Worst Beat Down Ever

^^^Never understood that. But I know a lot of people who say they feel that way. So I do believe it... it's just not me.

I feel most alive when I'm in "The Zone," or after a really good wave that makes me thank the creator for giving me the health and ability to even just go surfing.

 

Too many to remember...but drilled to the bottom by taking the lip square to the middle of my back on big outside Duppies in Barbados resulting in a broken ear drum and blood from the ear, nose and mouth was right up there, or maybe big outside winter Punta Rocas/ Kon Tiki getting sucked up and over at the end of a big dry barrel and then mercilessly rag-dolled underwater for a long way with the full sinus flushing...my humbling reality check in 4 meter surf.

 

Soup Bowl... no question. I paddled out on the morning of the first day, seriously hung over from the last night. I didn't eat anything and me and my buddy were the first out. We sat in what we thought was the right spot, and then as CJSurf said, the horizon turned black. Double overhead at a minimum. Got detonated... came up, not even time for another breath and then slammed again. At that point, as I am doing cartwheels underwater, I start hitting the reef. I was just thinking "don't hit your head", but I had no control. When I came to the surface, the current was pulling me towards the death zone on the left side of the channel. I pulled my board to me and only the bottom half was there. I managed to swim enough in the rip to get out through the channel. Then I had to figure out what to do. About an hour later (yes, I was floating with half a board for an hour), a couple locals paddled out and told me the tide was high enough to go in over the reef, which is what I did. It was intense and I am certain I came extremely close to dying.

I've since figured out Soup Bowl and laugh at how stupid I was that day. It's one of those waves where you can be out of position by 20 feet and nearly die. I was just too far up the point. Had I sat a little to the left and waited for a few sets to come through, I would have been fine. I actually paddled myself into the worst position possible frothing on the first day of a trip. As Barry says... moron.

 

#9/12

Flow State

 

Classic tale! Like baseball, sometimes it's a game of inches. Narrow take off zones, shallow reef, sharp fins. That's what makes surfing extreme waves such a rush, like cheating mother nature. I've never been there YET, but my buddy told me once, good Soup Bowls is like good Pumphouse on steroids.

 

Another real close call. This one was an embarrassing bit of pure stupidity. Had just finished up an awesome session at home. In a great mood. Caught my last wave and rode it as far as I could and then rode it the rest of the way on my stomach. As I got closer to the sand the wave started to line up into this perfect little 2 foot high peeler. On the end section I tried to do a barrel roll with the closeout. I landed upside down on the top of my head on the bottom. Got a major stinger. So lucky I didn't end up in a wheelchair or worse.

 

I had a similar moment. Chest high. Pulled into shore break close out section. Lip slammed me and i went over the falls and landed directly on my head. Felt electricity from head to toe. Immobile for a second but felt like a minute. I thought I would drown as I was alone. Then it all came back. Sat on beach for 2hrs contemplating what had just happened. No bull**** - I felt like someone or something intervened. Who knows.

 

The el rollo story reminded my of my session on Monday. Not big, but draining over the sandbar and thumping. Lot's of quick little barrel views, but then you'd either have to punch through the curtain, or just bail inside the tube. I tried to take off under the lip on one that was really heaving, and ended up falling on my board... which is like falling on your bike when you're mountain biking... it sucks. It hurts way more than getting bounced off the bottom or hitting the ground biking. Somehow I fell on my board, fins up, and used my forearm to keep my face from hitting my fins. I immediately got a "mouse" under my skin, and put a little slice in my wetsuite.

 

^ fin hits are the absolute worst. They’re like dull knives. My biggest fear is losing the board on a big drop and taking a fin to the head, or anywhere on the body, in larger surf.

 

My biggest fear is getting thrashed onto the rocks. I think that fear is why it's never happened to me.

 

I was warned

I was paddling out at Surf City, NC pier when a guy was coming in and he says to me, "Be careful it is weird out there. the undertow is really strong and it will hold you down." It was barely waste to chest high and I took my first wave, some what kick out and laid down only to be pinned to the bottom like a magnet to metal. I had to uses my leash to pull myself to the surface, never forgot that experience.

 

That's pretty heavy - thank God I've never experienced something like that before. The more I think about that, the more I think I would have sat for a long a$$ time as well.

 

Agree with earlier post that fin hits can be scary stuff. I took a fin off the top of the head during a chest high day in New Hampshire last winter, instant pounding headache and ringing in my ears, and a warm feeling under my wetsuit hood. Got out after another 45 min or so and pulled my hood off to find my hair caked in blood and a 2 inch gash in my scalp. Surfing north of the wall is not always comfortable, but I was pretty happy to be wearing a 5 mm hood that day....

 

Andrew cotton just got the beat down of his life at naz

http://www.carvemag.com/2017/11/cotty-hurt-horrendous-nazare-wipeout/

 

Holy crapola. Was he out there on a short board?? Looked like it........
Have to admit, I could not stop laughing when I saw him come flying out of that wave foam--seemed as if he was sling shot out of there!!
Glad he is okay, whom ever he is.

 

What a total thrashing! Can you imagine the sheer terror he felt, during that nano second of realization that he didn't pull up high enough, and a lip the size of New Jerzy was aboot to land square on top of him?

 

I tried an el rollo once, back when I was young, riding a twin fin, at Ocean Reef, before it was a park, it was just a reef, with a big rock sticking out of the water, called Niggahead, back in the day.

I was south of the rock head, on a north swell, sitting at Richard's Right, a hollow against the grain break (like baby Backdoor), on a well OH day. It pitched well over my head, very hollow and rounded, so I went for it, and whammo! landed right on top of my head just before sand turned to reef. My neck was compressed, and I was wobbly, and the top of my head hurt and my neck was stiff for days.

I said to myself, that was the absolute worst wipeout ever. Boy was I lucky!

 

See link: the dude gets launched like 20+ feet after the lip impacts the poor guy. https://new.surfline.com/surf-news/andrew-cotton-catapulted-nazare/13216

 

Opps; you beat me to it

 

Keep trying to do rollos......maybe we can visit you in the hospital and steal all your opiates.
hahahahahaha!!