help catching bigger waves!

[iionzii]

hello,
i usually tend to stay in my comfort zone and catch 3ft..head high mellow waves but tis the season of bigger waves and i have been having a few problems!
i can pop up and use a 7ft fatboy flyer, occasionaly a 6.4 shortboard. i tend to hesitate and go over the falls, i try to go out in overhead now, even though i am stepping out of my comfort zone slightly!
i think the reason i hesitate is because im really scared of pearling!
its meant to be pretty solid tomorrow so any tips/info/advice on surfing bigger waves would be appreciated! when your about to drop in it feels as if your high like on a mountain and your going to fall off or something? hhahaha!
also, any duckdiving/getting out back tips when its bigger??
thanks

[captain mainwaring]

tip one friend, if you catch a wave, dont ride it all the way in, then you dont have to paddle all the way out. as for taking off, think positive, decide which way you want to go, then GO, dont think of anything else except riding down that wall of water, if you worry about falling off, you will fall off, thats how it goes.
PS, thanks for asking this question, it has reminded me to stay focused. enjoy the wave tomorrow

[esonscar]

iionzii:
Take your brain out and leave it on the shore.
Paddle out and get you some !
After you catch the first wave you'll laugh that you were worried in the first place !

(bigger than your overhead is different though!).

::: Hwyl i’chi :::

[surf patrol]

COMMIT! Dont be scared, and make that wave your bitch! posting.php?mode=reply&f=9&t=15242 Just think go big or go home. Unless its super heavy with a nasty bottom, the worst that's gonna happen is that you'll just fall...into water. So just hold your breath haha. You got it broski!

[Aloha]

Yeah MexicoLivin has it right. If it's not extremely hollow, and no reef under you then all you'll likely get is a minor hold down.

I've never had a very long hold down from surfing big waves. I've only had them from getting caught inside real bad, but then all you do is let yourself get washed to shore, if it's too much.

When you fall on take off, or nose dive, you generally penetrate the trough and the wave breaks clean over you. Most people, including myself, generally get hurt in small waves as they aren't paying attention and they usually break in shallow water. Big waves focus your attention.

Hollow big waves are a different ball game though, that's scary stuff.

[prettyrich71]

Tips to Big Wave Surfing
Holding your Breath in Big Waves
One of the most important tools when training to surf big waves, is the pool. You need to get into serious breath holding techniques and methods. One method for stretching those lungs are to simulate as best you can a wipeout. Run around the pool a few times and leap in under the water, blow out all the air in your lungs as you go under and then attempt to stay down and as long as you can. Try to work up to 30 seconds after you've expelled all the air you can. Try to stay as calm as you can. After awhile you should start to relax with this moment. Wiping out in big waves also involves getting more than once tossed and driven to the point you don't know which way is up and which way is down. You surface after you fall only to find the next wave is about to hit you. This can happen maybe three or four times. Anymore and your in serious trouble. Hence never take the first wave of the set. The biggest waves are usually in the middle of the set anyway. To simulate this in the pool is nearly impossible, all you can really do is after the first 30 seconds of holding your breath, push to the surface and take the biggest breath you can and dive straight back under again. Repeat this 4or 5 times going through the routine of your first dive. The idea of this is to train your body to be relaxed in what is normally a panic situation. You burn up far more oxygen if your heart is racing. Now it's easy to say don't get in a panic when you are working on your strategy for big wave surfing, however when faced with the biggest waves of your life out there in the stormy ocean it isn't the easiest thing to do. Remember fear is a self protection mechanism. It releases adrenaline for fight or flight. You have the ability to use this hormone in either way you choose, and of course in every big wave surf session there are times for flight, sometimes unwillingly out from the lip of the beast. All i'm saying is realise when it's time to go in, but while you are out there use the adrenaline to take you to places only the brave and the few can go. Free diving around your local beach or headland is also good way to prepare yourself for the hold downs the big waves on offer. Dive down grab a rock on the bottom and hang on there. Some guys will pick up a rock and try to swim or walk with it underwater. If you are serious about taking on the biggest waves, you have to be comfortable to the best of your ability with being out of your usual element.

[esonscar]

READ THIS :

^ If you do the above as written by prettyrich71, make sure there is a lifeguard at the pool, and let him know you are taking your physiology to an extreme - he will then ban you from the pool as a lifeguard is not a Paramedic, which is what you will need if it goes wrong !

[iionzii]

thanks for the advice, great help. diolch!
im going to morocco next week so can, hopefully practice on some bigger waves!
im a lifeguard but must admit finding it difficult to practice holding breath under the water for long, especially when i think about it. must practice this, the most is about 15 seconds- not good!
thanks again..happy surfing

[captain mainwaring]

thanks for the advice, great help. diolch!
im going to morocco next week so can, hopefully practice on some bigger waves!
im a lifeguard but must admit finding it difficult to practice holding breath under the water for long, especially when i think about it. must practice this, the most is about 15 seconds- not good!
thanks again..happy surfing

well, that makes us all feel really safe i take it you deal mainly with weaver fish stings then or what

[Aloha]

From what it sounds like you don't need to do breath training. Just be comfortable underwater.
To get a 2 wave hold down it needs to be long period surf. Why? Because the period is the strength of the swell; the greater the period the more power the waves have. So lets say the wave that got you was in 15 second period swell. That's powerful surf, and strong enough for a hold down but very very rare for here in Sydney but pretty common in Indo.

Now that means the next wave will be 15 seconds away so you'll have to be down that long for a 2 wave hold down. Now a 15 second hold down is pretty epic, that's not very likely to happen in 15 second period. Generally weaker, for instance, 10 second period stuff, isn't going to keep you down long enough. Even if it's double overhead.

Sh1t my longest hold down was probably 8 seconds, that sounds short but when you are getting pummeled and forced down it seems a lot longer. Came up in time to get air for the next hold down. Next time you get held down count slowly and you'll see it's not long at all.

I've surfed 'double overhead and a half' Indo quite a few times and I don't do any breath training. It's not needed unless you are riding surf that requires a big wave gun e.g. big Hawaii, massive Indo.

It is however possible to get pretty smashed if it's breaking hollow, top to bottom.

[esonscar]

My longest hold down was 18s from when I started counting - Nearly copped it that day, the wave blew my lungs out so was empty of the old 02. Not nice and sooo not wanted to happen again - makes me quake thinking about it.

[avillax]

It happened to me yesterday, I'm still at noob stage with 6 months of practice, yesterday I heard of a swell at Mission Beach, SD, CA. So I arrived there at about 2 p.m. The waves were not only big (head high) but the surface was very agitated very wild.

I was using an "egg" board, 7 feet, not much rocker, but definitely not a long board. I've learned to catch steeper waves in calm days by riding them to the sides otherwise I pearl with this board.

Yesterday I was unable to do so because the waves were bigger and the surface was very agitated, so I mostly bailed out. A few waves actually fell on top of me and I dropped my board and dived, but in two occasions I was caught into the whirlpool and felt like I had no control of the swimming and worried a bit since they made me stay underwater for longer than expected. Still came out unharmed.

Actually at one occasion I grabbed one big one straight and surprisingly rode it straight without pearling, is that normal on steeper waves that are ridden in deeper tides?

At the end of the day I felt unconfident about using an egg board for this kind of waves and prayed for a fish with more rocker. Yeah, I was scared, I also don't know if the sea has to get all wild when there are bigger waves, or it can have big waves without necessarily having a wild surface texture?, cuz the whole deal felt like a storm man, it was like a friggin whirlpool, it was scary man.

[esonscar]

Hey avillax . . . you now see the need for a quiver . . . a couple of surfboards from which you can select the one suitable for the surf conditions you aim to go out in. I thought this was ballax until I was landed in exactly the same situation you mention (^above). I now have enough boards to satisfy my capabilities _ only five but that is plenty for me at this time.

[Rickyroughneck]

Yeah I agree on the quiver. Keep the egg as your general go-to surfboard, they are fantastic!

I would look at getting a shortboard for the bigger days, it doesn't have to be a toothpick, indeed mine is pretty large at 6'10 (x19" x 2 1/4"), it duckdives like a dream though, and paddles pretty well too. I see no reason to go ultra-short unless you are a pro & looking to quicken your snaps.

[-Griffin-]

To add to prettyrich71's post, doing breath holds on a STATIONARY exercise bike is a good idea. 15 seconds holding you breath, 30 seconds breathing, 10 seconds holding, 20 seconds breathing and so on. Double whatever you held it for. Don't push yourself too far, or you might black out. I only did this a few times so far & I'm already up to 2:10 compared to the 1:00 I was before.

[iionzii]

Well, two years later and I am still here somehow just found this forum! I am still trying to push myself. Another 'big' day tomorrow but thank you all for the supportive and comments. I will be a surfing a beach break. Slightly annoying paddle out on bigger days as the peaks are all over the place, messy whitewater and wind everywhere but good fun. GO BIG OR GO HOME will have to be my new mantra. Hope everyone is still surfing and happy!!

P.s thanks Griffin I'll try that out seems slightly safer than running around the pool!

[themathteacher]

Dude, showin up at PB with an egg is the wrong strategy, it breaks fast and hollow there, not really meant for your board, nor your ability.

if you want to get confidence in your abiliyt to catch big waves start with an easier shapped wave so you can wet you apetite. A good begginer big wave spot is Tourmoline, or La Jolla Shores, and some of the sunset cliffs breaks.

Go surf big there, since it is not as heavy or hollow it will teach you big wave techniques without the scary factor.

Lastly, stop going at 2pm, the wind is up and the bum is too. If you work go before work at 6:30

If you want to go try some new spots send me a PM with your digits, I'll take you some some fun easy big rolling waves for your funboard