Pittwater Life January 2019 Issue

Surfing Life
6 things to reduce risk
in crowded summer surf
with Nick Carroll
Surfing Life
You don’t have to go out. Not ever. Maybe the surf’s too big or too weird... so listen to yourself
ook at that kook! Bloody
“Llearners. So dangerous!”
I must have heard it 100
times. It’s a surfing cliche – the
classic whinge of many experienced
surfers as they watch
a novice struggling with the
waves.
Thing is, it’s not true! It’s
not dangerous. We rarely get
in real trouble in the surf when
we’re starting out. I think this
is because the ocean is so awesomely
good at kicking us out
of the water. The real dangers
emerge when we learn to fight
back.
A look at the stats over the
past two decades, both here in
Australia and around the world,
shows us two types of surfers
who are most at risk of serious
injury or death in the surf.
Number one: Middle-aged men.
The main cause of death while
surfing is heart attack. Sixteen
surfers have died this way in
the past three years. Almost all
have been men between the
ages of 40 and 60, sometimes
(but not always) on holiday.
Maybe they’d have had a heart
attack anyway, but because it’s
occurred in a surf zone, where
the person might drown or just
not get help quick enough, it’s
much more dangerous.
Number two: Skilled surfers
who run foul of a situation they
believe to be in their comfort
zone. These are often, but
not always, people charging
extra-mega surf, and they are
massively over-represented in
the serious injury stats. They
may indeed be in their comfort
zone, but when something
goes wrong in that zone, it really
goes wrong.
I kinda think there is a third
category here, but it might not
immediately spring to mind. My
third most dangerous surfer is
the one who is unprepared to
help someone else in a heavy
situation. Not unwilling – unprepared.
It’d be nice if I could convince
us all to do a full CPR/surf
rescue course. Wouldn’t it? *
See below for contacts on that
score. In the meantime, here
are six really simple things you
can do to reduce the risk to
you and others in this crowded
summer of surf.
Wear a legrope. Not just
because your board might hit
a kid in the shorebreak. Want
to know the most common way
that extremely good surfers
die? They hit the bottom at
somewhere like Pipeline and
are knocked unconscious, then
drown. The big difference between
them and the ones who
hit the bottom and are knocked
unconscious and don’t drown
is the legrope. The attached
surfboard “tombstoning” on
the surface instantly tells
everyone else that someone’s
in too deep, and instantly tells
them where to find the person.
Without a legrope, the board
just drifts away, and the person
is underwater with no sign of
what’s happened. It doesn’t
have to be Pipeline either. At
any time, the legrope may turn
into a lifeline.
Oh, and if you are part of
the ‘cooler than’ crew who feel
that leash-free surfing is a style
call or a declaration of your
personal freedom, congratulations
and all, but get over it.
The person you injure with your
lost board may not be you.
Health check. If you’re over
40 years of age, and let’s face
it, more and more surfers are,
you’re coming into the group
which is most over-represented
in surfing deaths – the heart attack
crew. Do yourself a favour,
get yourself properly checked
out. You don’t HAVE to have a
heart attack. And you sure as
hell don’t WANT to have one,
especially in the water.
Fix your board. I’m always
amazed at how often I come
across fellow surfers bleeding,
in or out of the water, thanks to
broken fibreglass. Like, why?
Listen to yourself. You don’t
have to go out. Not ever. Even
42 JANUARY 2019
The Local Voice Since 1991