Preparing for a tube closeout

[isaluteyou]

Well it was faily sizable and thick yesterday after a great session i went for my last wave. It was pretty damn big and i made my turn rising back up to the top to cut back down. Anyway just as i did that i reaslised i could drop in for a tube so i did so only to realise the whole line was going to close out on me. Well it did and i got absolutely smashed. I crawled out the water feeling as if a train had run over me. I walked home feeling drunk with dizziness from the amount of underwater summersaults i did

Anyway is there some secret to making a tube closeout less devastating my main fear was landing on my board cause i had no where really to kick it. I love tube riding but thats kinda scary when it bowls you.

[miamisurfer]

I always pull into closeouts even though I know I'm just going to get drilled. Every time I pull into closeouts I always get hurt, but I keep doing it for some reason. You can use the standing island pull out where you just dig into the face and pop out the back, but you don't really get to ride the tube.

[dondiemand]

best thing i guess is to read the wave, know when it's going to closeout, and try to pull out as early as possible and maybe try to dive opposite the direction of where ur board is going..u know what, i could be wrong

[isaluteyou]

Normally i would pull out as quickly as possible but in this case there were too many people on the inside blocking my exit path so i was pretty much comitted.

I also had a bunch of rocks and a pier looming close by which is equally why i sorta paniked when the mountain started to close out. I mean ive had tube closeouts before but nothing of this size and normally im not so close to very nasty rocks when it happens

[Otter]

Sounds like north side OB pier?

[trails surfing]

well when you get stuck in a close out tube i try to push my way out the back if it isn't too thick, on thicker waves i'll jump back pushig my board out in front of my so that i have less of a chance of hitting it.

[gdude335]

i am no pro at this at all, but if you think this is good advice, use it.
If the nasty rocks are pretty far then i would just hold onto my board for dear life, like that it will not hit you. Or else dive into the face?

[isaluteyou]

Sounds like north side OB pier?

Yep right where it gets hollow in the right conditions. I actually usually surf southside of pier but if i dont get a chance to shoot the pier i paddle over to go in

and if you have seen the pier on low tide you will see the rocks iim talking about - many a board i ahve seen come out in need of a doctor

[Dec]

If you want to get slotted and have the nice view for a second then you're going to get nailed..If you want to get out but can't pull over the top, either stall your board completely and hope you don't get nailed to bad, nosedive and do an olympic jump, or just run it straight towards the beach and hope the lip doesn't crack you on the head!!

[adrian]

If I know I am going to get nailed by a close out I at least try to make it look good. A quick flail of the arms to your mates, a grab of the crotch, or an even quicker brown-eye goes down well (actually, i havent tried the brown-eye while on a wave but it would be funny).

Just push up through the back (if your path out in front of the wave is blocked) or learn to love getting mashed by a wave.

[Dec]

But some big closeouts are just brutal to pull into..

Par example....






Ohh..and I found this cool picture..kinda helps

[gdude335]

those two first pics look deadly.
i have to try that last thing!

[isaluteyou]

I dont learn do I

I hit sunsett cliffs (south garbage beach) today and went for a macking tube which of course closed out on me i ended up being taken down to the bottom of the reef and cut my hand up still 2 seconds of a tube was fun

[Otter]

OUCH!

Yup, I've seen/been/surfed OB pier at LOW tide. It can be a biatch, never had one of my boards get munched though. Sorry to hear you got hurt, that really sucks, but glad to know that the stoke you got made it worth it. You ever head up to North County? I surf at Pipes, San Elijo, San O quite a bit.

As far as that last pic with the floater, I personally would have gone out the doggy door, why get stuck in the boneyard when you could have a clean way out to the outside lineup?