Big wave surfing doesn't look very scary, but it's one of the most dangerous sports in the World. Surfing a one-foot wave is fun and easy, but as soon as the waves get up to 4-6 feet high, you have to be very cautious of the dangers of surfing. And once you graduate to 30 foot waves, you'll probably need a psychiatrist in the off-season. Let's take a look at what it takes to be a big wave surfer!
Starting Small
It's always good to get a nose for the waves when you're young. The younger you are, the less fear you will have to go down big waves. Fear is the number one enemy when you're surfing and it causes more accidents than anything else in the water. If you learn to surf when you're young, you'll be able to learn the waves with no or little fear and you'll have a better chance of being able to graduate into big wave riding later when you're old... like when you're 15.
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Gradually Get Bigger
Take your time getting used to bigger waves. Weather reports will tell you exactly how big the waves will be at your beach. Kids usually don't surf anything bigger than 4 feet tall. Once you feel like you can surf something bigger, you'll know yourself when you're ready... trust your instincts.
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Training Tips
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If you want to surf waves that are bigger than your house, you have to prepare for the worst. If one of these waves knock you off your board and into the water, get ready to hold your breath for up to 2-3 minutes. Many surfers practice this by holding a big rock and running around on the Ocean floor. The longer you're able to hold your breath, the more confident you'll be to take a fall and then you won't be very scared of anything.
Big Wave Board
When you start surfing big waves, you'll need to learn how to surf on a surfboard called a "Big Gun". This type of surfboard is long and narrow so it goes fast and helps the surfer get down the wave before it crashes.
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Tow-In-Tastic
The final stage of learning how to surf big waves is to get a jet ski to tow you into one. It's important to get more speed before the wave gets to you so you don't get swallowed up by the wave. The jet ski will give you the acceleration you need to get onto the wave so you can keep up with it.
Have Your Say...
Are you ready to take on some big waves? Let us know what your plans are for surfing this summer!
