I was surfing OB with a few buddies of mine this past fall on one of those big days when it breaks way outside. The waves were about 15 foot with bigger ones comming in occasionally. We were all having "fun", and then it happened. I got caught in the impact zone as a very large wave closed out about 20 yards in front of me. There was no way to get under this one without having my board ripped away so I did the dishonorable thing and dove as deep as I could while hoping the best for my board.

I felt a slow surge at first, then a fast acceleration as I started getting tooled by the wave. I was under for a very long time and I couldn't take another second without air. I grabbed for my leash that was pulling my leg upward and raced up towards the surface. Half way up I felt a large animal bump into me. I was scared into a frenzy. I kicked at it as I tried to escape. I made it to the surface and screamed. I heard a splash and looked into the equally scared eyes of my buddy Joe. We exchanged perspectives of how frightened we were and then worked our way back out to the line up. I guess sometimes it's scarier surfing OB on a big day with your friends than by yourself... nah.