So today I was out the back at Burleigh and my leash broke….so I ended up having a 10+ min swim to make my way in..I took a few on my head coming in and with 50m to go I got stuck in messed up swirl going nowhere. I have never been so exhausted ever..when I did make it to shore I just sat on my board for 15 mins breathing hard and with shaky legs. I'm still feeling exhausted now.

Should I have just ditched my paddle and swum?

Anyone else have any experiences they wish they never had?

Bad experiences can I think be avoided.....especially as far as broken leashes go. I try and have two leashes on the go........the old one for every day surf...and an "almost new" one for scary surf days. Got a brand new 10' creatures outer reef in my car.....waiting for a "scary surf day"

......and if I am really on to it I remember to put on my impact vest. They give a lot of extra float and help you to surface that extra bit faster when you need another breath before the next wave hits you

Local,

Make up a small leash or cord for your paddle. Keep it in your boardies pocket and get it out when you need to swim.

mine is made of nylon rope like the fixing on your board for your leggy.

Tie it off to you and loop it over the top of your paddle. I fix mine to a fastener in my pocket. don't make it too long.

Then just swim in with it next to you or trailing between your legs.

I think there has been other posts about this in the past.

Another hint, never wrap your leggy around you fins or anywhere sharp or tight, it can weaken them.

Give it a try, better than a heart attack.

ET.

I feel your pain and rotten luck too, paddles are too expensive to ditch but maybe a leash like the Kyak ones would be worth while on a bigger day? A very long time ago like 1978 I came off a board and the fin thrust into my ankle, that was a hard paddle and in 1982 I jumped off some rock into a 10ft swell and caugh my shin on them and took the skin off, still surfed for 1.5hrs it was so glassy and big it was worth bleeding in the water for that long, lol.
All the Sharks were full that day and did not want any snacks luckily!!

getcha self a empty goonbag fold it up in ya pocket for those big days. If you snap ya leggie 5 x big breaths and you have a nice floaty to rest on till you wash ashore. Also acts as a reflective device to attract attention of the Westpac rescue chopper if needed.

One of the mal riders Chris,son of Nev wears a blow up vest at Burleigh. Have swum in a few times at Burleigh but mostly ended up on the rocks. And if you ever wondered about the avatar, think no more.

a few years ago in cyclone swell I went from 25th ave Palmy to the rock wall at tally swimming after my board when my leash snapped... Hating life that day. Worst bit was the walk back

Glad you made it back Burleighlocal ..the rip is strong out there sometimes..
same thing happened to me a week ago ..my leg rope pulled off my leg ...?..
i was 30-40 mtres in front of rocks ,so I knew I wouldn't get to my board in time ..so I ditched my paddle and swam like hell
i got to it in time to save it ..just. lucky it had turned upside down.
but if I had tried to swim with my paddle ..I would of been swimming for a lot longer ..and slower
but I was out of breath .pretty rooted ...and glad to hang off the board again ..the paddle didn't go that far where I left it .
out behind the break .
but then I thought I'd better get a bit fitter..and lay off the booze...? Ha.

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E T said..
Local,

Make up a small leash or cord for your paddle. Keep it in your boardies pocket and get it out when you need to swim.

mine is made of nylon rope like the fixing on your board for your leggy.

Tie it off to you and loop it over the top of your paddle. I fix mine to a fastener in my pocket. don't make it too long.

Then just swim in with it next to you or trailing between your legs.

I think there has been other posts about this in the past.

Another hint, never wrap your leggy around you fins or anywhere sharp or tight, it can weaken them.

Give it a try, better than a heart attack.

ET.

I thought it would be smaller but went anyway with the wrong leash. I did well for some time, never getting too much a pull. Then I got caught by a cleanup set and had to bail under the peak. Leash snapped and I swam out of the foamy water to get clear of the drilling zone, mistake, got caught in the rip. Swam for 30+ minutes.

The paddle was a liability during the swim. Really messed up my progress and at $300 I hung on anyway. I've been imagining a simple solution like ET's. Gotta organize that before my next session at an outside break.

I really like ET,s Idea !!!!!!

I also feel your pain , it has happened to me now twice !! Both times i got out of the **** by laying on my back /side and using the paddle like a gondola oar , like from side to side behind me .

The second time it happened i bought a thick leash !!!!! still on that one .

This is one of the reasons we put alot of swimming in our training, there is more to paddle fitness than just paddling and that is getting people prepared for worst case scenarios weather thats having to swim in in big surf or having your leash break 2 km out to sea!!
We try to build strong all round paddlers who can look after them selfs if **** hits the fan.

Its crazy how many people rely on a leash to keep them safe when its something that can fail so easy.

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burleighlocal said...
So today I was out the back at Burleigh and my leash broke….so I ended up having a 10+ min swim to make my way in..I took a few on my head coming in and with 50m to go I got stuck in messed up swirl going nowhere. I have never been so exhausted ever..when I did make it to shore I just sat on my board for 15 mins breathing hard and with shaky legs. I'm still feeling exhausted now.

Should I have just ditched my paddle and swum?

Anyone else have any experiences they wish they never had?

Pity no one in the water came to your aid and gave u a double into shore

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mybrosweeper said...
getcha self a empty goonbag fold it up in ya pocket for those big days. If you snap ya leggie 5 x big breaths and you have a nice floaty to rest on till you wash ashore. Also acts as a reflective device to attract attention of the Westpac rescue chopper if needed.

Gold, just make sure you didn't drink it the night before.

thx all for some good ideas. Especially the leash kept in boardies..will definitely be using this one.

Lots of good advice......did have to resort to google to find out what a goonbag is......a term not used in these parts (as far as I know)

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teatrea said..

mybrosweeper said...
getcha self a empty goonbag fold it up in ya pocket for those big days. If you snap ya leggie 5 x big breaths and you have a nice floaty to rest on till you wash ashore. Also acts as a reflective device to attract attention of the Westpac rescue chopper if needed.

Gold, just make sure you didn't drink it the night before.

Yeah, well not all anyway, Ya wanna save some for waiting between sets!

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mybrosweeper said...
getcha self a empty goonbag fold it up in ya pocket for those big days. If you snap ya leggie 5 x big breaths and you have a nice floaty to rest on till you wash ashore. Also acts as a reflective device to attract attention of the Westpac rescue chopper if needed.

That's a bloody good idea .... that and ETs idea for the cord in the pocket.

Worse than the swim for me was watching my 10' board careering through unsuspecting board riders and swimmers, and hoping like hell no one got clobbered. At my local too!
I was relieved when a passer by grabbed my board and signalled me. Phew! The swim was easier knowing all was well.
The one other time it happened was at the Sunny Coast. The amount of people that walked past my board and looked sideways at it as it flogged itself to death on the shores edge was unreal. Made for a more desperate swim back I tell you!
Some good tips in this thread.

Gizzie a goonbag or "silver pillow" is the plastic storage bag inside a wine cask, once emptied they can be re-inflated through the pouring spout.

Yes I see that......a little alarmed to see that the "goons" are local aboriginal people who have genetic problems with alcohol.....and leave empty wine casks lying around?

Ok, ok a bit of PC here, its correct name is the bladder of chateau le cardboard.

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GizzieNZ said..
Yes I see that......a little alarmed to see that the "goons" are local aboriginal people who have genetic problems with alcohol.....and leave empty wine casks lying around?

Nah Gizzie, don't be alarmed.
This is the meaning (from Wikipedia) I was brought up with......

"A box wine (cask wine or boxed wine) is wine packaged in a bag-in-box. Wine is contained in a plastic bladder typically with an air-tight valve emerging from a protective corrugated fiberboard box. It serves as an alternative to traditional wine bottling in glass with a cork or synthetic seal. It is sometimes called goon,[1] and goon bag[2] in Australia".

From dictionary.com....

1. (Austral, informal) the plastic bladder inside a box of (usu cheap) wine

Maybe it's something to with it's behaviour/mind altering properties, or how you feel the next day?