Surfing

Surviving a Big Wave Wipeout: The Key to Staying Calm and Strong

The number one rule for surviving a big wave wipeout is to remain calm. Our urge when we're under the water is to fight to get back to the surface, but if we can never overcome the power of the ocean, it's always going to be more powerful than us. So we need to in a sense surrender. So what I do, especially in the beginning of the wipeout when I'm close to the falling lip and the initial impact, it's like really, really powerful and strong. I pull my limbs in like this. So I make myself strong so that my shoulders don't get ripped out of their sockets or I don't get bent in any funny direction. So I make myself super strong like this. I also clamp down my jaw so that if I get winded, like watered, my air doesn't go out of my mouth. So clamp my jaw, pull my, make myself super strong. And then often after the initial impact that's very intense, the wave will pull you deep under the water. And that's when I kind of open up like a sail. So that when I open up like a sail, uh, increased drag and I don't go as deep. Um, and while I'm under the water, I try to think positive thoughts and I count, uh, because often we, our thoughts are racing and it feels like we under the water for minutes. But when I count, it takes me back to, Hey, I'm not under the water for as long as I thought. If you count in that, that wipeout at Mavericks I had, I was under the water for 17 seconds, which when you think about it, that's super doable. But when I think about how violent and aggressive the beating is, that makes it terrifying. When I break it down to the counting, it helps a lot.

To survive a big wave, remain calm and pull your limbs in to protect yourself. Increase drag by opening up like a sail and count to keep your thoughts positive.

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To survive a big wave wipeout, the most important rule is to remain calm. Fighting against the power of the ocean is futile, so it's crucial to surrender in a sense. During the initial impact of the wipeout, I pull my limbs in close to make myself strong and prevent any injuries. I also clamp down my jaw to retain air in case I get watered or winded. After the intense impact, the wave will often pull you deeper underwater. At this point, I open up like a sail to increase drag and prevent myself from going too deep. While underwater, I try to think positive thoughts and count. Counting helps me realize that I'm not underwater for as long as it may feel during the chaos of the wipeout. For example, in one wipeout at Mavericks, I was underwater for 17 seconds, which is manageable when broken down into seconds. Counting helps alleviate some of the fear and panic caused by the violent beating of the waves.

What’s been your biggest wipeout and hold down?

Surviving a Giant Mavericks Hold Down

My biggest, why pod and hold down was at Mavericks, San Francisco basically took off on this wave and I was a little bit late on it and a wind past vertical, there's probably like a 35-foot wave, the nose of my board dug into the water and I fell forward and I body surfed on my back down this huge wave. And I remember looking up in the and the lip coming over me and I was inside this mess. Of barrel at broke over me and then what happens is, as the wave sucks is like a Vortex and it sucks, suck me up. And it was this long moment of Stillness sucking up and up and up. And then I went over with the lip and then it did. I hit the impact and was so violent in the wave. Pushed me really deep under the water and it Mavericks, the waters cold and dark. It's more dense. So, it pushes you deeper. I just pulled me down Into the Depths and called me under for about 25. S, i was pressed on the floor on the ground just with what felt like the weight of the entire ocean pushing me down and I pulled my vest. So my inflation based. So it filled me up with air eventually. Let me go came up and luckily there wasn't another big one after that.

I was surfing at Mavericks and a big wave broke over me and i got held down for 25 seconds. I eventually made it back up to the surface by pulling my vest which inflated with air and allowed me to float back up.

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My biggest wipeout and hold down occurred at Mavericks in San Francisco. I took off on a wave, but I was a bit late and ended up going past vertical. The nose of my board dug into the water, causing me to fall forward and body surf on my back down a massive 35-foot wave.

As I looked up, the lip of the wave broke over me, and I found myself inside a barrel. The wave created a vortex that sucked me up, and there was a brief moment of stillness as I was lifted higher and higher. Then, I went over with the lip, experiencing a violent impact. The wave pushed me deep underwater, and at Mavericks, the water is cold, dark, and more dense, which made it even more challenging.

I felt the weight of the entire ocean pressing me down, and I was submerged for about 25 seconds. It felt like an eternity as I was pressed against the ocean floor. Thankfully, I had a vest with an inflation device, so it eventually filled me up with air, allowing me to resurface. Luckily, there wasn't another big wave following that intense experience.

What's the number 1 tip for making a steep wave?

Master the Steep Wave: The Number 1 Tip

Okay the number one tip for making a steep wave. This video features probably the steepest drop I've ever made. The most important thing to do is everything needs to be forward motion. All the forces when a wave gets deep, all the forces are pulling you back up the wave face. The water is sucking up the face of the wave up, the wind is blowing up the wave face. Everything is trying to keep you at the top. So the sole goal when it's really steep is to get, I would say, past the midway of the wave is the goal. To get down past the midway and we need to, the way to do this is by forward motion. So we want a deep, strong paddle. That's really important. And the last two strokes we make need to be our strongest strokes. Most people actually stop paddling too early. As the wave kind of stands up they'll try to pop up at the top, but I try to take an extra two strokes. So as the wave rears up with me at the top, I try to pull my way down the face with two more strokes. And these are going to be my strongest strokes. So pulling my last two are my strongest to pull me down the wave face aggressively. And then once we're doing our pop up, everything needs to be forward. Most people have a tendency when the wave gets steeper to hesitate, lean back, and the nose goes up. That again keeps us at the top. So as you're popping up, make sure everything is leaning forward, the motion is forward, and you kind of want to be pretty straight, but with the rail engaged. And when we engage the rail, it provides extra grip to keep us gripped to the wave face, but also we won't nose dive if the rail is engaged. So keep the board pretty straight down the wave with the rail engaged, and that's how you make a steep drop.

The most important tip for making a steep wave is to have forward motion. Make sure to use powerful strokes and stay leaned forward with the rail engaged. This will help keep you gripped to the wave face and prevent diving.

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The number one tip for making a steep wave is to maintain forward motion. When a wave is steep, various forces are pulling you back up the wave face, such as the sucking water and the blowing wind. To overcome this, the goal is to get past the midway point of the wave. This requires a deep, strong paddle, with the last two strokes being the strongest. Many people tend to stop paddling too early as the wave stands up, but taking two extra strong strokes can help pull you down the face of the wave aggressively. During the pop-up, it's crucial to lean forward and maintain forward motion. Avoid hesitating or leaning back, as this keeps you at the top of the wave. Your body should be pretty straight, with the rail of your board engaged to provide extra grip and prevent nose-diving. By keeping the board straight down with an engaged rail, you can successfully navigate a steep drop on a wave.

Unveiling the Mystery of Paddle Outs: From Ocean Tributes to Surfing Techniques

What's our paddle Arts? Warm? A little bit confusion, what exactly are asking. But people often have a paddle out when it's a very common thing. When like, if someone has passed away, then people have a paddle out for them, especially if they were a surfer or they love the ocean, people will paddle out with flowers and stuff, beyond the backline offered at a place where that person love to Surf. They're all good. In a circle. Hold hands. Say a few words and then throw the flowers into the middle of the circle to remember that person. That's one term would have paddle out is if you're referring to, what is kind of paddling out that is, that is a whole nother thing. So, basically, if you're on the shore, and you need to get to the back line where the waves are breaking, you got to jump in the water and your paddle out, the back paddling out, can be made a lot easier if you use a current to get out to the Background because often currents are places where it's a little bit deeper and there's no waves breaking. Also one can use a channel so if you surfing a reef break, they'll often be Reef which is shallower and that attracts the wave energy and then they'll be a deep spot next to it. And the Deep spot is the place where your paddle are because there will be no waves breaking there. That's like a safe Zone and you can get to the back line sometimes even with your hair dry.

Paddle out is a term used to describe the process of paddling through the water to get to the back line where the waves are breaking. It can be made easier by using currents and channels.

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Paddle outs can refer to two different things. One common meaning is when people gather to honor someone who has passed away, especially if they were a surfer or had a love for the ocean. Participants paddle out with flowers and form a circle beyond the breaking waves at a spot the person loved to surf. They hold hands, say a few words, and throw flowers into the center of the circle as a remembrance.

The other meaning of paddle outs is related to surfing. When you need to reach the back line where the waves are breaking, you paddle out from the shore. It can be easier to paddle out by using a current or a channel. Currents are deeper areas without breaking waves, while channels are paths through shallower reef breaks that attract wave energy. Paddling out in these safe zones can make reaching the back line easier, sometimes without even getting your hair wet.

Unleash the Power of Compression and Extension for Speed!

Okay so speed is generated in two ways. The first one is through compression and extension. If you think of a spring, the more that a spring compresses and winds up, the more it can explode. And the best place to do this is on the bottom turn. So when you take off you go to the bottom of the wave and the more you kind of wind up and compress, the more you can extend up the wave face and generate speed as you go up to hit the lip. So compression and extension, compression extension, are really really important for generating speed. And the other way we do it is by staying in the top third of the wave. So we often do this when the waves are really small. You paddle into the wave and instead of dropping down straight to your bottom turn, just go straight up into the top third of the wave and stay up there until you get the speed and then drop down, compress and then extend up so that the compression extension kind of gives energy into the board to squirt you up the wave face. You never want to be riding a wave just laterally in the middle. You either want to be at the top generating speed or coming off the bottom deep and then going up into the lip. So try to try to to do that and that combination of going high generating speed in the top third combined with the compression and extension, that will help a surfer to to generate a lot of speed but also to create flow. And you won't have to do a lot of pumping or unnecessary movements if you get that right. It'll look effortless effortless and you see guys like Jordie Smith or Julian Wilson, these guys do it really well. It looks like they're not putting any effort in because they're going into the top third and they're compressing as they go down and they're super low on the bottom turn extending up into the lip.

Speed is generated in two ways, compression and extension and by staying in the top third of the wave. Compression and extension is important when taking off and going to the bottom of the wave, while staying in the top third of the wave generates speed without unnecessary movement. Professional surfers like Jordy Smith and Julian Wilson use this method to look effortless while surfing.

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Speed can be generated in two ways: compression and extension, and staying in the top third of the wave. Compression and extension involve winding up like a spring at the bottom turn, then extending up the wave face to generate speed. Staying in the top third of the wave is useful for smaller waves. Rather than immediately dropping down into a bottom turn, paddle into the wave and go straight up to the top third, staying there until you gain speed. Then, drop down, compress, and extend up to transfer energy into the board and propel yourself up the wave face. It's important to avoid riding a wave laterally in the middle; instead, focus on either generating speed at the top or dropping deep into a bottom turn and going up into the lip. This combination of going high in the top third and using compression and extension will help generate speed while maintaining flow. By mastering this technique, surfers can achieve an effortless look with minimal unnecessary movements. Surfers like Jordie Smith and Julian Wilson exemplify this style, making it appear effortless as they stay high on the wave, compress on the bottom turn, and extend into the lip.

Thicker or Thinner? The Key to Choosing the Right Surfboard.

Is a thicker surfboard better, so this totally depends on what you're looking to get out of your surfing. For instance, if you're learning, you're going to be on a much thicker surfboard. So, the thicker, the board, the more volume the board has the more floated has and the more stable it will be and the easier it is to paddle so big boards. Thicker boards are used when you're learning to surf, because they are much more stable their paddle fast, The so it's easier to catch the waves when you want to get more advanced and you're surfing, you want to make the board lot thinner, because the thinner, the board, the less volume it has, the more maneuverability you have on the wave. So, like myself being a professional Surfer. When I'm surfing in smaller ways, I'm using a board that is just over 2 inches thick, so it's pretty thin, but then going into bigger waves, we use a board. That's actually very thick because the extra volume helps with paddles. Power. And when the waves are huge are moving really fast through the water and you need the extra Pedal Power and the volume to be able to catch the waves. So, in short, when you learn to serve using a thicker board, it's adds a lot more stability makes things easier. And as you progress, you should go thinner and thinner depending on your weight and the volume that is appropriate for the waves, you surfing, and for how heavy you are.

It depends on what you're looking to get out of your surfing. For learning, a thicker surfboard is better because it is more stable and easier to paddle. As you become more advanced, you should go thinner for more maneuverability and depending on your weight and the size of the waves.

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Whether a thicker surfboard is better depends on your surfing goals and skill level. Thicker surfboards are ideal for beginners as they provide more volume, stability, and easier paddling. They are easier to catch waves with and are suitable for learning purposes.

On the other hand, if you want to advance in your surfing and prioritize maneuverability on the wave, a thinner surfboard is preferred. Thinner boards have less volume, allowing for greater maneuverability and control.

Professional surfers often use thinner boards for smaller waves, as it provides more control. However, for bigger waves that require more power and paddle strength, thicker boards with extra volume are used.

In summary, thicker boards are beneficial for stability and ease of learning, while thinner boards offer increased maneuverability. As you progress in your surfing journey, you may opt for thinner boards based on your weight, the appropriate volume for the waves you surf, and your skill level.

Matt Bromley answers your Surfing questions. See all the advice Matt Bromley has and get answers to your own Surfing questions.

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Matt started surfing when he was 6 years old, in Cape Town, South Africa. He grew to become one of the best big-wave surfers in the world. He watches the globe for large storms, and when all the elements come together, books a ticket and chases the energy across the world. He documents the big waves these storms create and produces high-quality content that is distributed through various global media platforms. Matt's other passion is sharing his experiences to inspire and empower people to ride their "big waves".