Near-Death experiences paddling out in HUGE waves

Big wave surfers get put in life-threatening situations like these and have to be ready for anything, including being held under water for extended periods of time while remaining calm.
These are just a few examples of what I've filmed during big wave swells.
Thanks for watching. I'm Brad Jacobson and I'll sea ya on the sand.

[@waynehearst317]

The truth is, I've been battered and washed out in 4'-6' surf and 12'-15' surf and the beatdowns have not been relative to the size of the wave. It's more complicated than that. I had a two-wave hold down in head-high surf at the cliffs in HB,, with a 1/4 mile paddle out, surges and rips everywhere during a winter storm that almost ended me, yet, surfed river jetties in 10+ surf with a short paddle out and 10' deep with very mild consequences. It's more about conditions, water flow, rips, drifts, swell period etc that just size.

[@tyson9419]

And water temp. I surfed up in Humboldt for 20 years and had some really really scary situations in 10 ft waves. Surfed same size wave’s in Bali and the water felt fluffy.

[@OD99C]

Absolute truth. I've surfed 6-8' surf on three consecutive days, one of those days felt like 12-15' slammers while other two days were mellow in comparison.

[@markrosenquist8259]

Very true. My buddy almost drowned at the HB Cliffs. I think he was tired from the paddle out, and then took 2 on the head. His leash snapped and he started to panic. I was keeping an eye on him because he wasn’t very experienced . I got him back to the shore thank God. He still talks about that day. He thought he was done.

[@vvaitkev]

size matters when wave is barreling. 6m wall is safer than 1m barrel.

[@OD99C]

@@vvaitkev suprantamas dalykas

[@mikemccourt6225]

The "fiendish pleasure" when you pop out the back to a less crowded lineup...

[@FOHguy]

😂😂👍👍👍

[@softhotty]

You Know it.

[@markaurit8990]

Its when you pop out the back and hope to God there isn't one or two bombs coming at you - and you see a smooth sea. Boy that feels good. And winter sucked over the falls - nothing worse. So helpless.

[@rideordietheyretring2tranx382]

Schadenfreude

[@mitseraffej5812]

@@markaurit8990I’m now rather old and haven’t surfed for over a decade and wood give just about anything to experience either or both again. Of course I have likely suppressed the memory of how bad it can get.

[@fboness368]

Heart rate went up just watching this!

[@randyvaughn4046]

Incredible how many surfers surf big waves now. Bock little, Derrick donner, Rodger Erickson, Ken Bradshaw, mark foo, and a few of the top professional surfers, owl Chapman, were the ones when I was surfing the north shore in the early 90’s. Now Waimea looks like Malibu or rincon. A lot more dangerous these days.

[@dudemanismadcool]

Rip Foo.

[@amateurmakingmistakes]

Yeah, cos of all the extra fibreglass in the water!

[@1234waveskier]

Another great one Brad, thanks!

[@ODL957]

This are the best video, please make more and track the hold down when posible

[@Cancelthis1541]

I remember surfing solid 6' to 8' Solimar Reef with these sneaker sets every 20 minutes. Low tide, rocky reef showing on the inside rights. These sets would come with no warning and you start scratching and scratching, your heart pounding only to have a strand of thick kelp wrap around your neck and it starts to tighten and pull, you can't paddle and you know you're just going to get phuqued.

[@tuskedbeast]

Good one, Brad.

[@mrdcato]

That's bananas. I'll just sit and watch from over here.😳

[@F3502000]

That happened to me at Huntington Beach in '83. Held down so long I actually gave up, which saved my life because I somehow popped up and got a breath before the next wave hit.

[@ChickenJoe-tq6xd]

Huntington Beach 😂

[@tolstoy21]

Been there. Not only held down so long I gave up on life, but I had also spiked the sandbar headfirst in very shallow water and hollow, head-high waves. At first I thought I had snapped my neck. My forehead was firmly planted on the bottom and the momentum of the wave kind of folded me in half backwards. I told myself that these were the last moments of my life. However, when I finally shook off being dazed and realized I still could move, I swam for the surface as fast as I could except I was so disoriented I was actually swimming parallel to the surface. The only thing that saved me was when my knee accidentally scraped the bottom and I was able to figure out what was up and what was down. When I finally popped up, the freaking water was waist only deep! I doubt I could have held my breath one second longer. This was around `88, `89 or so. I've been pounded many times in much larger surf, but I never felt anything like that beating in what should have been an easy, fun session. I guess any condition can be dangerous. Just depends on the circumstances.

[@F3502000]

@@tolstoy21 That's a hell of an experience! Mine was in '83, when the End Cafe on the HB pier was damaged. Once I made it though that first event, it took me two lifeguard towers on the Southside, going under the pier, and finally getting out just past the first tower on the Northside. You mentioned knee deep water, its crazy how disorienting and panicked we get in that situation. I remember trying to walk out of the water on the Southside up to my mid thighs and being pulled back in. Glad you survived dude! 🤙

[@ChickenJoe-tq6xd]

@@tolstoy21 it’s funny because when that happens to me I laugh, been having those kinda wipeouts since I was 6 and theirs nothing dangerous about them if u know what ur doing

[@tolstoy21]

@@ChickenJoe-tq6xd You laugh when you almost snap your neck on a sandbar? You've been having wipe outs like that since you were six? How often you you face plant the bottom? I've certainly wiped out in all kinds of conditions since the early 80s, but I've only come close to being a paraplegic once, and that was in small surf. Nothing is dangerous when you know what you are doing, but every now and then you get caught unaware.

[@crunchers9]

I can't remember ever seeing anyone filming one surfer's complete experience of getting caught inside and held down, tossed and turned before finally popping up. The camera almost always goes right to the next wave. All those guys who ride into a closeout at Wedge. How about following them and showing us the whole experience. Maybe with an interview after, where the rider tells what he did to survive?

[@kirkdunn1379]

The wedge doesn't have long hold downs....the energy dissipates rather quickly and your on the beach....however it will suck you back out....wedge is just super violent Deep water spots where the energy holds fir long time after wave has broke is where you can be inder for long periods of time Problem is when you get clocked your already out of breath from paddling at the start of the beatdown Blacks is one of the those spots

[@XPHALCON]

I would love to hear about experiences like that as well. But have your ever listened to some of these surfers? Not the best speakers in the world if ya know what I mean.

[@michaelpugh4885]

Cant imagine going over the falls backwards. So scary

[@douglash9364]

"killer" music selection. Tombstone board was a gasper.

[@bellpaleale]

One of the ways the vertigo gets you is that you perceive being dragged by your board horizontally as the wave pulling you down vertically.

[@lucasalvarez6724]

Great vid. Where is this?

[@lauriecarter8931]

Wow great vid mate ouch ovre the falls !!

[@BradJacobson]

Thanks 👍

[@floetee]

I wonder what percentage of the guys out there had any business being out there. I mean, yikes😮

[@thepepperboi]

Don’t know til you try 😂

[@tomiday66]

I just hate it when that big black arrow points at me out there. Scares the shit outta me!

[@BradJacobson]

gotta watch out for those arrows!

[@greenwave2450]

Yaaa buddy!!😆😆

[@whisper7637]

I've found during a trip over the falls or springboarding out of the whitewater briefly, as long as I'm calm, I seem to get a breathe without expectation. Either that or just bloody lucky

[@jimsuley4667]

Oh , what fun....

[@ThisisearthOK]

love the music

[@z-kolt5298]

I like how they make it all menacing, lmao those surfers probably meditating underwater🤣🤣

[@jamespardue3055]

Ha, didn't know you had a sadistic streak there Brad.............me too.

[@QU1RKONE]

I will be waking up gasping for air later tonight.

[@BradJacobson]

hahahahahahaha. sorry about that!

[@eric9895]

Love it

[@kevbrady8]

Fair play to Mr. Green board still holding on

[@EweCantHandletheTruth]

lol….reminds me of my first time in Puerto Escondido. Had the best sleep of my life paddling for my life for about 8 hours 😂

[@nyguyable]

Cool vid

[@jonobester5817]

That's gotta be one helluva rush just making it over the top and down the back side.

[@calebshields9123]

Yoooo what the heck! Broo i get scared when i get caught on the inside of like a 6 foot wave! And i end up back at level one which is washing up on shore... i can’t imagine facing up to waves like these...!💀 like immma just start praying my prayers and hope for the best... lol

[@arymonem]

This is worst than a scary movie!

[@haveaday1812]

A whole lotta kooks that shouldn’t even be out was my experience that day.

[@HoStevie]

Green surfboard was never heard from again 💀

[@sunsensational]

This is shit I wouldn’t go near without a posse of JetSki‘s patrolling just for me

[@goldeneyeforevercom]

I know the feeling of being under not knowing which way is up. Not exactly the greatest feeling ever.

[@gee-k164]

🌊yeeep,all i could think about was AAAir🤙🏽🏴‍☠️♠️

[@robertreis6177]

Try doing that at Nazare' , Portugal

[@daarchdukefranzferdinand236]

🙏🏻🐔 almost better then da surf footage

[@mohammedm2362]

that arrow could be a little bit bigger cuz its hard to see

[@FOHguy]

Huge? HUGE? You kids today don't know what huge is. Why, back in my day, .......😁

[@David-le7jy]

Well, that didn't help my anxiety

[@user-bn3ed4db3b]

It sux when you have to ditch your board in whitewater and all of a sudden you get dragged backwards into the line-up getting a sand enima..😢

[@goofymcadams]

The thing is we have eyes, hence why we are WATCHING KZbin.. Why in the World do you think we need GIGANTIC ARROWS on the whole screen?...

[@macpittman8006]

F'n nightmare fuel.

[@bonsummers2657]

Lunada?

[@andrews9328]

Blacks, I think.

[@anthonylove821]

Take the arrows off lol 😂

[@anitahay5556]

The music is more scary lol

[@Gilliganfrog]

Why do most of these guys wait until the wave is breaking ON TOP OF THEM before they start diving? As soon as I see that the wave is going to break in front of me I dive deep asap so that when the impact happens, it's at the surface several feet above my head... while I'm literally hugging the bottom, clinging to whatever I can find down there until the wave passes. Thus I have yet to go over the falls on a wave of consequence. 🌊

[@RaniVeluNachar-kx4lu]

Buy the meanest and longest leash known to mankind and just bail on those sets. Unless you are Nathan Florence who said you can duck dive just about anything except those Lip to Head events. I watched his video of them in the Azores and that was some unforgiving rocks to surf off of.

[@matthewcartner583]

No commentary = cool

[@jasonsaccuzzo2281]

Is this Blacks?

[@bushkey]

nice music, lol

[@rickreese5794]

WIPEOUT 😂🤙🏻😎🤷🏿‍♂️🫣

[@brittseverence7221]

Kamikaze surfers. Looks like a big day at mavericks. A few good men.

[@user-vo1un1bf9f]

Standard procedure. If you can’t do the time don’t do the crime

[@Cfass1]

Looks like blacks and Mavericks. Either way I’d be dead.

[@MarkPryor1]

The dude at 2:28 got a much worse than anybody else and you didn't even point him out

[@fergferguson7370]

Nice waves …I don’t think these people are familiar with large waves….

[@beeline2]

looks like Doheny

[@user-th3ll8rl7i]

Surfing has a mystique, especially for young guys. In the end it's overrated. All that work for 5 seconds of fun.

[@hil449]

those 5 seconds are feel insanely good tho. It sticks to your memory. It always makes my day better

[@calfolk7381]

Waimea yard sale

[@ImStabo]

eeeeeeeee!

[@ChickenJoe-tq6xd]

The eery music is dumb

[@cythera431]

Is this Blacks?

[@jameskent4902]

I was going to ask the same question. Ive been there when it was huge like this and its very scary and humbling