Are Big Waves Really Deadly? A Case Study

[Beasho]

This post is as much about fear as wonder:  Whether big, deep water waves are as deadly as we might guess?  I don’t mean to be callus, rather to reassure that with the right preparation, and awareness big waves are very survivable.
 
I will add that big waves will push you beyond your rational capacity.  The first time I ever caught a really big wave and experienced release, acceleration and drop yet at the same time continued ascending in altitude I remembered a mental short circuit, a red alert message in my brain to ‘abort.’  Fortunately I made the drop and escaped unharmed.  

I recently finished reading The Wave by Susan Casey.  I highly recommend this book to any aspiring big wave SUP’er.  Casey is an excellent, sometimes laugh out loud writer and The Wave is a great for anyone interested in waves’ past, present and future.

I was most intrigued by Brett Lickle’s discussion of Panic Cycles on page 235:

“What I still can’t believe,” Casil said, “is that you could hold your breath for that long."

“I can’t.” Lickle shook his head. “That’s the whole point. You can do a lot of things you don’t know you can do. Once you’re in survival mode there’s no skill. It’s instinctual. And we all have that.”

“A lifetime of preparation doesn’t hurt though,” I said. “Yeah, but you know, I smoke pot, and I’m not a breath-holding fanatic or anything,” Lickle said, referring to the training that some big-wave surfers did to increase their lung capacity. (Hard-core practitioners run underwater for minutes at a time carrying twenty-pound rocks.) “But I do know there are breathing thresholds you can go through. You hold your breath and you hold it and then all of a sudden you’ll feel this tensing, this panicking, and then it releases. And then you’ll have a whole other period before the next panic. On the first wave I went through about three or four of them. You can get five if you’re lucky.”

From Don King (p306): “If you get hit by a wave,” he said, “the thing is not to panic. You don’t want to stay completely loose—that’s how things get dislocated—you want to kind of ball up. Remember: you do have the lung capacity to wait it out.”

[Beasho]

Research on Big Waves revealed that 5 people have died (from Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_wave_surfing):

“These hazards have killed several big-wave surfers. Some of the most notable are Mark Foo, who died surfing Mavericks on December 23, 1994; Donnie Solomon, who died exactly a year later at Waimea Bay; Todd Chesser who died at Alligator Rock on the North Shore of Oahu on February 14, 1997; Peter Davi who died at Ghost Trees on December 4, 2007; and Sion Milosky who died surfing Mavericks on March 16, 2011.”

What the data suggests is that the first 3 of these deaths were before the advent of flotation vests.  The 4th case, Peter Davi, may be explained by toxic levels of methamphetamine.  The last, Sion Milosky, was the only person to have died wearing a flotation device.

Taking a closer look at each case:

1.   Mark Foo 1994:  Mavericks, CA.   A top competitor but had taken a red-eye from Hawaii and dawned a wetsuit to tackled the cold water of Mavericks.

2.   Donnie Solomon 1995:  Waimea, HI.  Horrified witnesses saw Donnie suspended within the lip of the wave as it pitched out and smashed into the ocean surface. The impact probably knocked him unconscious, or he just may have been held down longer than he could hold his breath.

3.   Todd Chesser 1997:  Alligators, HI.  Chesser reportedly was caught inside, stood on his board and dived down to try to make it under one of the waves. But it held him under so long that by the time he surfaced, he was either semiconscious or unconscious.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~ 1/1/2000 Flotation Devices Start to be used as a defense against drowning.

4.   Peter Davi 2007: Ghost Tree, CA.  The coroner reported “acute methamphetamine intoxication may have played a contributing role.” Davi had 0.75 milligrams of crystal meth in his system per liter of blood.  Flotation device:   Unknown.

5.   Sion Milosky 2011:  Mavericks, CA.  “Sion was charging 40 to 60 foot surf at Mavericks, when he was held under for two waves. His body found about 20 minutes later face down near the harbor entrance at Half Moon Bay. . . . They cut his suit off, and we find a flotation device in his suit, and it freaks me out that a guy like Sion, arguably one of the gnarliest big wave surfers in the world, could not survive a Mavericks hold down, even with a floatation device.”

Another local report was that Sion was in great shape.   A renowned Mavericks SUP’er reported “Sion was fast.  He could paddle faster than me on my 11’6” SUP gun, and no-one paddles faster than me.   He had been surfing all day, catching enormous bombs deep in the pit, deeper than I like to go.  By the end of the day he had to be tired.  He had been surfing for several hours and, despite his physical shape, the cold water and time had to have fatigued him.  Where he fell was no place anyone would want to fall, right in the pit on an enormous, very powerful Mavericks day.”

4 out of 5 of these surfers were Hawaiian.  3 out of 5 of the deaths were in California.  Short of Peter Davi on meth, no Californian surfer has died in California.  Could it be the wetsuit, being used to the wetsuit and the added float?

[Beasho]

December 2012: Greg Long escaped death, and a 2+ wave hold down.  He was found unconscious, face down in the surf.  People attributed his survival to a top notch, trained rescue crew with Jet Skis.  Greg was wearing a CO2 charged inflation device that failed to deploy.  Garrett McNamara who fell on the same wave said “because of all the floatation in the Body Glove Survival Suit I came up before the next wave.”

January 2013: Mike Parson’s, another noteable big wave surfer, nearly drowned at Ocean Beach, San Francisco.  "I don't know if I would've surfaced without the floatation, 'cause I couldn't move," he said. . . . It's almost funny wearing flotation at a beachbreak, but it's a no-brainer (to survive) for me. I could paddle and duckdive fine."

What I conclude from all of this is that our fear of big waves is an instinct and these instincts have perpetuated our survival for thousands upon thousands of years.  However our instincts were solidified long before swimming lessons, wetsuits and most importantly flotation devices were invented.  Brett Lickle survived being filleted by a fin and a subsequent beating by 5 waves greater than 50 feet.   “Once again the vests did their job and the two (of us) popped up” Laird reported.  What Brett discovered, and the data supports, was that our mammalian roots, coupled with flotation and a touch of cool confidence should be enough to survive otherwise horrific conditions.  Just don’t go attacking 60 footers for more than 4 hours at a time.

Charge On

[XLR8]

Was Greg Long's flotation device designed to turn him and float him face up if it had properly deployed?  I know there are a lot of variables, but is that their basic design? 

[surfcowboy]

From my own experience and from watching here on this forum, it seems that while the wave may not kill you by drowning, the violence of the energy applied to your gear creates  weapons that are actually attached to you in some cases.

After seeing what a head high wave can do to a board or paddle in the wrong place at the wrong time, I cannot imagine what could happen to human flesh and bone when hit by a board or paddle propelled by a 20 foot whitewater wall moving at speed.

I'd bet that most of the injuries and deaths to non-big wave pros come from gear related injuries more than wave hold downs. (knocked out and drown.)

This is the reason I respect big surf. I'd body surf a 20 foot wave no problem, I've hit the water at over 50 mph water skiing with no ill effects. But add a board and the danger skyrockets to my mind.

I think that the mental aversion keeps deaths down more than it just not happening. People just aren't in big waves as much. How many people on this planet regularly go out in surf that size? A few hundred? Less? Think about it.

Thoughts?

[surfcowboy]

PS, great thread topic. I love stuff like this.

[Beasho]

Hopefully this is insightful, and motivational to more than a few hundred people worldwide. 

I grew up in upstate NY and seemed to find, or search out waves from New England to Long Island, to Cape Hatteras and eventually California and Hawaii. 

I think that the fear of waves starts ~head high.  Here in Northern California the crowd starts to thin out at that height and goes down exponentially to double overhead+. 

I have always had some mentor leading me bigger and bigger, showing that I wasn't going to die on impact.  As I have tried to do the same I find that some people wilt and just shy away despite the evidence.  While the beatings can be generally unpleasant I am hoping more people will press forth and realize that their greatest fear . . . . death, may be unwarranted. 

[jd]

Beasho,

What are you wearing for floatation?

When do you start wearing it?  (i.e., double overhead surf, smaller, bigger?)

[sup_surf_giant]

I almost died in 2010 in 8-10 surf while wearing a wetsuit too small to allow me to breath to full capacity (as I discovered).

I have so much respect for the boundaries these guys are challenging.

[supthecreek]

Beasho… you have done such a great job with this post. It’s a subject that leaves us all in awe. Your insights and facts are greatly appreciated. Nice to have a voice here on the Zone, that is first hand.

I apologize in advance, for what turned out to be a long reply…

I have been known to say – “I’m glad I lived and charged waves when I did..... Sunset, Pipeline and Wiamea were the benchmarks”

What these guys are doing is like space travel… not even in the same realm.

Even though it in no way relates to what these folks are charging… these are my impressions of what used to be near the limit. Biggest I experienced was close out conditions at Sunset… whatever that is. My experiences do not translate to what truly giant wave realities are these days…. A whole different ball of wax.

Having said that… I was always amazed what the body could easily survive. In good size Sunset, you would routinely get hit by waves that would destroy your house, but the body is so small, the impact is lessened…then you just have to ride it out. When surfing, the most important thing was to control your penetration into the water. You wanted to get as deep as possible. Sliding and skipping sideways down the face set you up for a long drag.

The most defenseless position is … you just miss a set wave… and the next one is bigger. You are caught in the impact zone… you lack the momentum to penetrate deeply enough to avoid the impact… as a result, you get hit hard which can knock the stuffing out of you…then you get dragged. You have a much harder time getting free from the grip of the whitewater. The next thing that happens is, the foam is so thick behind a big wave that you can’t get your head above it to grab a clean breath.

At Sunset, the water was clear… I would look up and find the spot just behind the wave that the foam was not as thick. The foam would roil up to the surface as the wave passed, then it would sink deeper into the water… there was a little “V” shaped space behind the wave that you see in underwater videos. I would try to surface in that “V” and grab a quick breath. Once you were out of the impact zone the whitewater was fairly easy to swim under as you made your way in.

The most dangerous event for me was a “No impact” event.
A few of us, that lived across the street, would go out at 1st light to get some uncrowded waves. The problem with that is… you skip the watching and planning stage. Sunset is so far out that it never looks big... until you see someone on it.

I was paddling out in the rip… a huge set closed out across the entire channel. It was just surface foam when it got to me… I slipped below the surface and it passed over. Next one… same thing….. opps… the second one was different. Something about the downward pull was really strong. It gently tumbled me down… down… down… till I hit the bottom…. I opened my eyes…. Holy Sh*t… it was completely BLACK. I hit the bottom in the channel!!...I was 30’ under and I couldn’t see anything. I pushed as hard as I could off the bottom… a few feet up, the toes on my right foot slammed into the underside of a shelf… super sharp… completely ripped open the top of all my toes. I kept swimming up… and up… it was getting lighter and lighter and I was seeing little stars in my eyes… my lungs were burning. After what seemed like an eternity, I broke the surface with a huge gasp. Some guys were paddling out near me…”where the hell did you come from?”
When I got out of the water and grabbed my board, the street lights were still on. That was it for me for a week… to avoid staff infection, I waited till cuts had new skin growth before going out again.

Water depth is a crucial factor in impact survival… pipeline is not as big… but there is no water. I don’t know how anyone survives Teahupoo

Knowing what cold water conditions are like…. Big Mavericks is a whole different ball game…..Beasho… you guys are friggin’ nuts

And cowboy… you are so right…. Avril & casual George lived in the  neighboring chicken coop at Sunset… Avril was a great, happy girl that charged everything.
Early mornings we would be standing in front of our houses....
I'd look at the Jersey boys...
"You goin' out?"...
"I don't know...are  you?"
.... then Avril would charge by, with her board...
we'd just look at her and say " I guess we're going out." 

The next year, she died at Sunset when she got knocked out by her board.

I will post this picture of Avril. She was doing a photo shoot in our garden, to promote her handmade clothing line. She saw me taking pictures and mugged for the camera. A really earthy crunchy sweetheart... that went big!

[NoSaltSuper]

One thing I discovered recently, if you haven't surfed in "big" waves in years, it's not like riding a bike.

When I lived on Oahu, I surfed almost every day, even if it was only for 15 minutes after work in the setting sun. I got more and more confident and comfortable in larger surf. Mind you, nothing like Mavericks, no friggin way.

But I did surf Sunset on 2x overhead days, got a left standing barrel with my friend hooting at me, I'm a goofy so that was a great ride.

Once ducked under a wave, only I didn't and found myself as part of the wave, going over the falls backwards, board still in hands. Twice it thrashed me and I was deep enough it was dark and I had to use my leash to find the surface. But I wasn't panicked yet.

Fast forward 20 years, I'm living in Illinois now, blah. No more waves on a daily basis, none for years in fact. Recent trip to Florida and I have ZERO confidence in the ocean. I was able to stand and paddle out without falling, but had no confidence in catching waves.

One tumble/pound in a wave that was barely head high and I'm almost in panic mode. Very disappointing.

So for me anyway, it was a realization to how we build our confidence, calmness and ability to survive bigger waves, over time. Pulled away from that environment for years, sadly I no longer have those abilities or certainly, not the confidence.

I plan to get out more this year in bigger "lake surf" and hopefully a trip or two to the ocean, attempting to regain some of my confidence.

So I have new found, renewed respect and awe for those of you charging these nightmare sized waves.

[balance_fit]

I'm no big wave surfer, but i admire these surfers with big respect.

Anything over head high starts looking at me in the eye ...should i drop in?.

Seen some damage done to body and gear, in head high waves. Boards cleanly broken in 3 pieces, tangled leashes in coral ledges and a healthy dose of bleeding.

I've been pulled quite hard too, arising worries of dislocating a knee in the process (which could quickly lead to fainting), and have had my fair dose of bottom scraping. 

 

From my own experience and from watching here on this forum, it seems that while the wave may not kill you by drowning, the violence of the energy applied to your gear creates  weapons that are actually attached to you in some cases.

I think that the fear of waves starts ~head high.  Here in Northern California the crowd starts to thin out at that height and goes down exponentially to double overhead+. 

Safety, flotation, confidence, fitness, fear, wave size, etc. I feel these questions arise on the mind of every surfer, adding concerns as wave size grows.

Beasho,

What are you wearing for floatation?

When do you start wearing it?  (i.e., double overhead surf, smaller, bigger?)

I'll echo JD's quest for information and will swerve towards a parallel thread regarding this theme.

Excellent thread !

[OUTSIDEWAVE]

excellent read and very  interesting when i was younger and dumber I surfed often in waves well  beyond  my skill  set. I don't know why I did not really enjoy it i was scared a lot of the time. ( hence my  screen name I hated getting caught inside so I always sat out side   so I always had to go for a set wave wave)  I can tell you the the north coast of cal   (north of Santa Cruz) is intimidating when it gets over 10 feet scary at 15 and awe inspiring at anything over that  One thing I noticed is  that the lips seem to be much thicker up there not sure why.   cold water is another big factor. I never had  a near death experience  but  a few good hold downs , more scares that I can remember  and  lost a couple of boards  I mean lost  disappeared off the  face of the earth lost ( probably  caught in a rip and washed out to sea) not just washed in. That being said the  movie Mavericks I though was great it actually brought back that pit of fear when a monster set  rolls in.   NO  I  was never a big wave rider, I surfed a few large sets  15-20 range  in 48 years of surfing.   My hat goes off to those who charge it  on the big  waves..    i like 2-3'      still beasho nicely done

[Glenn B]

...I was 30’ under and I couldn’t see anything. I pushed as hard as I could off the bottom… a few feet up, the toes on my right foot slammed into the underside of a shelf… super sharp… completely ripped open the top of all my toes. I kept swimming up… and up… it was getting lighter and lighter and I was seeing little stars in my eyes… my lungs were burning. After what seemed like an eternity, I broke the surface with a huge gasp. Some guys were paddling out near me…”where the hell did you come from?”

Even under the best of conditions, I've always been amazed at how a distance of 30 feet can feel so different when one is under water.  Thirty feet is such a puny distance - barely more than two 14 foot race boards lying end to end.  Add water, darkness, lack of oxygen, lack of fixed solid objects to push against . . . suddenly 30 feet starts to look and feel like an almost insurmountable distance.  And that's not even factoring in the problem of disorientation.  Hats off to the big wave chargers!  

Beasho, thanks for the thread.

GB

[Cardiff Sweeper]

Statistically, shallow water is more dangerous than big surf. I can't count the number of stubs, board smacks,  toe cuts, and one moderate knee injury that I've accumulated over the years in shore break. Just fear and panic is all that's happened to me in the big stuff.
And compared to other spots, it wasn't even that big (maybe 10ft).  But where I surf, few breaks can handle the size. With no safe channel, it can be a seemingly relentless beat down.  I've definitely had sessions that were a one wave ride, as it would take ten minutes to get back outside.  Then the rush of riding such a big and fast wave would get my heart pumping so fast, I couldn't handle another one!