember thinking relax and hope for the best....give your mind into the wave....feel for the release in energy when the wave has weakened but ile always admit there was anxiety over the swim up to surface again....well your already being thrown along the froth on top..
But that point where you can actually thrust with your fins to get your head above the froth....I had fins attached with ankle straps...even scarier for surfers without fins....in a weird way sometimes I quite liked it...but when you have to surrender your mind to the force of the wave whilst rolling under and ide always close my eyes whilst tumbling it is always scary....then there's the other side too......the amazing feeling and visual aspect of duck diving perfectly under the sweeping barrel of a big wave is mesmerising....truly beautiful....one thing I won't do is swim film on shore dumping waves....landing on hard sand if sent over the lip can really damage your body ..
.sand is so much harder than one thinks when wet .....the only thing I truly feared was canyons in granite reefs and protruding boulders on reefs as you can get caught in them or bashed on a protruding boulder on top of a reefs...if reefs are generally flattish you've better chance of rolling over and above them.....ide prob wear a gath helmet these days though...you can't control the direction your body rolls under a big set...just tuck in an hope for the best...like someone said above looking at the set of waves beyond the first wave can help...get a feel for the grouping within the set might tell help your instinct of timing when coming up after first wave....ile tell you know even 45 seconds feels like 5 minutes ! Surf camera man co.mayo/sligo/claire/donegal west coast Ireland...
I mostly body surfed Maui South shore. I think I was at White Rock, next to Kea Lani 30 years ago, and I didn't quite make it out in time. I took the lip of at least an overhead right across my shoulders and just pounded me into the sand. My worst, going over the falls at Makena 2nd entrance. Again, at least overhead and I stiff armed the sand. The beach was very steep and I was fighting to not pass out from the pain and have the rip take me back out unconscious. That was a not-gonna-make-it moment. Tunnel vision and all.
Nearly 40 years ago at Manly Sydney (Australia) in very big surf for that beach. I thought they were about 10' +. I had finally struggled out the first line. I was already tired and misjudged the wave, they were very irregular. Over the falls I went. Totally disorientated, i swam into the bottom. I had plenty of air left, but had no idea how much water was above me. I got to the surface only to get smacked by another wave. I wasn't in trouble, but plenty beat up. I think it took another ten minutes to get back to the beach and I was thoroughly knackered. Crawling out of the surf a couple of clubbies on patrol came up. "Jeez, you copped a flogging mate. Don't worry, we had an eye on you when you wiped out and watched you all the way back. We were pretty sure you would make it after you popped out of the second wave." At least my pride was intact.
Being uncertain around the lip of the wave is the problem I have found. Commit and tuck in the barrel. I once backed out of a 8ft shorebreak, that thing chucked me into a pretzel on the sand.
My best hack is I only paddle out when the waves are 2-3 feet 💪
My favorite strategy for avoiding all of these dangerous waves is staying inside and playing video games. 100% effective!
Over the falls when body surfing causes fear of breaking your neck or back. Pulling into a ball is safer even though you're likely to hit bottom. Defend yourself at all times, especially from surfboards. When you come up for air, don't open your mouth until sure that another wave doesn't hit you in the face--better to be facing the shore.
It was at Newport Beach, The Wedge where I had my first Over the Falls moment and It was about mid day and the waves were pretty average at about 4-6ft. But then a huge set came in and I decided that these waves were the perfect ride..I underestimated their break and the first wave I came about, I was pumping the barrel and got too close to the body eventually looping over and falling on a mound of sand instead of water. However after I landed on the sand whitewater swept over me and thankfully the only injury that I had endured was a jammed finger: Note this was on bodyboard
Ya mentioned hitting the bottom but barely mentioned hitting your surfboard. I have more friends hit their board going over the falls than the bottom with one losing an eye, and couple others breaking limbs. Hell, even the legendary Gerry Lopez landed on his rectum hitting his board going over the falls. He was in the hospital for a long time and almost did not survive.
I once I ditched my board at Hazards Canyon Montana De Oro CA, on over 10 foot sets total of six in a row. I checked my 6 and no other surfers were following, but still regret ditching. Had a weak not neoprene coated bungee cord leash that snapped. The board washed up and the rest was easy just dive before the break on the remaining cleanups. I dove so deep I saw some fishes on the reef ..very cool. I used a technique when sucked up in the face. Point the nose of the board toward the shore, hugging the tale tight. Punch then pull the board through the face, if sucked over hold onto the board very tight and its possible to ride out the soup. It's a rough ride with some flips but eventually you'll fly out of the soup. Hold downs never last that long though seem like forever in a panic. Getting caught inside will always suck, but becomes less of a nightmare over time.
I was surfing south shore Oahu on swell, was pretty confident on my double up positioning but all of a sudden the wave jacks up to head high and it feels like I’m jumping off the roof. Moved my board so I wouldn’t hit my fins and took it. High tide that day, thank god
Duck dive everything unless a lip is gonna impact directly on you, or if someone else is in front of you. Ive gotten worked but have been able to float immediately back up with my board and start paddling vs the guy who did 4 cartwheels, has to swim up and get to his board or even call the session quits because their only leash snapped.
If its a beach break and I know Ill have a way better time going in to find a rip current that pulls me out easier, ill usually do that
My biggest wipeout, was back in the late 70's. Imperial Beach, South of San Diego
was breaking 20ft faces, twice as big as I'd ever seen it. The waves crashing sounded like jets taking off. I dropped my 10' 2" Con longboard onto the beach, as I knew I wasn't going to make it outside in such a huge swell paddling an aircraft carrier!
I decided to body surf it so, getting outside to the swell was no problem. I just dove my way to the swells. The water was 54* (I had no wetsuit) The air temp was near 80* one of those warm January days in San Diego.
I saw my wave, swam into it as hard as I could and started the "drop in" on a glassy left. Now, I had body surfed for years, so I felt confident of what I was about to do. To make a left, I would normally put my left hand into the face of the wave and make my turn near the bottom. However, this wave was really moving, and it walled up so steep so fast, that my right arm popped out automatically, in front to keep me from free falling into the air! I dropped in straight down like Superman!
I knew it was a left so when I hit the bottom of the wave with both arms out in front, I tried to make my turn. At that point, I knew I could be in trouble, as my speed decreased.
I made the turn, and then I stalled. I looked up to see a barrel you could've driven a semi-tractor trailer through! I had that brief moment of, "This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"
Then suddenly, it got very dark. I tried to bail diving into the wave. I got that last breath (thank God) and then got sucked up, weightless then, over the falls. I felt a building crush me into a sandy bottom. I started to try and struggle towards the surface, immediately realizing that wasn't going to happen! I pulled my arms and legs in, curled up like a potato bug, and conserved what oxygen I had left from that last breath being tossed about like a ragdoll. Weightlessly, I went over the falls a second time, hoping nothing would get snapped off my body
on the bottom. I was locked in the washing machine. Twisting, turning, not knowing up from down, or left from right.
Then again, weightlessness as I went up, and over the falls yet again for a third time! I finally felt that wave decide to release me, and I pushed off the bottom to the surface! I inhaled hard, sweet air of life!!! Then, I turtled under a smaller second wave, taking another beating, not nearly as bad as the first.
Finally, standing up in waist deep water I made my way to the beach. I was completely out of gas, and damn lucky to be alive.
I went back out 30 minutes later.
Lol. "I went back out 30 minutes later.'
When I was 15 me and a couple of mates were boogy boarding Matakana Island in NZ. We were coming in and were in about thigh high water when we turned around to assess the surf and decide whether it was worth going out again. A massive (12ft perhaps) mako shark lept out of the water right up to it's tail, exactly where we'd been less than a minute earlier. We looked at each other in complete shock and scrambled out asap. Matakana is remote, isolated and the 23 mile long beach completely deserted. No help, an hour back to the mainland.
Beautiful, terrifying animal - especially at that close a distance.
We too, went back out 30 minutes later. 😂
Breath holding skills free divers and competitive swimmers use certainly could help.
This is practicing holding one’s breath longer and longer. I doubt in this situation you could reach the huge amounts of time a free diver could get but those of competitive swimmers who try to stay underwater as long as possible after a turn would. I think it same way to learn.
In part this leaning to not panic to not have the panicked I am drowning reaction. And if the person has a chance a bigger intake breath would be practiced.
Broke my femur in Maui going over the falls and hitting the reef. It was a freak wave where 2 waves seemed to come together. The lip hit my shoulders and SLAM, it happened quick. Paddling past the inner break was torture with my bone sticking through my wetsuit. Sucked.
If your femur was sticking through your wetsuit you would have passed out from shock, regardless of adrenaline.
@@Dobertathon Didn’t happen bro. Although I was in shock, I never passed out. Maui lifeguards were great but said they had never seen anything like it before. The closest I came to passing out was during the tumble through the inner break. But I had a goal, had to make it to the beach.
Yep, got pounded at Brennecke's beach barrel wave, Kauai, hip replaced..
@@whydotheathensrage wow. Did it break near the socket? How are you doing now? Still surf?
@@TheNaturalust It didn't actually break, it was more like a severe hip sprain, (twisted) that resulted in severe joint deterioration, (leakage of synovial fluid) it had to be totally replaced a few years later. I spent 8 years in Hawaii, im back in Chicago now, its where family is. I do miss that ocean though..🌊
1998 Andy Irons Pipeline Masters wipeout was insane. AI’s board broke in 4 pieces & he grabbed another board & paddled right back out.
Before I would start surfing, I first would learn how to keep my breath as long as possible to be able to stay under water for longer periods. It's a crazy sport. I stay with windsurfing.
Can confirm. I don’t even have many hours of surfing..the last time I went i learned what going over the falls meant. It meant getting absolutely tossed and body slammed underwater…rolled around until disoriented completely, and dragged along the bottom about 50 yards until I stood up half dead in shin deep water. This was *maybe* a ten foot wave 😂
What if you are using one of those beginner boards that you cant duck dive in
I'm a gentle waves soft breeze swimmer, no surfing at all. I've been in some very rough water though with a fast current into a coral wall. It takes good lung capacity, a strong will to live and a mind that can calm in the worst situation. The exit is counterintuitive: to swim further out to be clear of the current and then rest on your back for long enough that you can safely swim for the shore. I would never surf especially on an 80-foot wave. I think these surfers have a death wish but that's just me. I'm a CCRN, that is, Critical Care Registered Nurse and there are things that I've done in the exercise of my profession that most people would say, "Well, I'm glad there are people who are willing to do that but no thanks." My point is that we all have our passions some of which defy death. CCRN is one of those that if you don't practice with caution and accuracy can kill you. But I would never deliberately fall off a 100-foot wave with the shoreline coming at me at 60mph. If you're willing to become a quadriplegic for the sake of a thrilling 20 seconds, that's your choice, but not mine. As for methods of bobbing back up from a wave tumble, a good life vest and a big gulp of air with a dive under the wave have always been my choice when swimming in (not so) rough water. My best experience of ocean swimming was off the coast of Maine meeting a Right Whale. He came up to say hello with an eye the size of a dinner plate. He was very gentle with me, allowing me to touch him. He pushed me to the surface to breathe which we both did and ducked under me to give me a ride on his flipper. He was so huge he could easily have killed me by dragging me under or hitting me with his tail flipper but I think he was as curious about me as I was about him. I also have "a way" with animals. It has been lifelong, I don't know where it comes from and it's not for me to ask. They simply know I won't hurt them, that I am one of them. I don't know of anyone who has had such a meeting with a Right Whale. To me, that's a joy of the ocean I'd wish for everyone. We all find joy in different ways.
Been there at wiamai in 20 foot swells. Held down for 2 waves with 1 breath before the third time 4+minutes
I quit surfing in the 90s after the falls threw me onto the ocean floor leaving me concusses, with a sprained neck, jarred vertebrate that has left me with lifelong scoliosis, and two broken ribs. Never again....... I'll watch from a distance!
I almost always try to duck dive because my leash has been snapped to many times throwing the board to the side. Long swim back to the beach and can be dangerous if you really got hammered.
I avoid Mooloolabar beach (QLD Australia) because I got dumped and my cheek landed on the sand twisting my neck. I heard it creak. I had a graze on it from the wave pressing me down against the sand and it scraping my face. My ex broke a vertebrae while catching waves in the same beach. I choose deeper waters. My worst fear is not being ragdolled, but being pushed against something solid while being ragdolled.
I watched my brother trying to through a set of waves. He got through the first 3 waves but he almost made it over the fourth wave but it sucked him in the washing machine. We were surfing at Pt. Mugu that had big hollow waves. I think my brother gave up surfing after that.
It’s more than that, possibilities, blown ear drum, dislocation of limbs, hold downs….
Going backwards over the falls also has your board in very close proximity to you, it can/will hit you. I've got several dents, and stitches from this highly unwanted activity.... yet, I'm paddling out again later... duh. Never quit, never surrender!
I used to worry about when my leash was going to shoot back my board at me like a sling shot...Ouch, that was always a thing.
You're correct brother
Stay cool and calm
Shore break is a different story
Unlike the outside