The Dangers of Surfing

The first thing people think of when they are told surfing and danger, they immediately think shark! Actually, a very small percentage of surfers die from shark attacks. Most people attacked by sharks are not surfers, but swimmers. However, the much bigger danger is drowning. There are loads of different possibilities to drowning, such as getting trapped under huge waves, called hold downs, being separated from your board, and falling unconscious from big collisions with your board or the wave. Broken bones are common injuries. Incredibly strong currents called rips are also very dangerous as when caught in them, you are extremely quickly swept out to sea. Rips are deep corridors of water running from the beach all the way out to deep waters. Its is impossible to escape a rip by battling the current, the only way to get out is by going side ways to get out of the corridor. Only then will be you be able to get back to the beach.