Vertical wave survival

[torben]

It happens to all of us. You are paddeling for a wave and then it changes shape to become something like a vertical wall of water. What is the defensive action is such a situation??
Thank you
Torben

[Surf Hound]

lean back and drop in............

[Beachbum]

Hmm three things can happen: You pull out the back, you make the vertical drop!, or you spread your wings and go over the falls lol. It's up to you to decide how deep you are in this wave. Pull out, or commit to your death .

[torben]

Thanks..

I have tried the lean back and drop in. It works. But it need to be done a little bit before the wave hits you, I think. Taking the drop sitting on top of the board may hurt your parts, especially if the board is twisting.

An other thing I have tried was to get off the board quickly and dive under the wave. I stopped that when I ended riding on the edge of the board in the white water. That hurt. Else I think it worked well, if I was off the board and down before the wave hit.

The 3 rd thing I have tried is quickly to move body backward on the board. Grap the rails and ride it out lying on the board. This is not going to work on the vertical wave, and could be dangerous?? because you are going full speed.

Then I tried to just fall down and hold on to the board. But once it felt like the shoulders were being pulled apart because I just kept holding on when I should not.

It is a while since I had any bad falls, and I have gained confidence. Also paddleing power is better, so I can start further out. Strong paddeling and commitment to the incomg wave helps a lot.

I found also that using glowes gives more paddeling power. If you have the muscle.

The fear of falling in front of the wave has been holding me back for a long time. You can see that many learners have the same fear. They are to far back on the boards and can not catch the waves. Then they move closer towards the breaking zone, but this is also where the wave is more vertical. And it happens again.

[IB_Surfer]

I actually go for it, land it half the time, get pounded half the time. When you air drop sometimes you get around the whitewash and find the shoulder, sometimes not.

However, wave selection is key.If all you have for the day is walls then you make the best of it, but I've had days that dropping in and getting a closeout meant missing the next wave that had better form.

[Aloha]

If you don't want to go, drop your legs deep like a sea anchor and pull the board back towards you. You'll be able to stop this way even if you had enough speed to go. It's something you learn when surfing in crowded areas pull back at the last second just in case the other guy isn't going to go.....

If you are still undecided then it's best to have popped up by then. If you are going to go over the falls then kick the board far away from you, (take a step back with your back foot and flick the board away with one smooth kick) then fall feet first into the trough. 9 out of 10 times the wave will break over you, no dramas! You don't want to go over the falls with a board under you, hoping the fins aren't pointing up

[Jellyfish]

An other thing I have tried was to get off the board quickly and dive under the wave. I stopped that when I ended riding on the edge of the board in the white water. That hurt. Else I think it worked well, if I was off the board and down before the wave hit.

Ouchiess, I can feel your pain there...
The key to not goin over the falls is to commit to the wave. When you see that massive drop in front of you, back out completely (good call Aloha) or charge it. the moment you hesitate about what you're gonna do is the moment you're gonna get pounded like there's no tomorrow.
Of course you don't always make the air drops, but when you do it's AMAZING, and if you don't you should have enough commitment to not be worries about the pounding, go limp and you;ll be up in no time
unless we're talkin 10foot plus here though...

[Matthias]

I have figured out that it helps quiet a lot paddeling in the direction the wave is going to break, usually it makes the drop less radical, you know what I mean. And also very important trying to stay as low as possible and use your hands while your dropping down to stabilize... ah yeah, I forgot... DON'T HESITATE... than you' ll wipeout for sure... I have got some experience on the shallow reefs here on the canary islands, and on some of them it is " You make it or get the insurance card"

I hope you ' ll succeed!

[surfitch]

set the rail while paddling in at an angle.

[naniekso]

If that ever happens, YOU MUST COMMIT! For waves that take the shapes of walls or have no bottoms you have to commit. These are teh waves that become toobs. You have to commit and you have to paddle hard! If you dont commit you lag behind the acctuall drop and youlll find yourself going over the falls or as soon as you stand up you have to go forward. COMMIT! YOU HAVE TO GIVE it 100%

[dougirwin13]

I sense you have been involved with surfers who have commitment issues...