North WA delivered this spring, lots of Down the Line riding. It was 2 weeks of mixed conditions, big and small swell. Always a hard start into the season when the fitness level is still to be developed... :-)This was noticeable when I faced a big wipe out and I was caught with my harness lines around the harness hook underneath the sail. It reminded me of 3 things, always remember:
*Think about what can go wrong before you hit the water
*Practise opening your harness underwater with no visibility and in rough conditions.
*If you sail in waves buy your harness with a focus on how quickly you can release the hook, it can save your life.
I only just made it because of the long harness lines, which allowed me to squeeze my head around the mast a few mm to get some air before the next wave set rolled over me. It felt forever before I was able to open the harness. Trust me it is hard to relax in a situation like this. If you have other tips I am interested. Anyway, apart from that it was great to get such nice madness feeling again when you just sail Down the Line 
Enjoy the video
Great vid Caipi.
A good breathhold is a very beneficial thing when encountering situations like you describe above.
I got rumbled on a hollow local wave, rig and board separated. The rig pinned me to the sand so had to wait for the wave to go past before I could lift it off and swim up. Was under for about 10-12 seconds.
I play underwater hockey once a week and it's made a huge difference to my breathhold. Do something on a weekly basis to improve your breathhold and it'll give you a much bigger margin to get out of tricky situations.
Select to expand quotecaipi said..
North WA delivered this spring, lots of Down the Line riding. It was 2 weeks of mixed conditions, big and small swell. Always a hard start into the season when the fitness level is still to be developed... :-)This was noticeable when I faced a big wipe out and I was caught with my harness lines around the harness hook underneath the sail. It reminded me of 3 things, always remember:
*Think about what can go wrong before you hit the water
*Practise opening your harness underwater with no visibility and in rough conditions.
*If you sail in waves buy your harness with a focus on how quickly you can release the hook, it can save your life.
I only just made it because of the long harness lines, which allowed me to squeeze my head around the mast a few mm to get some air before the next wave set rolled over me. It felt forever before I was able to open the harness. Trust me it is hard to relax in a situation like this. If you have other tips I am interested. Anyway, apart from that it was great to get such nice madness feeling again when you just sail Down the Line
Enjoy the video
Sic vid and very jealous of those super sweet long rides that's for sure! Very keen to get back over that way but can't see it being possible this season for us Qlders unfortunately!
As for tips on being trapped or held down I'd definitely recommend doing a BET or Freediving course, whilst still never easy to remain calm in those situations being taught some breath holding techniques and actually applying these in a pool really helped my confidence for surfing and sailing in bigger waves or situations like yours.
Hi guys, many thanks for the positive feedback about the video and advice when get trapped. Looks like I need to get my diving and breath holding skills improved. 10-12 seconds can feel like forever if you get caught, so practising to stay calm sounds like a key factor.
@bspot68 the spot is 1000km up North from Perth. Ideally you'll need a 4WD , lots of water and proper camping gear.
Yeh I got the hook caught around the boom .It was wedged
Not a great situation :( I thought I was goner until I managed to get to the edge of the mast which was pretty much next to the board for a couple of gulps of air and water as
it was windy and choppy . Now in know what waterboarding feels like ..NOT GOOD.
i eventually realised get the frigging harness off and that worked but I was sure I was going to drown .
SCARY AF .
