No laughing matter. Surf launching is dangerous!

No laughing matter. Surf launching is dangerous!

Surf launching is dangerous, especially on the huge spring tides. Coupled with an easterly swell, all sorts can and does go wrong in this crazy clip sent in by an anonymous contributor. He swears that’s not him laughing in the background.

Surf launching: analysis

Having been through many shoreys like this one, my only advice would have been to rather not pick on such a close together doubling up and crunching set of three gnarly waves, at all. I would have waited at least this set out. But being lifeguards, and some idiot might be drowning out back, sometimes you just have to go.

Luckily those boats are designed to go over and inflict as little damage on the lifeguards as possible. There is no console. They are mostly soft. Nothing to catch on. The engine is the only thing to avoid when the boat goes over. Althpough that in itself is enough!

But in this case, the boat rolls over and away from the crew, who were dumped quite luckily actually.

As the boat gets through the annihilator wave that broke literally on them, the skipper mistakenly but unavoidably hits the throttle, as all that water crashed over him and he tried to hold on. This was the tipping point well overreached. The boat comes flying up and out of the white water under power, and at the wrong angle completely.  No coming back from that.

No injuries and plenty people to help made the event just something cool to learn from.

Well survived!

Catch up with us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/thesardine.co.za/

If you want to learn all about surf launching, get in touch on umzimkulu@gmail.com, and we can schedule a course.

For more information check out Advanced Surf Launching.