Long Hold Downs

[isaluteyou]

Recently i expereinced probably the worst hold down i have ever had (30 sec+ in 8ft+ waves) Not sure how long it really was but it felt like an eternity. Basically i went over the falls on a solid wave and got driven down, there must have been a hole or cavity in the ocean floor which trapped me immobalizing me could not move at all.

Whats your worst experience and what did you learn from it. For me its knowing full well that i can hold my breath underwater for 2 minutes+ so panicking over a 30sec takedown was silly

[oldgrom]

HA HA HA ,, happens to us all and yes it does seem like a forever experience,, but that's part of the thrill and adventure.

[parrysurf]

Long hold downs are sketchy...30 sec seems like 2 min....and you never get a good deep breath, so it is hard to hold your breath a long time.

I had a bad one once where I lost my board, and the set was like 10 waves and solid 10+...after going under the first couple there was so much bubbles in the water it was tough to even keep afloat....the rest of the set cleared and I scratched to shore.....and kissed sand!!!!
Have had some gnarl times getting in up the high tide/big swell rock walls

[pkbum]

holy xxxxx 30 second? I never really had a long hold down that long. longest one was 15 sec... and that nearly killed me

[drowningbitbybit]

I had a 15 minute URT hold-down once.







URL = Underwater Relative Time. Actual time elapsed - 20 seconds.

[Beachbum]

haha 30 seconds is crazy! How do you remain calm for that long? I usually try to remain calm, then psych myself out, and do the frantic climbing-ladder technique for air hahaha.

[Lost]

The best thing to do is to relax and not flail around much at first. Try to relax and just rag doll for a second or three. If its real bad and you know another wave is coming, you can follow your leash to your board. When you get to your board hold on and you should be at the surface.

I have had to pull one buddy up at Sunset by his leash. He took off too late and I yelled to him to ditch, but the bottom of the wave dropped out and he was done for. His board was pointing at the sky bobbing around after the wave passed. I had to do the same at Avalanches one too but my friend surfaced just as I was pulling him up.

Being that I am so out of shape and away from surfing for so long, this last swell certainly dished out some good punishment. Really, the reminding yourself to relax thing really helps!

[tree4]

I figure all 'hold downs' are longer than you'd like.
After busting your lungs to get out back, then sprinting to catch the wave and the drop, I always pop up breathing pretty hard. To then wipe and enter the washing machine often leaves me without much reserve air to endure it.

[ApneaBlue]

went over the falls and got stuck in the pit getting hammered, wave after wave. The white water froth got so thick I couldnt get my head above it even when i was laying on the board. Started taking in all the froth while breathing which was a combo of water and air. Then I was able to sit up and cough like hell and get a real breath. Closest i have ever been to drowning.

[Sillysausage]

i dont mind the long hold downs, i just hate the ice cream head when you do get them

[tomcat360]

Eck. I really don't miss ice cream headaches. I had one over the summer where I was out on a bigger day that got really sketchy with rips and stuff, and I ate it trying to drop late, plummeted to the bottom, waited, didn't flail around or anything and just waited, the wave goes on over me, I start going towards the top, expending my air and getting ready to breathe and another one whacked me, this time I freaked out, haha. Wasn't that long, it just caught me really off guard, I screwed up my bad knee while acting like an idiot underwater.

[parrysurf]

You know the guy is in bad shape when his board is tombstoning...I have had to climb my leash before...actually have pulled my board down to me and rode it up to safety

[CHarvey]

I have had the chance to have my feet on the sandy bottom of my local beach break while still sitting on my board.
That was fun.

[isaluteyou]

haha 30 seconds is crazy! How do you remain calm for that long? I usually try to remain calm, then psych myself out, and do the frantic climbing-ladder technique for air hahaha.

Its hard not to panick. I dont mind taking a dive and getting rolled for a while its when you are not doing backflips anymore and still cant move cause the surge is just holding you down. Fortunatly i managed to find the leash of my board and managed to yank myself towards the surface.

This happened at Blacks which is pretty notourios for these type of hold downs. I suppose it had to happen eventually maybe now i know how a really long hold down feels it wont really phase me too much next time.

[parrysurf]

pretty sure it will always phase me...that whole lack of oxygen thing

[Beachbum]

Yeah, I can normally stay calm if I'm not doing quadruple back flips, but once those start happening, each revolution feels like a breath of air getting sucked out of me.

[Hang11]

Try counting the seconds away while you're getting flogged, it's surprising how you hardly ever get past 10, and it gives you something other than imminent death to think about.

[HBCSurf]

Dec 21st, 2005

The offshore was a little brutal that day and while paddling for a huge clean up set, I got held in the lip a little too long, but made it out the back. As I was paddling over the next wave, I started to duck, but the lip was very thick and I got pitched - hard. Going over the falls was nasty, I bounced off the surface and somehow, my leash was wrapped around my neck and pulling very tight. I remember trying to get my fingers under the leash and stop the strangle as my board was being washed closer and closer to the cliffs. I couldn't get my fingers under the leash it was pulling so tight. I don't usually panic about being held under, but I was panicked and not only couldn't I breathe, but the leash was pulling tighter and tighter.

About the time the leash started to loosen up, the second wave came over me and while I was deep enough to not get the brunt of it, my board pulled the leash tighter and tighter. I remember thinking, my GF is on the cliff watching and she's going to watch me die today. I gave up trying to get the leash off and just relaxed to what seemed my fate.

I don't know exactly how I made it to shore and I don't know how long I was out. All of the fingernails on my right hand were gone and I had deep lacerations on my neck, presumably from when I tried to dig my fingers under the leash.

The scars make a good story, but the lesson I learned was when the waves are really big, I would rather swim for a lost board than be killed by one.

[Beachbum]

^ Dude that is an intense wipe out. Losing all your fingernails and having a deep lines on your neck. I would of been panicking for sure. Good thing your still here, and those wipe outs when you bounce off reefs are other situations when it seems impossible to remain calm.

[tree4]

Respect to you HBCSurf.