The risks we take
Humans are notoriously bad at estimating risk. As an example of this we tend to worry more about shark attack than drowning when the statistics indicate that, if we are to die while surfing, drowning is about ten times more likely. The reasons for this mismatch between statistical and perceived reality can include pure ignorance but more often involve complex psychological phenomena which are not really the subject here. The point of this discussion is that while risk is inevitable, our response to it needs to be realistic, not emotional. Life, after all, is an inherently risky business from the moment of conception until the final roll of the dice. So while it is not often possible to calculate risk precisely, it is often worth the effort to look at what data is available.
These thoughts were prompted by the recent death of a surfer, Matthew Richell, at a beach in Sydney. The public discussion after the event focused almost exclusively on how it might have been avoided. Suggestions included the offensive notion that other surfers should somehow have been monitoring him more closely and that the local council had failed in its duty of care by not having a lifeguard on duty. Others suggested that personal responsibility was the prime consideration and that more surf education programs were necessary.
Nowhere was there a serious discussion of the reality we all face whenever we paddle out; that accidents do occur. We are fortunate that surfing has a very low injury rate. We are less fortunate in that some of those rare injuries are extremely serious or fatal. That is the nature of our sport and no amount of public safety infrastructure, instruction or legislation will ever completely remove that risk. In this case the surfer's head struck a rock and he was knocked unconscious. The exact sequence of events leading to the incident were never really clarified and are less important than the fact that, once a surfer is unconscious in the water, the window of opportunity to prevent drowning is very brief.
Perhaps an alert lifeguard with a jet ski at the ready would have made a difference. Perhaps other surfers, if they had happened to be watching, could have saved him. But these things are far from certain and are not necessarily a good guide to future policy. The notion that other surfers should have been more alert is offensive, not because it suggests we have a duty of care to each other, but because it ignores a long and proud history of surfers recognising that duty and acting on it, not always graciously, but always with commitment and very often with a significant degree of bravery. And it is a duty that has never been restricted to other surfers. Surfers regularly rescue members of the public or assist in lifeguard rescues.
The question of an appropriate response then becomes a matter for careful analysis. Drownings, unfortunately are a relatively common occurrence but, considering the popularity of the sport, very few involve surfboard riders. According to the SLSA, Australia wide, in the nine years to 2013, 35 surfboard riders drowned. Less than four a year. The trend is upwards but whether this is beyond the increasing rate of participation is not clear. Regardless, it is hard to see how anything more than the most general recommendations could come from such a small amount of data since any correlations with behaviour, location, age or any other factor could arise as easily by chance as by causation.
It is also difficult to see how people can be educated when, in the case of surfers, we simply do not know with any certainty what the risk factors are. We can make some inferences from the data about other drownings; for example that the use of alcohol or other drugs is unwise and that inexperienced surfers are at greater risk than others. But experience is won by years of effort, not by one day courses or public awareness campaigns. Any effort to reduce drowning amongst surfers needs also to recognise that a significant amount of surfing is done outside zones under the direct supervision of lifeguards. Australia has about 11,000 beaches. 400 of them are patrolled, many, many more are regularly surfed. Expanding lifeguard services then may have no impact on surfers drowning.
So, being stuck with little more than common sense, what can be suggested? First of all that we all continue to take our responsibility to each other seriously and if in doubt about a situation ask or act. I've never had anyone complain about being asked if they were OK and whatever time and energy are used in keeping a eye on someone you think might be struggling, they are a good investment in our collective safety. More controversially, we need to be much more proactive in identifying those at risk and advising them to relocate to safer waters. There are many more beginners and inexperienced surfers in the water than there were even a decade ago. More experienced surfers need to recognise that and take the initiative. Some people might resent the suggestion but if they are unable to accept the advice of someone motivated by concern for their safety, then that is their problem.
Finally what all surfers, particularly the less experienced, should consider is the Surfers Rescue 24/7 program run by Surfing NSW which teaches basic board rescue techniques and CPR. It is open to any surfer so if you do not have board rescue training and are not updating your CPR regularly elsewhere, please consider the program; for all our safety. //blindboy
Comments
Nice article blindboy. Agree with the points you've made, particularly the ludicrous comments that other surfers should have been looking out for him. The fact is, experienced surfers are very aware of their surroundings and are naturally aware of less experienced surfers and the difficulties they may be in. They regularly assist (sometimes begrudgingly) those who get into trouble in the water. It was surfers who helped pull Matthew Richell into shore.
God forbid they expand surf lifesaving to even more beaches. These facilities are primarily protect swimmers not surfers and actually restrict the availability of surf zones on a given beach. Surfers by their very nature will only push further out to more remote spots if this happened anyway. It's a solitary pursuit.
On another note, last year I did the Surfers Rescue 24/7 course and found it very useful despite having been a surfer/swimmer for most of my life. The methods they teach involving your board as a rescue device are invaluable, not just to save others, but to avoid putting yourself in danger whilst performing a rescue.
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I ususally enjoy your contributions Freeride but couldn't you find a more appropriate story to troll?
Sorry, meant no disrespect to the man or his family.
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Always risk with anything to do with the ocean. How much are the surf schools scrutinising the swimming ability of the anyone new to our sport?
Leg ropes don't negate the risk.
I think if you can't swim out behind the breakers and return to the beach you have no business learning how to surf until you increase your fitness, swimming ability and ocean awareness.
Unfortunately this would probably be detrimental to a Surf Schools bottom line.
Also Surfboard Clubs should have mandatory training for all members such as the basic board rescue techniques and CPR. Maybe Surfing Australia should develop their own type of 'Bronze medal' more applicable to surfers as opposed to the SLSC antiquated style of doing things.
smee it would be an interesting move if Surfing Australia made completion of a safety qualification a prerequisite for entering their events. Their insurers might be pleased but it's worth thinking about one of the great ironies; that SLSA, with its emphasis on life saving and safety, has had two drownings, that I can remember, at their events in recent years while surfing, which made little or no effort in that direction until recently, has never lost a competitor to the best of my knowledge.
Maybe Surfing Australia could just disappear up its own worthless arse . Talk about unrepresentative swill. Imagine those pretenders attempting to regulate your surfing life in any way , shape or form.
Head trauma is the major cause of drowning among surfers. We should consider wearing a helmet, especially while surfing rocky surf spots.
For sure surfprevention , I've never heard of a surfer drowning except for during massive surf. I know a guy that died from a board to the head though .
No helmets though thanks mate.
surfprevention I used a helmet for a number of years, mainly as protection for my ears. I had been getting regular infections. There are a number of problems with them which make them unpopular. The first is that they place more strain on the neck when the head hits the water as the area of impact is greater. The second is that they hold a lot of heat which is not what you want in the tropics. Third they restrict hearing. If they solve a chronic problem like ear infections there is some incentive to wear them but the risk of drowning is perceived as negligible so surfers are unlikely to wear them for that reason.
Helmets custom made by Andy capp in w.a. Are no more strain on your neck than a condom is on a dick . Different to bucket style models sold for the masses
That would be a flat peaked cap style I would think caml. Does he distribute in the eastern states ? I can't find him with an internet search.
Mags pushing bigger and heavier slabs probably isnt helping here. Certainly the wave featured http://vimeo.com/75454210 wasnt surfed much even 10 years ago.
There's an interesting discussion on Riptide (it isn't actually that fun to surf even on a lid) about the effect of mags on it. Sadly it has the name of the break in the title. Much better videos of it too the same problem.
Andy capp makes custom only . Epoxy with kevlar built by hand , streamlined and very worthy for shallow reef maniacs or just kooks who charge
caml can you give some more info on Andy I tried searching & couldn't find him.
Cheers
Twice this year I've attempted to rescue swimmers who were in trouble. Both times it ended well, but I felt I had no real Idea what I was doing and therefore decided to look into some rescue courses for this summer.
The "Bronze Medallion" from Life Saving Victoria, seemed like the way to go although this Surf Rescue 24/7 sounds pretty good too, albeit a lot shorter (3.5 hours vs 16 hours) Anyone got any thoughts on the differences?
And Anyone know if a Surf Rescue type course is available in Vicco??
Cheers
Another surfer drowns.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/man-pulled-unconscious-from-water-dies-on-nsw-...
The only problem with SLSC 'Bronze Medallion' is they want you to do patrol for 'X' amount of hours. Sit on the beach and look for people in trouble. The best place for a surfer is in the water where they can actually do something to save someone in trouble and get to them quickly. A clubbie on the beach is going to take a whole lot longer to try and save someone when they are starting from the beach. The window of opportunity to save a drowning person is under 5 minutes. From what I've seen of clubbies on patrol very few have enough ocean skills to be able to perform a rescue in under 5 minutes especially when a decent swell is running. This is the time when the punters are going to get into trouble.
I think the Surfboard Riding Clubs of Australia should come up with their own type of 'Bronze'. Its extremely difficult to try and get a drowning or injured person onto your board and get them to the beach.
I'm just throwing my thoughts out there because it needs to be addressed and the Board clubs are the perfect avenue for it.
SLSC have no idea! Apart from jet ski's for rescue purposes their equipment and methods are archaic.
But presumably the medallion would teach some skills about how to handle a drowning person in the water?? I've done CPR heaps of times for work, but as I mentioned earlier, when confronted with incidents in the water felt unsure about how to handle the situation. Watching Baywatch in my teens didn't help!!
Anyway, sounds like this surf rescue course might be the way to go...good excuse for a surf trip to NSW this summer :)
Locally the clubbies just monitor the flags and chase the kids and tourists back between them. Most places in Sydney now, if the flags are up, there is a professional lifeguard on duty and they take care of any serious rescues.
They make a mean sausage sandwich though .
I honestly don't think there is a problem that needs to be addressed Smeeagain . For sure I recommend everyone to learn some life saving skills but I don't really think we need any regulations weighing on us as surfers.
Jeez Smeeagain, your very critical of the SLSC. They're style of doing things is antiquated? They have no idea? Very few of them have the skills to save someone in under 5 minutes?
It's a volunteer organisation, they do the best they can with the funds they raise and the members they have.
They only have resources to patrol a small area. Surfers just have to look after themselves, we know that when we paddle out.
the article reinforces to me that in fact surfing is particularly safe and risk of drowning is actually very low. so low that it should nearly be forgotten. I say go forth and conquer your wave of choice... yeah do a safety course if you like...but don't expect anyone to save you when your in trouble.
in think its odd that we've gotten so unbelievably precious about human life that we are not willing anymore to live and accept that fear and risk is a natural part of our experience. death is too - even that of a youth (murder excepted). we've become so removed from nature as a society that we lose our natural "how to keep safe" instincts. as I age (and im only 36) I see it happening to me already. surfing to me is one of those few remaining activities that keep us in touch with what nature has to throw at us. keep yourself safe and let not start relying on others.
blowin -seconded-every time there is a life lost we get plenty of ambulance chasers wanting regulations for this and that blah blah. SLSC is losing its volunteer status due to constantly looking for govt assistance, which then wants results, and then you have a 40-50yr middle aged patrol captain that barely makes the 400m swim telling me I cant surf because the beach is closed on a 3ft swell. like the fucken bike helmet laws. do we want board licenses back? lifejackets and GPS - im in tassie and the regulations here just to paddle a kayak are fucken outrageous( lifejacket,paddle cord, permission from mum). it pisses me off that self responsibility is never a done deal.........surfing is the last bastion of aussie life that is enjoying some rays of freedom in terms of wear what you want, surf when you want, how you want etc. if you want a million rules play a sport that gives you all the boundaries you need to live your safe little boring life
Reno sorry i dont seem to have his number but hes in margrets . Mikehunt Will have it where r u mike?
I agree with those views, happy & hem, but I think it is a good investment in our continuing freedom from regulation that we are all well prepared to help each other out. The Surfing NSW course is only a couple of hours. The more drownings that occur the more likely we are to end up with a load of inappropriate regulations. Most rescues by board riders are never even recorded; drownings are.
I didn't think about it that way. I like your logic.
About 5 years ago I paddled out at Bells when it was 6-8ft. I took off late on a wave, wiped out and in the ensuing pounding my legrope snapped and I lost my board. I was way out the back, so had a bit of a swim back in. The problem was that the backwash was so strong that I was pinned about 40m offshore for about 45 minutes, unable to make the last bit. During that time about 10 surfers on their way out had a bit of a laugh at me, bobbing around in the water. No one asked if I was ok. I actually was ok, but the point is it wouldn't hurt surfers to keep a bit of an eye on eachother at times, even though they are strangers. Someone else in that situation might not be ok.
Absolutely stavros, but I have to say compared to other situations in life I have found surfers generally to be very supportive of each other if they think there is a problem. Given the waves down your way you would think everyone would want to encourage that.
A few months ago I was surfing Bronte and I found myself in a very similar situation to this unfortunate bloke. I took a set from the back of Bronte reef and thought I'd get a few more turns in as I got near the rocks. Sometimes this is ok but not when there's a 10 wave set as you're paddling back out. As I'm duck diving my forty two year old arms are struggling and I'm headed straight for the twins at Tamarama. I was getting worried on the 6th duck dive when out of nowhere the rubberduck from Bronte SLSC comes tearing in and scoops me up right in front of the rocks. I've never been so glad to see them. 30 seconds later I'm on the beach thanking them. It felt weird getting rescued - a bit of hit to the ego. But after seeing what happened to this poor bloke and his family I'm so stoked the clubbies were on it. Maybe I owe them my life. I was certainly about to get a serving on the rocks. Lucky it all happened while they were still on patrol. Crazy how things can go bad so fast but it's great there's people there to help.
Rip buddy the ocean claims another. BB, please dont measure being eaten alive by a shark with drowning mate. Its a primal reason that we have that fear of sharks, drowning shouldnt be in the same measure. As a survivor you media people need to be advised. This happens all the time now...coconuts, lighting...car accidents..drowning...death by animal attack is awful. Did you guys know we have a marine bio in Sydney being "granted" to change the word from "shark attack" to "shark bite" in the media. Sorry to shift the topic sideways but this needs to be addressed thanks. Glen Folkard.
Thanks for the comment Glen. I take your point.
Got sent some pics of a fella with a serious head injury the other day from surfing a slab over West. Could have easily been a fatality even though he is well experienced in solid waves...pure dumb luck prevailed.
Back in 1980 at Lennox, was sitting down near where the shed now is, talking to a mate watching the surf when this guy comes running over freaking out and covered in blood and wants to know if we know cpr.He just pulled a guy out of the water who he saw floating face down along the rocks,on high tide ..........the guys a fukin legend,still dont know how he managed to get the guy up the rocks on his own and it was a 4-5ft swell running.But we were only 20 meters away and didnt see it.Anyway the guy survived only to have brain damage...poor bastard .Its so easy to miss stuff when surfing even keeping an eye on your mates when the swells up is pretty hard.
The third surfer to drown in NSW. In as many weeks
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/19/surfer-missing-as-large-swe...
Helmets and lifejackets are now mandatory for S.L.S.A.