Questions on big wave surfing.

[SASurfer]

Hello there, I used to be on this forums years ago but totally forgot my account name and everything so I just made a new one cause a question popped into my head. At what point is a wave 'big'? And by big I don't mean big to you or to most surfers or anything like that, because I know that when I started out a 3ft wave was big, then later a 6ft wave was big, then later I was surfing 12ft+ hawaiian size JBay and then THAT was big, and 6ft is just plain fun. Heck, I don't even go out till the waves are bigger than what I would have dared paddle out in when I started surfing. For the past 7 years I've had this goal to become a big wave surfer, and frankly I don't quite know when the hell I'm going to -be- one. I haven't had a chance to surf any of the well known 'big wave' spots but I've surfed waves that look like they are on the same size level... But then in the past decade big wave surfing has evolved so much that it seems like the closer I get to the bar, the more the bar gets moved up. When I started surfing 9 years ago nobody considered paddling in at Jaws, and now they're holding a paddle-in contest there! I look at old footage of Waimea and compare the size to some of the stuff I've surfed and have a picture of and to my shock and awe I realised that the size is the same. Now I've never been to Hawaii so I wouldn't know if the waves there are more powerful foot for foot or not, but I know that I've surfed waves of similar height as the pioneering sessions at Waimea. Then I start getting all proud of myself till I see what guys are doing at Mavericks and at Jaws and Dungeons. Now I still want to surf Dungeons (I'm a South African surfer) but I haven't really gotten the opportunity yet. (I'm unemployed, can't find a job, and big wave boards are expensive as hell, not to mention safety vests, speciality leashes, and the travel costs...) But till I actually go out to a traditional big wave spot I don't know what the hell to expect. And then I look at the difference between a 'small' day at a big wave spot and a big day, and then look at the difference between a normal wave on a big day and a bomb wave, and I realise that even after surfing a place that is called a 'big wave' break, it doesn't really mean anything till you go out in the 25ft+ days, which are just plain a different level. So this begs the question, are you even a big wave surfer after surfing 15ft Hawaiian (30ft face) waves? Is 15ft even big anymore? I mean look at Peahi! Those things are on a different scale! And the worst part is videos don't tell you the real story on what happens at a break like that. I know for instance I can take a single 20ft wave on the head, maybe even 2, 3, 4 or even 5. But what happens when you get caught inside? Do you take a few on the head and get pushed into a channel? Do you get pushed closer and closer to a rocky doom? Can you just relax and take the beating or do you have to keep fighting your way out of danger to get to deep water and not get smashed onto the shore? All these questions run through my mind when I contemplate surfing these spots, and I truly have no idea if I'm ready, because the only reference I have for these spots is videos and giant point surf. I've never seen any of them break. I've never been out there, and quite frankly I have NO idea what I'm in for. I wish these bloody youtube clips would show me what the hell happens to the surfers after the wipeout itself. Show me the whole story, the entire picture, and all the drama that follows a nasty wipeout. I can handle getting wiped out. I can hold my breath for 7 minutes so I don't worry about running out of breath. I'm really really fit, fitter than some actual big wave riders I've trained with, as I've actually made health and fitness my life's pursuit and I'm qualified as a kettlebell instructor, a pilates instructor, and I'm doing my general personal trainers next year too. My resting heart rate is that of a tour de france athlete. As far as physical preparation goes I'm good. But there are things you just can't train for. Doesn't matter how fit or strong or whatever you are if wave after wave decides to push you into a massive pile of rocks there isn't much you can do about it, and it doesn't matter how fit or strong you are getting smashed into rocks WILL hurt, injure, or even KILL you. You can't prepare for that. I'm more scared surfing 3ft waves right next to sharp rocks than I am of surfing 10ft waves in deeper water, knowing that there is no danger of hitting the rocks. This fear is well founded too since pretty much all of my surfing injuries came from small days with the waves close to the rocks, and those that happened on big days happened as I was getting in and out of the water. Sure when I first encountered waves 4-5 times my height when going to JBay on what was basically the swell of the decade/century/who knows how long, expecting to find double overhead perfection and instead finding quadruple overhead perfection, with Grant Twiggy Baker in the water on a pretty big semi-gun, I basically shat myself, but what scared me wasn't even the height of the wave. It was the 2km long point with endless waves on top of waves, with Supertubes closing out and seeing nothing but white for 500m on the freak sets, it was duckdiving a few huge waves only to get washed down the line to where the waves got even bigger and much rounder, and to then get those on the head too. It was getting washed down a kilometer or more down the point before even catching a single wave, by 10 of the biggest waves I've ever encountered, each bigger than the last, and having this experience repeated many times over the course of hours. It was getting pushed closer and closer to the razor sharp reef, not being given a single chance to just relax and take the beating, needing to constantly fight the current and the waves to avoid getting grated. But then I saw Grant Baker's face and he didn't look relaxed at all either (which obviously freaked me the fleshin' out cause he was the world champ at the time, he should be fleshin' smiling and laughing not looking all serious), and I kinda realised what I got myself into. (I got in the water before the sun came up properly so I never got a look at the waves till I was in there. When I walked up the point later the day I kind of realised what I accomplished.) But I still have no idea what awaits me at these big wave spots. Quite frankly if I know that all I have to do is live through 5 waves and then I'm fine and in the channel I've got NO problems paddling out in some seriously huge surf, but I have no idea how a tradition big wave break differs from a fast pointbreak. Videos don't tell the story right and I kind of want to know what the approach to it all is. Anybody here that surf's Mavericks or some place similar that can help me out? What is the strategy for what to do when everything goes wrong? Because at some point it will and I don't want to be that idiot who rocked up at Dungeons and bit off more than he can chew...

[oldmansurfer]

WOW! I will attempt to answer some questions. To me big waves have always 20 foot plus waves meaning 40 foot plus faces. If you surf a lot then you will see the obvious distinction. At 2 foot you see all these inept surfers out but at 6 to 8 foot (up to 16 foot faces) the lineup has no kooks or not for long. At 8 to 10 foot it clears even more as only some surfers will dare to go out. 10 to 12 foot and it's less even more and 12 to 15 foot and the strong more skilled surfers go out but above 15 it rapidly declines to almost none except the big wave guys so at 20 foot with 40 foot faces it is mostly big wave guys and the rare wanabe. So to me that would be my definition of big waves in the sense of big wave ridding. But you could argue in that 15 to 20 foot range it is big waves too because it's mostly big wave guys out too except i know a lot of guys who have ridden waves in the 15 to 18 foot range and don't consider themselves big wave riders since it isn't their thing.

Each break has it's own set of dangers. To start off you can surf the breaks on smaller days to get used to it. Then you gradually work your way up in size. You can watch what others do on big days from the shore. How do they paddle out? How do they come in? What do they do when they get caught inside? Usually big waves break way outside so getting smashed into the rocks isn't likely (exceptions exist like Nazare). Waimea has a current so depending on where you wipeout the current takes you away from the rocks. Each place is different and you need to familiarize yourself with each place individually. So if you surf a 10 foot day then you know approximately what a 12 foot day will be like (more dangerous than a 10 foot day) and if you surf a 12 foot day then you know about what a 15 foot day will be like etc.. Also in general it's not a good idea to surf big waves alone so make some friends.

When you wipe out on a big wave usually it is just water smashing you around but it can push you way down like a 20 foot wave might push you down to 20 or more feet below the surface and the water will be full of foam and that makes it harder to get back to the surface. By the time you make it back to the surface another wave may come by and push you back down. In general you have to just relax and not stress about it because it is not helpful to be anxious, it only uses up more oxygen. I think broken ear drums are a common thing in big wave surfers and that makes it more difficult to get back to the surface because your sense of direction is disturbed.

So basically you're not ready

[oldmansurfer]

Oh yeah and you need a job or source of income because it costs money to travel and the gear can be expensive as well. So if you want to start at the shark infested waters at Dungeons you might either move there and get a job or plan on traveling there frequently. First go on smaller swells and learn about the break and meet the local surfers. Ask them about boards for that break and what else you need to surf there. go there on progressively bigger and bigger swells so you need to subscribe to one of the wave prediction services and have money to travel and a job that allows you the leeway

[oldmansurfer]

I happen to know someone who lives in Capetown. The daughter of a friend of mine. She doesn't surf she is a geologist

[billie_morini]

SASurfer,
welcome back!

[Hitch]

Hi there. What do you mean by "It was the 2km long point with endless waves on top of waves"?

[Big H]

Hi there. What do you mean by "It was the 2km long point with endless waves on top of waves"?

Reckon it means a lot of big waves rolling through with no discernible break in the action since at 4x overhead even mid set waves are big.

[oldmansurfer]

He was describing the way that J-bay breaks. It breaks along a kilometer or two of shoreline along one side of a bay which is a point break where a point of land sticks causes waves to break along it. He made a mistake of not looking at the surf before he went out and not having a plan or idea of how to get out. Most big wave spots have relatively safe ways to get out to the surf without taking a pounding except for going through massive shorebreak. If Jeffrey's bay has one it would be at the end of the 2 kilometers and I bet because of this there is a size smaller compared to other breaks than what would render it free of surfers except big wave surfers (and maybe J-bay specialists). Each break is different so you need to know the break you are at. The waves on top of wave just describes the endless onslaught of waves that he had to endure attempting to go out. J-bay breaks very consistently so no break between the waves when you can go out. Having a half hazard approach to big waves isn't likely to end well.