Surfing Waves

I know long island surf isn't big often but tuesday was 8 foot swell (which is still considered not huge to some people but to me it is) and I made the paddleout (barley) and caught 2 waves. My big problem is hen a huge wave landed on me I didn't want to go back out and I get scared when it gets to head high I can only surf chest hgih comftorbly any help/suggestions?

getting dumped by a big wave is a feeling you will never fully get used to. At best you learn what to expect.

Everyone has there own comfort zone. Its experience that changes those bounderies. I remember very clearly my first true big wave experience. A decent swell was bringing in double over head waves and i remember surviving the paddle out but sorta froze when i was out there luckily i was with two very experienced surfers that told me it was all in my mind. I took that on board and caught my first double over head which was a blast. Since then i have experienced up to triple overhead waves but as i got more experienced the less i feared. That said however i still get the chills seeing a monster building in front of me.

The best thing to do is think what a great ride you will get rather than what an epic dumping you will receive.

Another extremely important thing to remember is dont over step your comfort zone until you feel you are ready. I have persoanlly witnessed the lifeguards escorting someone ashore because they got scared in big surf.

After a fair bit of experience you understand what to expect and your fear will leave you. But your respect for the power of the ocean should never leave you thats how people drown.

By the way all this was done on a bodyboard I am way too inexperienced on a surfboard to even attempt anything over head high

just go out in what you feel comfortable in theres no point pushing yourself past your limits then un nerving yourself, afterall its sposed to be fun!

I personally lack the common sense and self preservation to follow my own advice I regularly go and scare myself $hitless in surf that is out of my league hahahaha

im one of these adrenalin junkys and the bigger the wave the better, as soon as you make that drop the speed you get its amazing, i was scared until a caught my first big wave, now when ever thers swell i try and go right outback and wait for ages until the big sets come thu, also if your in the right breack, when people hoot and wooo when you take off its puts a smile to your face, its the best feeling in the world

Yea I guess you guys are right like I did catch 2 really fun rides that day just I get like really scared when it gets to overhead. I'll just go more and hopefully that will disappear.