Surfing Waves

I have a fear of wearing the ankle strap, i always think that the board is going to really hurt me or im going to go down with it, any advice?

cberra wrote: or im going to go down with it, any advice?

Get a surfboard that floats.

When you wipe out cover your head with your hands. While you're still underwater you can give your leash a tug to check whether your boards in front of or behind you.

cberra wrote:I have a fear of wearing the ankle strap, i always think that the board is going to really hurt me or im going to go down with it, any advice?

Your surfboard floats a lot better than you do. Be glad it's attached to you.

Free yourself, go highly retro, surf no leash! Improve your swimming, clear the lineup in one wipe out

Unless you can swim well don't do it, I'm being sarcastic
BL ( before leashes ) surfers could swim, could body surf their way to shore, unfortunately now there are a great number of people surfing ( i won't say surfers) who can't swim
Your board is not a lifesaving device, if you go in the water you have to able to get out of the water by your own abilities!

Quote of last week by person rescued from drowning on our beach which has been un-patrolled since the end of summer
"I can swim where ever I like, it's the Lifeguards job to rescue me!"

There is a huge tidal current at my favourite break, always a rescue or two of wouldbees on any given day

As zebroo said already, it's very smart to cover your head when under water or coming up again. Besides you might also want to try to kind of 'catch' your surfboard when you're wiping out, to keep it banging your head. I tried it multiple times and it worked fine...

jaffa1949 wrote:unfortunately now there are a great number of people surfing ( i won't say surfers) who can't swim

Do you find that's really the case? I never heard of someone admitting to not being able to swim at all.(not very well, sure)

Truth is quite often, my home break is fairly benign at incoming tides and small swell but on an outgoing tide it can be a major danger* , often the surfers we drag in can't swim and occasionally we get one who tries to swim in towing their boards

*
The whole lake drains out as the tide goes out through a channel not 20 metres wide.
Get ziper to get out the back if you know how to use it