Broken Leash

I know what your buddy is saying BUT! I don't think you were wrong in just asking him to keep an eye out for you. Even the most well seasoned swimmers get in trouble and even drown. The ocean is unpredictable. If I were to lose my board on a drifty day, i know my friends would be keeping their eye on me until i got my board or back to the beach.

But for surfing rules, besides the normal closest to the peak, don't drop in stuff is ALWAYS HELP OTHER SURFERS. Even if I don't know someone I always look out for them and make sure they make it in ok. If I am on the beach I get their board to them. If someone breaks a leash and I have a spare on me I lend it to them. Why? Because if anything bad happens to me I hope that there are people looking out for me in case...

People got to stop with the arrogance!

Oh and by the way, I normally surf with FCS comp leashes. They are not durable at all but do the trick in head high and smaller surf and don't get in the way. For bigger days i just use normal FCS leashes. They break all the time but that is just how it goes. Just stay cool and calm and go with the flow.

 

Yeah sorry but your buddy is a **** for lecturing you.

 

Make it your mission in life to become more comfortable in the water. Combine that with the basics of how to avoid the most turbulent water, be they rips, or impact zone. Finally, remember to put your feet down. If you are making no progress towards the beach, don't fight it, swim parallel to the beach towards breaking waves, not away from them. Rips are most prevelant in deep water where waves don't break.

 

1. aerobic training... swim, run, bike, eliptical... anything to get the heart rate up and keep it there. Swimming in the ocean, of course, is the best.

2. I like FCS and Dakine. I use comp leashes mostly, but a good big wave leash will take a good stretching and hang in there. If there's an argument for rinsing your board, it's to slow the inevitable deterioration of your leash... particularly the leash loop and swivel.

I like the "always help others" attitude. Growing up on boats and boards, it's just natural to me to think that way... second nature.

 

http://vimeo.com/48278457 Aussie board rescue technique

 

i saw that video posted over on the surfer mag BB & was amazed then at how horrible a technique it is! why would you A. put a NEAR DROWNING victim in a position where they'll take EVERY. SINGLE. WAVE. in the face?? B. put yourself in a position where you have to take your eyes off the victim?? what happens if they lose consciousness? start panicking? as a rescuer, you're screwed. i really thought aussie lifeguards had more sense than that...

to the OP: i agree w/ what everyone is saying about getting more comfortable in the water. swim, swim, swim...the more cardio you do, the better! leash breakage happens, & not always at the most opportune moment. you should be prepared to swim for your board at any moment. i think a lot of people forget that the leash is a convenience, not a safety device.
that said, i've had the best luck w/ creatures of leisure leashes. never broken a single one of them, though i have seen it happen. i have one 6' comp leash that i bought back in 2008 that's gotta be pushing 7' by now...countless trips to hatteras, a trip to panama, up & down the nj coast, this thing's seen it all.

 

I surfed without a leash saturday and sunday. It broke and I was lazy. I got caught in a rip saturday and I got a little sketched. I swam out of it and was fine. My only advice is never panic and manage your anxiety. The cool thing was that the board got caught in the same rip so as I was swimming to the shore it was on its way to me.

 

How good of a buddy is he? Any good friend would want to make sure his buddy is ok, especially in bigger surf. I have had my leash break before, and chasing down a board while 3-5 OH set waves are crashing down on your head is no fun.

 

I think what your buddy was trying to tell you is that if you are so uncomfortable in the water, you need to get yourself to a point where that fear goes away. Like other said, conditioning and experience.

 

yeah, I don't owe you anything, but... I'll keep an eye on you if you get stuck in a rip.

The most important thing you can do in that situation is stay calm. Make your strokes long, slow and powerful. Don't flutter. If you are in a rip, don't go crazy trying to muscle out of it, go with the flow until you are in a position that you can swim out of it, usually parallel to the shore. Most drownings are the result of freak-outs and over exhaustion. You just have to position yourself to get picked up by some whitewater and hope nothing grey decides you look like food.

Surf more to help your concerns. Some will criticize this because they are babies and the victims of the pussification of surfing... but... surf without a leash, it will get you more comfortable swimming after your board and will teach you how to avoid "yard sale" wipe outs.

 

I think your buddy is right though - you should be able to swim without your board. Depending on your board (and ultimately your leash) to keep you from not drowning in the ocean is a recipe for disaster.

Good call though on asking for help, no shame in that.

 

open ocean swimming is the best remedy for your fears.i still have fears in the ocean,but i came a long way over the years.you should practice bodysurfing,swim into the wave,keep your head low,angle your arm in it like a rail,itll push you in,and when u get near the shorebreak,its going to suck you underwater and youll be powerless for the next 5 seconds.i always look at it like this,water comes in and water goes out.im not the greatest swimmer,but i know a little bit to keep me safe.if your ever in serious trouble,go swim to the closest guy near u,hopefully hes not an a-hole,but hold on to his board til u regain your bearings.groundswells can break far out and create midsized rips.rips are only dangerous to inexperienced swimmers.dont take lectures from dikheads that probly suck at surfing.the ocean is a dangerous place,many people have died,world class surfers that train year round.even tho they drown surfing 40ft waves like sion milosky,todd chesser,donnie soloman,mark foo,malik joyeux,and the list goes on.use the buddy system

 

I broke two leashes over the weekend - one right after another. The first was an XM with a Powerclip feature that snapped. The second leash (also XM - no powerclip) had a loose HEX screw that needed to be adjusted once I got back to shore. Though I'm a strong swimmer and was never really worried, I was still glad a friend kept an eye out for me as I headed back in.

 

when i started surfing,i think it was either 08 or 09,when we had hurricane ike,hanna,and a few others.well anyway i started surfing on a 8ft hawaiin gun without a leash.i remember il paddle into a wave outside the jetty,miss it and fall as my board comes in and i go out.iv always been more scared of having a board strapped to me,a big bouyant object,than swimming alone.usually if i think its too big for me,or its breaking 3ft barrels in a foot of water,i usually go bodysurf.aslong as i ride a few waves,whether a board,sponge,or bodysurfing,then i get my rush i desired for the day.and in the winter time,it sucks duckdiving with 7mil of rubber on u..does anyone have trouble exhaling through your nose in the wintertime with the cold water or is it just me.i cant blow out my nose in 40degree water

 

I had a broken leash experience for the first time ever last Wednesday. The ride was fine....no wipe-out....so you can imagine my shock when I surfaced expecting my board to be beside me and instead I saw it about 15 feet away. Just as I realized that I was no longer attached, a wave came and push my board in. I swam in while a head high set crash down on and around me. Each time I got within a few feet of my board, another wave pushed it out of reach. It was sketchy....but really just more an irritation.

Then Thursday, I saw the same thing happen to another surfer, but this break was much further out....and though there were other surfers around him paddling back out, no one checked to see if he was okay. I didn't think it wise to wait until he was in serious trouble to respond, so I gave up my hard earn position and paddled for him. Half way to him, I could see him was starting to stand, so I turned and battled my way back out, again. It concerns me that the more capable stronger men did nothing.....and it took a kook-ger like myself to care.

Your buddy is right.....but there is a time and place for everything. "No problem brother, I got you" is the right thing in that time and place. The beach or parking lot is where the wisdom should have been given.

And now for some newly found wisdom......from now on I will check my leash for issues before I paddle out.

 

I agree, time and place for everything. Help a brother out if you see someone struggling is the right call IMO. He's right that you shouldn't be out if you are scared, but there is only one way to break those fears, and that's to face them. I have a buddy who wasn't going to go out last weekend unless he had me or another buddy with him, he's a decent surfer, but he said he's a got a wife and two kids now so he doesn't want to take any chances. It's smart to have at least one person in the water who knows you and will be keeping an eye out, never a bad idea.

 

A leash 2' longer than my longboard.... so a 12' for me. I also have a real strong one because of the weight of the board. On short boards I like about 1' longer and a comp is great. I got stabbed good on an 80's pointy board using a 6' on a 6'4" board and have a healthy respect for sharp objects now.

And a little fear is a good thing... You can't fix stupid... So asking for a spotter is smart when you lose your flotation device

 

Maybe I shouldn't but I usually assume anyone out surfing can tread water and make some attempt at proper swimming. Otherwise you are really tempting Darwin to prove his theories. If you're hurt yell/ask for help. If not, I'll keep an eye on you if you don't seem too seaworthy but I'm not paddling over to ask if you're ok like I would for a little old lady that just fell down in the street.

Tread water, side stroke or back stroke to the beach. If in a rip current, go parallel to the beach. When out of the rip swim to the beach. Unless you're injured you should have no problem treading/swimming for 15 min until you reach shallow water. If you can't do at least that, surfing is not your thing, yet.

 

I guess I should also mention, the guy lost his board about a 1/4 mile out from the beach....that was really the thing that concerned me for him.

I agree on the Darwin thing and the 15 minutes of treading.....but the one time I was in serious trouble (last August) I couldn't scream or ask for help. I had just gone over the falls, backwards and upside down. The impact was so hard it knocked all the wind out of me, then I was held down for what seemed like forever (maybe 30 to 60 seconds, with no air in my lungs). When I resurfaced another wave drilled me down before I could get my board. There was no way I could have asked for help, no one even looked in my direction or said anything, it was all I could do to just get my breath back and save myself. It was, by far, the scariest thing that has ever happened to me while surfing.

Of course, I made it out alive.......but my point is, if someone is in serious trouble, screaming help it's normally an option.

I guess it's just the momma part of me. I feel the need to be proactive instead of just reactive, when it come to someone in potential trouble. Dam@ it, I care about you kids