Surfing Waves

Hey guys. I'm only a beginner and I thought that it would improve my surfing experience if i wiped out less. I know wiping out is part of the sport and everyone has to do it but how can I avoid it as best as I can?

Wipeouts I experience include going over the falls, pearling and falling over because the lip of the wave is crashing on top of the back of my board.

Thanks for reading and responding.

To be honest, there isn't really a way of avoiding wipeouts, they simply are a major part surfing. As a beginner though, you should'nt really be out in conditions where it is possible to go over the falls, you should probably still be in the whitewater untill your confidence builds.

yeah, unavoidable are wipeouts. You can still suffer from wipeouts in 3 foot waves too, although not as harsh as a 10foot wipeout. It's all part of learning and appreciating the waves. The wipeouts i hate are the ones were the wave is breaking say 4 metres infront of you and it's ready to come down on your head, they can't be duck dived or avoided.
To avoid pearling you either have to paddle faster and harder to get onto the wave sooner, or maybe just paddle earlier. Sometimes though you may find that you just went for a wave you shouldn't have gone for and couldn't have caught anyway, and that maybe part of the reason you ended up pearling. Through time you learn to judge when the wave is right to catch, or when it's best avoided!

If it looks like it'll be a bad one, I usually cover my head with my arms/hands just in case the board comes back and whacks me, or there's rocks underneath.

Learn how to hold your breath properly, and sit back and relax. By relaxing and calming down and not struggling, you use less oxygen and can stand the beastly wipeouts.

Cool thanks guys.

Yep.. very good replies so far. I agree with them.. just stay calm the best you can while you are being pushed all around..

Whatever you do, don't let them get to you. It's not worth it to get all mad over. Whenever I go through a bad fall, when I come up from it.. I usually try to imagine what that would have looked like, if I had been watching it from the beach. And it usually makes me laugh at it, and then I have a nice smile as Im paddling back out. hah. You have to be able to laugh at things. Keep the mood light, it'll make your surf session more enjoyable.

sometimes i enjoy a good wipe-out, and its good for you

sometimes i wipeout and i come up going that wasnt that bad

Wipeouts are natures way of showing you whose boss!

if you are not wiping out then you are not trying hard enough.

isaluteyou wrote:if you are not wiping out then you are not trying hard enough.

lol. or just scared of getting dragged over a couple of rocks...

Sillysausage wrote:

isaluteyou wrote:if you are not wiping out then you are not trying hard enough.

lol. or just scared of getting dragged over a couple of rocks...

I hear you on that one

I had a bad one last weekend. Probably OH and a half, crashed on me as I just couldn't get in front of it... So I got washed for 15 seconds, fortunately no second wave coming in, so I climbed on top of her and paddled out for the next set. No big deal. Get used to it.

Worst kind of wipe out IMHO, is getting smacked upside the head by a spitting lip. Knocks you on your arse in the most embarassing way, and it can hurt like heck.

hehe, I don't think I've gotten the smack on the face yet while riding yet, but I think my worst was attempting a much steeper than Im used to drop and pearling, falling face first to the bottom of the wave, then it crashing on me and flipping me over. That was.... fun. haha.

alimac2411 wrote:The wipeouts i hate are the ones were the wave is breaking say 4 metres infront of you and it's ready to come down on your head, they can't be duck dived or avoided.

Damn, that happend to me once, there was a sneakerset coming and I paddled for my life, I tought I was going to make it over, I was a split second to late, the whole wave broke right on my back, (i am surprized it didn't break my back, haha.) and I got washed like hell, damn I hope that never happens to me again.

And btw the different types of wipeouts are: Eating $hit, eating bad $hit, eating $hit on the rocks, eating tumble dried $hit, ect.

The Fafanator wrote:

alimac2411 wrote:The wipeouts i hate are the ones were the wave is breaking say 4 metres infront of you and it's ready to come down on your head, they can't be duck dived or avoided.

Damn, that happend to me once, there was a sneakerset coming and I paddled for my life, I tought I was going to make it over, I was a split second to late, the whole wave broke right on my back, (i am surprized it didn't break my back, haha.) and I got washed like hell, damn I hope that never happens to me again.

not good, happens to me quite often when i'm on the beach breaks!

embrace the wipe-out....except the ballsmacker...this occurs when you are exiting a wave and the lip catches your package.

the other one that can be tricky is the "ejaculation"....this is when you launch out into the air as an exit...good and fine as long as you don't land on your stick..Had this happen once, launched out super high, at peak of air my board started dropping below me, in the air I realized I was falling direct to the board. Ass landed dead center of board, looked right tail, looked left left nose. Under my ass was the top layer of glass, connecting my broken board.
Hurt my pride as much as my ass.

That is why I don't surf beachbreaks, I must say, altough a point has the potetial to be more dangerouse it is ALOT safer if you are not an idiot.

LOL! Some good wipe out descriptions Faf and Parry!

lol Now wiping out doesnt seem like such a bad thing!