Duckdive Fails

I find that I can't get enough depth in waist or less water to successfully escape the force of the wave. I am not great at duck diving, and there are a lot of shallow breaks here.

 

I was out in the same swell last Saturday and dove through a set wave, popped out the back and thought I was good, and got pulled back and dumped w/ the first blast of whitewater...not saying I have perfect technique, but I dove plenty of set waves no problem that day and got dumped by this one. Overall seemed like a weird swell, some waves just seemed punchier than the average windswell.

 

The only thing i can think of is pushing harder on ur tail to pop the nose up a little more to kinda cut through the back

But sometimes all you can do is hold on for dear life....

 

If it's got some size and it's breaking in waist deep water, not much else you can do imo

 

sometimes there is nothing you can do no matter how deep you go. water weighs just over 60 pounds per square foot. through the force of a wave containg a large number o gallons, and anything is possible.

I had an experience in the Mentawais surfing at Lance's Right. it was 8 to 10 foot faces and building and out of nowhere a set came through that was bigger than anything yet that morning. I paddled like hell towards ithe horizon. the wave doubled up causing a wave to start breaking on top of the wave. I pushed as hard as I could with both feet on the tail semi low-mid face. I penetrated pretty good and when I started coming up I thought I was good. then I just felt the wave sucking me up then back and I went over the falls in the lip. my board broke over my chest when I hit the bottom of the wave on my back. then I proceeded to get thrashed and pinned to the bottom. once the water finally eased i was able to push off the bottom. but before I could get to the surface another wave came and sent me for another violent thrashing. after the turbulence subsided enough I kinda got freaked and started swimming for the top but hit the bottom. then pushed off towards daylight. f**k man that was the heaviest s**t ive ever been through. I almost drowned. thank God at the time I was training like a fiend. otherwise I surely would have died. I was pretty much shook the rest of the trip.

so yeah sometimes there is nothing you can do.

 

Archy, Archy, Archy....I get it... you're trying to relate to us common folk.

But the OP is talking about the vagaries & mysteries of the ocean when head high at max. Other guys are giving their insights from the same swell that the original OP took on. And here you come, trotting out some hoary, dank, dusty tale from the dark side of 10 foot Asian bomberos that would hold down Laird.

There's literally no connection with what the others have posted.

Are you sensing a pattern here, sporty....? With the no connection thing...?

 

Yeah if its waist high and not a reef maybe ditch and dive, idk maybe even over the top. Given i wasnt surfing it my advice probly suckss but just trying to help out

 

yankee.. yankee..yankee..

the title of the post is "duckdive fails"

so don't be hypocritical when i'm posting about deep water ports, you respond with chemtrail conspiracy.

 

Ride the wave underwater. The energy under the wave is your friend.

Duckdives are cool... surf 'em.

 

10 steps to help your duck dive

First note that every part of the actual duckdive is a continuous series of motions. Each step should blend into the next.

Trust your instincts! If you're in the lineup and going to duck dive, make the decision quick. If you think you're going to get caught just inside on a rogue set, start paddling, no hesitating. Same goes for trying to catch it. The more you **** around and are indecisive, the more likely you're going to get your ass kicked by the ocean. Forward momentum helps!
Point yourself directly into the wave. Be perpendicular to it when it hits you, or it's much more likely to send you tumbling! Perpendicular to the white water, parallel with the direction of force. Even small deviations will make it harder to balance when you start to duck dive.
The wave is coming! Knees up on the board at the same time you extend your arms and push the nose down as deep as you can get it.
Rock you body just slightly forward of your center of gravity, pushing your board further under water and beginning to dive your head and body just before the wave hits you. The timing of this takes practice and depends on the speed of the wave. With practice, you'll be dropping your head and getting your body to scoot under right at the intersection of the green and white water.
PUSH down with your foot on the tail of the board as your body goes under water. Keep your arms extended, firm but not rigid.
Stay balanced! If you stay relaxed and don't freak out, you can stay balanced. The turbulence from the water is trying to fight its way in between you and your board. If you stay balanced and inline with the board, even if you didn't do such a good job with the dive, you'll loose less ground then you will if you loose the board and go through the washing machine. Once you're underwater, it's much more about balance than anything. The people who surf the ultra shallow reefs of the Mentawai Islands have to develop the technique of duck diving with their palms flat on the tops of their boards so they don't cut up their knuckles when they dive. It's about balance, not about gripping the rails as hard as you can.
When you're underwater, and you can feel the wave energy start to roll over your back, your leg should be totally extended from pushing down the back of the board. The nose of the board should start to point upward and you should be arching your back and pointing your head to the surface.
Start to pull the board in to your body. If done efficiently on a nice quality wave, you'll feel a suction start to shoot you toward the surface and out the back side of the wave. Again - this should all be one continuous fluid motion. Each step blends into the next.
As soon as you hit the surface and start to breath, get centered on your board and start paddling again!
Smile. Repeat as necessary (the duck dive - the smiles should always be there! )

 

Try something new for you, Starchy. Namely, actually reading the OP and the context in which it is written.

 

What the matta with eatin $hit now and then? Keeps us humble and honest. Ever crowd surf? You're on top of the world then seconds later, concrete on top of your head. Dust yourself off and try again. Falling can be a liberating experience.

Next time you find yourself confused, fearful, pissed off or nervous, do what I do - start cackling maniacally. You'll instantly view the moment as a nothing to lose win-win situation and those around you will become powerless as they view you as an omnipotent mystic.

 

Thanks.
Best written description I've seen.