Best way out?

[jj]

U see the overhead swell pop up, u paddle to catch it, u think you can go left (or right) and make the corner, u pop up, now u are looking down the face of a wall of water, and looking down the line you realize the wave is going to close out hard on you. What's the best way out?

[K-Man]

Hi jj,
The answer to your question depends on two things;
- The spot your surfing at (what type of wave).
- The size of the wave.

The first thing to take into consideration when trying to decide the best action to take, is the type of wave your surfing. Some waves tend to move more water as they break, so they are naturally thicker and heavier. On a thick wave that's throwing a lot of water, trying to punch out the back of a close-out wave would most likely send you over the falls.

So for a "thick" or large wave you have two options assuming it's too late to pull out;
- ride out into the flats and suffer the "the wall of death" behind or on you. (not recommended)
- ride towards the close out tube ahead and do one of to things depending on how big and heavy the wave is, dive off (front or side) in hopes that you'll get deep enough to avoid getting sucked up and thrown over the falls. If you can't dive, because it's too late or you don't have the room, just launch your board ahead of you (in a safe area if possible to avoid getting hit when it gets sucked over) and fall on your backside.
This really is worst case scenario, but it's the only thing you can do when all else fails and you have no other options.

Take Care.