Life Skills – What to do when mother nature turns nasty

Surfer Magazine is epic. The photos and stories are second to none. Even if you don’t like surfing.

A nice article from the magazine today with a free diver and big wave surfer

You’re facing an impending natural disaster: If you’re looking at a real disaster and need a few things to survive, I’d grab a water filter, a dive mask, and some cash. Fresh water is pretty crucial, cash is always good to have in a bad scenario, and if you have a dive mask, you’ll be able to pull some food in from the ocean so you won’t starve.

You’re traveling to a sketchy location: The number one thing I’d say is to really be aware of what’s going on around you. It sounds so basic, but I’ve traveled with a few people who are utterly clueless when a bad situation is taking form around them. They just have no idea. For some reason, I guess it was the way that they grew up, they just didn’t see the situation coming together at all. But whenever you’re traveling, just try and be really aware of what’s going on around you.

You’ve paddled to an outer reef, there are strong currents, and your board gets destroyed by a set: The best thing you can do is to know which way the water is moving. It’s not always as easy as you think and at a lot of places, the only way to figure that out is through experience. But obviously, you’ll need to know which way the currents and rips are going. You don’t want to get sucked out to sea. You want to take the path of least resistance. Sometimes, that means having to take a really long swim from one of the Outer Reefs to Waimea or Haleiwa. And then you have to get in. What a lot of people don’t always realize is that sometimes you’re not going to be able to swim in with the rips. You’re going to have to take a few sets on the head because that’s the only way to get in—to let the sets basically beat you to the shore. It sucks, but it’s better than drowning.