Surfing Skills & Techniques - Wipeout
Learning to surf is a painstaking task. It entails a lot of time, practice, and patience before you can even try to ride the waves in an upright position. You have no idea how thrilling it is to finally stand up on your Surfing Board while on an unbroken wave, but until then, you have to set your fears and frustration aside and endure the many times of wiping out. In the Surfing community, Wipeout is falling off your Surfboard. This is common especially among beginners as they are the ones who have very little or no experience in dealing with and catching waves.
A Wipeout can lead to injuries. To have a Safe Surfing experience, here are several things to keep in mind when wiping out:
- Stay calm during a Wipeout.
- Take a deep breath before hitting the water.
- When you feel that you will fall off your board, use your hands and arms to protect your head.
- Avoid getting hit by your board. Try to move away from your board as you fall off, and put your hands over your head as you break the water surface.
- Pay close attention to your Surfboard Leash. It can bring the board back at you and hit you head first.
- Make sure there is no oncoming wave when you break the water surface.
- If you get injured after a Wipeout, do not let go of your board. Seek help as soon as you can.
If there is any consolation, it’s the fact that every surfer wipes out sometimes, even the advanced wave riders. It can be very frustrating, but it’s part of the learning process, and of Surfing in general. It can be avoided, but if you find yourself falling off your board, protect yourself to keep injuries out of the picture.
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| Otter |
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Great advice! I would like to add that I would go as deep as I could for as long as I could. Surfboards are, as we know, extremely buoyant and can sometimes get airborne. These flights can sometimes last for several seconds. Best to stay down as deep as you can for at least 5 seconds after a wipeout as a board may just be coming down as you surface. I've seen people get hit with the sharp end of a fin by surfacing to rapidly and having a board bop 'em on the head.
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