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How Much Does The Risk Of Injury Increase With Big Wave Surfing?

by

Larry Drexel

Since it was first discovered by the international surfing community in the early 1990s, thrill-seeking boarders have descended on the small stretch of California coastline in Half Moon Bay known as Mavericks each winter to compete on waves cresting as high as 50 feet. Conditions, however, are far from safe: in addition to the dangerously big waves, surfers must negotiate strong currents, shallow reefs, and jagged rocks. Since 1994, several surfers have been killed or seriously injured attempting to ride the colossal waves, according to a local attorney.

Despite a history spanning hundreds of years, surfing is a popular modern sport, especially in the waters off of Hawaii, California, and Australia. One of the earliest reports of boards being used to ride waves toward the shore came from Captain James Cook, who claimed to have seen surfers in Tahiti and Oahu in the late eighteenth century, according to the 2008 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. After a brief revival by a Hawaiian swimmer in the 1920s, surfing gained widespread popularity in the 1960s, which, in California, was accompanied by a thriving beach culture. Over the years, the sport has evolved, with boards becoming shorter and surfers more daring. Just as scaling steeper rocks presents climbers with a greater risk of danger, so to does surfing bigger waves. Since the death of Hawaiian surfer Mark Foo in 1994, several other surfers have suffered injuries or died at the locale. On a cold December day that year, Foo lost his balance while descending one of the towering waves for which Mavericks is both revered and feared. Two hours later, boaters discovered his body in a nearby harbor. So far this winter, one surfer has died and another been critically injured at the California site. In March, big wave surfer Sion Milosky was thrown into the sea while riding one of the huge waves, a second wave pinning him under the water until he drowned, according to a local attorney. Last March, Orange County surfer Jacob Trette almost drowned in a similar incident. His injuries were so severe that doctors were forced to put him in a medically induced coma. Fortunately, he survived. Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School recently found that competitive surfers are less susceptible to injury than college soccer or basketball players; however, their risk of injury more than doubled when they surfed large waves over areas with hard surfacesthe exact conditions found at Mavericks. One of the researchers suggested that staying physically fit, knowing the conditions at the surfing spot, and realistically judging ones capabilities are ways to reduce the risk of injury. Considering that the waves at Mavericks claimed the life of Mark Fooa young, fit, experienced big wave surferthe risk of injury riding the waves there seems incalculable by these standards.

Larry Drexel is a Public Relations manager. To obtain free, informative books or articles he suggests visiting

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How Much Does The Risk Of Injury Increase With Big Wave Surfing?