NDE at North Steyne this morning

[grazza]

Just to put this in context , I turned 50 last month. I'm relatively fit without being an ironman. Workout maybe 3-4 times a week. Always loved it when it's bigger. Happy at 8-10, which means that Sydney is almost always in range.

So I'm out at North Steyne this morning and it's gorgeous. Sparkly clean with 8ft+ bombs every 15 minutes or so, and bugger all crowd cause we're at that f*ck off size that clears the flotsam out.

I've caught a couple of nice big lefts and life is good. Longish waits but it doesn't seem to matter when it's solid. I paddle into a nice one, a drop and a few cruisy turns and I pull off and head back out. I scramble over a big one, and I'm faced with a really big one, maybe 10', breaking 30 m outside of me. I take the pussy opton, dive off and head for the bottom, and the wave snaps my leggy like a rubber band.

"This'll be fun" I say to myself. Not really worried, just an interesting challenge. I'm a long way out. I put my head down and start swimming. I back away from bodysurfing a few in (they're unloading on the inside break) and as the sets back away I try to put myself in the impact zone for the next set.

By this stage, though, I'm in the channel between the two peaks, and the rip is getting a little strong. About 10 minutes swimming so far.

I realise that I'm not getting any closer to the shore - still 150 metres out. I'm being pummelled by whitewater, but it's not getting me any closer in. I'm starting to feel uncomfortable. I try to swim across to the right to get out of the rip, but 5 minutes of swimming and the rip is probably stronger now. I'm the same distance from shore.

I try to just motor in. Another 5 minutes and no progress. I'm getting a little scared. I'm treading water, looking at people walking dogs along the wall. I'm thinking about sticking the hand up and getting help. I'm starting to swallow a bit of water. Seriously worried now. I don't know what to do. I've got enough energy to put my head and grind out a couple of laps, but I think I'd still be in the same spot, just totally exhausted.

I look across and see a guy trying to paddle out on the rip that had me skewered. It's Froggy. He sees my face and paddles over, asks me if I'm alright. All pride and delusions of Bradshawness have now evaporated and I jump on his board. It's only then that I understand how close to going under I am. With the floatation under us, we get washed in fairly easily. Looking back, I think if Froggy hadn't appeared, I would been in real trouble.

I've never been rescued before. Been in a few nasty spots but never something I couldn't get myself out of. I always believed that you need to be able swim out of anything you paddle out into. But I'm rattled now at just how close that was, and whether it means my upper limits are contracting rapidly. Still got the shakes a bit.

[Kunji]

10ft!!! Christ its double the size of everywhere else. Good story man. Keep on keeping on.

[newjackstudio]

Mate, I watched a couple of guys getting out of the water this morning at North Steyne there and I couldn't help but wonder...Where is the other guy's board? Surely he isn't swimming out there for fun on a morning like this? I was fascinated and figured, maybe he lost his board?..I Scoured the beach in his immediate vicinity, only to realise that if he had indeed lost his board, the amount of water moving about would have left him looking for it himself.
I watched a few guys make a few and a some wear a few on the head. Your description of the size of a few rogue ones makes the heart skip a beat, as even from the beach, they looked all menacing...I am sure one set I watched not long after that was some of the biggest stuff I have seen down there is quite some time...
Kudos to you for being out there and Thank The Man upstairs you made it back in one piece.
Thats a mighty scary horse that bucked you this morning but I'm sure you'll be back on it again.

[Butts]

Grazza, harrowing story.
Glad your alright, and as you said "lucky" Froggy just happened to be there

[MrLewis]

Was at Av late morning. Big sets but tide/banks etc conspiring to not make it happen right then A coupla guys out the back trying for what they can. Also a couple of guys putting on a very impressive display of bodysurfing the big sets. All up their approach was best for the waves - not much really for surfers at that time.

In close at North end are grommies on lids playing in the fierce elevator rip and bowl that runs out the rocks to the back of the point.

Anyway some crew start pointing to a an older guy who's been swimming in close (near the groms) when i saw him. He's now waaay out the back. Now this guy looked fit, strong, and like he knew what he was doing. Anyway, crew at car park signal to a life guard/clubbie (not sure which) who was nearby, and he goes out on a rescue board. No crap - I swear it took him about 20 secs max from the beach to almost all the way out back using the rip.

He gets the guy and they ride in successfully together quickly on 2 sets of waves/whitewater.

Guy comes up to the car park shaking his head, a bit embarrassed but more amazed. Says he didn't even feel himself go - one minute swimming in close, the next way out the back and just couldn't get even across the rip to get back in. Guess it was good he put his hand up early so was in a good state to help in his own rescue.

Anyway, just reminded me of how easy and quick it can happen to any of us. Reminded me of a day last year when I got stuck on a bank and got so flogged i ended up crawling up the beach having a vommy - and all this on a 5ft day at Palmie FFS!!!

[Eddie Punchclock]

You know what Grazza, I was about five metres or so away to the left of a bloke that took that same option you described, as we were about to get completely mowed down by a beast that I swear started feathering in line with the bombie! This would have been roughly 8:15 this morning at North Steyne.

Dizzy with dread and paralysed by fear I feebly ducked my head down in anticipation of an unprecedented thrashing. Instead, I was blasted straight up and out the back of the thing and left calmly paddling out as if nothing had happened.I am now in debt to huey and I shudder to think how I am to repay.

[bro]

Hey Grazza heard the story this morning before you posted (you know what Froggys like )

Kudos for having a dig and glad you made it, even bigger kudos for writing about it here

I watched it a bit before work and it didn't look that menacing (from the beach) except for those big sets every 15 minutes or so that would clean everyone up, guess I was wrong

I need to get back in the pool!!!!

[Jimi]

Good story mate, makes me think i really need to do some swimming, get the fitness up incase I get stuck in a similar position. I was surfing a section of Narrabeen that was only pushing 4-5 foot on the sets this morning, but still big enough to give a decent hold down. Even in that size I was thinking id be fu@ked if i lost the board. Trying to swim and reel in my board in the soupy white-washy swirl after a set can get scary enough. Its like there is so much air in the water that u cant get a decent stroke in, your hands just cut through the soup and dont push you anywhere. Like swimming on a treadmill

[daryl]

Glad you're okay .
Have had some giggles other years with the chopper flying low to ck us out, friendly enquiries as to ok? except now at 54 and being crook .fuckit I thought this morning 10am at M'bra, it doesn't look perfect so frig went an splashed around wiv the toddlers and grannies in the ocean pool at malabar : Snorkeling looked a better bet in hindsight.

[grazza]

10ft!!! Christ its double the size of everywhere else. Good story man. Keep on keeping on.

Of course it's going to be bigger than DY, Coops. If you surf Manly much you know how on the right swell (and this was the right swell) waves come off the Bommie and get focussed on the left at North Steyne. Always bigger than anywhere else around here.

North Steyne was easily a couple of feet bigger than Queensie. I'd be calling it 6 with some 8 ft sets. The one that mowed me down was probably the biggest of the morning, but overall it really wasn't that big. Fun sized big in my book.

That's what rattles me - I wouldn't think twice about surfing it at that size. And yet I get myself into serious trouble in the water for the first time in 40 odd years of surfing. And it when from being OK to being in deep shit so quickly.

[newjackstudio]

With the event still so fresh in your mind, are you contemplating ways to ensure this sort of thing doesn't catch you out again? Will you adjust your training or train specifically for just this sort of situation?

[oldman]

Harrowing story there Grazza. Pleased you made it out.

On a more embarassing scale, I was out at the north end Maroubra last Thursday, 2' onshore slop, surfing around the dunny bowl and right to the rocks. It's obvious that the promised south swell is starting to hit and some larger ones are coming through.

Rips were weird that day and I understand from others have been for a while. After an hour or so I work out that the rip is surprisingly strong and all over the place. But there is this weird space in front of the dunny bowl about 50 to 80 metres out where whichever way you paddle, you end up nowhere.

I spend about 10 minutes of solid paddling trying to get a bit south where the occasional larger one is producing a right hander. 10 minutes paddling pretty hard gets me about 40 metres or so, and still dragging me back to a no man's land.

After a while I sit on my board and wait to see which way the rip is going, and it is in every direction against you.

I end up paddling in (hate doing that) which requires 5 minutes of solid paddling before a small white water is sufficient to take me in.

While I was never really in trouble as I had my board, I would have hated to be in that situation without one.

And this was on a 2' day!!!!!

[barstardos]

Thanks Grazza, thats a story we all need to remind that none of us invincible.
I am heading to hawaii in a week and really starting to feel in my gut what I might be in for

[northeasterly]

Been there grazza. It wasn't even as big as this morning.

I used to surf North Steyne at most sizes all the time. I go away for a few years, surfing all over the world. I move back to Sydney, living on the other side of the bridge. One day the conditions are just right for North Steyne. I go over there (north steyne) ready to have a go.

6ft max. Not quite as perfect as I'd hoped. I paddle out, catch a few and then I get spanked in front of the club house. My board was gone. I was stuck on the bank and I thought I was drowning. The clubbies even came out on the duck to bring me in. I somehow get to beach on my own and lay on the sand. Someone came up and gave me my board and I barely noticed. I'm there wondering what just happened.

Never underestimate North Steyne.

[aine]

good to hear you made it out in one piece grazza - just goes to show how quickly you can get in trouble, was out at manly last night, but quickly realised I was out of my depth, (only starting to surf) wierd rips all over the place, paddled straight back in and copped a bang on the head for my troubles!

[grazza]

With the event still so fresh in your mind, are you contemplating ways to ensure this sort of thing doesn't catch you out again? Will you adjust your training or train specifically for just this sort of situation?

Dunno - maybe I'm just getting old. More laps perhaps? I don't know if being fitter would have made much difference. interesting how leggies make you soft for these sorts of things. Maybe more bodysurfing is in order. Or maybe I surf with flippers attached to my boardies...

Or maybe it was tactical. Didn't really think through the situation before I started swimming. Also not bodysurfing the first outside sets was an error. Even I'd been thumped, still would have pushed me in a lot. Many ifs.

[Da Duke]

With the event still so fresh in your mind, are you contemplating ways to ensure this sort of thing doesn't catch you out again? Will you adjust your training or train specifically for just this sort of situation?

Dunno - maybe I'm just getting old. More laps perhaps? I don't if being fitter would have made much difference. interesting how leggies make you soft for these sorts of things. Maybe more bodysurfing is in order. Or maybe I surf with flippers attached to my boardies...

Or maybe it was tactical. Didn't really think through the situation before I started swimming. Also not bodysurfing the first outside sets was an error. Even I'd been thumped, still would have pushed me in a lot. Many ifs.

- just wear a leggie on both legs.

[still here]

10ft!!! Christ its double the size of everywhere else. Good story man. Keep on keeping on.

Similar swell a while back and I swear Manly looked near on twice the size of Curly - first time I ever thought that !
So who knows , maybe it was only nine ft ?