Surf swimming skills.

Are you confident in your surf swimming skills?

Paddled out this morning for a surf and on my first wave, my leash broke! So there I am in the impact zone with no board… what do you do?
No goggles, no fins... just you and the surf.
Are you confident in your surf swimming skills? 

​1. Relax
No one plans to break their leash and be left out in the line up to swim for their board. But the worst thing to do is start panicking. So you need to keep calm and do whatever you can to relax. Control your breathing, sing a song, talk to yourself… you get the idea. Most importantly, start to think about your next move?

No goggles, No fins, just you and the surf... Are you confident in your surf swimming skills?

2. Get help
NEVER be afraid to ask for help. All surfers know how stressful it can be when you break your leash. If your surfing with friends they are probably already on their way over to help you or going to get your board before it washes to the beach. If you are surfing alone most surfers will instantly help you, if not and you need help… swallow your pride if you have to but ASK FOR HELP.

3. Manage your situation
So remember that besides not panicking, you need to get to shore or at least swim for your board which will most probably be on its way to the shoreline. So energy conservation is key as it can take a while to get to shore, take your time, there is no rush as this will create panic.
Use the waves to your advantage, duck under the bombs as you will spend valuable energy in the impact zone, with no board duck and swim under the bomb waves. Watch the waves and pick those medium size waves which you could possibly body surf some distance.

4. Go with the waves
Never paddle to the channel or the rip, as it will most likely suck you back out. So just go for a medium set wave, body surf it for as long as you can. Don’t get to picky, it may take several waves to get to the shore. Be careful with big powerful whitewater, especially on a big day as it can push you down and tumble you around and again create panic and waste your energy to fight for the surface.

5. Swim for the shore
Relax and swim for the shoreline, once you are out of the impact zone of the big set waves you are out of the real danger zone. Just swim at a good pace, not too fast, not too slow. Manage your breathing and energy carefully, try to relax as shallow breathing can make you anxious and panic. If your board is close by and you can reach it, then get it back and rest on your board. Otherwise head to the shoreline.

Most important: 
When doing your surf check ask yourself before you head into the waves… ‘if my leash breaks out the back, could I swim in safely and confidently?’ We all like to challenge ourselves and push our surfing ability to help improve but safety first. You could be putting yourself in danger and/or others who try to help you.

Also, just because you can swim 50 metres in a pool does not mean you can swim 50+ metres through the surf from the backline to shoreline. Respect the ocean and learn about your local break, rips, etc.

---

​Achieve your goals and feel confident in the ocean.
​Contact Linda for Learn to Swim, Introduction to Ocean Swimming and Stroke Correction lessons.