Are Big Waves Really Deadly? A Case Study

[supthecreek]

^^^^^^^^^
Agreed ! the solo thing is when you find out what your motivation is.

[StandinDan]

Kerala Kennelly after a viscious Teahupoo wipeout.

[LaPerouseBay]

^That is one knarly picture. 

I remember the pics she posted from the operating room, just after they stitched her up.  It was amazing how fine the stitches were, you could barely see the lines.  It was a bit swollen of course, but the lines were barely there.

I'll bet she healed up real good. 

[StandinDan]

(Not so) funny thing about that gnarly injury is that she said everyone was,understandably, freaked out when she climbed in the boat. But that it just stung a little, like she was slapped really hard. Learned my limits in El Salvador when I rode the elevator shaft down a ten foot face. Went to pop up just as the lip pitched, after taking two more on the head I found my new Stewart S-rail fish snapped like a dry twig. Going back down there this October to a little town called El Cuco and taking a ponga every morning to a hollow juicy right hand point called Punta Mango. Things will be different this time on my 7-11 Hobie sup.
I hope.

[StandUpRyan]

There are no words to describe just how disinterested I am in surfing that wave. Or dying.

[headmount]

So close to the eye.  Saw a guy hit the 'Speedies' reef at G-land and he had a cut like that from his side face all the way up around his forehead and down the other side.  Looked like his face was falling off.  This fantastic Aussie doctor sewed him up on our ping pong table we had at our surf camp. 

Anyway if I hadn't seen that cut, this cut would be the worse I'd ever seen.  But truth is, it can happen anywhere with a rock-coral bottom.  That's why sand bottoms are so fantastic.

[Roundhouse]

Amazing how the Gag reflex conjunction with the Mammalian Dive reflex save your life every time you get slammed into the bottom or worse a reef.  Seems  like more people die from shallow water blackout, practicing breath holding in swimming pools, than being held down by waves. I could be wrong about that. Now near drowning is another thing, it occurs often since I passed 55.

[Kojack]

Kerala Kennelly after a viscious Teahupoo wipeout.

I have seen some pretty rough surf injuries, myself included, that is truly gnarly.

[Chan]

Big waves can be dangerous and yet more people die in the bathtub.  Pipeline isn't a killer because of wave size, its the shallow reef that poses the real threat.  We've watched people at Jaws who were of a shockingly low ability level on hiuge days get run through the wash cycle numerous times and get spit out with nothing more than an interesting vacation photo.  
  

[Reid SUP'd]

Hey Beasho were you the one who posted a while back about waist leashes instead of ankle leashes?

I remember reading about it on here and it made some sense, especially when getting dragged, getting pulled from the waist and having your head out of the water instead of getting dragged from the leg, is this the primary reason for the waist leash?

Any reason why it hasn't caught on with the big wave guys?

[headmount]

Big waves can be dangerous and yet more people die in the bathtub.  Pipeline isn't a killer because of wave size, its the shallow reef that poses the real threat.  We've watched people at Jaws who were of a shockingly low ability level on hiuge days get run through the wash cycle numerous times and get spit out with nothing more than an interesting vacation photo.  
  

I always take showers for that reason

[Beasho]

Hey Beasho were you the one who posted a while back about waist leashes instead of ankle leashes?

I remember reading about it on here and it made some sense, especially when getting dragged, getting pulled from the waist and having your head out of the water instead of getting dragged from the leg, is this the primary reason for the waist leash?

Any reason why it hasn't caught on with the big wave guys?

All true. 

It hasn't caught on for the same reason SUP hasn't caught on.  Stubborn people who think they know better. 

Here is a shot from a training session.  That's me to the far left being schooled by my mentors. 

The other day I fell on a big wave.   Rather than worrying about swimming, all I was doing was trying to get my body in position for the PULL.  Waiting, waiting, waiting and then ZING I was dragged straight to the surface.  Awesome! 

Zoom in on the attached for confirmation.

[supthecreek]

Beasho, what kind and length leash are you using?

In anything overhead and up, with my ankle leash, I always coil my body up in a ball, and when the hard pull starts, I slowly uncoil to help the leash thru impact so it won't break. And that is in tiny waves compared to what you are riding... how come the leashes are not breaking in those waves?

[Reid SUP'd]

I'm going  give the wast leash a try, I have the imagine waist leashe attachments all I have to do is strap the ankle part around it and it should be fine, may look a bit funny though but I think besides getting dragged with your head up the leash is also out of the way and behind you, I hate it when my paddle gets caught between the leash while on a wave

[surfinJ]

Creek I do the same.  If I can, I ball up, but at least I cock my leashed leg 90deg and wait for the pull.  This also saves the leg from the sudden strong yank and possible injury.

My experience with the dakine leashes is good as well, it's all I got.  Only one break and that on an unusually long pull.

Beasho, that's a nice classroom.  Not crowded and with a view.  Are these waist leashes from Crow Haley?   Is the surface moment the only advantage here or is there more to it?  Thanks and please feel free to share with us any other lineup shots to drool over.