Overcoming Fear Of The Ocean
Chapter 3: Getting Over Fear Of The Ocean
A lot of people suffer from fear of the ocean. It can be hard to surf when you’re afraid of the sea! There’s good news and there’s bad news. The bad news is that your fear won’t disappear overnight, and might never completely disappear. The GOOD news is that your fear can mostly be conquered and turned into healthy respect, which is something that is vitally important when dealing with the ocean. With time and dedication, anyone can turn their fear of the ocean into the pure joy of surfing on four foot waves and beyond!
My Story…
Would you believe that I was terrified of the ocean as a little kid? It might sound a little strange, but because of this hurdle surfing has become one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.
When I started surfing I had a bigger than normal fear of the ocean. When I was little I had gone to the beach with my summer camp and I was knocked over by a wave. I was dragged a little by the water as it drained back out to sea, and I was convinced I was a goner. Well, I survived that experience, but ever since then I had been quite scared of the ocean. I was never a risk taker, and to this day I still have a personality that doesn’t like to take risks.
I also wasn’t a water baby. I actually didn’t like the beach much when I was a little kid. Sound strange? Well, things change as you get older 
. I realized that I lived five minutes from the beach and most people would give their right arm to live in such a great location.
My desire to learn to surf stemmed from a few different things. A few people I looked up to were surfers. I loved snowboarding, and surfing seemed to be pretty similar. (I actually came to like surfing better than snowboarding!) Also, because of my fear of the ocean, I thought surfers were pretty much the bravest people in the world. I remember being a little kid at the beach looking at the surfers floating out beyond the breakers and thinking, “How can they do that? That’s so scary!” All of a sudden, I wanted to join them.
The first year I surfed I was horrified of tiny one foot crumblers. Yes, it’s true. I don’t like to admit it. It was fear of the ocean to the extreme. However, now that I can routinely surf in 4-5 foot surf with confidence I love to look back on those days and see how far I’ve come.
I had to get over my fear of the ocean gradually. The first time I got tumbled by a little 2 foot wave I came up spluttering and thrashing, thinking that it was the most extreme experience in the world. I’ve since learned that it’s not 
.
If you’re not comfortable in the ocean, you might want to take a couple of weeks to acquaint yourself with the waves. Get yourself a bodyboard and go boogie boarding! This is an excellent way for people who might be a little nervous in the ocean to get used to it. This was my first step in learning how to surf.
A bodyboard is light and soft, so if you wipe out you don’t have to worry about it hitting you in the head. It’s also a perfect tool to learn how to catch waves. You don’t have to worry about standing up—you just have to hang on! Even some advanced surfers like to bodyboard once in a while. It puts you closer to the water, and every wave is overhead!
Bodyboarding is also called “sponging.” This is because the bodyboard sometimes gets damp like a sponge.
In any event, getting over a fear of the ocean is a gradual experience. Always listen to your gut instincts, too. Believe me, I know how frustrating it is to sit at the shore for hours debating whether or not to get in the water, and then deciding that it’s too scary and going home with my tail between my legs. It’s demoralizing and embarrassing. But it’s also no good to be out in surf that is so terrifying to you that you start to panic. Panic is bad, especially in the ocean.
Sometimes you have to override your self-preservation instincts just a little at first, especially in the beginning when 1-2 foot waves are frightening. Eventually, as you conquer the 1-2 footers it becomes more important to listen to your gut instinct. When the waves get beyond three feet the power increases exponentially. (So does the fun, but don’t worry, you’ll get there!)
The right mentality before you enter the water should be a little nervous, but also excited to get out there. It’s a nervous excitement where the excitement is just a little bigger than the nerves. If you get out of your car and the conditions inspire flat out fear and a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, you probably shouldn’t paddle out. You won’t make the right decisions in the water and you’ll put yourself and others in danger.
Eventually, after surfing 1-2 foot ankle biters, you’ll come to the beach on a warm sunny day and see 3 foot lines peeling gently across the beach. They look a bit bigger than anything you’ve surfed before, but you’ve been working on your duck dives and turtle rolls, and you’ve learned how to stand up pretty well. You’re a little nervous, but after observing the waves and currents for a bit it looks so darn fun that you grab your board and jump in with a big grin!
That’s how it works. You’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish.
Getting over your fear of the ocean involves taking small, well educated risks. If you take the time to learn how to swim properly, observe the ocean and currents, and learn about the other associated risks and dangers, you’re probably better off than half the surfers out there who don’t think about their safety!
One last word: caution is great when you’re surfing, but once you decide to go for a wave—-go for it! Injury often comes as a result of not committing to the wave, especially for beginners. It’s so easy to decide at the last second to bail out, but this puts you in a precarious position, with the wave about to break on you and the board not under control.
I will admit to chickening out on waves sometimes—especially those late drops—and it’s a bad habit I don’t like. I think it’s especially difficult for people who have a fear of the ocean and get scared of big waves. If you can work on this now, it will be less of an issue in the future.
Steps to get over your fear of the ocean:
1.) Learn how to swim
2.) Learn about currents, tides, and waves
3.) Take a bodyboard out and learn how the ocean works firsthand
4.) Start surfing on tiny 1-2 foot beachbreak waves near (but not in front of) lifeguards
5.) Go surfing with friends
6.) Learn how to read your fear—is it just nervous excitement or flat out fear?
7.) If you start to get scared out there, smile, and remember that surfing is fun!
This is a great article.
i also started surfing for the same exact reasons as you did. I also lived by a beach and I currently moved closer to the beach to join my surfer husband. i love snowboarding. Im fed up that I cant get over my fear of paddling out when Im out surfing. I decided to search for others who have this problem. Thanks for this article. it really helps.
I started surfing when I was 13-14, and 2fters scared the S#!+ out of me!
The first year, I barely EVER surfed in the winter, as it gets BIG here at winter (esp that winter, it was the biggest winter in years.). Not to mention, my wetsuit was useless, I bet I actually got colder in it than without it. (Not to mention it had holes right at the buttocks from all the beatings I took.) I was a fool in the water too, and since the only consistantly surfable break was a pointbreak and a reef next to it, after 2 weeks of catching 1ft closeouts, I had to go to the pointbreak. I couldn’t catch small waves there, it was to close to the rocks, so I was forced into the reef out of neccesity, now that place is scary to most of the experienced surfers here (why I don’t know, a mental block perhaps, since that place, when it is 5ft+ can kill.), but I just had to do it, I couldn’t remember a day that I didn’t get at least one cut. (Permanently marking my feet with millions of scars.) But, I stuck at it, and pushed myself, even when I was panicing. Now, a year and a half later. (A year if you don’t count the winter that I only surfed like maby 10 times total, before my board snapped, and the summer where I also only took like 10 sessions, as there was NO waves, except for early morning, and because I was relying on parents to take me, I couldn’t get to the ocean before 11, and that is on weekends, 3 in school days, by which time, a onshore storm will have hit the place.) I finally lost my inhibitions, one day, when I decided, I am going out at 4ft, I got creamed, but I also got the best waves of my life, and in 3 months time, just through commitment, I got barreled 8 times, and surfed a 7fter. (I was so scared that 6ft day, I sat WAY outside, where I had the choise, paddle over the wave, or catch it, no need for duckdiving, so I coaght a 7ft set wave, as it was the only stuff coming through which I could catch.) And go into 4ft-5ft without much more than exitement and maby a little nervousness if it is heavy. Just to show, a little fear can drive you to do great things!
I also must reccomend, if it is 4ft or under, and you have more than 6 months experience, even if you are flat out scared, if you have a good friend who is experienced in the water, ask him to look out for you, and GO FOR IT. (Don’t do it if you don’t have someone who you can trust.) Trust me, after your first wave, (just try to not wipe out on your first one, catch it a little early to make sure.) you’ll be frothing at the mouth for another one. It just takes one wave, and one wipeout, for you to see that you got through it, and that means, you’ll get through it again, just flow with it, let the wave roll you about, you might start liking the feeling of being wiped out, it is a rush!
Man, I’m 48 and have been surfing since the age of 14. I still punish myself menatally when I dont go out on bigger days ……..6 plus. Not to worried about paddling out just pushing over the edge on the take off….. and I consider myself a a fir and experienced surfer. The mind is very powerfull at holding you back.
This article hits the nail on the head for me, I thought I was just being a chicken sh@#. I surfed long ago but had a real scary accident that put the fear of the sea in me. After 18 years of really missing it I have given it a go again. My balance is shot to hell and the fear/excitement is still there but its all good Im taking it on just as you described above. Thanks for this!!
As I start surfing the bigger waves I am becoming acquainted with a new phenomenon, going over the falls. Where your board is pointed down into the abyss almost at a 90% angle with the water. A very scary thing and what I do at that point is lean back and try to pull out because I don’t think there is any way to salvage that ride? My biggest fear in the ocean is not the waves or the water or drowning or sharks but hitting the bottom. That is my biggest fear. Which is why I never surf at high tide because it is a shore break and if I can stand in the water where the waves are breaking it makes me very nervous. I like to catch waves in deep water. If the water is deep I’m really not that scared.
Great article. describes me exactly. I have a fear of the ocean, yet i know i have to get out there. something inside of me wants to surf. I’m reassured to know there are others and that you’ve overcome it. Thanks for sharing.
I read this article and immediately got alot of determination to get over my fear of the ocean. I have made a promice to myself that i will do it. Thankyou for writing the article im sure it will help me in the near future.
I have started surfing about a million times since i was bout 14. I stood on my first try, on a rebrake.But everytime a friend has paddled out with me, supposedly as my aid, he would catch a couple of waves and wait for me on the beach-leaving me out on my ace with sets rolling in. it was no two footer either. Naturally, i panicked and end up getting washed up on the beach. Everytime i find myself out, I find I wonder how to get back-if i am unable to actually catch a wave? Point being-I now have a serious fear of paddling out. My boyfriends of four years surfs.He baught me a brand new 7.4 foot board and new wetsuit…and Im starting to feel guilty. Thanx for sharing your story…I hope it helps.