that sinking feeling when u go for a little wave, miss it, look behind you and a set it about to detonate on your head
Yeah I don't get why he turned and paddled into the peak. Looks like if he'd have head for the shoulder he could have saved a few poundings.
occasionally there are times when you have to admit to yourself that you made a mistake, catch the wash in, stand up and rethink/reconfigure your route and be patient for a lull...i been there before, and i learned my lesson after the first time this happened and reference the above said guide. btw, anyone find it harder to hold your breath when the water temp drops below like, 45-50*...not belittling any of those rag doll holds downs in the vid, but this just made me think about how i come up gasping in the winter for what does not seem to be all that long of an submarine sinus douche sleigh ride
Last December at Tres Palmas, I got caught inside. Dumb ass move on my part. I paddled long and hard to catch a smaller wave, missed and....there they came, as I turned around. Dumb ass I was!! My baggies ended up around my leash!!! So glad leash did not break.....
Been there, done it, and it works, IF you get back on your board immediately and sprint paddle to get to the next wave in the set faster and get under the detonating lip with a proper duck dive and through the back. Gotta be fast though. I always try and do a legit duck dive 1st because sometimes I surprise myself and make it through that way, but if it doesn't work once or twice, i'm diving deep and holding on. It really doesn't make sense to do this until it reaches the 8-10ft range like you said though.
heavy situation. I always thought you can't duck w/ big wave guns as others have said. That's way above my paygrade.
I'm thinking that the video was somehow edited, and cut out the part where he found himself in that predicament. The only way I can figure how he wound up in that part of the impact zone is that he probably biffed the take-off, and got caught inside in that particular part of the zone. You can't go left at Killer's, and he's in a spot where there are some hella reef and rocks sticking up out of the water. I'm thinking that he thought he'd be able to sneak back out to the lineup and got drilled by a bunch of bombs. Sensing the futility and probably getting pushed into the rocks, he figured that his best chance was to start paddling for the channel that the main wave (a right) empties out into. Taking that many on the head at a wave of consequence like that can make you reassess God and Wayne.
What are peoples thoughts on the actual size of those waves? 1-3' overhead or so? Maybe smaller? kinda hard to tell. Reminds me of one of my first times learning, trying to paddle out with a 47liter funshape in an 8ft beach break in February in NH. No easy way out, I had no idea how to duck dive, and probably couldn't have gotten that board under if I did. I remember trying to get passed the break for 4 hours and made it out once, sh!t my suit and got washed in. I definitely think that when its cold, wintry, and the waters dark you feel like your being held under for longer, just different juju at work in the winter. Something about warm clear water and sunny days makes the beatings a little better.
My girlfriend also said 'why doesn't he just take the whitewater in'? I agree with you, but I don't think you can just 'catch the wash in' at that size, can you? I don't think I've surfed waves that size, but I imagine you'd just get tossed repeatedly if trying to ride the wash. Then you're caught in no-mans land with no respite. Might as well dive deep for a lesser beating, and aim for a regrouping out back, or exit via channel/drift. Those rocks sticking up are gnarly. My leash snapped last Friday, and when I was watching this, I just thought about that sinking feeling, and how horrifying it would be to have it happen at this spot. Makes me feel like I need to do some swim training! I see you've attended EMassSpicoli Surfing Academy, where you try surfing in February and it's always '8 foot'!
'It's not like you could call time out and just paddle in if you don't like the way things are going"
that's todos santos,the mavericks of Baja,during that last huge epic swell they had.waves were around 15-20ft. and u cant duckdive a gun btw,atleast that's what the big wave guys say,i never been in 15-20ft surf so I wouldn't know. if u ever watched footage of todos,u would see the take off zone is to the left of this guy.he just paddled out in the worst spot imaginable.i wouldn't call him a kook either,he held is own,didnt need to get rescued by a ski,that's a win in my book.im surprised how shallow it is there,u can see the bottom on the first wave he ducks under.I watched that vid like 30 times already lol,counting how long hes under each time.thats why im surprised he was only down at the most 9 seconds.you would think u would die but if u stay calm,anyone can hold their breath for that short amount of time.now being whished around like a cork,thats a whole other story
im not the si forecaster here lol,but based on the recent swell they got,im sure u seen the photos of Puerto Escondido,and todos jacks that swell up so I imagine it somewhere near that size.if u watch it on the big screen u can see little ants taking off to the left,and based on how tiny they are id say atleast triple overhead. I have to watch it again and give u a 2nd opinion
on 2nd look,id say maybe 9-12 ft.some look big,then I just seen 1 guy take off and it was a much smaller wave like 8 ft.regardless heavy situation,if it was in cold water like mavs it would've been a lot worse
