Your biggest flogging

[Johnno]

i've electricity myself on a few occasions thats heavy. you can't let go of something but your trying knock it out of your hand but your other hands fully spastic and everyone at works just starin at me freakin out. i really got stop doing shit like that

haha thats some funny shit (aslong as your fine now) ps its electrocuted

Explains a lot.................

[BB]

I think Nick Carroll is winning! A three wave hold down at Sunset...someone is going to have to come up with a Jaws or Mavericks experience to do better.

[mandoora]

worst i had was a late summer evening at seals. Just arrived from the long drive, paddled out at about 3 foot just before sunset. The paddle out took a while and by the time i got out it had jacked to a very solid, thick and heaving 5. The nth rip was chronic so i was paddling my a$$ off just to stay in the one section that wasn't throwing to a gnarly close out. darkness fell and every wave i tried to paddle into looked scary as all f@ck for the steep drop that i pulled off. I thought i was going to be spending the night out there paddling or die.

eventually i sucked my nuts up into my gut and pushed the next wave as hard as i could.. made a fully scary drop and stuck just at the pit, rode for about a second feeling fully stoked thinking i was going to make it... alas it jacked up and swallowed me whole... i thought i was going to drown, but all of a sudden i went to find my feet and i was in about waits deep water getting smashed by the next white wash into shore.

[booter]

I pray I never experience a hold down like the one NC speaks of above

[macca202]

First there was the oh my God don't freak out phase. Then the no, hell, this is sort of fun phase. Then the stars in front of your eyes phase. Then the arms turning to rubber phase. Then the fight like a wild animal with barely any strength remaining phase. Then the worst of all, the who cares phase.

well i think i know all those phases you were talking about, yet still nothing like it. I was exhausted after paddling out of a rip sucking me around queensie for about 20 minutes, i finaly got on the inside and i was completly wasted of energy and puffing and weezing (my lungs swell up and restrict breathing). I saw a wave come, no energy to paddle so i just sat there and hoped it took me to shore, not caring what it was gonna do to me on the way. it breaks just before it gets to me, and as the turbulence rushed over me, my rashie got ripped off my body and was stuck around my head and arms. I was still being dragged by this wave when this was happening and i was completly freaked out. I thought thats it im dead, ive got no breath in me. Even if i do come up, ill probably drown anyway because im stuck with my rashy over my head and arms. The wave seemed to keep me down for much much longer than i was used to, and i reached a point where i thought i was about to suck in water, just by instinct, as though it was impossible to deny the natural reflex. But right at that stage, i suddenly lost the urge to gasp for breathe. I was completly numb, not caring, expecting to blackout. Then just a few seconds after that, i surfaced, threw my arms down my side and luckily was able to get the rashy back down. i staggered up onto the shore and just plonked my self there for a good 10 mins

[Nick Carroll]

NC a 3 wave hold down in a hawaiian swell (24 seconds?) is in my mind quite an achievement: at least a minute underwater while burning all your energy fighting!

they should put that challenge in survivor.

The swell woulda been 17 seconds, so yeah, about two and half of those intervals. Much too long!!

A couple of years ago, talking with Brian Keaulana the master lifeguard from Makaha, he told me that part of his lifeguard training torture session involves taking his trainees out to Makaha on a six foot day and forcing them to stay down for three waves, three times in succession, with a one-wave breathing gap between.

Imagine THAT as part of the bronze medallion clubbie thing

[Hawkeye]

Mine was a 3-wave hold-down at DY point in front of the suck-up. Got bounced off my board by the backwash off the rocks. I chose to stay down and wait for the next wave to pass, but the lip landed right on me and twisted me into the rock. All my weight was on my right knee and it was absolutely excruciating, with this strong "popping" sensation. Couldn/t surf for two weeks after that. Probably should have seen the surgeon, as the knee continued to give me mild grief over the next few years.

More recently, I got compressed into my board pig-dogging a 6-8' backhand barrel at Tuncurry. The lip hit me right across the back of the neck and absolutely thumped me into my left thigh, with all the force going straight through the knee joint.

The session was so good I thought about going back out, but realised that the cold water was masking what might be something major, and the fact I didn't feel my knee "pop" didn't mean it hadn't, considering the thrashing I got...

Turned out I had no major damage and was tentatively back in the water about a week later.

I caught up with Toby Martin on Saturday - I got off real light compared to his recent Grade 2 tear. Think I'll find another way to squeeze out the end of those tight left-handers.

[Shaunm]

Amazingly no-one listed The Hellfire Club

[2nd Reef]

Big Sunset on a big, weird north swell. Towards the end of the season so feeling like nothing could touch me. Took a big drop from out on the N Wall and was too complacent. Nosedived, smacked the side of my head on the water at mach speed and everything went to jelly. My eardrum broke, up and down became the same, and I was winded. I saw the blue sky and realised I was going over...hard. Realised too late that I should have got a breathe then, cos I wouldn't get one for a while. Down for two waves and only knew where the surface was due to my leggie (if you've ever busted your eardrum you'll know the feeling). Got one breathe before the next wave rolled me, and repeated that while getting smashed thru inside Sunset. Made the beach and spewed up the biggest head of beer you've ever seen.
Worse was to come when the Seppo doctors wouldn't fix me up unless I payed up front (I had travel insurance but it was too much paperwork for them). Forked out $4000 in total, and when my ear started to heal I flew back to Oz. The day I landed in Oz HIH collapsed. They were the underwriters for my travel insurance and I lost it all. In 2002 the exchange rate was near enough $0.50, so I was shined $8000!

[dan]

Wow, these are some good stories you people are sharing. And damn, that 3-wave hold down at sunset sounds like a horrible way to go. And I thought I had a few shockers...

When I look back at my past experiences, I reckon most of it was caused by sheer panic that caused my air supply to be used more rapidly. I used to have a lot of "near-death" experiences but haven't had any recently which may or may not be a good thing depending how you look at it.

My biggest issue is that I'm a worrier by nature. So panic sets in a little more quickly than with most other people. I will go out in consistent 6ft surf but am constantly full of adreneline , scoping for clean up sets and trying my bestest not to get caught inside. Unfortunately this is my no 1. priority, getting a wave and riding it well comes second :(
I know that (in my case) common sense goes out the window the minute that freak 8fter comes my way.

Kinda shits me in a way. The minute I start to get comfortable with larger surf, suddenly it ends up being Spring and we have a flat spell for 3 weeks... typical

Will I be a panic'er for the rest of my life or does all that knowledge and experience just suddenly click one day?

[One Mile Point]

everytime it gets big i got to One Mile Point and i never fall off. For me at box beach its not long hold downs they extreme bursts of the wave on the wedge section which is always heavier then the rest of the wave.

[booter]

Big Sunset on a big, weird north swell. Towards the end of the season so feeling like nothing could touch me. Took a big drop from out on the N Wall and was too complacent. Nosedived, smacked the side of my head on the water at mach speed and everything went to jelly. My eardrum broke, up and down became the same, and I was winded. I saw the blue sky and realised I was going over...hard. Realised too late that I should have got a breathe then, cos I wouldn't get one for a while. Down for two waves and only knew where the surface was due to my leggie (if you've ever busted your eardrum you'll know the feeling). Got one breathe before the next wave rolled me, and repeated that while getting smashed thru inside Sunset. Made the beach and spewed up the biggest head of beer you've ever seen.
Worse was to come when the Seppo doctors wouldn't fix me up unless I payed up front (I had travel insurance but it was too much paperwork for them). Forked out $4000 in total, and when my ear started to heal I flew back to Oz. The day I landed in Oz HIH collapsed. They were the underwriters for my travel insurance and I lost it all. In 2002 the exchange rate was near enough $0.50, so I was shined $8000!

Jesus christ. This easily takes the cake.

[oldman]

3 or 4 years ago now. Huge east coast swell with a north easterly direction, well over 10', up to 15'. on the bomb sets. Probably at the limits of my mental fitness (at the best of times) and I really shouldn't be out there unless I'm genuinely physically fit, which I wasn't. Too many bungers reducing my lung capacity, too much hooch slowing me down.

Head to Bondi as it's only 6 - 8' there. Go out the south end, get a few good ones but still very wary of a bomb coming through. after half an hour or so of tentative surfing I'm still not comfortable and very aware of my lack of fitness. Large set comes through in the 10' (face) range. I think I'm in trouble!

Panicked paddling trying to get out there beyond the first one. Duck-dive under the lip and thank Shiva that I get through it, but it pulls me back a few metres and stops my momentum. Second wave bigger and I ain't gonna get under this one. Explosion of water in front of me. Hold breath, don't panic, don't panic, picks me up - over the falls - pinned to the Bondi sand and can't move a muscle due to the force of the water, running out of breath and I know there are more waves behind this one. Holds me down forever (or 12 seconds - whichever came first). I'm off the sand now but have lost sense of which way is up. Time slows and I'm very aware that I have a few seconds max before the next one will get me, in which case I'm dead. Contemplate infinity.

I see the light. Scramble furiously knowing that I'm using my last molecule of oxygen. Finally pop my head above water a millisecond before the next wave hits, but I get a breath.

One quick open mouthed lung filling panicked breath. Definitely dead if I came up half a second later. 3 more waves smash me but I'm a lot further inside by then.

Paddle short distance in. Rest on sand a while. Go to car. Tell no-one, especially my wife. I'm sure she would want me never to surf again if she knew what I had been through.

Decide that going out in big surf with a pair of lungs that Monty Burns would reject is a bad idea.

Wish I had used this experience to give up smoking and mull. Still doing the smoking thing intermittently, but I do a bit of regular exercise to expand the lungs and jolt the heart. Realise that all confidence in the water is connected to how much air I can breathe.

[Gasherbrum4]

Being a bit of an old kook I have had many 'worst' floggings...

Huge day at Forresters rights & a couple of mates (Marsupial & Possum) drag me out saying it'll be ok

Everything was going fine until the horizon went black. We were all on 7'6"+ boards & I swear we paddled flat stick for 20-30 secs but didn't make a dent. The first wave was telegraph pole size & fortunately broke 50m or so further out than where we were. Horrible pummeling but worse was each successive wave of the set was just a little smaller than the last so even though I was getting washed in, each wave was convieniently breaking only 5m in front of me.

I was fully spent oxygen wise, 8 or so 8-12ft waves right on the head!!! I think the biggest mistake was to dive deep on the first few waves to try & save ground but should have gone with the flow & got fully washed in away from the carnage.

Another notable flogging was Nth Av on an 8ft+ day. Had a 7'6" which had a fair bit of volume to it & hadn't ridden it in a long while. Wasn't paying attention & had to very quickly duckdive a set wave.

Completely stuffed the duckdive......got the depth but the timing was all wrong so consequently the board bounced back from whence it came & I found myself taking off backwards on this wave whilst still lying on my board hmmmmm not good.

First thought was get away from this big bastard of a board which I did & then with my eyes closed hoped that perhaps I wouldn't go over the falls. There is always that couple of seconds where you think 'Hey everything is ok I can't sense any movement'. This is about .5 sec before being at the bottom of an All Black ruck. Longest hold down I ever had & went about 100m+ underwater.

Hey Nick C what about that episode of yours out at Sunset where you strayed too far over towards the point or near Sunset lefts(???) & had one tough time duckdiving forever to save yourself from a pounding on exposed reef..........care to recall the incident??

Wanto I think Bob will give you a lot of stick over your new 'pony'