Scared of catching the wave

[isaluteyou]

You always know where your board is, attached to your leg and up,

Not true. I came up after wiping out to find my board getting washed to shore. And secondly leashes are long and your board can end up in front of you as a wave is crashing so it helps to know its whereabouts

[Ol' DZ]

OK this is an old topic so you might not be checking anymore but this may help: I'm still quite a beginner but one of my first times out was in chest-shoulder high surf breaking pretty far out. I shouldn't have been out because it was too big for me, but done is done. I was out with a guy I knew and he was showing me stuff like how to sit up on the board, turn it to face the shore and paddle for waves, etc. (that's how much of a newb I was). Well, long story short I wiped out as soon as I hit my feet on the first wave and took a pounding. It felt like I was under for like a minute and a half, and it felt like I was getting tossed and turned and tugged every which way....when I finally came up gasping there was another one jacking up like 10-15 feet away and I had to dive. I pretty much took that whole set on the head (felt like an eternity, wave after wave after wave), then was all freaked out when it was over and my buddy had to tow me in to shore. I remember sitting on the beach and actually physically shaking. It was scary!

The moral of the story? In retrospect the whole ordeal couldn't have lasted any more than 2 minutes (not the wipeout, being caught in for the whole set) and I am still alive and still love to surf (or try to surf anyway ). If you're that scared you should definitely try smaller surf, but if that's not an option then just go for it and you'll see that though it may seem bad when you're getting beat on, you're going to come out fine and eventually you will get used to it. Wiping out is part of the learning process (and come to think of it, the surfing process as well), everybody does it. You'll survive and you'll definitely have more fun without carrying that big load of fear around with you out there.

By the way my buddy gave me this advice after that, er, session: in order for it to beat on you that bad again, it'll have to be even bigger because now you're used to getting worked in that size of surf. He was right.

[TicTac]

dont start on big waves either, start on the smaller 1foot ones, then gradually build up. Dont worry if you fall on 1foot waves you wont be held down for more than 5 seconds.

I follow the same principle. Start of small and work your way up, just keep pushing yourself and you will get there. And get used to the idea of falling off your board, nobody surfs without falling off every now and again. Also, follow everyone elses advice about relaxing, it conserves oxygen and try your best to stay calm. The more you move your body violently or struggle to surface the more oxygen will be wasted.

[bluesnowcone]

i used to the same same, i never had the guts to catch the waves, i aways used to look like i was trying but then pull out at the last minet, basicly, go for it, iv been slamed so many times its just part of surfing, you just gota do it

[isaluteyou]

Wiping out is part of the learning process (and come to think of it, the surfing process as well), everybody does it. You'll survive and you'll definitely have more fun without carrying that big load of fear around with you out there

Ya wiping out is all part of surfing

However ive come pretty close to not surviving on bigger days on a reef. When waves are breaking 10ft+ unless you are fully prepared then you shouldnt go out. You won't get a second chance