Leash caught on rock? Here's how to not drown

[~rwright~]

^^^
tough to loose a bro, sad still, no?
wonder if his kid has ever rode a wave,
i ain't been to Rocky Pt. in years, but i'd say a 'hi' to him when i paddled out there.
thankx for the post...

 

[trifish]

My leash hasn't been stuck on rocks for long but I did have a different scare with my leash years back at OBSF. Solid day, out deep and I took off on a closeout that completely shutdown on me a bit unexpectedly. Knocked a lot of my air out on impact. It was a weird wipeout because I went from the normal washer machine feeling to all of a sudden being dragged towards shore. Some how my ankles got tied/looped together by my leash while my board stayed stuck in the wave that was plowing towards shore. It just kept squeezing my ankles tighter while dragging me at the bottom of the ocean preventing me from surfacing. Imagine somebody being dragged by their tied ankles on their back. I couldn't sit up to undo it. Could only scratch at it but couldn't get it undone with the constant tension/current. Tried to stay calm, but at the end there was a point where full survival mode was setting in and I knew I needed to get air soon. While I'm doing everything I can with my chest pounding, the water goes dark to light and the pulling stops. I sit up in the shallows gasping for air. I had been dragged all the way in from out back . Ankles all bruised from the wrapped leash. One of those days that make you realize things can go sideways quick sometimes no matter how tough you think you are. Haven't had too many scares, but that one always stays with me.

 

[r32]

My leash hasn't been stuck on rocks for long but I did have a different scare with my leash years back at OBSF. Solid day, out deep and I took off on a closeout that completely shutdown on me a bit unexpectedly. Knocked a lot of my air out on impact. It was a weird wipeout because I went from the normal washer machine feeling to all of a sudden being dragged towards shore. Some how my ankles got tied/looped together by my leash while my board stayed stuck in the wave that was plowing towards shore. It just kept squeezing my ankles tighter while dragging me at the bottom of the ocean preventing me from surfacing. Imagine somebody being dragged by their tied ankles on their back. I couldn't sit up to undo it. Could only scratch at it but couldn't get it undone with the constant tension/current. Tried to stay calm, but at the end there was a point where full survival mode was setting in and I knew I needed to get air soon. While I'm doing everything I can with my chest pounding, the water goes dark to light and the pulling stops. I sit up in the shallows gasping for air. I had been dragged all the way in from out back . Ankles all bruised from the wrapped leash. One of those days that make you realize things can go sideways quick sometimes no matter how tough you think you are. Haven't had too many scares, but that one always stays with me.

Crazy. I've had my least wrap around one leg, but not both at same time. That must have hurt like hell. What size board were you riding? Larger boards on wipeouts have dragged me underwater like an anchor.

 

[surfysurfy1476]

I always put my leash strap on the same way so that I can hopefully take it off if ever needed without having to guess and fumble which way to pull.

 

[$kully]

or if you're the sensual surfer you can summon the dolphins...

 

[trifish]

Crazy. I've had my least wrap around one leg, but not both at same time. That must have hurt like hell. What size board were you riding? Larger boards on wipeouts have dragged me underwater like an anchor.

I think I was on a 6'10" that day. Some how the leash didn't break, but it definitely grew in length and needed to be retired after that, ha.