Dangers of Surfing

Sharks

It was a sloppy 3-5 foot day, but the weather was nice – sunny, no wind, almost sunset (apparently, sharks like to feed at sunset). I was waiting for a short, mushy, semi-bowly wave when the guy next to me said in a daze, “Shark.” “Huh?” I stupidly replied. “I think those guys are yelling shark,” he said. I looked north and, sure enough, several surfers were crowded on the beach, several more were frantically paddling in, and everyone was shouting “shark!” Against a mild riptide, I immediately started paddling in, heart slamming against my chest. Back on the beach, I walked up to a group of friends who said the thing swam right between them five feet away. They described it as “definitely a big-ass Great White” heading south (towards me) before it submerged like Das Boot. Several people on the beach saw it as well. I never did. In ten years of surfing around here, that remains, and hopefully will remain, my only shark story.

Other people have said they've seen sharks here or there, and I talked to one guy who said he saw a guy killed by one (while abalone diving!). I thought he was full of it but saw that same guy on “Shark Week” a week later describing a fatal attack on an Abalone diver between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. Spooky! For the most part, I never even think about sharks. I've always considered the crowds far more dangerous. But I'll admit, if I'm surfing the road less traveled and nobody's around…...

There is some other sealife to watch out for, much of it depending your location.

Drowning

People drown at Ocean Beach every year. Mostly it's folks who are inexperienced with the ocean and not wearing a wetsuit. At some places it's easy to underestimate the strength of the whitewash, the wave, and the current. If you're experienced, cautious, and have the right equipment, drowning is a slim risk. However, gaining the experience can be dangerous. Years ago, paddling out at Ocean Beach on a triple overhead day, I somehow made the paddle out only to realize I was undergunned and too inexperienced to be there. I caught a couple of adrenaline-filled rides when the big shifting peaks started to box me in. Then one was on me…..loooong hold-down, gasp for breath, repeat. I won’t say that I was panicking, but I definitely wanted to get the heck out of the water. I made it to the beach with a lot more respect for the ocean and Ocean Beach in particular.

Sandbars, Rocks, Reef

Another danger of surfing is anything your body can impact other than water, like a reef, sandbars, or rocks (although hitting the water hard enough can rupture an eardrum...wear ear plugs and/or a hood). My worst beating actually was when I was bodyboarding the Wedge in Orange County. By the time I started surfing, I knew to be cautious of shallow shorebreak. There's a huge difference between 4-foot and 6-foot shorebreak. When in doubt, prepare your body as if the water is one foot deep – no swan dives off the board (common sense but I’ll mention it anyway). In particular, I'm thinking of low tide at Ocean Beach (again that place; what can I say, it’s given me the worst and best days). More than one surfer has been paralyzed after getting slammed onto a sandbar or reef. Just another case of "know your limitations.”

Crowds

In my opinion, this is the most understated danger of surfing. Between aggressive locals, beginners flinging longboards, and people in general that simply don’t give a damn, the boards and bodies can just go flying. Even if everyone is being decent, which is the case most of the time, you just end up with too many bodies and boards in a given area. Especially when you're stuck on the inside and that big set starts coming in. Frankly, I think it’s best to know when not to surf.

"More people mean more surfers and more surfers mean more crowds. Where will it end? Your guess is as good as any"

-Surfing California by Bank Wright

On my most recent trip to Waikiki the crowds were insane. I ended up paddling out at night under moonlight (a first for me) thinking I'd get some tiny uncrowded waves. Wrong. Surfers showed up with flashlights on their boards, strobe lights on their heads, chem lights on their arms .…it got crowded, at least for nighttime visibility. I rode a wave in and almost ran over a Japanese couple frolicking in the waves. If I consistently surfed really crowded spots, I'd probably buy a helmet.…something I haven’t tried yet but I do see occasionally.

Your Own Surfboard

I've had a lot of bruises and bumps from surfing, and they're almost always from my own board. This was especially true when I was surfing a longboard but is still true today. Your board ramming into you is just part of wiping out. Most of these injuries are pretty minor. You just have to condition your arms-protect-my-head-and-groin reflex as you go. Shallow sandbars ratchet up the bruise quotient.

Farallon Islands as seen from my backyard with 25X zoom on a clear day...I think the condos in front of me thought I was peeping.

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