Swim straight down or into wave face in impact zone

[icetime]

Hey guys, today I went surfing in overhead conditions and surfed an outer sandbar, it was one of my funnest sessions yet, had a smile on my face the whole time, glassy and big, exactly what I love.
Anyways after catching the biggest wave I have yet and mauled by whitewater after it closed out, I found myself right where the wave of the day was gonna break, it was HUUUUUUGE and I got smoked

I swam straight down and it just pulled me from my leash into the barrel and I went head over toe and got pinned for the bottom for 15 seconds or so, then I came up just in time for one just as big and got the same pounding then finally got away by riding the whitewash to shore, that was the end of my session, conditions weren't that good anymore as tide was flipping everyone was going in anyways, my ears still hurt and my nose is squeaky clean

So I was probably doing something wrong, how should you deal with being in the impact zone in heavy conditions?
Swim into the wave face or swim downwards?

[oldmansurfer]

Very important to avoid being in the impact zone. Depending on the size and power of the wave I do different things when I am rarely caught in that position. I once did a turtle roll on a wave with a hollow face about 10 to 12 foot face after scratching to get past it and realizing I was going to get drilled, the wave slammed me and ripped my board away and other than that it wasn't too bad. I came up looked for the next wave and went back to scratching for the horizon. Probably if I have time to think about it I will try to get to the side of the break but I may abandon the board and dive to the bottom if it's bigger like that or even bigger. I generally never get sucked back up over the falls doing that. When it's smaller I might try to duck dip it even if it means I will take a hit, it's just a little hit but I also might turn around and paddle in towards shore to let the wave unload some power before it hits me. I generally try to be aware and not be where the lip is coming down

[oldmansurfer]

Oh yeah and I don't swim straight down I swim at an angle down so the leash is tight and I am pulling the tail down. Also never do this if there are people inside of you and may get hit by your board. I guess it doesn't much matter because if the wave is going to rip your board out of your hands anyway it's probably safer to dive and be in control of the board. I have learned to duck dive my funboards wellll almost duck dive them and if I am in a position to duck dive and survive I will try that. I guess you could call it a duck dip but I am getting better at it. But I still try to avoid being right where the lip is coming down and unless it's head high or less I wouldn't let the lip hit me by trying to duck dive it.

[icetime]

Oh yeah and I don't swim straight down I swim at an angle down so the leash is tight and I am pulling the tail down. Also never do this if there are people inside of you and may get hit by your board. I guess it doesn't much matter because if the wave is going to rip your board out of your hands anyway it's probably safer to dive and be in control of the board. I have learned to duck dive my funboards wellll almost duck dive them and if I am in a position to duck dive and survive I will try that. I guess you could call it a duck dip but I am getting better at it. But I still try to avoid being right where the lip is coming down and unless it's head high or less I wouldn't let the lip hit me by trying to duck dive it.

yeah there was no duck diving or turtle rolling the surf I was in, it was hollow and big, not to the point you can get barrels(basically never happens at my break because of onshore winds), about bailing my board, it's fine, there was no body in the impact zone, everyone was either in the lineup or riding whitewater in, I was pinned down by whitewash after a ride, I was basically bottom turning on a bomb and the section raced off and closed out on the other end so then I got a little thrashing and came up to a heavy wave and I swam down but still got sucked over and got pounded, same thing happened twice and the last one I popped on the other end of the wave without any pounding, not sure what did it but I basically got sucked backwards behind the wave instead of into it

[oldmansurfer]

I sometimes do a turtle roll in waves like that. I dive down and roll over so the board is between me and the wave. The board absorbs the shock of the wave hitting it but I make sure I have my elbows braced over the top of the board so the board doesn't smack me in the face. If the wave isn't quite breaking I go through the wave by just tucking straight in

[RinkyDink]

Oh yeah and I don't swim straight down I swim at an angle down so the leash is tight and I am pulling the tail down. Also never do this if there are people inside of you and may get hit by your board. I guess it doesn't much matter because if the wave is going to rip your board out of your hands anyway it's probably safer to dive and be in control of the board. I have learned to duck dive my funboards wellll almost duck dive them and if I am in a position to duck dive and survive I will try that. I guess you could call it a duck dip but I am getting better at it. But I still try to avoid being right where the lip is coming down and unless it's head high or less I wouldn't let the lip hit me by trying to duck dive it.

In theory you should be able to pull your board to your chest in a bear hug and hang onto it. (See Wingnut video for more details.) Unless it's just insanely huge, I think most surfers should be able to hold onto their board, take one on the head, and ensure that their board remains in their control. Also, it seems like when I hang out onto my board I get pulled much farther away from the impact zone and the next wave as opposed to bailing on my board and getting dragged a short way from my leash, although your mileage may vary. This does assume, however, that you're not in a position where the likelihood of being dragged up and over the falls is high.

[icetime]

I sometimes do a turtle roll in waves like that. I dive down and roll over so the board is between me and the wave. The board absorbs the shock of the wave hitting it but I make sure I have my elbows braced over the top of the board so the board doesn't smack me in the face. If the wave isn't quite breaking I go through the wave by just tucking straight in

I never thought of doing that I always assumed if the wave landed on the board and I was under it, the board would just smash into my face, thing about that is if it doesn't break like you expect it to do it'll suck you over the falls.

[waikikikichan]

"When the wave breaks here, don't be there, or you gonna get drilled"

If you can punch through the face I guess that's better. But if the lip is crashing down right on top of you, you're going to get smoked. I've thrown my board in those situations and dived under..... very bad etiquette..... but you got to do what you got to do.

[icetime]

"When the wave breaks here, don't be there, or you gonna get drilled"

I-want-north-shore copy.jpg

If you can punch through the face I guess that's better. But if the lip is crashing down right on top of you, you're going to get smoked. I've thrown my board in those situations and dived under..... very bad etiquette..... but you got to do what you got to do.

That's exactly what happened, it was landing straight on me, no matter how fast I could swim I wasn't getting going to get away
Probably my most violent thrashing yet, my home break has a split personality, beautiful clean sets out back (very rare, mostly choppy and weird currents) and when you're caught inside, it's one hell of a beast After all the beach is called the eye of the bear

[oldmansurfer]

I sometimes do a turtle roll in waves like that. I dive down and roll over so the board is between me and the wave. The board absorbs the shock of the wave hitting it but I make sure I have my elbows braced over the top of the board so the board doesn't smack me in the face. If the wave isn't quite breaking I go through the wave by just tucking straight in

I never thought of doing that I always assumed if the wave landed on the board and I was under it, the board would just smash into my face, thing about that is if it doesn't break like you expect it to do it'll suck you over the falls.

Not saying you should try it but I have a few times. It seems to keep the pounding to a minimum and no damage to the board so far. I am not sure why it works but it's not my plan. Generally I am trying to get outside of the break and misjudge how quickly the peak will pitch over then there isn't enough time to bail and dive deep enough to not get pounded. I am not sure what you are doing that makes you get sucked back over the falls.

[Big H]

Just like that clip from North Shore says....do whatever you need to so that you aren't square in the impact zone when a big wave breaks.....if you see you are hopelessly caught inside and not going to be able to make it past the next wave, you can actually paddle for the beach and make sure the wave doesn't break on you, you can belly ride out to the shoulder and paddle around or like Wkk said, poor etiquette but throw the board and dive for the bottom as a last ditch move....worst is when you nut up, paddle hard and try to punch through the face but just don't quite make it and you get sucked back and smacked......oooooffff......

[icetime]

Just like that clip from North Shore says....do whatever you need to so that you aren't square in the impact zone when a big wave breaks.....if you see you are hopelessly caught inside and not going to be able to make it past the next wave, you can actually paddle for the beach and make sure the wave doesn't break on you, you can belly ride out to the shoulder and paddle around or like Wkk said, poor etiquette but throw the board and dive for the bottom as a last ditch move....worst is when you nut up, paddle hard and try to punch through the face but just don't quite make it and you get sucked back and smacked......oooooffff......

Aahahahahah I've only got sucked over once when paddling over a wave, mostly when I know I won't quite punch through I ditch my board and swim into the vertical face since my leash isn't that long my board will get pulled through the face as the wave's breaking.
To be honest I kind of leave etiquette behind when I'm in a situation where I could get smashed on the bottom or hurt, don't we all

[Big H]

To be honest I kind of leave etiquette behind when I'm in a situation where I could get smashed on the bottom or hurt, don't we all

Trick is to avoid "that" place....sometimes I still find myself "there", but it happens now less than it used to.......

[icetime]

To be honest I kind of leave etiquette behind when I'm in a situation where I could get smashed on the bottom or hurt, don't we all

Trick is to avoid "that" place....sometimes I still find myself "there", but it happens now less than it used to.......

Thing is it only happens to me in big surf for some reason, maybe because in small surf it has no real consequence so I tend to forget about it right after it happens, but getting a real beating sure is memorable

[RinkyDink]

To be honest I kind of leave etiquette behind when I'm in a situation where I could get smashed on the bottom or hurt, don't we all

Trick is to avoid "that" place....sometimes I still find myself "there", but it happens now less than it used to.......

Usually happens to me when I blow a takeoff and the next wave is on top of me before I've had a chance to get back on my board. Also happens when I try to get back out without going around.

[OlegLupusov]

Been there many times:) the best solution is do dive under the wave but beware that the leash may break and you will lose the board.
But hanging on to the board may result in a washing machine with your fins and other parts of the board (could be painful).

[oldmansurfer]

If you are going through a wave that hasn't broken yet make sure the nose of your board is pointed down, then as the wave passes point it back up and when you come up immediately paddle or at least stick your arm deep in the water to stop the board from getting sucked over or backwards. I just realized maybe that is what you are talking about

[icetime]

If you are going through a wave that hasn't broken yet make sure the nose of your board is pointed down, then as the wave passes point it back up and when you come up immediately paddle or at least stick your arm deep in the water to stop the board from getting sucked over or backwards. I just realized maybe that is what you are talking about

Meh, I tried your technique of swimming at an angle when a wave is gonna land on me, it worked 4 times so I'm pretty happy, Instead of swimming down I swim downwards and towards the wave at the same time then my foot basically pulls the board through the face and pops out on top

[oldmansurfer]

Yeah don't just ditch your board pull it through the wave under control. When you go forward and down it pulls the tail of the board under which gives it a good angle for not getting caught by the wave but still be careful if there others inside of you. Better yet try not to be inside of anyone or to have anyone inside of you anywhere near the impact zone