How fit are people out there

[Nick Carroll]

^^ I'm sure you're right there Johnno.

Note several of the worst cases of surfer drownings in the past 20 years have involved guys getting leggies caught round rocks, in relatively small surf, and being unable to release the leggie to get free. If ya get in this situation, remember, don't try to bend at the waist and reach down for the strap -- instead, draw your legs in to your body and slide a hand down the line of the strapped leg. Much easier.

Re Jaws wipeouts, there's quite a few v well known surfers out there who have reason to be grateful for a) flotation vests and b) jetski assist.

[rae]

It's bulls**t. I've been in massive surf and the longest I've ever been held under is about 15-20 seconds. That was enough for me to stress big time. Anyone can sit there and hold there breath for 2mins but in the surf there is no way in hell. If you can then you are a freediving champion and should change your career pronto or become a dolfin.

If thats aimed at me, i said 2mins was lying on a bed, but under water im completely and utterly useless.

[Grooter]

Sitting at your desk or lying on a bed is not really accurate.

When you are under water you are also experiencing the pressure, not only of the water on top of you but the forces throwing your body around as well. That will take the wind out of you.

Also if you have been paddling hard for a wave you are going to be puffed when you stand up as well.

The longest I got held down for was like 10 seconds. I got absolutely dumped, ground under by the lip and must have cartwheeled under water about 3 times. I came up spluttering thinking I was going to die.

The next time I focused on relaxing and counting in my head. I got up to something like 7 seconds and surfaced easily.

I think it has a lot to do with how you handle yourself under pressure as well. If you panic easily or are a generally highly strung person it may not help. Along with smoking and drinking too much, bad diet etc....

[g_u_m_b_y]

^^ I'm sure you're right there Johnno.

Note several of the worst cases of surfer drownings in the past 20 years have involved guys getting leggies caught round rocks, in relatively small surf, and being unable to release the leggie to get free. If ya get in this situation, remember, don't try to bend at the waist and reach down for the strap -- instead, draw your legs in to your body and slide a hand down the line of the strapped leg. Much easier.
.

shit im writing that down

[oldman]

Longest hold down for me was probably in the range of 12 seconds or so. It was a big day and as soon as I came up another crashed onto my head. I was just able to draw a breath before going under a second time, and got into shore thinking how close I came to going under, for good.

Of course Don didn't have space to ask the right question, which probably would have been something like;

"In a hold down situation, when you have expended energy either paddling into or trying to get under a wave, and you are getting thrashed and tumbled and turned and don't know which way is up, how long can you remain calm enough not to use up the last of your breath, knowing that your ability to stay calm is the only thread between you and a watery grave."

It's not really about how long you can hold your breath. It's more about how 'zen' you can become in a moment that would send most landlubbers into a blind panic.

I always feel more confident in bigger waves if I know I am fit. The thing is, I also know that my confidence that I will handle the situation is worth much more than all the fitness in an athlete's village at the Olympic games.

Anyone can hold their breath for 15 seconds.

And how about those ocassions when you are pinned to the sand and can't move a muscle because of the downward pressure of water. Did you panic, or did you patiently wait for it to subside.

It's interesting because your brain is giving out two messages, one from the 'instinct' part of the brain which is saying "holy shite, I'm going to die" while the other part is saying "just hold your breath for 10 seconds".

[Natho]

I think people under estimate mental fitness when it comes to long hold downs and surfing in general.
The ability to relax, stay calm and go with the flow to me is more important than how fit you are.

I will never forget my longest hold down. It was 3 foot at a well known spot on West Coast USA. I got driven into a thick kelp bed and got weighed down by what felt like a tonne of kelp. My leggy was caught up and I was held down for what felt like a very long time. I managed to free my leggie in the nick of time coz i reckon I was close to drowning.

The size of the wave is not always relevant to how long you get held down.

I consider myself very fit, however it is my mental fitness I have had to work on in order to surf big waves.

[SAsurfa]

Longest I have been held down is probably around 8 seconds in 5-6' surf. I took of late, falling with the lip right next to me but couldn't get around the lip as it raced away infront of me. Just jumped off my board as usual but the hold down seemed like a lifetime. I didn't hit the bottom but felt the turbulance against the rocky bottom like I was right on it. My board was tombstoning and it took forever to get back to the surface. The 2 other guys who were out said I was down for a while and were watching the board tombstoning Got a few more of these during the session but got used to it in the end.

The scariest one was the first because I wasn't expecting it to be so long. I think this is the killer, expecting a wave to hold you down for only a little while and then realising that its holding you down alot longer, thats the scary thing.

[Gone_West]

My theory:

Aerobic people - hold their breath for ages
Anaeobic people - will drown after 10 secs!

I can run lightening fast. Always won the 100m races. Put me in a cross country race and I will be walking at the 300m mark (and thats only after jogging the first 300m). So that makes me very anaerobic does it not?

Anyway, I am terrible at holding my breath under water. I'd say the longest hold down I've had is 7 or 8 seconds. I was really struggling after that and had to get out of the surf to recover.

On the other hand, a mate of mine who is quite fat obviously cant run fast but actually goes alright over the long distances. I certainly can't catch him. He will charge the big stuff (8'+) and reckons he can quite easily hold his breath for most waves he rides.

Sitting here at my desk I just tried to hold my breath for as long as possible and I only got to 44 seconds Whoever said "anyone can hold their breath for 2 mins at their desk" is full of shit! Btw I don't smoke.

[FishStick]

What always makes me panic is the thought that I need to get up before the next wave hits. Otherwise I would be much more relaxed. The fact that you can't see what's happening out the back when you are struggling to fight the frothy whirlpool you are in gets me worrying.

One day I got held down and started to panic as I had seen more waves approaching before I took off, I fought my way up just in time to get a breath looking up at the next lip coming down.

My worst so far must have been 8 seconds.

My most memorable was when I bailed during TC Wati at Freshie and got pulled across the bay underwater and came up very far from where I went under. Seems funny now

All the bad things add up when it's big. You are out of breath from fighting the rip or trying to make it out the back, then you are out of breath from paddling like nuts to get on a wave, and then you are out of breath because you are anxious about making the drop. Then because it's a big wave your hold down is longer. still surfing wouldn't be half as fun if it was all too easy,

[Jimi]

the worst has got to be when u relax, take it, you feel ok, then start surfacing, thinking u are about to breath again (the mental fitness comes in here i guess) but then you realise your still in very swirly foamy water and u take that extra second to reach the surface. That stuffs me cause i feel like ive relaxed enough and gotten away from the hold-down lightly, then your brain tells you u can breath again, only to have to wait another sec or two. Its that last second where its hard to panic, even when u have done everything right.

[AlbyAl]

it's possible for quite long hold-downs in Aust - beyond the swell period: reefs and down-currents will do it. Perhaps 20-30 secs at Margarets WA: if you try to take off too deep behind the peak and have to bail, there's a particularly delightful stretch of the reef that will take you down, drag you across the bottom with what feels like 50 extra Kgs on top of you, and drag you and drag you ... Not deep, but you can't get up. Hold the arms over head to avoid reef clunks. Feel the passing barnacles. Finally the weight stops and hey presto, you've travelled across the entire inside and the current is starting to release you towards the shoulder. Very scary. Big reefs have those great variations in pressure and drainage.

[jam_freefall]

Some really good points being raised here. I was once talking to a bloke who goes free diving ie go as deep as possible or stay under for as long as possible. He reckons he can stay under for up to 3 mins in calm conditions but has to prepare for ages to do it. So I put him to the test and said see if you can do 3 mins now. He prepared (sitting down) for at least 5 mins and then used breathing techniques to get as much oxygen in as possible. He lasted for just over 2 mins on that preparation so I can't see how just sitting at your desk you could do over 2 mins or anywhere near it.
And this may help some out there - http://www.wikihow.com/Increase-Your-Lung-Capacity

[lineup]

What about the second hold down caused by the board and leggie dragging you under again? Probably happens more with Mals but just when you feel you've had more than enough it starts again. That's scary!
Happened to me in a 6ft surf with a mal. Got hammered paddling out, didn't quite get over a set wave and didn't want to let go of the board because of the safety of others nearby, and got back slammed and hammered and then sucked back down again. Thought it was the turbulence at the back of the wave. Felt like that, but someone told me it's the mal in the wash and the leggie dragging you under. That one was as close as I want EVER!!! Use shortboards on bigger days now.