Chronic Fear of "bigger" waves

The most comfortable I ever felt in "bigger" waves, I'm talking overhead up to DOH, (not 20-30 footers which is a completely different ball game), was when I was freediving a lot. I got very good at holding my breath for extended periods of time. I got so comfortable underwater that if I actually wiped out on a wave I would just hang out under water for a bit and swim around down there. I used to like to swim down to the bottom and lay there for as long as I could actually before coming up. Freediving will make you very relaxed being underwater for extended time. The other suggestion is to spend as much time as possible in the ocean, swimming, surfing, kayaking, whatever you can. Someone mentioned body surfing too...if you can swim out, body surf, and swim back in without a surfboard, you will have a lot more confidence out there when there are bigger waves surfing.
If you go in the ocean only once a month to surf you are always going to have a lot of anxiety out there.

 

alright alright man I mean **** not tryna front or anything dude it's just habit I suppose but the wave faces were consistently 12ft with 14-15ft faces running around and I was sh**in bricks dude couldn't get to the channel fast enough. I was on a 5'10" fish, super undergunned. I couldn't even match the waves speed for take off

 

Most of the time it's because it's what the offshore buoys measure. The swell is 7ft at like 14-16 seconds. I'm not undercalling it then because that's what the swell height is open ocean man. It's a 7ft wave, but in the zone of maximum refraction wave heights can be double that of offshore wave heights.

 

I still say just don't do it. I like a nice view from time to time but don't feel anxiety when I look at the tall trees in my yard because I'm afraid to climb them to look around. Just because the waves get big doesn't mean you have to surf them, no one cares if you do or not. It only gets scary big on the east coast 4 or 5 days a year,if that, and then only for the first 5 hours of the swell. After that it's ussually manageable without much drama. Show up at the beach, take a look, if it's doesn't look fun kill some time and check it when the tide is better or the swell settles down. I still get ribbed by friends because I checked it the morning of one of the best swells we ever had in Maryland and decided to go home and mow my lawn. Came back 3 hours later and the swell had settled in, everyone was worn out and I had medium sized perfection with monster sets all to myself.

 

True-- in the open ocean they are known as swells, not waves, as you state. Waves are in the break zone. The swell size is an oceanographic measurement, not a surfers. I still prefer to call the faces, not the back of the waves (i.e., swell). After all, who surfs the back of the wave??

 

I didn't read all posts, but listen to your fear man... Its there for a reason. I'd say confidence and comfort come with experience, so push yourself a little at a time until you feel more and more comfortable. Size alone doesn't make a wave scary, but how that wave is breaking and how easy it is to paddle in and get into position will make a wave scary or not. There are plenty of 10 ft waves that aren't scary, and certainly some 5 ft waves that will make you crap your wet suit.

I've been bodyboarding for longer then I have been surfing, and fear definitely arises in different forms depending on what I am riding and how comfortable I am with a particular break. If there wasn't any fear, it wouldn't be as much of a thrill.

 

When its big around here my only fear is getting swept into the jetties and outfall pipes that are often partially submerged on bigger days around high tide.

 

Are you riding the same equipment in overhead than as you would in chest high? Sometimes you can find confidence in your equipment. I know that under certain conditions it's time to break out the no F ing around boards. What that is to you depends. In my case it's a tad overgunned. A good paddler, that I'm sure to get in a little earlier and can outrun a larger faster section if need be without much user input. Sometimes it is a little overkill but sometimes It was the right call.

Having a solid board under your feet for those conditions really helps. It may be an added equipment cost but you don't use them that much so they usually last a long time. Really just use it for huge swells and bring it on surf travels. You can find good ones slightly used all the time.

 

After skimming through this thread has anyone suggested getting the correct equipment for the conditions? And learning how to ride it? And to duckdive it correctly? You want to surf bigger waves you have to have some glide under you to cover some ground more quickly. Get a 6'4' roundtail thruster at least to compliment the 5'11" shortie, maybe bigger if you are charging really big surf. Get it sized to your fave tiny wave board. Don't be afraid to move around on the deck. Get your equipment sorted. A little weight in the hull helps getting down the face and dealing with hard offshore wind. Longer rails glide more and longer when paddling. Use your foot to kick the tail down deep on duck dives. Swim a lot to build confidence in case of broken leashes to avoid panic. And travel a lot.

 

Exactly; very true. I like the way you express "to have some glide under you"; have never heard it expressed that way and it defines exactly what is needed. Teaching moment!!

 

heare heare.
'glide under you".....quite necessary.
my big wave boardz 7/6,8/0, and 9/6.
what do i do w/them...one might ask....
well, together we collect dust.

 

True, mine are 2 X 7/6's, 7/8, 7/10....I use them mostly when I travel home to PR, or an exceptional swell here in New England (hurricane swells). They look pretty in my "quiver' (hate that term; it is so surfy, like "gnarly", or "dude", or "tubular". Hate them as well and refrain from using them)

 

I have two 7'0 rounded pintails for the biggest Jersey we get.

 

yeah true.. but still man this be the east coast round here we dont do it like hawaii... it anything measure it on the belmar scale. so its 69ft hawaiian..so therefore its 23ft belmar. its its triple over ankle its really just ankle everywhere else.

 

i had a 7,0 but sold it, im thinking of getting q 6,8 or 6,10, how does the 7,0 hold up i like the idea of a pintail.

 

i look up pin tails and look what see in the images if you look half way down you will see gnomes. https://www.google.com/search?q=pintail+surfboard&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=mjXiVJjNJoqfggSJv4PYAg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1517&bih=741&dpr=0.9#imgdii=_&imgrc=-rPx8z9WImAXdM%253A%3BuZMn56Kr-MvFFM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F4.bp.blogspot.com%252F-LwqoHTuArTw%252FTymSBMrYkeI%252FAAAAAAAAQ6s%252F2Mcqw_u2y7U%252Fs1600%252FManusun2.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.roystuart.biz%252F2012%252F02%252Fbuilding-dragon-board-139-wooden.html%3B1256%3B719

 

I had a 7'0" CI for big waves but it finally got too old and damaged. I have a 6'8" Orion I use now, and I wish I had the ol' 7 footer last Thursday, I would have gotten more set waves.

To answer the original posters question, I see you almost got paralyzed on medium sized surf. That is probably super scary and it is in your head. I don't fear dying, but living as a paralyzed person would be very bad. So I can see you don't have an irrational fear. Equipment and physical conditioning is a must so you have confidence in your self and your equipment and don't hesitiate on critical drops.

I have gotten my calf sliced open, busted ribs, head lacrations, ankle lacerations, all in small (knee to stomach high) surf over the years, just trying to push things too hard. A bigger wave gives you more time to make adjustments on the face. Buttons said, on big waves, just think of the part you are on, that makes it a smaller wave.

I think hypnosis,meditation and breathing practice will get you over the ledge if you want to. If you don't no shame. The one who is having the most fun is the best surfer. If it's not fun, why bother?

 

Good stuff dude, and anything Buttons says about surfing is Gospel too

 

i was in peru once right after buttons and bertleman and lidell had visited.
those guys made quite an impression on the locals.
its fair to say they had never seen anything like them...
both in surfing and partying.

 

I can only imagine, may he RIP